Couple reveals why they sold everything they own to travel the world – but then returned after just six months

They aren’t the first to pack their bags and ditch home to voyage overseas. 

But a couple has revealed why they sold everything they owned to travel the world – and returned after just six months.

Jordan Cooper and his girlfriend Emma sold their apartment in Brooklyn, New York City, and most of what they owned to travel indefinitely.

Jordan wrote in VegOut: ‘We felt like we’d cracked some secret code. Everyone else was stuck in the grind while we’d be sipping coffee in Lisbon, working from Bali, living the dream.’

But things didn’t quite work out the way the pair planned, and their never-ending travels came to an abrupt halt.

Jordan explained: ‘Six months later, we were back. Not because we ran out of money or had some dramatic breakup (that came later). 

‘We came back because the fantasy and the reality were two completely different things. Here’s what actually happened when we tried to escape everything.’

The first issue the couple faced was work-life boundaries – one of the aspects of a nomadic lifestyle they thought they would most enjoy. 

A couple has revealed why they sold everything they owned to travel the world – and returned after just six months (stock)

In reality, different time zones and hectic work schedules made for a tough balance.

Jordan wrote: ‘Nobody mentions that ‘work from anywhere’ often becomes ‘work from everywhere, all the time.’ 

‘We’d be at a beautiful beach, and I’d be refreshing Slack. Emma would be editing photos in a cafe in Morocco while fielding emails about a project that couldn’t wait.’

The second pitfall was the challenge of living a more minimalist life. 

Jordan said they packed light – two backpacks each – but found they then had to keep replacing items and buying basics to use for a short period of time.

What’s more, they found it hard to connect to people – while they met great people abroad, they didn’t make deep friendships and found they kept repeating the same ‘get to know you’ conversations. 

They also became exhausted from having to make constant decisions.

And the pair spent so much time together and didn’t always want to do the same things, eventually leading to their breakup.

But things didn’t quite work out the way the pair planned, and their never-ending travels came to an abrupt halt (stock)

They were also bored, Jordan wrote.

Lastly, Jordan said they felt guilty for the privilege they felt they had being able to travel in this way. 

He wrote: ‘Emma and I would be complaining about slow Wi-Fi while watching people work construction jobs in extreme heat for wages we couldn’t fathom. 

‘We’d haggle over price differences that meant nothing to us but might mean everything to a street vendor.’