Thread by @TheMattViera

Since 2018, I've been on 4 (month-long+) mini-retirements.

Whenever I post any content about mini-retirements, someone always asks:

“What’s a mini-retirement?”

Here's everything you need to know:
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“Why not take the usual 20–30-year retirement and redistribute it throughout life instead of saving it all for the end?” —Tim Ferriss

Ferriss is widely credited with creating the concept of the mini-retirement.

I learned of mini-retirements when I read his NY Times bestseller:

The 4-Hour Workweek

So what exactly is a mini-retirement?

“A mini-retirement solves the problem of the tendency most people have with only have 2-3 weeks of vacation per year”

The problem: a vacation with a daily, down-to-the-minute, packed itinerary.

A mini-retirement is an alternative to what Ferriss calls “binge travel.”

If traveling internationally, people may want to see multiple cities (or countries) in 14-21 days.

That's “binge travel.”

The result: you "end up a wreck.”

A mini-retirement is about doing the exact opposite.

"It is the anti-vacation in the most positive sense."

A mini-retirement entails relocating to a destination for 1-6 months "before going home or moving to another locale."

It is "not an escape from your life, but a reexamination of it."

“The objective is to experience the world at a speed that lets it change you.”

You want to travel to a place "where meetings, emails, and phone calls don't exist for a set period of time."

To do the exact opposite of your typical day-to-day routine:

• Slow down
• Explore
• Discover
• Get lost
• Live

Going anywhere for 1-6 months is ambitious.

For me the sweet spot is 4-5 weeks in 1-2 cities.

More cities in that time frame and it starts to feel like a vacation.

Plus, you lose a day traveling between cities.

All of my mini-retirements have been in European cities.

I’m the first to admit, I'm missing out on many cool travel (and mini-retirement) experiences by limiting myself to European cities.

But...

In terms of ease of travel, affordability, and culture, European cities make ideal destinations to:

• Slow down
• Explore
• Discover
• Get lost
• Live

How much does a mini-retirement cost for a month?

I can tell you that you don’t have to be a millionaire.

Here are the numbers based on my mini-retirement in 2023:

Where can you go for a mini-retirement?

The sky's the limit.

• Pick a destination you're interested in traveling to
• Buy an airline ticket (using CC rewards points)
• Find & reserve accommodations
• Go, explore, and live

Here are my top 10 recommendations in Europe:

What do you pack?

I encourage you to keep this old adage in mind when packing:

Less is more.

I only take two bags with me for a mini-retirement.

I carry both on the plane.

If you can’t carry on, you packed too much.

Ferriss recommends:

• A travel guide
• One week of clothing appropriate for the season
• Backup photocopies/scans of important documents
• Debit, credit cards, and $200 of small bills in local currency
• Electronic dictionary of the target language (Google Translate)

Additional reminders from my experiences:

• Build a travel fund 9-12 months out
• You'll probably spend less than you think you will
• Stay in an accommodation with an A/C, washer machine, and a balcony (trust me on the balcony).

Finally:

Don't overthink or overplan.

Remember:

"The simple willingness to improvise is more vital, in the long run, than research." —Rolf Potts

What can you do for a similar experience if you can't take 1+ month(s) off from work?

Easy.

Get off-grid:

Three final tips for your first mini-retirement:

• Never wake up to an alarm clock
• Go out to dinner at a restaurant every night
• The best experiences you’ll have are the ones you stumble upon, not ones you planned for

Remember:

"One cannot be free from the stresses of a speed- and size-obsessed culture until you are free from the materialistic addictions, time-famine mind-set, and comparative impulses that created it in the first place."

—Tim Ferriss

Source: The 4-Hour Workweek

Thanks for reading!

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