Your Keys, Our Home.
If you dream of casting off your worldly possessions and traveling to your heart’s content, we hope our story will inspire you no matter your age.
In this book we share tales of living full-time in Airbnbs in more than 50 countries. From the barber’s chair in Dublin and the dentist’s chair in Split, to a wild motorcycle ride in Athens, a peek behind the Soviet curtain in Transnistria and the demise of a chicken for dinner in Marrakech, we found the world to be just one big neighborhood.
You'll also find tips on how we pick our next Airbnb, how we get there and frugal ways to enjoy a new city, just as the locals do.
Available in ebook or paperback format. Get your copy today!
The Senior Nomads
Debbie & Michael Campbell
We are from Seattle,Washington, one of the most beautiful cities in America and a great place to call home — if you have one.
As we were closing in on retirement, we felt we had “one more adventure in us” so in July of 2013 we rented our house, sold our sailboat and one of our cars, and reduced our stuff until it fit in a small storage unit. We waved goodbye to our family and friends and set off to explore the world! Our goal was to live our daily lives in other peoples homes just as we would if we'd retired in Seattle - so far the experience has been everything we'd hoped for.
Since we left we have called over 148 Airbnbs home, and visited more than 200 cities in 68 countries including all of Europe, Turkey, Israel, Russia, Mexico, Africa, Cuba, The MIddle East and most recently, Central Asia.
We weren't sure how long we'd be gone. Now, more than four years later, we still aren't sure! In fact, we sold our home in Seattle so now we truly are nomads.
Media
“What does it take to be a Senior Nomad? Should you want to become one, a few requirements: Be willing to cast off your stuff and accumulate no more; have a flexible definition of what it means to be at home; master the Excel spreadsheet; accept, and even grudgingly appreciate, the ubiquity of Ikea.”
“Since hitting the road about 1,000 days ago, the couple has become known as the Senior Nomads, silver couch surfers on an endless, Airbnb-powered trip around the world…”
– Conde Nast Traveller · March 2016
“Last summer, Michael and Debbie finally cut ties at ‘home’ and sold their Seattle townhouse. They plan to keep traveling: ‘We will keep doing this as long as we are having fun, learning everyday, staying close to our budget and we’re still in love.’”
“According to their sums, travelling around the world, living in other people’s homes costs them about the same as it would to be ‘sitting on a porch in our rocking chairs’ in the States.”
– Irish Independent · June 2016
"And the former marketing executive and graphic designer are not fat-cat types who can just retire like they’re on vacation. These erstwhile Seattleites have perfected the frugal art of it.”
Our Travels
Since July 2013, we’ve been traveling the world living almost exclusively in Airbnbs, our “Homes on the Road.” In fact, we wrote a book about it!
We’ve compiled a full list of every Airbnb apartment, room, flat, bungalow, condo, suite and house we’ve stayed in during our travels. They are not necessarily our recommendations, although there are some great ones. It is more a look through the windows of listings that fit our budget goal of $90 per night and criteria that includes a kitchen, a big table, speedy wi-fi and a great host!