The start of a life as a digital nomad

of Michael Gimm Holdensen
6 minutes reading time

We've now reached the day where we can announce our plans for a "life" as digital nomads to the world, including all the people we love so much. It's been hard to keep a secret, especially from our employers, who we've both been incredibly happy with. But it has been necessary, as we had to be 100% sure before we would announce anything.

We're doing that now and it's crazy! We're selling our house and everything we own (almost). We're quitting our jobs and taking the kids out of school. Then, around August, we'll set off on an unknown journey that starts in Europe. We don't know where or when it will end, but only that we will be adventuring as a family for as long as we can and want to.

When we bought our house in November 2015

In November 2015, we took over our house at Kildebakken 24 in the fantastic town of Ry. The town is located in the heart of Søhøjlandet and is surrounded by unrivalled nature. There's a really good school, some great institutions and lots of leisure activities. In short, a gem unrivalled in the rest of Denmark.

The house we took over is from 1967 and had some damage to repair and was a little worn. But we fell in love with the possibilities of the house, not least the beautiful view of the countryside and the surrounding lakes. There was plenty of space both inside and out. With 224 m2 on 2 levels and a 1300 m2 plot with plenty of space for the kids and outdoor projects. From the beginning, we were sure we'd be living here until we weren't living in a house anymore - many years into the future. Back then, a life as a digital nomad was not something we had imagined.

Renovation work begins

Up until the summer of 2017, I had gone through most of the house, completely renovating it. With the exception of our utility room, workshop and stairs. A lot of it I did myself, but other things were of course done by authorised people.

After that, there was a much-needed break from the renovation, with more time for family and other projects. Around Easter 2020, when the Corona was upon us, we decided to start the final renovation. Prior to that, we had had some discussions about subletting our house for a period of time and moving to Australia if we were able to find a job. More specifically, Brisbane or Sydney. However, I couldn't because of the strict visa rules. When forest fires followed by Corona, we agreed that this was a sign that we shouldn't be travelling at that time.

The final part of the house renovation consisted of building a new 31m2 outbuilding, a utility room and a multi-purpose room. The outbuilding was fully insulated and would serve as a workshop, storage and tool room. We then moved the old workshop, which was part of the house, into the outbuilding. The workshop became a large light-filled utility room and the old utility room into a multi-purpose room for the kids and overnight guests.

Things can be replaced but we only have one life

We live in a world where, at least before Corona, things have moved very fast. Most things are based on material things. We want to have a nice house, a nice car and a good job and preferably also be the perfect parents. If I have to say so myself, we've actually done pretty well. Still, it's as if one day follows the next and the next day is a little too much like the day before.

This cycle, or hamster wheel as many call it, continues in one form or another until we leave the labour market. Only then can we breathe a sigh of relief and really start to realise our big dreams.
With the current pension rules, which are constantly changing, I can retire on a state pension at the age of 72. By then, our children will be 33, 39 and 41 years old. In other words, the race is probably over when it comes to going on adventures with mum and dad as digital nomads. So why not retire now? Even if only temporarily. We only have one life together and everything we own is just stuff. Things that can be replaced.

A run on a cold, sunny day in February that started it all

For a long time, I've been thinking that something was missing from our lives. Time is spent on work and daily logistics, from Monday to Friday. Weekends are filled with practical tasks and appointments with friends and family. It's all nice and cosy, but it's a bit too much of the same.

In particular, my thoughts have centred around my urge to always be doing something new. It's taken a toll on my time with the kids and Rie. I want to change that before the kids get too big and before they start to think mum and dad are embarrassing...

On a run with Rie on a cold and sunny day in February, I brought up the subject. Although she had to chew on it for a while, she quickly realised that it could be exciting. In the days that followed, we talked a lot about the shape of our adventure. We talked about whether we should rent out the house and apply for leave, or whether we should go all-in and cut all ties so that we were 100% free. We decided in favour of the latter, but not without reservations.

The conditions were that we would only do it if we could get the right price for the house. That way, our finances were secured well into the future. We also had to make sure that our children were on board with the idea, which fortunately they were. This was the start of a life as a digital nomad.

The house goes up for sale and suddenly things are moving fast...

Once we had made the decision and agreed on how we wanted to go about it, we contacted 2 estate agents in Ry - Home and Danbolig. They both confirmed that the house could be sold at the price we had set as a criterion and thus the first step was taken.

We decided to wait until after Easter so we could spruce up the interior and exterior. We wanted it to be as ready for sale as possible.

Our choice fell on Home. Even before we got the house online, we had two viewings via Home and one viewing via an enquiry in our mailbox. Two of them saw the house twice.
On 28 April it went online and on 29 April we received an offer from a buyer. We signed a few days later, so it all happened really quickly!

Our last summer at Kildebakken 24

Now that a tentative date has been set for taking possession of the house, we know that the summer of 2021 will be the last here in our lovely house, sniffle. It hits a little extra hard when all our plans are overtaken by reality, but we are still hopeful and we remind each other why we do it.

A big thank you to Millespeak and her podcast the Digital Nomadand Maja and Stefan with their podcast The good life. We've listened to them both a lot and even though we won't be travelling in quite the same way, we share many of the same principles for what we want to get out of it. Both as a family and as whole people.

Want to follow our new life as Digital Nomads?

Our plan is to share our experiences with everyone who wants to read and watch. We do this through posts and photos here on the site and on our Instagram. Sign up for our newsletter and follow us on our Instagram profile www.instagram.com/thegimms/.

You are also more than welcome to ask questions about the post here, below, for the benefit of all readers. We will respond as soon as possible.

See you later 🙂

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4 comments

Carsten Sørensen 9 May 2021 - 00:40

Hello to you
Carsten from Kildebakken 33 here

Great idea to get off the hamster wheel and experience each other and the world in a different way.
Susie I live with, has a son in GL Rye, He has travelled with his wife and 3 children, the last few years before the Corona, in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia. One time for 3 months, and the following year Sri Lanka and South India for 4 months. It has been great for family life.
So "go for it" and remember an old cabaret with Arne Wűrgler, Benny Holst, Hugo Rasmussen and Trille called: LIFE IS SHORT AND YOU ARE SO LONG DEAD.

I have travelled a lot myself and still do. This autumn I will be travelling to Nepal - Corona willing - to work at a library and school in the southern lowlands. It's through JYSK VILLAGE DEVELOPMENT IN NEPAL.
Our motorhome will take us to the Faroe Islands and Iceland this summer and Corfu awaits me in June for a moving meditation retreat.
So life is a journey on many levels.
Good luck with the project.
Kh Carsten

Reply
Michael Gimm Holdensen 9 May 2021 - 20:13

That sounds really exciting Carsten. I didn't know you were travelling so much. Thank you for your message 🙂 .

Reply
Lars Aaskov 3 August 2021 - 08:57

Dear Rie and Michael,
Just read about your wild, wild decision and am full of admiration for the huge amount of courage you have
Have a great life out there and I look forward to following your journey
Take care of each other.
Huge respect
Many greetings from Lars

Reply
Michael Gimm Holdensen 3 August 2021 - 09:00

Thank you very much Lars ☺️
Sometimes you just have to take the plunge. What's the worst that can happen?
We promise to look after each other

Reply

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