Thinking About Our Travel Options for 2021

We’re now two months into 2021. Though we all eagerly awaited the end of a very bad 2020, not too much has changed for most of us. The vaccines are a bright spot on the horizon, even though we know we certainly aren’t in a priority group. Matt and I are hoping we’re both vaccinated some time in the summer, and by that point many other people should have been vaccinated first. Could that mean a return to “normal” for us?

Actually, I would say the life we’re living now is quite “normal” for many people. Buying groceries and cooking dinner every night. Watching TV. Cuddling the cat. Waking up, working, and going to sleep again. But… this isn’t the normal I want at this point in my life. Since I graduated from college almost 6 years ago (!!!!!) I’ve either been on a plane every week for work, or living in Spain and gallivanting around Europe in my free time. I don’t want this version of normal right now. It’s been nice to try it out and play house for the past 8 months. But I’m ready to get moving again.

Making plans for the future, about what we’ll do as soon as it’s safe, is one of the only things that keeps me sane as we near the one-year anniversary of the pandemic. So I thought it would be fun to share some of the options we’re considering for the next year and beyond.

Ecuador for 3 Months?

I’ve talked about this quite a bit here… because we’ve been planning it for about 9 months. When I realized I was going to have to come home from Spain long-term and couldn’t seamlessly transition to a new visa type — and move Matt over with me — I was devastated. The thought of spending a few months in another country, somewhere I’d never been, was enough to make me feel better. At the end of May, we booked an Airbnb in Quito, Ecuador, for 3 months beginning in October. Surely the pandemic would be over by then, right?

As September approached, we rescheduled for March… which is now a week away. We decided to reschedule once again, and we’re hoping this might be the last time. It’s still a waiting game at this point. We’ll feel much better about going and traveling once we’re vaccinated, but us actually going depends on quite a few other factors as well. I swear we’re going to go eventually. Our shared Google Map — where we pinned parks, restaurants, and more — is too personal to me at this point to be abandoned.

Asia? and/or Australia?

One thing that could push our Ecuador plans farther into the future is the status of the pandemic there. As a developing country, we’re aware that vaccine availability and distribution may not happen at the same speed we’re accustomed to here in the U.S. And even if we’re vaccinated, we don’t want to go down there if our presence is going to be more of a burden on the community. Especially because it’s too early to know if vaccinated people can still spread the virus. (Also, it’s not going to be much fun if activities and movements are still restricted.)

While it’s still very early in the vaccine timeline at this point, we are keeping an eye on South Korea and Australia and the evolution of the pandemic there. Matt’s never been to Asia, and I’ve never been to Australia. Getting to Australia from the U.S. is very expensive, so if we go to Asia we may as well hit it while we’re in the area.

We need to keep an eye on the news because the same thought process applies regarding us not wanting to be a burden on the community if the pandemic is still very much raging. But these places may have more resources that make travel more feasible. If we go, we’d definitely do 3 months between the two continents as well.

Vaccinated-Only Destinations?

A couple weeks ago, I came across an article stating that the African island of Seychelles would be open for tourism once again… but only for people who have been vaccinated.  That sounds like a pretty good deal to me. Support a community that relies heavily on tourism? While interacting with only other people who have been vaccinated and therefore aren’t at risk? PLUS BE ON AN ISLAND IN THE INDIAN OCEAN? Sign me up.

Not sure how long they let you stay. But I could see us doing that for a month in the fall if nothing else works out.

Estonia Digital Nomad Visa?

The Estonia Digital Nomad Visa is something we’re considering, but probably not until the beginning of 2022 at the earliest. This visa is super new — just launched in the second half of 2020 — and I can imagine that given the current climate, not many people have had a chance to take advantage of it yet.

Unfortunately, many European countries make it quite difficult for people to stick around for the long-term. Including Spain. Though I’m still considering it for the future, it’s a lot of work and visa approval likely comes down to the mood of the particular person reviewing your application. (I’ve learned that so many things in Spain are truly dependent on chance.) But I wasn’t ready for my European lifestyle — and the easy travel access — to end, especially not as abruptly as it did. And Matt’s never had that. I want that for him, and he wants it, too.

Of course, no matter where we end up, I’m planning to work remotely, which I’ve been able to do since before the pandemic. However, jumping through the legal hoops of being “self-employed,” a “small business owner,” or an “entrepreneur,” depending on the country, can make the whole process a huge hassle with no guarantee of approval.

But Estonia, in a very forward-thinking move, recognizes the reality of many people who aren’t bound by a physical location when it comes to work. Which is why they launched their Digital Nomad Visa. Here are the requirements from their website:

• You are able to work independent of location
• You can perform your work duties remotely using telecommunications technology
• You either have an active employment contract with a company registered outside of Estonia, conduct business through your own company registered abroad, or work as a freelancer for clients mostly outside of Estonia.
• You can provide evidence that your income met the minimum threshold during the six months preceding the application.

Easy enough! Meeting these four requirements for the digital nomad visa gets you a year in Estonia. While I’ve never been there before, I’ll happily live there. I love experiencing life in new places, and I’ll get access to travel throughout the rest of the continent during that time!

If we end up doing it, you can for sure expect some extensive blog posts from me about the process —  maybe even an eBook. Because it’s so new, there’s not a lot of information out there yet. I’d love to share my experience with anyone who is interested!

Here’s to a Better 2021

We’re hoping to be able to do anything at all this year… It feels weird to think that, before, we all had the intrinsic ability to travel (though it wasn’t always viable for a variety of reasons). And now… we can’t do it at all. No matter how much we want to. I feel like I was wasting so much time before!

Where are you looking forward to going? Let me know in the comments!

-Cathy

Originally Published on February 22, 2021.