Couple travel the world full time and here’s how
ERNESTAS Tyminas and Darina Karpitskaya met in Beijing via Couchsurfing, a travel app which links solo travellers together.
Tyminas, a marketing manager at a Colorado newspaper at the time, had taken a break from work to backpack through Asia, and Karpitskaya, a flight attendant at the time, had been grounded in Beijing for two days because of mechanical problems with her return flight.
After spending a day together, the pair planned to meet again in Asia a month later. The couple’s second date was a “crazy one-month adventure” to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines.
Tyminas said that he decided in the Philippines that he wasn’t going back to his old life and after returning to Colorado, he quit his job, sold his belongings and moved to Europe.
Karpitskaya revealed that she wasn’t quite there yet.
“At first it sounded like: Oh my God, you’re quitting your job. You’re moving from America. Maybe it’s too soon. But at the same time, when I came back from that trip I felt like I’m living a life that I’m not enjoying,” she said.
Karpitskaya said that when Covid hit, she accepted four months of unpaid leave from her job.
The couple revealed that they travelled for four months with their dog Cosmo, an 37kg Borzoi, and the rest is history.
So how do they do it?
The couple currently has a Youtube channel, Dream Team Travels, where they share their travel experiences, but that’s not exactly how they make their money.
Tyminas revealed that they spent between $1 000 and $2 000 (about
R17 000 and R34 000) a month, all from savings, by staying in cheap accommodation, cooking at home and seeking out free activities, in the beginning.
He said that as money started to dry up, he took several online jobs, which brought between $2 000 and $3 000 a month, which wasn’t far from his salary of $3 300 in Colorado.
Tyminas said that the work was cumbersome and it felt like he still had a job, so the couple decided to open a marketing and graphic design company.
They reached out to thousands of people, often working late into the night, doing everything from designing book covers or promoting music, which they learned through Youtube, Google and online research.
“They paid me half of what they would pay other marketing agencies and the results, they said, were better than they had before,” said Tyminas.
Tyminas revealed that they made $6 000 in the first few months and now, sometimes they earn several thousand dollars a day working with real estate companies and music labels.
The couple revealed that they spent an average of $4 000 a month in the past month with more than half going to accommodations, which vary by location from $3 100 a month in Dubai to $1 500 in Lisbon, Portugal. They also said that they limit stays in expensive locations, like Switzerland, to no more than a week.
“One way to save money is booking month-long stays on Airbnb, which cuts down average nightly rates and reduces service and cleaning fees,” said Tyminas.
Karpitskaya said she doesn’t want these costs to scare people, because they spent far less in the beginning. Tyminas said that at the time, they spent about 80-100% of their income, but now they spend about 30% and save the rest.
The couple revealed that they spend more on activities they film for their Youtube channel Dream Team Travels, another “completely selftaught” venture.
Currently, they are in Malaysia.