Nick and Dariece are a young couple from Canada who have chosen to live an unconventional stress-free and happy life.
No nine-to-five jobs, no bosses and no debts.
They’ve explored some of the most unique places in the world and talk all about it on their website, Goats On The Road. They’ve designed it to show others how to turn their travels into a lifestyle and consider themselves masters at making money abroad after all these years.
Want to know more about them?
Read our interview with the Goats and get inspired to travel around the world!
We are the architects of our own reality and we are here to inspire you to create a happier life for yourself. Happiness comes in many forms, but for us, we find joy through travel and eye-opening experiences.
In 2008 you decided to drop everything and start travelling, but what made you do that?
We both started to feel like we were settling down way too quickly. We were following the typical stepping-stones that society lays out for people our age – pursue a career, fall in love, buy a house, get married, and have kids – but we craved a change.
We had good jobs and a home, and we had the “fall in love” part checked off as well, but it just didn’t feel right. Something was missing from our “perfect” picture.
We then went to Mexico on an all-inclusive vacation, which seemed to ignite the travel bug within us both. Once home from our vacation, we started watching a t.v. program called Departures. This show changed our lives, really. We were so inspired by what the three Canadian guys were doing, that we too decided to drop everything and travel for a year, which turned into two, three…
Tell us more about who Dariece and Nick are! How would you describe yourselves?
We’ve never been asked that before, great question!
We’re a couple of 30 year olds who don’t fit into the typical cookie-cutter mold of society. We follow our true passions and believe that when we’re on the right life path, and doing what we’re meant to be doing, everything will work out for us. We’re adventurous, respectful and kind. We laugh often, and love each other dearly. Life is a gift and we treat it that way.
Where do you come from originally and where do you call home now? Can you give us some local tips we cannot find in a guidebook but you highly recommend about your hometown?
We both grew up in the small town of Vernon in the Province of B.C., Canada. However, we didn’t meet each other until we moved to Calgary, in the Province of Alberta. We currently don’t have a home. Home is where our backpacks are!
If someone were to visit Vernon (which we highly recommend), we would say to go on a winery tour, visit Juniper and Jade Bay, go golfing, and hike around Rattlesnake Point. For Calgary, we’d recommend floating in a dinghy boat down the Bow River and hiking and camping in Kananaskis Country.
What motivates you to keep going?
Happiness and freedom, period.
When we’re travelling, we get to meet interesting people, sample local cuisine and visit incredible sights. But most importantly, we’re happy, free and together. Isn’t that what life is all about?
Has it been hard to travel as a couple?
No, it hasn’t. Honestly!
It may be hard to believe, but we get along so well that our travels together have been nothing but positive. We have very similar interests and ideals when it comes to travel, and we love being together. We take care of one another, have a lot of fun together and have somehow managed to not only travel, but work together also!
What’s the best travel experience that you’ve ever had?
Oh, this is a hard one. We can’t narrow it down, so we’ve just picked one of our many favourites.
After 2 days of hitchhiking, taking a bus and a boat, we arrived at the Quirimbas Archipelago off the northern coast of Mozambique. The local people we met were so interested in us as foreigners, and we had some very memorable experiences with them.
We sailed between a few of the islands and spent the nights sleeping on the sand under nothing more than a mosquito net hung from palm trees. We explored villages, danced with locals and ate fresh seafood from the ocean. It was truly a memorable adventure.
And the worst travel experience?
We’ve had a few brutal days on the road, but one of the worst has to be when we were in Malawi.
Due to some political issues in 2011, BP Oil pulled out of the country, which meant that no food or supplies were being shipped around Malawi, and that there was no fuel for vehicles. Nick had come down with some awful sickness and needed to see a doctor. We figured it was malaria for sure, but when we got to the doctor, they had no malaria tests, or pills.
Also, due to the fact that there was no fuel, there were no vehicles to drive us anywhere. We had to ask a Slovenian guy to take Nick to the doctor on the back of his motorbike – with him feeling like he was dying, and me running down the street behind them! Once there, he received medicine, but still needed to get back to the hotel. The ambulance offered to take us to the junction, but no further as they needed to preserve their petrol. Once dropped off in 30 degree celsius heat, in the middle of nowhere, Nick and I stumbled home, with him getting sick the entire walk back!
Yes, that was a horrible day in travel.
Many people associate travel with being rich. How do you debunk that myth and how do you fund your trips?
There are many different travel styles, meaning that no matter your budget, it’s still possible to hit the road. Some people choose to splurge on luxury accommodations, fly everywhere and eat fancy meals, and if you can afford that, then go for it. But even people on extreme budgets will find a way to travel. In order to save money, some people camp, couchsurf or work in exchange for accommodation and hitch-hike rather than taking the bus. There are many ways to travel even if you’re not rich.
We’re not rich (yet!), but we’ve been able to travel for a very long time. Initially we funded our travels from selling our home and saving money from working in Canada. We then taught English in China for a year to save some money, and now, we earn an income from our website and freelance writing careers. Where there’s a will, there’s a way! You can learn all about that on our site.
If you were to be given the chance to travel with a popular person or a celebrity, who would it be and why?
We would probably choose the three guys from the tv show that inspired us – Justin, Scott and Andre. They’re the reason we’re travelling and they seem like they would be a lot of fun to hang out with.
What does a perfect day in your life look like? (Do you follow any particular routine?)
Each day is different depending on where we are, and what our plans are, but a typical day when we’re working would look something like this:
Wake up and have breakfast, followed by coffee at our favourite cafe (which changes from place to place). We’d then head out for a morning walk before working for a few hours on the website. After that, we will have lunch, go to the beach for some late afternoon sun, drnk a few beers and swim until the sun sets. The evening would be pretty chill, with some live music at a nearby restaurant, dinner, a movie and bed.
Tell us more about your website. Why did you start it and how has it grown throughout the years? How much time do you spend a day on it?
We first had a blog just to share stories with friends and family members. Then, when we were in the Philippines debating what we wanted to do with our lives, we decided we should teach English, and start our own website.
Initially, our site was all about backpacking on a budget. Then, as we evolved as travellers and our lifestyle choices changed, so did our website. Now, we’re all about inspiring others to live a life filled with happiness and freedom. Through our stories, informative articles and weekly videos, we want to show people that their travels don’t need to have an expiration date. It’s possible to travel and make money on the road and thus, travel forever.
When we’re staying put and really wanting to focus on our website, we spend about 5 hours a day, 5 days a week. When we’re travelling and moving around, we spend about 2 hours a day, 7 days a week. It can sometimes be difficult to find a good travel/work balance.
Do you recommend travel blogs over guides or magazines? If so, why?
We find some guidebooks useful for their history sections and maps of the cities and countries. But when we’re looking for up-to-date information about where to eat, or sleep, we definitely check out travel blogs. We also like reading about people’s personal experiences in the particular place that we want to visit. It’s easy to compare our travel style with some of our favourite bloggers so we know that if they like it, so will we!
What will happen when you’ve seen all the countries in the world?
That won’t be any time soon. But if that day does come, I guess we’ll just visit them all over again…starting with Thailand.
Would you ever settle down and stop your journey? If so, which country would you choose?
We love being digital nomads and living a location independent lifestyle, so I don’t know if we’ll ever completely stop moving and have just one permanent base. We’re definitely travelling slower these days though, even stopping for a few months here and there in order to house sit abroad, or rent our own apartment.
If we had to choose somewhere to stop forever, at this point in time, we would probably choose Mexico, which is where we currently are. This country has fantastic people, great food, beautiful sights, excellent accommodations and decent internet – which is a must for us!
What we can expect from you and your blog in the coming year?
Our travel plans include Central America, the Caribbean and part of South America. Apart from pet sitting in Grenada at the end of July, we don’t have any real set plans.
As far as our blog is concerned, you can expect to read exciting travel stories, watch interesting videos and learn about various ways to make money on the road and travel for free. All of which we hope you will find useful and inspiring!
Thank you very much for your inspiring words, Nick and Dariece. Good luck in your future travels!
