Travelling with a one-way ticket to India

My name is James; I currently live in South West England. I started writing in March and absolutely love it, may be slightly addicted to it as it’s the first thing I think about in the morning, and the last thing I think about at night.

James is ready to a 180 degrees change. Having worked in hotels all his life, he is planning to leave everything and to buy a one-way ticket to India with his wife. But the adventure doesn’t stop there: “I love travelling the world, and I try and visit as many places as I can”, he says. 

We would like to meet you! Who’s behind James Scott 778 blog?

I’m James, I grew up in the South West England and have mostly worked in hotels and run restaurants all my life. I went to school in Cheddar (Yes, where they make the cheese) and studied travel and tourism at college.  I have two sisters, one a doctor and one a writer. I live in Gloucestershire with my wife, Gemma, she’s a primary school teacher.

My adventures in the world of blogging started about 6 months ago when I was in Chamonix, France. I wanted to talk about the experiences I was having, I wrote a few posts whilst I was there and then started to write about my travels moving forward.

You say you are “slightly addicted” to write about your experiences abroad… What can you tell us about traveling and the enriching adventures you have experienced beyond the borders of your home country?

I have been to so many beautiful and amazing places: from the Caribbean to rural West Africa. Travel has certainly broadened my mind, made me a more patient and tolerant person and given me the opportunity to meet so many amazing people. Every time I’m away I try and write about where I am. I got bored of just using Facebook as I felt it had no depth and the audience wasn’t right for me. I prefer to share my adventures with the blogging community; there are so many like-minded people.

At the moment you are not “officially” an expat but you have to plan to be very soon. What is your project?

Our plan is to pack up our lives and start travelling through India initially. Then move through Nepal, Bangladesh, SE Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the pacific. We hope to settle somewhere, we are not surewhere but that is the plan. The most likelyplace would be New Zealand, the great thing is that my wife can teach almost anywhere and I can use my professional experience in hotels and restaurants to get a job if I need to. Ideally, I want to earn a living through writing.

If I’m not mistaken, you are sharing this experience with your girlfriend. Could you tell us how did you meet and what changes having a travel partner?

We met at work, she was working in the same restaurant as me whilst studying to be a teacher. We eventually got married, she had originally wanted to travel years ago but never got around to it. When I travel without her it just feels empty and is harder. When we are together it’s a shared experience and the world seems brighter, sharing an experience is so valuable.

How are the preparations going? Could you explain us a little about the bureaucracy and paperwork to consider organizing this great journey?

We haven’t prepared to much yet, at the moment we are just sorting out finances. This is the first hurdle, getting rid of any debt and financial commitments.  After this is sorted, it’s a case of rehoming our animals, putting our stuff in boxes and selling what we don’t need.

What are your motivations to carry out this adventure? And what do you expect from expat life?

Freedom, I also have a massive case of the travel bug, I love being away somewhere in the world so much that I want to do it full time. I have read so many inspiring stories of people who have left their home country and settled abroad, they went and lived the “simple life”, I hope to do just this. The great thing with writing is that you can do it from anywhere in the world and submit articles easily, hopefully this will help us get by.

If you want to know how the adventures of James Scott continues: James Scott 778  !

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