Do something epic in 2020

Make 2020 the year you do something epic.

Don't just take a vacation for a week or so. Consider living in a foreign country for at least a month. Going on a vacation to a foreign country for a week or two is just not the same. To fully experience a country and the people, you need to live there for a month or more.

Living in a foreign country is not expensive

If you're full-time RVing, you can store your RV for a month or so, cancel your collision insurance and save way more than the amount of the storage.

Then you can rent an apartment in a foreign country for less than the cost of renting a campsite in most campgrounds for a month. Your only real expense would be the cost of airfare to get to your destination.

I've camped in a tent in central Africa while hiking to see silverback gorillas, floated down rivers in China, spent time in Australia, and South America. And, of course, I've spent a lot of time living in Costa Rica for three months at a time. (By the way, you can only stay in Costa Rica for three months before you have to leave the country.)

I know, you can cross the border into Nicaragua or Panama, get your passport stamped and come back and live in Costa Rica for another three months. That's what is called being a permanent tourist.

You don't have to worry about not being able to speak the language in the country you choose to travel to. Knowing a little of the language helps and will make your time there more enjoyable, but it's not necessary.

Don't just visit another country -- live there

You can't experience another country by visiting. To really experience a country and its people, visit locals in their homes. Eat a meal with them and their families. Most people in foreign countries are a lot more friendly than people in the United States.

Take the time to get to know them, and they will invite you into their homes. I've been told that the Chinese people are very private and that they don't want strangers in their homes. I've been invited to homes in China and in most of the countries I've visited.

A barber cutting my hair in Costa Rica invited me to come to her home for Sunday dinner with her family. I've never had a barber in the United States invite me for Sunday dinner.

When you're thinking about traveling, consider the following quotes from famous people.

"There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign."
~ Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson

"I can't think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything."
~ American writer Bill Bryson

Wanting to travel is not a new thing

Consider these quotes from a long, long time ago.

"Travel brings power and love back into your life."
~ 13th-century Persian poet, jurist and mystic Rumi

"Once a year, go someplace you've never been before."
~ Tibetan religious leader and humanitarian Dalai Lama

"You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore."
~ Italian explorer Christopher Columbus

What you can expect to see

The things I list below can be seen or experienced in the US, but they are more common in some foreign countries.

• Narrow streets
• Sidewalk cafes
• Different landscape and architecture
• People are usually friendlier than in the US
• Don't worry about your safety. Take reasonable precautions, and you will be safer than in many places in the US

Typical scenes you might see

Stay away from the tourist areas, and mingle with the locals.

My brother and his wife have rented an apartment in Spain for the month of Feb. My son rented an apartment in Paris for a month. A friend and her husband rented an apartment in Italy for a month. I'll be going to Costa Rica for three months starting in March. You can stay somewhere for a month for about the same cost as staying for a week.

If you only stay for a week, you might not find out that the best fresh-baked bread you've ever tasted is at a little bakery that's right around the corner from your apartment.

As an RVer, you have a unique opportunity to travel the world for very little cost, and maybe even for less than you're spending to live in your RV. Experience this at least once a year, and you'll be glad you did.

Bottom line: Don't say you can't afford it. You can rent an apartment (or a room) for a month for about the same cost as renting a hotel room for a week. When you're in a hotel, you're visiting. When you're staying in an apartment, you're living in the country. There's a big difference.