Have you ever dreamed of living on the road with no worries other than driving and enjoying the scenery? Well, that’s Ashley Kaye’s current life. This young woman from Wisconsin made a major change after a trip to Honduras, where she met someone living that lifestyle. She went back home, saved up for a year, and set off on her adventure.
In 2022, after years of traveling, she shared her experiences on social media with another couple who practiced overlanding, which is basically a self-sufficient way to travel to remote destinations, usually in some kind of vehicle. After that chat, she sold her childhood home, bought a Toyota Tacoma in South Dakota, and headed to Baja California to make the necessary modifications.
When it was ready, she decided to drive the Pan-American Highway, from Alaska to Argentina. Kaye estimates she spends about $1,200 a month on gas and food, but you also have to add a monthly expense of $96 for her mobile phone and $200 for her Starlink Internet. Plus, she’s let herself have some other splurges, like a week-long diving trip to the Galapagos Islands for $6,000. She definitely doesn’t regret her decision, as she stated in an interview with CNBC, but she admits that a part of her is tired of driving. She confessed that the day she sells the truck, she’ll do it to live in Spain, Italy, or the South of France.
A life-changing decision
It was a diving trip to Honduras in 2019 that motivated Ashley Kaye’s decision. During her stay, she met someone whose life was on the road, traveling permanently, which made the young woman reconsider her lifestyle. She stated to CNBC Make It, ‘I went home and worked more and more until I quit the following year.’ With $37,000 in savings, she left her job in 2020 and ventured into this new lifestyle.
She acknowledged that the first months were a tough adjustment, as she didn’t know what to do with so much free time. ‘Once I got into my rhythm of traveling and building my confidence through that experience, I’ve never looked back and I have not a single regret about leaving,’ she stated.
A new adventure
After traveling around the world for 3 years, in 2022 she learned about overlanding, thanks to a couple who shared their experience with her through social media. After thinking about it, she sold her childhood home, bought a Toyota Tacoma in South Dakota, and traveled to Baja California to make the necessary adjustments. When it was ready, she embarked on her next adventure: traveling the Pan-American Highway, starting from Denver. It is truly an amazing way to travel because you can set your own pace and if you find a place that is beautiful and peaceful, you can stay as long as you want,” she stated.
Costs of living on the road
Kaye splits her days well to enjoy both leisure and driving. Her trips usually last 5-7 hours, and she stays at places for 2-3 nights. None of this comes for free; the young woman estimates a monthly expense of $556 on gas and $453 on food. Plus, she has to budget an additional $96 for her phone and $200 for Starlink internet. Also, she treated herself to a week’s diving trip to the Galapagos Islands for $6,000. “I’m constantly seeing so many vast spaces in nature that I’m really happy,” she explains.
Will the adventure last forever?
Even though Kaye claims to have made the best decision of her life, she also admits that she’s a bit tired of driving. She said, ‘Part of me just wants to get rid of it and move on to the next chapter of my life, but then most of me is like, ‘No, maybe just wait because I want to see some other places and just relax.’ Although she’s not sure when her adventure will end, what she does know is that when she sells her truck, she won’t be going back to Wisconsin; instead, she’ll settle in Italy, Spain, or the south of France.