Ashley Kaye’s father handed away in 2015 and he or she inherited her childhood residence — a three-bedroom, one-bathroom home in Waterford, Wisconsin.

“I started thinking, ‘Did I really want to live here forever?’ Of course, because I didn’t really want to let go of that huge chapter of my life,” Kaye, 36, tells CNBC Make It. “But I had already been traveling a bit and knew that I wanted to keep traveling more and more.”

On the time, Kaye was working in company healthcare after which transitioned to a consulting job, the place she labored 80 to 100 hours every week.

“I worked from home so I just walked from my bedroom to my office to the kitchen and repeat,” Kaye says. “I was a zombie in those times,”

Whereas on a scuba diving journey in Honduras, Kaye met somebody who travels full-time and realized she wished to depart her profession behind and hold touring, too.

“We just hit it off and chatted the whole time I was there. We spoke about the worst of the worst, the best of the best, and financials, too,” Kaye says.

“He told me he wished he had done it sooner because it’s so much easier and cheaper than you think. That changed everything for me. I went home and worked more and more until I quit the next year.”

When Kaye stop her job, she says she had about $37,000 in financial savings. However she struggled with not having a job to fill the time anymore.

“I didn’t know how to just do nothing. The first few months were really hard and I wasn’t sure if I was making the right decision,” she says.

“Once I got into my rhythm of traveling and growing my confidence through that experience, I’ve never looked back and don’t have a single regret about leaving.”

Kaye spent the following three years touring in the course of the covid-19 pandemic. Whereas on a visit to South Africa, she acquired surprising information that her aunt was unwell and he or she’d must fly again residence to Wisconsin.

“That flight was probably the moment where not a single ounce of my being was like ‘Yay, I’m going home.’ It was like, ‘I don’t want to be here. This isn’t it for me.’,” she says. “I love being on the islands. I love having the ocean near me. That took away the hesitation I had in previous years about selling the house.”

Whereas Kaye was again residence caring for her aunt, she ready the home on the market and thought of her subsequent transfer. She thought loads about making an attempt van life and residing and touring along with her canine.

“Traveling by plane with a dog just sounded like a terrible idea,” she says. “I do a lot of photography, so I knew I wanted something where I could reach tougher destinations.”

Kaye discovered the proper van — it had four-wheel drive and had been just lately renovated and upgraded. But it surely bought earlier than she was in a position to purchase it. The very subsequent day, she acquired a money provide on her home for $320,000.

Whereas ready for the sale of her residence to shut, a pair reached out to Kaye on Instagram to ask about her time in South Africa. They shared their expertise overlanding in a Toyota truck with a camper within the truck mattress.

Overlanding is a type of self-reliant journey that entails adventuring to distant locations, sometimes in a car of some kind.

After doing a little bit of her personal analysis, Kaye was all-in and bought a Toyota Tacoma truck for $42,934, in keeping with paperwork reviewed by CNBC Make It.

Even whereas touring, Kaye nonetheless wished to take care of a everlasting residence within the U.S.. She determined to maneuver to South Dakota — a state that permits for everlasting residence with out requiring a bodily presence.

That very same week Kaye purchased the truck, she flew to South Dakota and had her new residence delivered there.

She then drove the truck again to Wisconsin to complete packing up. The home formally bought in March 2023.

“I was like ‘Ok, cool. We’ll figure out all of the rest of the pieces later.’ I closed on my house about three weeks after that, got the truck and drove to Baja [California], Mexico,” she says.

On her drive down, Kaye lived in a tent that was particularly made to slot in the truck mattress.

Kaye stayed in Baja California for 3 months and deliberate out the renovations she would want to make the truck extra livable.

“My life is kind of like ‘the plan is there is no plan.’ Most people plan this type of adventure for years. I didn’t even have a truck when I accepted the offer on my house,” she says.

“It was very spur of the moment, so I needed to take a pause and figure things out.”

In Mexico, Kaye discovered an American firm that made truck mattress replacements that would supply exterior storage and make it simpler for her to stay and journey within the truck, however the set up could not occur till September.

Within the meantime, Kaye discovered as a lot as she might in regards to the truck and the type of camper she would want. She estimates that she has spent over $50,000 on the renovations.

Prices included buying a camper, including solar energy, changing the truck mattress, upgrading the suspension, new tires, customizing a bumper, and putting in an electrical cooler.

When the truck was prepared, Kaye determined to journey the Pan-American Freeway, beginning in Denver. The freeway stretches from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina.

“It’s really an incredible way to travel because you get to set your own pace and if you find somewhere that’s beautiful and peaceful you can stay as long as you want,” Kaye says.

“But there’s pros and cons to every mode of travel and a lot of red tape and logistics crossing borders. It can be exhausting, especially when you’re alone. You have to find a balance that works for you, but overall, it’s definitely one of the coolest adventures of my lifetime.”

Since residing and touring within the truck full-time, Kaye has visited Mexico, each nation in Central America, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile and elements of Argentina. In complete, she’s been to over 20 international locations thus far.

“I don’t want to be a cliché and say it’s a dream life because it’s a lot of work and there are a lot of things that you need to take care of and maintain,” she says.

“But it’s really incredible to be able to wake up and just look at the map and say, ‘Should I go sleep inside this volcano or go to the jungle or go to the beach?’ You have a lot of really beautiful options, so I can’t really complain.”

Kaye stays for the whole thing of her visa in every nation she visits, which is normally round 90 days.

She’s discovered one key factor about herself, Kaye says: She is able to something.

“I grew up with my dad raising me and telling me every day ‘You can be anything you want when you grow up and you can do anything,’” she says. “He was 57 when he passed away, so he never even got to retire. His passing taught me how to live life because you never know how much time you have in life.”

After touring the world for a couple of years now, Kaye would not suppose she’s going to ever transfer again to the US.

“I’m just not interested in living in the U.S. I’m kind of used to a different quality of life,” she says. “I like being able to live in towns where I can walk to get my groceries or walk to go to the doctor and just have an affordable cost of rent, food, entertainment, health care and the U.S. doesn’t check any of those boxes for me anymore.”

Kaye is at present on a break from overlanding and has saved her truck in Argentina, the place it is at present winter. She plans to spend the summer time in Bermuda, a rustic she considers residence since she first visited on the age of 25.

“Everybody [in Bermuda] is so friendly and being social is a key part of life,” Kaye says. “I just love living on an island and being able to go free diving or scuba diving. Bermuda is only 21 miles long and anywhere from end to end you can find a beautiful white sand beach. It’s just a great place.”

Are you prepared to purchase a home? Take Smarter by CNBC Make It is new on-line course Learn how to Purchase Your First House. Knowledgeable instructors will make it easier to weigh the price of renting vs. shopping for, financially put together, and confidently navigate each step of the method—from mortgage fundamentals to closing the deal. Enroll at the moment and use coupon code EARLYBIRD for an introductory low cost of 30% off $97 (+taxes and charges) by July 15, 2025.

Plus, join CNBC Make It is publication to get suggestions and tips for achievement at work, with cash and in life, and request to affix our unique group on LinkedIn to attach with specialists and friends.