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#Also wondering why he decided to stay in europe not coming to indy or something
theladyactress · 4 years
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Anna Cora Mowatt and the Rumor Mill
It is more usual to think of historians as searching for verifiable facts about historical figures and events. Because this research project is focused on scandal and reputation, I am in the unusual position of being engaged in a search for verifiable rumors and documented innuendo.
I have seen traces many Ogden, Ritchie, and Mowatt descendants in my travels on the internet.  If you make a stop here, be assured that I am not casting aspersions on your illustrious ancestor.  Anna Cora was ruined financially and devastated emotionally by Walter Watts’ crime. Her effort to rebound from this scandal – further complicated by the timing of James Mowatt’s death -- was nothing short of astounding.  I am merely plumbing the depths of the pit into which she suddenly found herself plunged without friend or comfort.
To anyone joining us for the first time, here’s a brief rundown of the Watts scandal:   After Mowatt’s very successful Broadway debut in 1847 as first a playwright then as an actress, she was encouraged by friends, critics, and colleagues to try her luck on the London stage as many American performers had before her to varying degrees of success. Arriving there, she immediately drew the attention of Walter Watts, the manager of the Olympic and Marylebone theaters.  Despite the fact that she was a mere novice, he signed her to a lucrative long-term contract (Even stars players were usually hired only for one show at a time). Watts publicly presented her with expensive gifts and had a deluxe dressing room outfitted for her where he hosted champagne dinners attended by London’s literary and social elite. This jealousy-inspiring treatment came to an abrupt and shocking end in March of 1850 when Watts was arrested for fraud. Watts’ arrest brought to light the fact that he was a clerk for the Globe Insurance Company who had been financing a millionaire lifestyle for over a decade by systematically embezzling from his company. Four months later, Watts hung himself in Newgate prison.
(If you’d like to read more about the scandal and Mowatt’s entanglement in it, this webpage goes into more depth: Touch of Scandal)
The double difficulty in my research into this scandal is that I’m trying to sort out not only what really happened, but what people thought happened. Because of her personal rhetorical approach and the general standards of the times, Mowatt did not directly address the rumors connecting her to Watts. After a certain point in her autobiography, she even ceases to refer to him by name. Her biographers use phrases like, “everyone in London thought” when talking about the scandal, but it now seems like few of those people documented their beliefs. Therefore more than a century later, I am trying to pick up the echoes of a very damaging whisper campaign.
A tidbit I discovered in one of my recent research “finds” is a perfect illustration of the sort of damaging innuendo that may have been being spread tying Mowatt to Watts at the time of his arrest in a manner that did harm to her reputation in England.
The article, entitled “The Forgeries of Walter Watts” appears at the bottom of page 3 in a New Zealand newspaper on November 5, 1892. Walter Watts and James Mowatt had been dead for forty-two years when the article was published. Anna Cora herself had passed away twenty-two years before. Still, this “true crime” story from half the globe away was deemed by the publishers of the paper entertaining enough to devote two columns to -- wedged in between a chapter from a Robert Lewis Stevenson story and a testimonial for the Society for the Cruelty to Animals.  This account followed along the general lines of the narrative that I first saw recorded by David Morier Evans in Facts, Failures, and Frauds: Revelations, Financial, Mercantile, Criminal in 1859.  The narrative mentions all of what I have come to consider the “major” rumors tying Mowatt to Watts; such as the silver urn, the dressing room, the locket, and the silk scarf.  We will devote much time in future blogs dissecting each of these elements at length as they appear in this and other accounts.  However among the colorful details this story adds that I have not seen in other accounts, I want to focus here on the following:  “(Watts) sent the lady’s husband on a voyage to Trinidad…”
Nothing in my research indicates that Watts funded James Mowatt’s trip to Trinidad or that it was the manager’s idea in any way. According to Mowatt’s autobiography, her husband set sail for the West Indies in October of 1849 on the advice of more than one doctor after a re-occurrence of an unnamed neurological disorder or perhaps a growing tumor that rendered him blind in one eye and would kill him before the end of 1850. She says that the doctors thought the warmer climate and the long sea voyage would be good for him.
I have to enter into the record here that this is the point in Mowatt’s autobiography where she has stopped referring to Watts by name. She wrote her account of the decision for James Mowatt to set sail for the West Indies using a lot of passive voice and vague constructions like “doctors were consulted” and “it was decided.”  In the spring and summer of 1849, Watts was presumably still the Mowatts’ friend and great benefactor.  She was giving speeches in public talking about how wonderful Watts was and writing glowing dedications to him in the published versions of her plays.  Watts was Anna Cora’s employer and had access to much more money than the Mowatts did. If he generously offered help fund a medically-ordered trip to Trinidad for the critically ill James and insisted that Anna Cora stay in London to fulfill her contractual obligations, then how could they refuse?
Also, to look at the scenario from the other side, if I was Walter Watts – embezzler and con man, leading a double life, -- who had convinced James Mowatt,  -- ailing, middle-aged, controlling, ex-lawyer husband of my little American princess star actress -- to invest his wife’s life savings in the Olympic theater that I probably had burned down in the spring so I could rebuild with money I was stealing four and five hundred dollars at a time from the insurance company I was secretly working for... You know, I think I could think of a thousand good reasons why I might want him in Trinidad soaking in the sun and slowly dying instead of at a hospital in Germany or Switzerland that specialized in neurological disorders or cancer treatments while I had champagne dinners with his young beautiful wife in her fancy dressing room in London.
Thus you can see that the “(Watts) sent the lady’s husband on a voyage to Trinidad…” statement starts with the firmest foundation of a good rumor.  It is plausible. All the characters are behaving in the manner that we imagine that they might—even when we imagine them to be behaving very, very badly.  
[In a future blog, I plan to discuss the the aspect of rumor in which the spread of scandal is aided by prior negative perceptions of certain classes of individuals and how being an American actress in London fueled the harm caused to Mowatt by the Watts incident. However, we’ll leave that for now.]
In addition to being plausible, another aspect giving additional power to the Trinidad rumor is the truth of this information is knowable. Unfortunately, I’m not saying that I think that I will ever know the truth of the matter, but it is plausible that there were individuals at that time who knew the truth of about whether or not Walter Watts paid to send James Mowatt to Trinidad. When James left, Anna Cora moved in with her acting partner, E.L. Davenport and his pregnant wife, Fanny. They probably knew.  Their children could have known. Members of the theatrical company may have known. Friends of Watts could have known.  This anonymous account is written from the perspective of a young man of who Watts befriended.
Thus the “Trinidad” tidbit is succinctly is capable of confirming a willing listener’s most negative suspicions about Watts’ predatory behavior in the Mowatt marriage and Anna Cora’s either passive or active participation in that interference – depending on how negative one’s pre-existing view of her is. Although anonymous and even only ambiguously non- fictional, the narrator gives himself just barely enough credibility to serve as a plausible source for this information.
And so, my friends, forty-two years after the principals are dead, a strong rumor takes a deep, nourishing breath of fresh air.
The presentation chosen for this account leaves me with several questions that I’d like to share with you, dear readers. How seriously am I meant to take this “Page 3” story? It shares many characteristics with Sydney Horler’s “true crime” version of Watts’ story in his 1931 book Black Souls (A million thanks to Christi Saindon for helping me track down this hard to find volume!). Unlike Horler, though, the anonymous narrator claims to have first-hand insight to Watts’ actions and does not identify their version of the manager’s thoughts or words as fictionalizations.  Do any of you know anything about New Zealand newspaper publishing conventions circa 1890?  Was this section of the paper reserved for light entertainment? Reprints from English papers? Excerpts from books or magazines?
Also, my knowledge of Victorian medical science is thin. Do any of you have more expertise? How valid was the West Indies as a destination for the dying James Mowatt in 1849? I know that neurology was in its infancy and that “the rest cure” was being proscribed for a wide range of psychological and physical disorders of the brain that would be treated with medicine or surgery only twenty or thirty years later, but wouldn’t there be better places in England or Europe to treat someone with something that was exerting so much pressure it was making them lose sight in one eye?
I look forward to your input! Next week – more scandal!
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thedonisborn · 5 years
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Who Are The Goats?
Who Are We?
Thanks for stopping by to find out more about us “Goats”! We’re Nick & Dariece, a 30-something couple from Canada who have been travelling for 8 years. We’re also the adventure-loving, wine-drinking, culture-seeking videographers, photographers and writers who founded this travel blog.
Prior to travelling and starting this website, we were just your average couple, living “normal” lives back in Canada – complete with proper full-time jobs, a fully furnished condominium, a vehicle and all of the other things that we should want at that stage in our lives.
But, we wanted more…
We Started Travelling
We weren’t satisfied with the routine of waking up, going to work, coming home, eating dinner, watching TV, going to bed…and repeating. We felt bored with our lives in Canada and were tired of not having enough time to spend with one another. We were tired of being tired.
So, we booked a typical 1 week, all-inclusive vacation in Mexico together. A vacation that gave us the travel bug.
About a month later, Nick came home from a brutal day of work and said: “If you could travel anywhere for a year, where would it be?” Dariece’s immediate reply was: “Southeast Asia”!
Fast forward 8 months and we had sold our home, our car, most of our possessions and booked a flight from Vancouver to Bangkok. Our travel dreams were about to come true.
We backpacked through SE Asia and the Subcontinent for 13 months. A trip that truly changed our lives forever. We met new friends, learned about new cultures, tasted new foods and experienced things that we never thought possible. From that point on we looked at our lives in a totally new light.
We Need To Be Travelling
After that 13 month trip, our bank accounts were dwindling and we needed to return back to Canada to make some more cash. We were very fortunate to get our exact same jobs back after being away for so long!
But upon returning home, we felt like strangers in our home country, and struggled to fit in. Events and conversations that we used to enjoy and that we used to think were important, now seemed irrelevant to our perspective on life. The trip had changed us and we knew that we needed to save as much money as we could to set off on another longterm adventure.
The 16 Month Journey
After being back in Canada for just 13 months, we had saved enough money to set off on an even longer trip than the first one. This time we visited Europe, Africa, The Middle East, Southern Asia and Northern Asia.
It was somewhere around our 15th month on the road, in the Philippines, when Dariece had a total meltdown. She was thinking about the prospect of returning home in just over a month when the funds would run out.
We needed to figure out a way to earn money on the road – going back to regular jobs in Canada simply wasn’t an option.
Travel Blogging
During the meltdown and trying to think of ways to continue our travels, Dariece read an article online about a guy who made $2,500 from travel blogging each month. So, we figured we should learn how to start a travel blog, choose a travel blog name, and hopefully make money from it to keep travelling 😀
Fast forward to today and this travel blog (and the jobs that stem from it) earns us six figures each year. Starting a travel blog was definitely the best thing we ever did, which is why we aim to inspire and help others (you!) to start one too.
In fact, if you start a blog using the link in this post, we will send you our pro blogging eBook for free.
Teaching English
While travelling, we met many people who had taught English abroad as a way to make money and stay on the road. After we volunteered teaching in a village in Myanmar for a week, we started to think that we would be great English teachers.
While we were travelling around China, Nick sent off our resumes to some schools he found online, and from adverts we saw in hostels. The response we received was overwhelming! We couldn’t believe that so many schools wanted us, especially because we had no formal training or experience.
Within 2 weeks, we had secured ourselves a job at Shane English School in Yangzhou, China.
We taught at that school for a year and had one of the best years of our lives! We made numerous foreign and local friends, learned about Chinese culture, tried some seriously strange foods, and best of all, we loved our little students.
During that year, because we only worked 20 hours a week teaching, we had plenty of time to get GoatsOnTheRoad up and running. The year was spent teaching English for part of the day, and working on our website for the other part of the day.
After one year of teaching, we had saved enough money to travel for around 5 months.
Central Asia & The Silk Road
When we were living in China, we looked at a map and figured that the next logical trip would be to head north through Mongolia and Russia, before veering into Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Iran.
We ticked off an item on our travel wish list – the Trans Mongolian / Trans Siberian Railway! This whole trip was quite the adventure, filled with camping, trekking and fishing. This is one of the least touristy regions of the world and we loved every minute of it.
House Sitting / Pet Sitting
When we were in Uzbekistan, we decided to create a profile for ourselves on the website Trustedhousesitters.com. We were trying to find ways to supplement the income earned from our website (which at the time, wasn’t all that much), and house sitting seemed like a great way to do just that!
Within a month of putting up our profile, we had received a message from a homeowner in the Caribbean. She wanted us to come and take care of her divine dog named Spare on the island of Grenada. The job was for 7 months, with 1 month off in the middle.
It was perfect, and we said “Yes” right away.
Click Here to see all the new house sits available right now on the largest house sitting network online, TrustedHouseSitters.com. There are thousands of houses from all around the world to choose from and looking is free!
  10% OFF HOUSE SITTING!
PAY LESS THAN $9 / MONTH FOR A HOUSE SITTING MEMBERSHIP AND FIND FREE ACCOMMODATION ALL OVER THE WORLD. WE’VE SAVED OVER $20,000 USING THE TRUSTED HOUSE SITTERS WEBSITE!
  SIMPLY ENTER CODE GOATS10 AT CHECK-OUT!
Grenada As Our Home Base
On top of exploring this West Indies Island from top to bottom, meeting new friends, enjoying the company of our furry friend and having a chance to live abroad, Grenada became the place where we grew our website and really expanded our business.
When travelling around full-time, we found it difficult to have any extra time to sit down and focus on what we wanted from our website, which ultimately has become our career, and sole source of income.
We’ve returned to Grenada three times between 2014 – 2017, while house sitting and pet sitting at two different homes. The island became our home base and is a place we love.
6 Months in Grenada & 6 Months Travelling
During those years, we spent half of the year on the island of Grenada, and spent the other half travelling.
2017 – Freedom!
We decided that 2017 would be our year. Although we love pet-sitting and living in Grenada, we wanted the year to be as spontaneous as possible. We were ready to travel when we wanted to, for as long as we wanted to – without any future commitments. Plus, we wanted to be free to go on any press trips should they arise.
We’re really glad we made that decision as we ended up forming some great partnerships with tourism boards in Greece, Argentina, Indonesia and Kyrgyzstan. Had we been “tied down” with pet-sitting jobs, we wouldn’t have been able to partake in those incredible marketing campaigns.
2017 brought us to South America for the first time and we loved backpacking around Colombia, road-tripping through Argentina, chilling out in Uruguay and trekking in Chile.
We flew business class for the first time to attend blogging conference in Istanbul – what an experience that was! The conference was followed up by a road trip through the UK with family, our 10 year anniversary celebrated in Greece, plotting new trekking routes in Kyrgyzstan, scuba diving & living in Indonesia, and travelling around Japan for Nick’s 33rd birthday.
Finally, we rounded off the roller coaster year in Manzanillo, Mexico with almost every member of our immediate families coming down for a visit.
2018 has started and guess what? We’re back in Grenada! We just couldn’t stay away from our Caribbean home for too long…
It’s All About Lifestyle Design
Since starting out in 2008, we’ve travelled to more than 60 wonderful countries around the world. Our passion for culture and adventure has driven us to find numerous ways to make money on the road so that we can continue this life of full-time exploration.
We’ve chosen this freedom-filled, unconventional way of life and we feel that we are completely stress-free, happy and alive. We don’t worry about nine-to-fives, bosses, planning for retirement, mortgages and most importantly… we have no debt.
We love this new lifestyle so much that we started this blog so that we can share it with others. That is why we put ALL of our best money-making tips, travel hacks and inspiration on this blog to show you that this kind of life is possible.
We don’t regret our decision to sell-up at home and live this nomadic lifestyle. Travel made us realize the futility of material possessions now that we’re living out of our backpacks. We’re happier than ever! Everything we own fits into a total of 110L of space.
We’ve gained a new outlook on the world and on life itself. Experiences are what bring happiness, not material things.
What’s Next?
We will continue with our digital nomad lifestyle for as long as it brings us joy. Right now, at this moment in our lives, we’re 100% content. We’re happy to be able to work on our laptops from anywhere in the world, provided there’s a decent wifi connection.
We Hope You’re Inspired!
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 travelling and eye-opening experiences.
On this website we share our financial tips, earning methods and travel stories with you, in the hopes that we can inspire you to live a freer life.
We want to show you how to turn your travels into a lifestyle! If you have any questions at all, please feel free to contact us. We answer every single email. Also, make sure to follow our journey on our social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
Keep your life on your back and get more back from your life – Goats On The Road
FAQ’S:
Q:  Why are you called “Goats On The Road”?
A:  Because no matter where we travel in the world, there seems to be goats roaming the roads! Since the two of us are also on the road, we have since decided to call each other “Goat”…therefore, we are Goats On The Road.
Q:  How can you afford to travel for so long?!
A:  For our first year-long trip in 2008, we sold our house and saved a lot of money from working at our jobs. For our second trip we put ourselves on a strict budget and saved up money from working for a year in Canada. We were able to travel for 16 months on those savings. After that, we decided to teach english in China for a year. We saved $21,000 in a year living in China and that supported our journey through Mongolia, Russia, Central Asia and Iran.
In 2014, a combination of free accommodation from house-sitting and the earnings made from Goats On The Road allowed us to travel and live abroad in Grenada.
Since 2015, this website has been our sole source of income. Financially speaking, we haven’t needed to housesit since then, but we enjoy it 🙂
Q: How do you pronounce Dariece?
A: Der – iece. Like “piece” or “niece”.
Q:  Do you ever get bored with travelling the world?
A:  Absolutely not! There are times when we feel a bit exhausted or overwhelmed from trying to juggle travelling and blogging and need some down time…but no, we’re always excited to see and do new things each and every day. That’s the best part about travelling, there’s always something new around each corner.
Q:  How do you get around?
A:  We’ve probably taken every mode of transportation possible! Our favourite way to get around is by train or by having our own wheels – this is the best way to see the country and to meet people along the way. We often fly and take the bus as well.
Q:  What is your favourite country so far?
A:  We don’t have a clear answer for that one. Each country is beautiful in its own way and has something to offer. However, the ones that stand out in our minds the most are: Thailand, India, Indonesia, Egypt, Mozambique, Turkey, China, Mongolia, Mexico, Italy, Cuba, Grenada and Iran.
Q:  What are the weirdest things you’ve eaten on your travels?
A:  Scorpion, maggot, toad, horse meat, duck’s blood, cow stomach and ox tongue.
Q:  Where do you sleep?
A:  We typically go for a hotel/guesthouse/hostel/hut or some sort of accommodation that is unique, and if possible, eco-friendly and locally owned.
We’ve also slept on plenty of planes, trains, cars and buses.
We’ve had to embrace the dorm room a few times when there were no other options, but when we’re in hostels, we always go for private rooms.
Q:  Have you ever been worried about your safety?
A:  A few times. In Kenya we were held at knife point by a crazy, homeless man. Also in Kenya we were in an archipelago where Somali Pirates were kidnapping westerners. Two other times Nick almost drowned – he fell down a waterfall in Laos and he was sucked out to sea by a rip-tide in Sri Lanka. We were also (possibly) stalked by a tiger while hiking though Periyar Tiger Reserve in India.
Q:  Have you ever had anything stolen or been robbed?
A:  Unfortunately, yes. We had $1,500 stolen from us during our adventures on the Pamir Highway in Tajikistan. We’ve also had a pair of sandals, an iPod Touch and a dive mask stolen. Luckily, none of those things were forcefully taken from us.
Q:  How long will you keep travelling?
A:  We plan to continue to travel and live abroad for as long as we enjoy it. We know that we’ll never return to a normal lifestyle back home, that’s for sure.
Q: Are you going to get married and have kids?
A: You can read all about that in our post – Are we going to have a baby?
Things We’ve Done:
Apart from quitting our jobs, selling our home and leaving Canada to pursue our dream of travelling, we have…
Seen the amazing temples at Angkor Wat (Cambodia)
Seen the prehistoric Komodo Dragons (Rinca Island, Indonesia)
Trekked deep into the jungle to spot wild Orangutans (Bukit Lawang, Indonesia)
Got tattoos in a foreign country (Koh Tao, Thailand)
Spotted rare Irrawady River Dolphins from a dug-out log canoe (Don Det, Laos)
…And so much more!
Happy Travels. We hope to see you on the road 🙂
Nick & Dariece (The Goats)
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wenevrknew · 3 years
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Logan Sargeant seeing his name always get mentioned in the next American Drivers discussion while still wearing that 2020 prema suit
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thedonisborn · 5 years
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Who Are The Goats?
Who Are We?
Thanks for stopping by to find out more about us “Goats”! We’re Nick & Dariece, a 30-something couple from Canada who have been travelling for 8 years. We’re also the adventure-loving, wine-drinking, culture-seeking videographers, photographers and writers who founded this travel blog.
Prior to travelling and starting this website, we were just your average couple, living “normal” lives back in Canada – complete with proper full-time jobs, a fully furnished condominium, a vehicle and all of the other things that we should want at that stage in our lives.
But, we wanted more…
We Started Travelling
We weren’t satisfied with the routine of waking up, going to work, coming home, eating dinner, watching TV, going to bed…and repeating. We felt bored with our lives in Canada and were tired of not having enough time to spend with one another. We were tired of being tired.
So, we booked a typical 1 week, all-inclusive vacation in Mexico together. A vacation that gave us the travel bug.
About a month later, Nick came home from a brutal day of work and said: “If you could travel anywhere for a year, where would it be?” Dariece’s immediate reply was: “Southeast Asia”!
Fast forward 8 months and we had sold our home, our car, most of our possessions and booked a flight from Vancouver to Bangkok. Our travel dreams were about to come true.
We backpacked through SE Asia and the Subcontinent for 13 months. A trip that truly changed our lives forever. We met new friends, learned about new cultures, tasted new foods and experienced things that we never thought possible. From that point on we looked at our lives in a totally new light.
We Need To Be Travelling
After that 13 month trip, our bank accounts were dwindling and we needed to return back to Canada to make some more cash. We were very fortunate to get our exact same jobs back after being away for so long!
But upon returning home, we felt like strangers in our home country, and struggled to fit in. Events and conversations that we used to enjoy and that we used to think were important, now seemed irrelevant to our perspective on life. The trip had changed us and we knew that we needed to save as much money as we could to set off on another longterm adventure.
The 16 Month Journey
After being back in Canada for just 13 months, we had saved enough money to set off on an even longer trip than the first one. This time we visited Europe, Africa, The Middle East, Southern Asia and Northern Asia.
It was somewhere around our 15th month on the road, in the Philippines, when Dariece had a total meltdown. She was thinking about the prospect of returning home in just over a month when the funds would run out.
We needed to figure out a way to earn money on the road – going back to regular jobs in Canada simply wasn’t an option.
Travel Blogging
During the meltdown and trying to think of ways to continue our travels, Dariece read an article online about a guy who made $2,500 from travel blogging each month. So, we figured we should learn how to start a travel blog, choose a travel blog name, and hopefully make money from it to keep travelling 😀
Fast forward to today and this travel blog (and the jobs that stem from it) earns us six figures each year. Starting a travel blog was definitely the best thing we ever did, which is why we aim to inspire and help others (you!) to start one too.
In fact, if you start a blog using the link in this post, we will send you our pro blogging eBook for free.
Teaching English
While travelling, we met many people who had taught English abroad as a way to make money and stay on the road. After we volunteered teaching in a village in Myanmar for a week, we started to think that we would be great English teachers.
While we were travelling around China, Nick sent off our resumes to some schools he found online, and from adverts we saw in hostels. The response we received was overwhelming! We couldn’t believe that so many schools wanted us, especially because we had no formal training or experience.
Within 2 weeks, we had secured ourselves a job at Shane English School in Yangzhou, China.
We taught at that school for a year and had one of the best years of our lives! We made numerous foreign and local friends, learned about Chinese culture, tried some seriously strange foods, and best of all, we loved our little students.
During that year, because we only worked 20 hours a week teaching, we had plenty of time to get GoatsOnTheRoad up and running. The year was spent teaching English for part of the day, and working on our website for the other part of the day.
After one year of teaching, we had saved enough money to travel for around 5 months.
Central Asia & The Silk Road
When we were living in China, we looked at a map and figured that the next logical trip would be to head north through Mongolia and Russia, before veering into Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Iran.
We ticked off an item on our travel wish list – the Trans Mongolian / Trans Siberian Railway! This whole trip was quite the adventure, filled with camping, trekking and fishing. This is one of the least touristy regions of the world and we loved every minute of it.
House Sitting / Pet Sitting
When we were in Uzbekistan, we decided to create a profile for ourselves on the website Trustedhousesitters.com. We were trying to find ways to supplement the income earned from our website (which at the time, wasn’t all that much), and house sitting seemed like a great way to do just that!
Within a month of putting up our profile, we had received a message from a homeowner in the Caribbean. She wanted us to come and take care of her divine dog named Spare on the island of Grenada. The job was for 7 months, with 1 month off in the middle.
It was perfect, and we said “Yes” right away.
Click Here to see all the new house sits available right now on the largest house sitting network online, TrustedHouseSitters.com. There are thousands of houses from all around the world to choose from and looking is free!
  10% OFF HOUSE SITTING!
PAY LESS THAN $9 / MONTH FOR A HOUSE SITTING MEMBERSHIP AND FIND FREE ACCOMMODATION ALL OVER THE WORLD. WE’VE SAVED OVER $20,000 USING THE TRUSTED HOUSE SITTERS WEBSITE!
  SIMPLY ENTER CODE GOATS10 AT CHECK-OUT!
Grenada As Our Home Base
On top of exploring this West Indies Island from top to bottom, meeting new friends, enjoying the company of our furry friend and having a chance to live abroad, Grenada became the place where we grew our website and really expanded our business.
When travelling around full-time, we found it difficult to have any extra time to sit down and focus on what we wanted from our website, which ultimately has become our career, and sole source of income.
We’ve returned to Grenada three times between 2014 – 2017, while house sitting and pet sitting at two different homes. The island became our home base and is a place we love.
6 Months in Grenada & 6 Months Travelling
During those years, we spent half of the year on the island of Grenada, and spent the other half travelling.
2017 – Freedom!
We decided that 2017 would be our year. Although we love pet-sitting and living in Grenada, we wanted the year to be as spontaneous as possible. We were ready to travel when we wanted to, for as long as we wanted to – without any future commitments. Plus, we wanted to be free to go on any press trips should they arise.
We’re really glad we made that decision as we ended up forming some great partnerships with tourism boards in Greece, Argentina, Indonesia and Kyrgyzstan. Had we been “tied down” with pet-sitting jobs, we wouldn’t have been able to partake in those incredible marketing campaigns.
2017 brought us to South America for the first time and we loved backpacking around Colombia, road-tripping through Argentina, chilling out in Uruguay and trekking in Chile.
We flew business class for the first time to attend blogging conference in Istanbul – what an experience that was! The conference was followed up by a road trip through the UK with family, our 10 year anniversary celebrated in Greece, plotting new trekking routes in Kyrgyzstan, scuba diving & living in Indonesia, and travelling around Japan for Nick’s 33rd birthday.
Finally, we rounded off the roller coaster year in Manzanillo, Mexico with almost every member of our immediate families coming down for a visit.
2018 has started and guess what? We’re back in Grenada! We just couldn’t stay away from our Caribbean home for too long…
It’s All About Lifestyle Design
Since starting out in 2008, we’ve travelled to more than 60 wonderful countries around the world. Our passion for culture and adventure has driven us to find numerous ways to make money on the road so that we can continue this life of full-time exploration.
We’ve chosen this freedom-filled, unconventional way of life and we feel that we are completely stress-free, happy and alive. We don’t worry about nine-to-fives, bosses, planning for retirement, mortgages and most importantly… we have no debt.
We love this new lifestyle so much that we started this blog so that we can share it with others. That is why we put ALL of our best money-making tips, travel hacks and inspiration on this blog to show you that this kind of life is possible.
We don’t regret our decision to sell-up at home and live this nomadic lifestyle. Travel made us realize the futility of material possessions now that we’re living out of our backpacks. We’re happier than ever! Everything we own fits into a total of 110L of space.
We’ve gained a new outlook on the world and on life itself. Experiences are what bring happiness, not material things.
What’s Next?
We will continue with our digital nomad lifestyle for as long as it brings us joy. Right now, at this moment in our lives, we’re 100% content. We’re happy to be able to work on our laptops from anywhere in the world, provided there’s a decent wifi connection.
We Hope You’re Inspired!
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 travelling and eye-opening experiences.
On this website we share our financial tips, earning methods and travel stories with you, in the hopes that we can inspire you to live a freer life.
We want to show you how to turn your travels into a lifestyle! If you have any questions at all, please feel free to contact us. We answer every single email. Also, make sure to follow our journey on our social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
Keep your life on your back and get more back from your life – Goats On The Road
FAQ’S:
Q:  Why are you called “Goats On The Road”?
A:  Because no matter where we travel in the world, there seems to be goats roaming the roads! Since the two of us are also on the road, we have since decided to call each other “Goat”…therefore, we are Goats On The Road.
Q:  How can you afford to travel for so long?!
A:  For our first year-long trip in 2008, we sold our house and saved a lot of money from working at our jobs. For our second trip we put ourselves on a strict budget and saved up money from working for a year in Canada. We were able to travel for 16 months on those savings. After that, we decided to teach english in China for a year. We saved $21,000 in a year living in China and that supported our journey through Mongolia, Russia, Central Asia and Iran.
In 2014, a combination of free accommodation from house-sitting and the earnings made from Goats On The Road allowed us to travel and live abroad in Grenada.
Since 2015, this website has been our sole source of income. Financially speaking, we haven’t needed to housesit since then, but we enjoy it 🙂
Q: How do you pronounce Dariece?
A: Der – iece. Like “piece” or “niece”.
Q:  Do you ever get bored with travelling the world?
A:  Absolutely not! There are times when we feel a bit exhausted or overwhelmed from trying to juggle travelling and blogging and need some down time…but no, we’re always excited to see and do new things each and every day. That’s the best part about travelling, there’s always something new around each corner.
Q:  How do you get around?
A:  We’ve probably taken every mode of transportation possible! Our favourite way to get around is by train or by having our own wheels – this is the best way to see the country and to meet people along the way. We often fly and take the bus as well.
Q:  What is your favourite country so far?
A:  We don’t have a clear answer for that one. Each country is beautiful in its own way and has something to offer. However, the ones that stand out in our minds the most are: Thailand, India, Indonesia, Egypt, Mozambique, Turkey, China, Mongolia, Mexico, Italy, Cuba, Grenada and Iran.
Q:  What are the weirdest things you’ve eaten on your travels?
A:  Scorpion, maggot, toad, horse meat, duck’s blood, cow stomach and ox tongue.
Q:  Where do you sleep?
A:  We typically go for a hotel/guesthouse/hostel/hut or some sort of accommodation that is unique, and if possible, eco-friendly and locally owned.
We’ve also slept on plenty of planes, trains, cars and buses.
We’ve had to embrace the dorm room a few times when there were no other options, but when we’re in hostels, we always go for private rooms.
Q:  Have you ever been worried about your safety?
A:  A few times. In Kenya we were held at knife point by a crazy, homeless man. Also in Kenya we were in an archipelago where Somali Pirates were kidnapping westerners. Two other times Nick almost drowned – he fell down a waterfall in Laos and he was sucked out to sea by a rip-tide in Sri Lanka. We were also (possibly) stalked by a tiger while hiking though Periyar Tiger Reserve in India.
Q:  Have you ever had anything stolen or been robbed?
A:  Unfortunately, yes. We had $1,500 stolen from us during our adventures on the Pamir Highway in Tajikistan. We’ve also had a pair of sandals, an iPod Touch and a dive mask stolen. Luckily, none of those things were forcefully taken from us.
Q:  How long will you keep travelling?
A:  We plan to continue to travel and live abroad for as long as we enjoy it. We know that we’ll never return to a normal lifestyle back home, that’s for sure.
Q: Are you going to get married and have kids?
A: You can read all about that in our post – Are we going to have a baby?
Things We’ve Done:
Apart from quitting our jobs, selling our home and leaving Canada to pursue our dream of travelling, we have…
Seen the amazing temples at Angkor Wat (Cambodia)
Seen the prehistoric Komodo Dragons (Rinca Island, Indonesia)
Trekked deep into the jungle to spot wild Orangutans (Bukit Lawang, Indonesia)
Got tattoos in a foreign country (Koh Tao, Thailand)
Spotted rare Irrawady River Dolphins from a dug-out log canoe (Don Det, Laos)
…And so much more!
Happy Travels. We hope to see you on the road 🙂
Nick & Dariece (The Goats)
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thedonisborn · 5 years
Text
Who Are The Goats?
Who Are We?
Thanks for stopping by to find out more about us “Goats”! We’re Nick & Dariece, a 30-something couple from Canada who have been travelling for 8 years. We’re also the adventure-loving, wine-drinking, culture-seeking videographers, photographers and writers who founded this travel blog.
Prior to travelling and starting this website, we were just your average couple, living “normal” lives back in Canada – complete with proper full-time jobs, a fully furnished condominium, a vehicle and all of the other things that we should want at that stage in our lives.
But, we wanted more…
We Started Travelling
We weren’t satisfied with the routine of waking up, going to work, coming home, eating dinner, watching TV, going to bed…and repeating. We felt bored with our lives in Canada and were tired of not having enough time to spend with one another. We were tired of being tired.
So, we booked a typical 1 week, all-inclusive vacation in Mexico together. A vacation that gave us the travel bug.
About a month later, Nick came home from a brutal day of work and said: “If you could travel anywhere for a year, where would it be?” Dariece’s immediate reply was: “Southeast Asia”!
Fast forward 8 months and we had sold our home, our car, most of our possessions and booked a flight from Vancouver to Bangkok. Our travel dreams were about to come true.
We backpacked through SE Asia and the Subcontinent for 13 months. A trip that truly changed our lives forever. We met new friends, learned about new cultures, tasted new foods and experienced things that we never thought possible. From that point on we looked at our lives in a totally new light.
We Need To Be Travelling
After that 13 month trip, our bank accounts were dwindling and we needed to return back to Canada to make some more cash. We were very fortunate to get our exact same jobs back after being away for so long!
But upon returning home, we felt like strangers in our home country, and struggled to fit in. Events and conversations that we used to enjoy and that we used to think were important, now seemed irrelevant to our perspective on life. The trip had changed us and we knew that we needed to save as much money as we could to set off on another longterm adventure.
The 16 Month Journey
After being back in Canada for just 13 months, we had saved enough money to set off on an even longer trip than the first one. This time we visited Europe, Africa, The Middle East, Southern Asia and Northern Asia.
It was somewhere around our 15th month on the road, in the Philippines, when Dariece had a total meltdown. She was thinking about the prospect of returning home in just over a month when the funds would run out.
We needed to figure out a way to earn money on the road – going back to regular jobs in Canada simply wasn’t an option.
Travel Blogging
During the meltdown and trying to think of ways to continue our travels, Dariece read an article online about a guy who made $2,500 from travel blogging each month. So, we figured we should learn how to start a travel blog, choose a travel blog name, and hopefully make money from it to keep travelling 😀
Fast forward to today and this travel blog (and the jobs that stem from it) earns us six figures each year. Starting a travel blog was definitely the best thing we ever did, which is why we aim to inspire and help others (you!) to start one too.
In fact, if you start a blog using the link in this post, we will send you our pro blogging eBook for free.
Teaching English
While travelling, we met many people who had taught English abroad as a way to make money and stay on the road. After we volunteered teaching in a village in Myanmar for a week, we started to think that we would be great English teachers.
While we were travelling around China, Nick sent off our resumes to some schools he found online, and from adverts we saw in hostels. The response we received was overwhelming! We couldn’t believe that so many schools wanted us, especially because we had no formal training or experience.
Within 2 weeks, we had secured ourselves a job at Shane English School in Yangzhou, China.
We taught at that school for a year and had one of the best years of our lives! We made numerous foreign and local friends, learned about Chinese culture, tried some seriously strange foods, and best of all, we loved our little students.
During that year, because we only worked 20 hours a week teaching, we had plenty of time to get GoatsOnTheRoad up and running. The year was spent teaching English for part of the day, and working on our website for the other part of the day.
After one year of teaching, we had saved enough money to travel for around 5 months.
Central Asia & The Silk Road
When we were living in China, we looked at a map and figured that the next logical trip would be to head north through Mongolia and Russia, before veering into Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Iran.
We ticked off an item on our travel wish list – the Trans Mongolian / Trans Siberian Railway! This whole trip was quite the adventure, filled with camping, trekking and fishing. This is one of the least touristy regions of the world and we loved every minute of it.
House Sitting / Pet Sitting
When we were in Uzbekistan, we decided to create a profile for ourselves on the website Trustedhousesitters.com. We were trying to find ways to supplement the income earned from our website (which at the time, wasn’t all that much), and house sitting seemed like a great way to do just that!
Within a month of putting up our profile, we had received a message from a homeowner in the Caribbean. She wanted us to come and take care of her divine dog named Spare on the island of Grenada. The job was for 7 months, with 1 month off in the middle.
It was perfect, and we said “Yes” right away.
Click Here to see all the new house sits available right now on the largest house sitting network online, TrustedHouseSitters.com. There are thousands of houses from all around the world to choose from and looking is free!
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Grenada As Our Home Base
On top of exploring this West Indies Island from top to bottom, meeting new friends, enjoying the company of our furry friend and having a chance to live abroad, Grenada became the place where we grew our website and really expanded our business.
When travelling around full-time, we found it difficult to have any extra time to sit down and focus on what we wanted from our website, which ultimately has become our career, and sole source of income.
We’ve returned to Grenada three times between 2014 – 2017, while house sitting and pet sitting at two different homes. The island became our home base and is a place we love.
6 Months in Grenada & 6 Months Travelling
During those years, we spent half of the year on the island of Grenada, and spent the other half travelling.
2017 – Freedom!
We decided that 2017 would be our year. Although we love pet-sitting and living in Grenada, we wanted the year to be as spontaneous as possible. We were ready to travel when we wanted to, for as long as we wanted to – without any future commitments. Plus, we wanted to be free to go on any press trips should they arise.
We’re really glad we made that decision as we ended up forming some great partnerships with tourism boards in Greece, Argentina, Indonesia and Kyrgyzstan. Had we been “tied down” with pet-sitting jobs, we wouldn’t have been able to partake in those incredible marketing campaigns.
2017 brought us to South America for the first time and we loved backpacking around Colombia, road-tripping through Argentina, chilling out in Uruguay and trekking in Chile.
We flew business class for the first time to attend blogging conference in Istanbul – what an experience that was! The conference was followed up by a road trip through the UK with family, our 10 year anniversary celebrated in Greece, plotting new trekking routes in Kyrgyzstan, scuba diving & living in Indonesia, and travelling around Japan for Nick’s 33rd birthday.
Finally, we rounded off the roller coaster year in Manzanillo, Mexico with almost every member of our immediate families coming down for a visit.
2018 has started and guess what? We’re back in Grenada! We just couldn’t stay away from our Caribbean home for too long…
It’s All About Lifestyle Design
Since starting out in 2008, we’ve travelled to more than 60 wonderful countries around the world. Our passion for culture and adventure has driven us to find numerous ways to make money on the road so that we can continue this life of full-time exploration.
We’ve chosen this freedom-filled, unconventional way of life and we feel that we are completely stress-free, happy and alive. We don’t worry about nine-to-fives, bosses, planning for retirement, mortgages and most importantly… we have no debt.
We love this new lifestyle so much that we started this blog so that we can share it with others. That is why we put ALL of our best money-making tips, travel hacks and inspiration on this blog to show you that this kind of life is possible.
We don’t regret our decision to sell-up at home and live this nomadic lifestyle. Travel made us realize the futility of material possessions now that we’re living out of our backpacks. We’re happier than ever! Everything we own fits into a total of 110L of space.
We’ve gained a new outlook on the world and on life itself. Experiences are what bring happiness, not material things.
What’s Next?
We will continue with our digital nomad lifestyle for as long as it brings us joy. Right now, at this moment in our lives, we’re 100% content. We’re happy to be able to work on our laptops from anywhere in the world, provided there’s a decent wifi connection.
We Hope You’re Inspired!
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 travelling and eye-opening experiences.
On this website we share our financial tips, earning methods and travel stories with you, in the hopes that we can inspire you to live a freer life.
We want to show you how to turn your travels into a lifestyle! If you have any questions at all, please feel free to contact us. We answer every single email. Also, make sure to follow our journey on our social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
Keep your life on your back and get more back from your life – Goats On The Road
FAQ’S:
Q:  Why are you called “Goats On The Road”?
A:  Because no matter where we travel in the world, there seems to be goats roaming the roads! Since the two of us are also on the road, we have since decided to call each other “Goat”…therefore, we are Goats On The Road.
Q:  How can you afford to travel for so long?!
A:  For our first year-long trip in 2008, we sold our house and saved a lot of money from working at our jobs. For our second trip we put ourselves on a strict budget and saved up money from working for a year in Canada. We were able to travel for 16 months on those savings. After that, we decided to teach english in China for a year. We saved $21,000 in a year living in China and that supported our journey through Mongolia, Russia, Central Asia and Iran.
In 2014, a combination of free accommodation from house-sitting and the earnings made from Goats On The Road allowed us to travel and live abroad in Grenada.
Since 2015, this website has been our sole source of income. Financially speaking, we haven’t needed to housesit since then, but we enjoy it 🙂
Q: How do you pronounce Dariece?
A: Der – iece. Like “piece” or “niece”.
Q:  Do you ever get bored with travelling the world?
A:  Absolutely not! There are times when we feel a bit exhausted or overwhelmed from trying to juggle travelling and blogging and need some down time…but no, we’re always excited to see and do new things each and every day. That’s the best part about travelling, there’s always something new around each corner.
Q:  How do you get around?
A:  We’ve probably taken every mode of transportation possible! Our favourite way to get around is by train or by having our own wheels – this is the best way to see the country and to meet people along the way. We often fly and take the bus as well.
Q:  What is your favourite country so far?
A:  We don’t have a clear answer for that one. Each country is beautiful in its own way and has something to offer. However, the ones that stand out in our minds the most are: Thailand, India, Indonesia, Egypt, Mozambique, Turkey, China, Mongolia, Mexico, Italy, Cuba, Grenada and Iran.
Q:  What are the weirdest things you’ve eaten on your travels?
A:  Scorpion, maggot, toad, horse meat, duck’s blood, cow stomach and ox tongue.
Q:  Where do you sleep?
A:  We typically go for a hotel/guesthouse/hostel/hut or some sort of accommodation that is unique, and if possible, eco-friendly and locally owned.
We’ve also slept on plenty of planes, trains, cars and buses.
We’ve had to embrace the dorm room a few times when there were no other options, but when we’re in hostels, we always go for private rooms.
Q:  Have you ever been worried about your safety?
A:  A few times. In Kenya we were held at knife point by a crazy, homeless man. Also in Kenya we were in an archipelago where Somali Pirates were kidnapping westerners. Two other times Nick almost drowned – he fell down a waterfall in Laos and he was sucked out to sea by a rip-tide in Sri Lanka. We were also (possibly) stalked by a tiger while hiking though Periyar Tiger Reserve in India.
Q:  Have you ever had anything stolen or been robbed?
A:  Unfortunately, yes. We had $1,500 stolen from us during our adventures on the Pamir Highway in Tajikistan. We’ve also had a pair of sandals, an iPod Touch and a dive mask stolen. Luckily, none of those things were forcefully taken from us.
Q:  How long will you keep travelling?
A:  We plan to continue to travel and live abroad for as long as we enjoy it. We know that we’ll never return to a normal lifestyle back home, that’s for sure.
Q: Are you going to get married and have kids?
A: You can read all about that in our post – Are we going to have a baby?
Things We’ve Done:
Apart from quitting our jobs, selling our home and leaving Canada to pursue our dream of travelling, we have…
Seen the amazing temples at Angkor Wat (Cambodia)
Seen the prehistoric Komodo Dragons (Rinca Island, Indonesia)
Trekked deep into the jungle to spot wild Orangutans (Bukit Lawang, Indonesia)
Got tattoos in a foreign country (Koh Tao, Thailand)
Spotted rare Irrawady River Dolphins from a dug-out log canoe (Don Det, Laos)
…And so much more!
Happy Travels. We hope to see you on the road 🙂
Nick & Dariece (The Goats)
0 notes