Embarking on a time rich lifestyle, free from the constraints of owning too many things. Writing, travelling and exploring new ventures, taking opportunities and sharing our experiences with you.

Hello and thanks for taking the time to discover Nomadplans. Read on to find out how we arrived at where we are and what we may be planning on doing next!

We are Claire & Kerry Sanabrias, happily married and based in Liverpool, UK. On the 6th February 2016, we made a decision to mix up our lives completely. It felt like it was time to take a huge risk and do something different. We knew we wanted to write, travel, be “time rich,” and dance to our own tune. Also, we wanted to be in a position to welcome new opportunities and take a chance. That’s where our name “nomadplans” comes from. We do plenty of wandering around the globe and have “plans” as such, but we’re flexible and open to ideas! So, what to do next?

Our plan of action…

The “revelation” of what would be required to do in order to become “time rich” was quite actually quite simple.

1. Sell our current house and downsize
2. Resign from our jobs (Me the Deputy head and Kerry the Learning Mentor of a busy Liverpool Primary School)
3. Live in a new way, focusing on the importance of doing what makes us feel content and motivated. Writing, travelling and working on building a new future together, which we are responsible for.

By 29th April 2016 steps, 1 and 2 were achieved, we’re currently embracing step 3…

To anyone “looking in…”

Both in our early 40’s, working in education, owners of a lovely home and a lifestyle envied by most, it would appear to those looking in, that we had it all. And we did. The perfect couple who enjoyed copious “Once in a Lifetime” holidays, eating out, theatre, exhibitions and galleries, fun days out and relaxing times in. We did have it all but had to pay the price.

And the price was too high…

Education, at times a thankless task. Ever moving goal posts, scrutiny, criticism, responsibility, accountability and too few “well dones…”
A lovely home, which we left at 7 am and returned to after 6 pm. So, unfortunately, not much time to enjoy it. Out at weekends and away for holidays… The house required the usual cleaning, maintenance, gardening and enabled the acquiring then sorting of “stuff!”

Inevitably, fresh air and daylight, it felt, particularly during winter were in short supply. We both found it difficult to “turn off.” Working in the same school had its advantages but strict, “no more work talk” rules had to be enforced!

We both needed to prioritise with our health. It had become all too easy to take comfort in food and drinks after a difficult day at work. Lack of sleep and falling energy levels often thwarted our best intentions. A cycle of weight gain, diet and weight gain prevailed.

On a positive note…

The perfect couple element of our lifestyle is true! We are very much in love, happy in each other’s company, relaxed and content. We’re able to spend all our time together and just be… So on that basis, it was easy to see that our future lay in creating something together. To be answerable to just each other, to take control of those things that had previously held us back and forge a new “time rich” lifestyle.

We wanted to be open to invitations, suggestions and new opportunities, spend more time outside – living. We decided that working for 25 years or more, in the same line of work, was for us, no longer an option. Working in education had previously enabled us to build a lifestyle we thought we wanted, but the payoffs and gains became less and the stresses and strains so much more.

In a play I was listening to, one of the characters, just released from prison said: “Most normal people live in a cell of their own creating.” This resonated with my fears and spurred us into action.

The flip side…

No longer having a guaranteed income. Freezing our pensions and currently contributing no further, could potentially be an issue. Building our own business…terrifying! But gaining health, freedom, choices and options, taking control of our situation and doing it all again, differently? Was that the way forward?

Pressing the reset button…

It feels like we’ve reset our life and have given ourselves a second chance. Yes, we’ve got less stuff, but how freeing that whole experience was. I mean who needs 2 rebounders, squash, badminton and tennis racquets, ice skates, roller blades, a swing ball, 5 kettlebells, a thigh trimmer, hula hoop and punch ball? Possibly someone who enjoys doing sporty things! Which we’re working on, well planning on working on! All gone, all sold… and that was just in the small “exercise” section of our huge shed…

We were also extremely lucky that everything fell into place. I love the story of the Alchemist by Paulo Cohelo and the idea that the universe conspires to help you once you have chosen your path.

Taking time to “pause…”

There is a lot resting on what we do next, but initially, it was important for us to unwind. It took time for the enormity of our decision and the results to sink in. Being in education for so long, set routines and the chaos of school life meant our minds were never still. There was little time to consider how we could implement the changes we discussed, leading to feelings of failure. So after a resting period, followed by a fabulous road trip, it was time to up our productivity and set the alarm!

So far, I have written a children’s book which I had always wanted to. I’m hoping to find an agent and I’m proud to have started and finished something I set my mind to do. We’ve both lost nearly 4 stone, so feel a thousand times better, confident and ready for action. We’ve been on several road trips, learning to see holidays in a different light, they’re now blog opportunities for us and information for you!

The irony of our story, for me personally, as I often used the quote;

“If you don’t know to which port you are sailing, no wind is favourable” and yet here we are… nomadplans as yet!

Pressing “play…”

Well, actually, you are here, reading our story and hopefully discovering something you like on our website. Our plan to design and set up a blog, where we could write about our travel and lifestyle experiences and interact with likeminded people gets a tick, it’s a big part of our plan.

You can also find us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter… which I’m learning to embrace having previously been highly anti-social media. (I think this stems from my safeguarding role whilst working in education…)

Kerry has been brilliant at designing our website. She has patiently overcome all the usual technical issues and has, in my opinion, utilised her excellent eye for design and photography. I have got my head around all the jargon and discovered my usual style of writing, “needs improvement” when it comes to content writing! At first, I wondered about ignoring yoast… why should I write in an “active voice” and shorten my sentences? It like I was back at school, replacing OFSTED and requiring improvement, with yoast and red markings!

But, it is all a learning curve and about admitting you don’t know everything. We did after all want to learn something new…

Thank you for taking the time to read our story, if you are interested in the different types of posts we write TAKE A LOOK AROUND our site.

Claire & Kerry Sanabrias

Any ideas for a port?

Oh, and before you go, If there is something you feel we could help you with, or you have a suggestion, project or task you would like us to consider please get in touch!

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