My Packing List As A 5 Year, Full-Time Nomad

by A Purple Life, posted in Finance, Reviews, Spending, Travel

It’s finally here! Y’all have been asking me for literal years to write a post detailing my nomad packing list. I put it off because y’all requested, at minimum pictures and ideally video, and that sounded like a lot of work 😉 . But I finally found the motivation so it’s happening! Here is everything I pack to travel the world.

But first, some caveats. I try to only visit places that are 70°F and sunny so my clothing choices reflect that. This is also my latest list, but I’ve been curating and getting rid of things since I started moving every month because I kept discovering that I shockingly didn’t use a lot of things I thought I needed.

I also always book Airbnbs that have a washing machine included and I’m a runner so I wash my clothes every week. That fact also helps keep the number of clothing items I need low.

Also, there is an abundance of other people online who have traveled for months or years and give beautiful overviews of what they packed. So here are those in case you want additional perspectives:

So with all of that said, let’s get into it!

Luggage

These are my bags that I travel with:

This is a 40L Foldable Backpack that I bought for $21 in 2020 and it’s been holding up shockingly well all these years. It also fits US carry on baggage requirements so I’ve never had to pay to check it. Alongside that is my handy Vanguard Tote that I got at FinCon in 2019 which counts as a personal item domestically.

It’s super sturdy and I love repping the awesomeness that is Vanguard and their co-op investment company approach everywhere I go. Inside the Vanguard bag is a Collapsible Osprey Daypack and a small leather purse.

Packing Cubes

The real MVP here are my Eagle Creek Packing Cubes. They’re absolutely amazing and help squish down my clothes to surprisingly small proportions. You’ll see what I mean when I get to everything that’s inside them.

Also, during my years of travel I’ve learned that having bags within bags is super helpful for unpacking quickly and also finding what I need fast. I keep the same items in each bag so I know where they are. A lot of these bags were given to me free as amenity kits while traveling in Business or First Class on luxury long haul international airlines like the below:

Now let’s see what’s inside these bags:

Yeah – I’m not folding everything up to look pretty for y’all. I’m way too lazy for that.

Clothes

  • (3) Short Dresses
  • (2) Long Dresses
  • (1) Sweater
  • (5) Shirts
  • (3) Bras
  • (1) Shorts
  • (3) Pants
  • (1) Scarf
  • (2) Bikini Tops
  • (1) Bikini Bottom
  • (1) Sherpa-Lined Bombas Slippers
  • (4) Pairs of Bombas Socks

Running

Outerwear

  • (1) Hoodie
  • (1) Turtle Fur Hat
  • (1) Collapsible Decathlon Puffer Jacket

Shoes

Gadgets

Toiletries

Beauty

  • (10) Hair Scrunchies
  • (1) Eyeliner Pencil
  • (1) Mini Perfume
  • (1) Ring

And this is all my Dashing Diva nail sticker manicure stuff:

Miscellaneous

Sleeping

Nomad-ing

And in case you’re interested, here are entire posts I’ve written about some of the products above:

Lessons Learned

Collapsible Is Clutch

Having items that collapse is a big space saver especially for something like a winter jacket or a backpack.

My bags before folding…
And after!

Do You Really Need That?

I got to test this question out firsthand with a lot of items over the last 5 years. For example, I bought cute mini binoculars for my new retirement hobby of birding and then realized after a year…I never used them.

Often when I see a bird by the time I get my binoculars (even if they’re around my neck!) the bird is already gone. They’re sneaky like that. So I got rid of my binoculars even though I still am an avid birder. But the same goes for anything. I may think I need something, but if I don’t use it after a few months I get rid of it.

We Live In A (Global) Society

On a related note, when I was originally packing up my life, I tried to keep in mind that we live in a global society where I can get anything I might need and don’t have easily across the world (usually even the same brand…). However, I’ve surprisingly never needed to buy anything on the road. I guess my system is working just fine then 😉 .

Conclusion

And that’s it! Everything I need to travel the world and lessons I’ve learned along the way. As I suspected, this post took a long time to put together so I hope it whet your curiosity and also helps if you’re looking to downsize your packing as well. Safe travels!

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10 thoughts on “My Packing List As A 5 Year, Full-Time Nomad”

  2. This is a fascinating. I’m particularly impressed with the list of toiletries and beauty products.

    Reply

  3. I’m curious how you use the travel towels since you seem to always stay in well stocked airbnbs. What purpose do they serve?

    Reply

    1. They’re my beach and pool towels. I also use them as a picnic blanket and for other situations when I wouldn’t want to unnecessarily dirty an Airbnb’s (usually white and fancy) towels.

      Reply

  4. Wake up babe, Purple’s Packing List dropped!! I’ve been so curious about this, this is great. I need to check out Bombas the next time my socks die out. For the measuring cups– do some AirBnBs not carry those?

    Reply

    1. Lolol! They’re just small measuring spoons (tbsp, tsp etc) and all Airbnbs have them, but they’re often different shapes that are harder to use/get food out of and I find these the easiest to use with all my keto food measuring so I keep them with me.

      Reply

  5. Thank you for this insightful post! I’m on my FIRE journey and your blog is such a huge motivation!

    I’m actually currently looking into getting a backpack. Just curious, does your backpack ever feel heavy/painful during your travel days? I’ve heard a hip belt can prevent shoulder pain, but trying to decide if it’s necessary

    Reply

    1. Of course and that’s exciting! Thank you for your kind words. Shockingly the backpack has never felt heavy or painful – I can even run with it on if needed 😉 . However, the Vanguard bag and having weight on only one shoulder has become painful when combined with a running over-use injury I am trying to fix on my hip/back so I’m reassessing my luggage situation going forward to align with my current health issues. I’ve heard a hip belt can help as well and am looking into that as a possible option.

      Reply

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