About …

Hi! Hola! What going on? … I’m Rishi

I’m a travelling “semi-retired” dad and husband in his mid to late thirties  early 40’s with a passion for travel, culture, cooking & gardening. I have been to 99 countries and am always the verge on planning my next trip. I grew up in Chaguanas, Trinidad but spent my university and working years between Montreal and Toronto, Canada. I am currently an aspiring gardener, cook, AirBnB entrepreneur (You can find our 5 houses listed here) , professional wedding planner, housesitter and finally “Etsy Bitch” for the wife’s business here in Prince Edward Island, Canada.

It’s October 2019 and we’ve since added another one to our cliche brood ..A*

How did I end up living in PEI? Well it came through a long winding road of being an IT consultant for three of the Big 4 firms (IBM, Accenture and Deloitte) and then realizing that with all my travelling, hospitality and cultural experiences, it could be parlayed into setting myself free from the 9-5 machine. (This is now an actual thing defined as “FiRE” – Financial Independence, Retire Early)

I don’t have the secret sauce to setting yourself from the machine … in many ways, my family is living through an experiment here on the island. That being said, I’ve learned a lot from my years of globe trotting along with figuring out how to afford travel as a Trinidadian on the road. My friends have also travelled with me and have very unkind things to say about the experience … it’s always funny to read your friend’s opinions about you.

Why I left the warmth of Trinidad for the cold of Prince Edward Island?

In Trinidad, we have a saying that goes like this “Trinis are like salt — they in everything”. So it should not come as a surprise that the more you travel, the more you find that there are Trinis in the most far-flung, least-expected places.

Leaving Trinidad for Canada wasn’t really much of a choice as the opportunity to attend McGill University would always open more doors than any generic degree from the University of the West Indies in Trinidad. As the years have passed, I marvel that coming from Trinidad never prepped me for the adventures or experiences that would come along my way. That being said, I’m still at heart a Trini and I miss the experiences I grew up with … but I recognize that Trinidad isn’t the same place I grew up in. I’ve been to over 90 countries and always visioning the next trip.

How do you afford all the travel?

For most people from the Caribbean, this is an often asked question as access to the financial resources for travelling aren’t as easily accessible for the average person.

In the end, it’s all about perspective. Affordability of anything all depends on simple math. If you are good with very simple things, then you can afford all simple things. If you like drinking $600 bottles of 30 yr old Highland Park, then you’ll need to find a lot more money for your tastes. For a more detailed description of my approach … you check out this post.