Embracing the Senior Nomadic Life: Elizabeth and David Coughlin

Written By: Gail Clifford MD | Published By: GoNomad Travel | November 18, 2021

https://www.gonomad.com/153828-senior-nomads-show-the-world-how-to-travel

Everywhere. Nowhere. It’s complicated. All over. It depends on the day. Who knew there were so many answers to the question, “Where are you from?”

But they’re all appropriate answers from Elizabeth Coughlin and her husband, David.

A self-proclaimed “geriatric gapper,” Elizabeth travels around the world every year, writing and photographing their adventures.

I met Elizabeth at a photography conference in St. Louis. When I heard of her globe-trotting lifestyle, I was intrigued. When I learned how she stayed connected with her family, I thought, “sign me up.” She’s living the dream most of us can’t really comprehend.

Leave our things with family or in storage? Travel with a suitcase and a backpack? When most people are setting up doctor’s appointments, Elizabeth is setting up her next flights. And loving it.

Semi-Retirement

It would appear that Elizabeth and David were inadvertently preparing for the semi-retirement they now enjoy. They met as teachers at the International School of London. Elizabeth taught in International Schools around the world, including Argentina, El Salvador, England, Italy, Malaysia, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, and Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia).

David, Rhodesian born, was a teacher of history and economics, before becoming a director of various schools.  His final job was as an International Advisor to a group of eight Turkish schools in Istanbul. When he retired, they thought it would “be fun to take off and spend time with family before we decided where to spend the rest of our days. We traveled around visiting family, and somehow, we have never stopped.”

They have three daughters, two in Australia, and one now in Abu Dhabi. The latter is the keeper of their household belongings, moved with them when her husband was transferred to Abu Dhabi. When Elizabeth and David retired from their “day jobs,” they began traveling to see their children and other members of the family.

This included regular journeys between Abu Dhabi, Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa and Zimbabwe. It is the impetus behind the nomadic lifestyle.

While they have pensions and own investment property in England, David continues to act as a semi-annual Cambridge Examinations Compliance Officer to ensure schools are running their Cambridge Exams to the standard required, and Elizabeth is a travel writer and photographer.

She’s had several articles published with International Living and an increasing platform writing about photography. And creates a tidy income from her travel photography, increasing now that she’s branched into uploading video. Most recently, she “happened to be in Abu Dhabi” when the Louvre Abu Dhabi opened.

She took lots of images and uploaded them immediately. Her fast action made her the first to have photos of the new Louvre on all her sites. They sold really quickly, which helped even later after other photographers uploaded theirs.

If anyone searches for ‘Most Popular’, Elizabeth’s photos always lead. “Virtually every day, even now, I am still selling images of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, and it opened a year last November.”