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Kim Dalberg/travel & income

@dalbergkim

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Chapter 65 🌎 40-yr nurse, retired twice
Van life+wildlife volunteering+global house/pet sitting
Ask me how I fund it 👇

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by @dalbergkim

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2 months ago

I was married for 42 years when I realized something needed to change.

Before I made that decision, I did some solo travel last winter — a trip to East Africa with my daughter. Twelve weeks in Zimbabwe, volunteering as a photographer at Antelope Park. A tour through South Africa. Four days in Cape Town, exploring one of the most beautiful coastlines I've ever seen.

That trip was healing in a way I didn't expect. And it's what showed me I needed to make some bigger changes at home.

So I started building a new life, one piece at a time.

Summers, I explore in my camper van — mostly here in Canada, close to home. Winters, I house and pet sit. I've been a healthcare professional in this town for over 40 years, so people knew me — but I had no formal pet-sitting experience when I started. I just had trust, built over four decades. That trust turned into five-star references, which got me into the Trusted Housesitters program. This winter I have three international sits booked: Ireland, the UK, and the Netherlands.

But it's Antelope Park that really stuck with me. That kind of volunteering — hands-on, with wildlife, somewhere far from home — is something I want to keep doing. I'm already looking at a wildlife sanctuary in Namibia for next winter.

Here's the honest part: chasing these dreams costs more than my retirement income covers. So I went looking for a way to close that gap.

That search led me to Enagic, a Japanese health and wellness company, and a community called Unfold Your Freedom. I'm building a business with them now — still learning, still early — but I see it as the vehicle that can help fund the dream: volunteering with wildlife, wherever in the world that takes me.

This page is that journey. Van life, house sits, wildlife volunteering, and building something new at this stage of life. Glad you're here for it.

👉 Click the link in my bio for more information. by @dalbergkim

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2 months ago

I wish someone had told me this at 40. Which one his closest to home? Tell me point 👇. Follow along if you're building your next chapter. #ihaveavoice
#iamastoryteller #unchartedfreedom #solotravelover60 by @dalbergkim

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2 days ago

My museum of “failures” at 65 (and why I’m not hiding it) 👇

I retired twice. First in 2017, then again in 2021 after going back to nursing during COVID. I thought retirement was one decision. It turned out to be a few. Changing my mind wasn’t failing, it was information.

I never took the opportunity to learn the basics: maintaining my own vehicle, fixing a bike tire, changing a van tire. I could have been learning them all along. Now I’m learning them at 65, one skill at a time.

I didn’t travel on my own from 1983 until November 2025. I kept waiting for the right time. The first trip, to Africa, showed me how much I’d been missing.

My retirement dreams changed, and my income didn’t stretch to cover them. I felt behind and a little ashamed. Instead of waiting for it to fix itself, I went looking for solutions: house sitting, volunteering, and building something of my own.

I moved away from a marriage of 42 years. It was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made. I’m not forgetting those years or the memories, because every stage of life brings you to who you are now. But it was time to move on and choose me.

Every one of these led me here. If you’re 45+ and your retirement isn’t turning out the way you planned, follow along. It’s never too late to blow up the script and build a life your way. 🚐

#unchartedfreedom #iamastoryteller #ihaveavoice by @dalbergkim

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3 days ago

Van life is a science. I'm learning the specs. Tire pressure, checked regularly. Oil level, every single time I fuel up. Roof and water leaks, always watching. Washer fluid, topped up. Oil changes every 7,000 km, on schedule. I'm not perfect at it yet, but I get better every week.

Six months ago I had no idea any of this was on my to-do list. At 65, I'm learning things I never thought I'd need to know, and I love it. This van is how I'm exploring Canada from coast to coast to coast, so it gets the care it deserves.

It's never too late to learn something new and build a life your way. 🚐

What's one skill you've picked up later in life? Tell me below 👇

#UnchartedFreedom #VanLifeCanada #SoloVanLife #RetirementTravel #NeverTooLate by @dalbergkim

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6 days ago

That's me, walking to my van, because yes, my only solution to everything is leaving. 😄

And if you ask for my advice... go. Not away from your life, but toward the one you actually want.

I spent 40+ years as a nurse in my small town, and I'm done waiting for the "right time." There are too many countries, animals, people and adventures out there to spend this chapter waiting for permission.

It's never too late to blow up the script and build a life your way. 🚐

If you're 45+ and wondering if it's too late: it's not. Want to know how I'm funding it? Click the link in my bio.

#ihaveavoice #iamastoryteller #unchartedfreedom ##solotravel by @dalbergkim

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7 days ago

Nobody was supposed to see any of this coming. 😏

I spent 40+ years as a nurse in the same small town. I did the responsible thing, the reliable thing, the "someday" thing. Then I retired, and instead of buying the rocking chair, I bought a van.

Here's what I'm doing instead of acting my age:
🚐 Solo van life across Canada, the US and Mexico
🏡 Four international house and pet sits booked in Europe this fall and winter
🐾 10 weeks volunteering with wildlife in Namibia starting in January

Is it scary? Sometimes. Did I feel too old for it? Occasionally. Did I do it anyway? Obviously.

It's never too late to blow up the script and build a life your own way. 💥

If you're 45+ and quietly wondering "is this really it?", the answer is no. Follow along for chapter 65. 🌍

#ihaveavoice #iamastoryteller #creatorcollege #unchartedfreedom by @dalbergkim

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10 days ago

The moment my life changed at 65 wasn't a big one. It was six small realizations. 👇

I didn't need anyone's permission to start over. After more than 40 years as a nurse, I stopped waiting for someone to tell me it was okay to build a life my own way.

Retirement isn't the ending, it's a second beginning. I retired from nursing for good in 2021, and this chapter has turned out to be the one I was waiting for.

I could travel by myself. I hadn't travelled solo since 1983. It turns out I'm a very good travel companion.

I didn't have to have it all figured out before I started. I'm learning van life and building my business as I go, mistakes included.

Giving back was the purpose I'd been missing. Volunteering with wildlife began at Antelope Park in Zimbabwe, and in January I'm off to Namibia for 10 weeks.

I could live in other people's homes and get to know the world for free. I have four house and pet sits booked in Ireland, England and the Netherlands this fall and winter.

If you're 45+ and wondering if it's too late, it isn't. Follow along as I blow up the script and build a life my own way. ✨

#ihaveavoice #iamastoryteller #unchartedfreedom ##creatorcollege #solotravelling by @dalbergkim

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12 days ago

For years I thought travel was something you save up for. 👇

Saving up for one big trip is bad. A retirement income doesn't stretch to one big splurge, and waiting for "someday" kept me home. Travel works better when it becomes part of how you live.

House/pet sitting is excellent. I have four international sits booked this fall and winter: Ireland, two in England, and the Netherlands. A free place to stay in a real neighbourhood, with pets to cuddle, beats any hotel.

Staying weeks in one place is excellent. Slow travel means you meet people, learn the local rhythm and stop rushing. It's also far easier on the budget than moving every few days.

Going solo is excellent. I hadn't travelled on my own since 1983. If I'd waited for a travel buddy, I'd still be waiting.

Building something portable is excellent. Savings alone weren't going to fund the life I wanted, so I started building an online business I can run from anywhere.

Going where you can give back is excellent. My volunteering with wildlife started at Antelope Park in Zimbabwe, and in January I'm heading to Namibia for 10 weeks. Travel feels completely different when you're needed.

I'm 65 and I stopped waiting. If you're 45+ and ready to stop postponing your dreams, follow along. It's never too late to blow up the script and build a life your own way. ✨

#ihaveavoice #iamastoryteller #unchartedfreedom #solotravel by @dalbergkim

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14 days ago

2020. 2026. 2031.

I was a nurse on the front line when COVID hit. No vaccine yet. No idea how bad it would get, or when — if — life would go back to normal. I remember genuinely being afraid.

COVID ended. It wasn't as bad as I feared. But something else came after it — years I'm not ready to detail here, ones that asked more of me than the pandemic ever did. I won't pretend otherwise. Some things are still mine to hold close.

What I can tell you is what came out the other side. I retired a second time. I started traveling again. And somewhere in the middle of all of it, at 65, I started my own online business — something I never saw coming, built around things I actually believe in: health, wellness, and the freedom to build a life on my own terms.

It's still unfolding. I don't know everything ahead of me yet. But I let myself imagine forward — to 2031, to a version of me who's still traveling, still volunteering, still giving back. Right now in that imagining, she's helping build a school for disabled children in Uganda.

I'm not who I was. I'm not yet who I'll be. I'm just here, moving forward.

#StorytellingContentChallenge

#ihaveavoice #iamastoryteller #unchartedfreedom by @dalbergkim

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16 days ago

Every chapter built the woman writing this one. 📖

At 5, I was already curious about everything.
At 15, I was in grade nine in Cairo, and the travel bug bit hard.
At 19, I put on my first nursing uniform.
At 24, I earned my nursing diploma and spent the next 40 years caring for my community.
In my 30s, I found my most important job: being Mom.
At 45, I was still proving that fun has no expiry date.

And now, at 65, I'm living solo in my van with the world ahead of me.

I didn't get here by leaving those chapters behind. I got here because of them, and because of the people who filled them: my family, my friends, my coworkers, and every patient who trusted me with their care. Thank you for being part of my story. 💛

This new chapter includes van life, house sits in Europe, and wildlife volunteering in Namibia, and I'm bringing you along for all of it.

What chapter are you writing right now? Tell me in the comments 👇

#chapter65 #unchartedfreedom #solotravel #vanlife taken in Dryden, Ontario by @dalbergkim

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23 days ago

No alarm clock. No shift to clock into. Just a lake, a cup of coffee, and however far my feet want to take me today.

40+ years of nursing taught me how to show up for everyone else. Chapter 65 is teaching me how to show up for myself.

#unchartedfreedom #iamastoryteller #ihaveavoice #retirement by @dalbergkim

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a month ago