Couple sold everything to travel the world in a boat

(Photo from Facebook/MJ Sailing)

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They gave up their typical life to face high winds and stormy seas… in a boat.

Matt and Jessica Johnson quit their day jobs, sold everything and bought a boat to sail the world. They haven’t looked back since.

In August 2011, the 32-year-olds left their hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan, in their sail boat. Mirror reports that so far the couple has visited 16 countries from South America to the Caribbean and even crossed the Atlantic Ocean twice.

In their former lives, Matt was a sales manager at a car dealership and Jessica worked at an auto insurance company. But one day, they decided to sell everything, including their home, and save up for this life-time trip.

“Our lives were the typical American Dream. Go to school, get married, buy a house, start a career,” the couple told the online news outlet. “So far we’ve also left out the part about having 2.5 kids.”

But instead of kids, the Johnsons decided to add a new member to their travels by adopting a cat named Georgie. The feline has joined the travel adventures ever since and she even knows how to swim.

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While sailing, the couple makes sure to cover every expense from boat maintenance to groceries and they keep track of everything on their blog.

And even being together 24/7 in a confined space is no problem for these two, who make it work. The duo has stuck together through it all and made their relationship even stronger.

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“I think sailing the world has been great for our relationship. There’s no walking away from an argument when one person gets mad at the other…you have to keep working together until the job is done,” the couple told Mirror.

Just a few weeks ago, they sold their old boat and purchased a new one for their new adventures. They’re currently in Indiantown, Florida fixing up boat number two to get it ready for a cruise.