On Us, and Why We Did What We Did

Thirteen years ago, we met while attending Culinary school, and since then have spent as much time travelling the world as could be afforded. Before settling down and buying a house, we spent a year overseas, which included six months working our way throughout Australia, working on farms, tending vines in vineyards, and picking fruit and vegetables. During the time at home, we both enjoy many different hobbies; some of which include hiking, mountain biking, swimming and of course cooking. Mark also enjoys photography, writing, and playing the guitar, while Kylee absolutely adores gardening, and is currently learning the ukulele. Aside from travelling, our number one hobby is what brought us together, and that is food. After seven years owning and maintaining our own home, the time had come to shift priorities and get back to a little more travel, and that’s what brings us here.

With roughly a two-and-a-half year plan ahead of us, we completed any renovations before selling our house, including the majority of our belongings. Travelling had been a significant part of our lives for ten years, so that part was nothing new. Selling everything we own and buying a one-way ticket was the major difference this time around.

Reactions were mixed as friends and family began to learn of our plans, typically less supportive than otherwise. Many questions arose such as “What will you do when you get old? You won’t have anything saved for retirement!”; to which we simply told them that we aren’t simply going on holidays, we’re trying to build a business from the road. We’ve always been told growing up that if you do what you love, the rest will follow. The second most common argument was the result of living in a modern, capitalist society: “Why would you sell everything you worked so hard for?” The answer to this is a little more complex, but still fairly straight forward: People change. The things we once wanted are no longer what we desire, travel is our passion, that’s what we want to spend our money on.

Due to the economic conditions in Alberta recently, Mark ended up taking a job out of town working 14 days on, and 7 off (with one of those off days being his travel day back to work). We quickly realized that this was not the life we wanted, no matter the income. The reason we got married wasn’t to spend the majority of our time apart, it was to be together; it’s awful to see so many relationships stressed in order to chase money.

As for the positive, many were incredibly supportive, though maybe not fully grasping what’s involved in full-time travel. “Wow, you guys are so lucky! I wish I could do that, it sounds like a dream!”. As much as this is mostly true, we are very fortunate to be in the position to take this step; but luck had nothing to do with it. Many people don’t realize the sacrifices required to make this leap, and once committed, it’s not all fine dining, king beds in luxury hotels with white sand beaches. It’s regular ten to twenty hour travel days, with different beds and different pillows every few days - often hard and uncomfortable. Long-term travel means sticking to a tight budget, tight budgets mean questionable accommodation with cold showers, and bumpy overland busses rather than planes - fortunately, this is the best way to learn as you travel. This is one of the main reasons we seek out volunteering jobs, to be able to immerse ourselves in a local setting, learn a little more about how locals live, experience things outside of the tourist trail. Not only that, but it saves us money allowing us to stay on the road longer, while at the same time giving something back.

We love travel and while there is a give and take to every way of life we believe that the choices you make can bring the good to outweigh the bad. Our main goal is to share our story with the world, through writing and photography, in order to encourage more people who may be stuck in a rut, and need a little push to get out and open themselves to the world around them.