I left my job to travel—and built a life around adventure

I was always counting down to my next holiday. I made the most out of my three to four weeks of annual vacation, squeezing in long weekend trips to New York, Vegas, or around B.C.—Vancouver Island, the Okanagan, or wherever my wanderlust could take me in the limited time slots.

Even still, my travel bug wasn’t satisfied. I knew I had to do something about it. So at 27, I took a leave of absence from my job, sublet my apartment, and set out to travel for six months. Afterwards, I planned to return to Vancouver.

But, as we all know, travel changes you. It opens up your world and exposes you to new perspectives, ways of life, paths, and possibilities. There’s no defined route to life, and a world of endless opportunities awaits if we just choose to pursue them. I wasn’t even a month into my trip when I knew that I wasn’t going back to the life I left behind. I felt more alive than ever, stimulated in ways that my life back in Vancouver just couldn’t offer. That life was comfortable, but my soul was craving adventure.

I branded my six-month trip with the hashtag #peaceplaypassion (yes, I was inspired by Eat Pray Love) and I travelled the world in pursuit of those themes. I planned to find peace in Rwanda, with side trips to Zanzibar and Cape Town. My soul discovered solace in Africa. True to form, play took place in Southeast Asia and Australia. I danced on tables, I connected with friends new and old, and I lived spontaneously, day by day, without a predetermined plan. Passion brought me to Paris—my first city love—where I allowed myself to get lost in a Parisian fairytale. I wandered through gardens, sipped wine on sunlit terraces, and gazed wistfully at the sparkling Eiffel Tower. I met a boy—who happened to be a jazz drummer—went to his shows, and traded terraces for dimly lit clubs, letting myself live out a romance novel for a little while.

At 27, I was older than many of the early-twenty-somethings I met at the hostels I was staying in, but it didn’t matter; I felt more young at heart, free, and sure of myself than ever before. I let the universe take the wheel and realized there was more to life than being comfortable. Even though I was more financially and professionally unstable than ever before, I felt like I’d discovered my purpose. And it didn’t involve sitting at a desk in Vancouver.

I didn’t go back to that agency job. After a brief stint as a travel editor for a media publication in Vancouver, I knew my travel bug had only gotten more persistent.

Thus began my life as a digital nomad. I was 28, 29, and 30, with a more unpredictable income and uncertain future than ever, but I felt more fulfilled than I could have imagined. I was carving my own path and following my dreams! Along with wanting to see the world and be free, a main driving factor was that I was single and didn’t see the point of sitting back home in Vancouver, exhausting myself on dating apps, hoping “the one” would come along, as they had for many of my friends who were now settling down. Why not take happiness into my own hands, rather than wait for someone who may or may not appear?

So, I travelled! To make money, I freelanced, writing and editing for travel publications, also branching into wellness and sustainability. I collaborated with hostels, creating content and sharing on my blog and my Instagram (which had an audience of 2,000-3,000 at the time), and backpacking around the world. I visited Central America, Colombia, Mexico, Europe, and beyond.

During that time I trekked with gorillas, camped beside an active volcano, bathed in a mud volcano, jumped off the world’s highest bungee bridge, abseiled next to a baboon, cage dived with great white sharks, and scuba dived with manta rays. I braved the Amazon, salsa danced in Havana, drank limoncello in Positano, fell in love in Paris, and ate local delicacies all around the world. I met many older travellers who, like me, were pursuing a different lifestyle—working remotely, running businesses online, or exploring their dreams outside the prescribed paths back home.

I wouldn’t trade my backpacking years for anything. Travel, especially solo travel, is my top recommendation to anyone who will listen. It’s where you truly get to know yourself, grow, and realize how independent, adaptable, and resilient you are when you have no one to rely on but yourself. Travel throws challenges at you that force you to grow in ways an office job or life in your hometown just can’t.

As a nomad, I found myself constantly drawn back to Cape Town, South Africa, which I call my spirit city. Cape Town breeds an active, outdoor lifestyle, with amazing, healthy, affordable food and drinks and endless road trip opportunities. It truly offers a beautiful quality of life. I’m now based in Cape Town, having built a life in this city that happens to be on the other side of the world from my hometown.

During South African winters, I head back to Canada for the northern summers. I’ve done three consecutive Rocky Mountain road trips, staying in HI properties including HI Banff, HI Beauty Creek, HI Edith Cavell, HI Jasper, and HI Athabasca Falls (which we tragically lost this past year to the wildfires). My favourite part of these trips has always been the driving itself. I think back to morning drives to Maligne Lake, where I encountered five moose before 6:00 a.m. Then there are the scenic cruises down the Icefields Parkway, where you feel like you’ve entered Narnia.

My first Rockies trip was in 2020, during the pandemic. I had flown home from South Africa just before the country shut down in an intense lockdown. Travelling was a controversial subject at the time but closed borders encouraged us Canadians to explore our backyard.

I remember feeling hesitant as if I’d forgotten how to be social, unsure of how to approach strangers. But the beauty of hostels is their communal setup; it makes striking up conversations easy. I met a new friend who was on a solo road trip from the East Coast, and we had the most magical morning in Banff, watching the sunrise at Two Jack Lake, completely surrounded by Banff’s resident elk. We were one with the herd. We looked at each other in awe and hugged, just so grateful to be out in the world, in uncertain times but making the most of it. It’s powerful moments like these that remind me there shouldn’t be any age limit to backpacking or hostel travel—they can create some of the most enriching, fulfilling experiences that stay with you long after the trip is over.

Now, at 35, my travel style has changed, but it has in no way stopped. Actually, it has become even more central to my life. My mission is to inspire, empower, and invite others to live a life of adventure. I’m now based where it’s most ideal for me and my business, Adventurelust. I live in proximity to safari parks, as my primary work is organizing and hosting safaris. I have a cute and cozy apartment here and an amazing South African fiancé. After all those solo travel years, I’m loving exploring the world with an adventure buddy. We’ve travelled to nine countries together across Africa and Europe, and I’m so excited to finally bring him home to Canada this Christmas! I won’t say I never miss my solo travel days but travelling with my partner is rewarding in so many new ways.

My life at 35 looks a lot different than I thought it would, but I’m fulfilled in ways I couldn’t have dreamed of while growing up in British Columbia. I know I’m not done yet. My spirit is still adventurous and vibrant and the world keeps rewarding me with every new exploration. It’s never too late to incorporate travel into your life in whatever capacity aligns with you. And to allow your travel style to continue to evolve with you. You never know what opportunities are around the corner—most likely ones you never even dreamed of.