| Alexis Rae |

Coffee addict. Animal lover. Humanist. Adventure enthusiast. Wannabe writer.

The goal is to live a life that I love.

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I’ve always been a bit, shall we say, restless.

I grew up in Seattle but over the past 10 years I have also lived in Los Angeles, New Orleans and Puerto Rico. I took my first trip abroad in 2012 and it truly changed the way I see the world.

It took me a few years after that to really focus on what I wanted out of life. I went through the ‘my job is my life’ phase for a while. For a few years, that worked for me. But not anymore.

Between trips I have already taken, trips I have planned in the future, and all the adventures in-between, I will share them with you here.

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The original idea was to be to travel for 3-5 months for my 30th birthday. Now, I will be headed to New Zealand for up to 12 months and then off to backpack through the Philippines, Indonesia and South East Asia for a few months.

So when people tell you that you cant quit your job to travel, they’re lying.

However, it does take a little planning.

So how do I get myself in a position where this is a semi responsible move?

Money

I didn’t have a lot of debt. I paid cash for my car and I didn’t have to take out any student loans. So in that sense I was lucky. However, I did have some credit card debt to pay off and a few random other things. This meant some diligence on my part. Making some smart financial choices will go a long way in the future.

It also means finding a way to fund myself. A savings account will be important, but I also need to find other ways to generate income. So figuring out a job that allows me to work remotely (even part of the time) would be ideal. This is clearly a work in progress and suggestions are welcome.

Getting comfortable with being uncomfortable

A huge turning point for me was watching the documentary series ‘Departures‘. A few guys from Canada travel the world for the better part of three years and document all of it. I watched it and thought, ‘I could do that’. Then I watched all the things they did and ate and thought, oh wow, maybe not.

So how do you condition yourself? Say yes. 

I am notoriously guarded, but I am committed to trying new things, new places and new foods. I want to learn to scuba dive and how to sail. I want to learn to speak another language. And I want to be challenged. They say life begins at the end of your comfort zone. So put me in a situation I am unfamiliar with – I dare you.

Get healthy

If I want to be able to hike mountains and carry everything I need on my back, I have some work to do. So I am getting healthy again; eating right and working out. I want to be in the best shape to be able to get the most out of my adventures. Plus, getting ill or injured in an unknown place sounds less than ideal.

Always adventure

I have some things planned for the next year, but even the weekends provide plenty of opportunity. Sometimes the best experiences are right in your own back yard.

I guess the adventure has already begun.