BootsnAll Travel Community

Hello All

First post for me, so quite an appropriate place for it to be located.

My name's David, I’m from the UK, living in London and aged 29 :/.

I had been saving up money to try and climb on to the property ladder in the ridiculously over priced London market, but I’ve seen the light!! I have decided I’m going to take at least 12 months out of the London rat race, to try and discover more about myself, and the people who I’m fortunate enough to share this planet with.

I haven’t had a decent holiday in years, but I’ve spent time in different countries in the past (Oz, 12 months & Holland, 4 months). I’m looking at travelling to Central and South America, and South East Asia but I’m trying to not have too many set plans, we’ll see how that pans out.

I’ve enjoyed reading your intros and I hope to pick up sound advice from this top website! Thanks for letting me join.

Dave

Hi All! My name is Tim, and I live in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.

I traveled with my family (dad, mom, 2 older sisters, and 2 younger brothers) every summer as a kid. We camped and visited family/friends all over the U.S. and Canada. So, I was hooked on travel at an early age. When I was in high school, I went on my first canoe trip in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Northern Minnesota. This broadened my notion of travel to include the "take only what you can carry on your back" kind. I also worked for an outfitter on the edge of the BWCA during one of my summer breaks from college at the University of Minnesota.

The year after I graduated from college was truly a transitional year for me. Not finding a job in my major (Recreation Resource Management) immediately, I got a seasonal job at a department store (to pay the bills), came out as a gay man, and met a wonderful man, named Dan. Fast forward nine years, and I still work at the department store -- although I'm now putting my research, computer and statistical skills to use in their Guest Research department -- and I'm still with Dan. We live in a small apartment in Minneapolis.

Dan and I have taken many camping trips around the U.S. and into Canada, as well as canoe trips in the B.W.C.A. We were working toward paying off our debts and travelling abroad. But, recently Dan switched jobs and lost his vacation time, which has limited our recent travels to short and local camping trips. We have, however, paid off our debts and are saving every penny we can so that we can quit our jobs and do some serious exploring of the world! We haven't set a date for our departure, but are getting excited for the day we can say goodbye to corporate America.

Where that road will take us, we're not quite sure. But, we're looking forward to wander down it!

Take care, all!
Tim

Hello,

I thought I'd start off my first post on these boards by introducing myself here. My name's Peter, 25, and I'm a born and raised New Yorker.

I forget how and when I stumbled upon this site, but it was a couple of years ago when I was preparing for my first trip to Europe. Having come back to the site every now and again since, I finally decided to join the community because of the diversity, friendliness and camaraderie that is so evident here.

I have always loved to travel, and have been to many places in the U.S. (over half of the states) and some parts of Canada. It wasn't until two years ago, however, that I finally exited the continent and went through Central Europe with a couple of friends of mine after our college graduations. It was an amazing experience that really opened my eyes to the greater world around me. Ever since, I've been stricken by a terrible case of wanderlust that never seems to go away.

I graduated from NYU with a business degree, but I am not putting that to use at all. I've been working as a Web developer for the past five years. I guess you can say I'm going through what they call a "quarter-life crisis." I'm still trying to figure out what it is I want to do with my life. The latest leanings are towards a return to graduate school to study Politics, and maybe from there, a career in international relations.

Until I figure out what I'm doing, I'm taking the opportunity to do as much traveling while I can. Last year, I did the traditional European tourist spots of London, Amsterdam and Paris; later in the year, I went West and visited Vegas, Zion and Bryce. This year, I've been to Texas and San Francisco, I'm heading back out to California later this week, likely road tripping it to Maine (Acadia) in the fall, and hopefully hitting up Asia (my homeland) for the first time next spring.

Okay, that's really a lot longer intro than I intended. I look forward to having great travel talks with all of you. Oh, and if any of you are ever in NYC, drop me a line!

Peter
--
http://www.syntheticlife.com

About time I say hi! I’m Karin,27, from Gothenburg, Sweden, currently living in Atlanta. How did I end up here? Well my restless little soul first got the sweet taste of adventure and traveling at the age of 19 when I took the chance to go to the States and work at a camp for the summer. Ended up in New Mexico for about 3 months and enjoyed it so much that I returned two years later for another summer among spoiled brats and wild horses.

Not knowing what I wanted to do with my life and some difficulty with finding a job in Sweden brought me to a studfarm in Normandy, France where I helped raising some of the future stars on the racetrack. Being stuck on a farm for a while was the best way for me to save some money and I finally got the chance to do what I had always dreamed of ever since I did my first school presentation about koalas and kangaroos… I packed my backpack and said my bye byes and went down under for 3 months. Might not sound huge to some of you out there but to me at that time it was a big step. I’d love to go back someday for some more adventure.

I thought that it was time to grow up and get an education…. Since I enjoy traveling so much and meeting people I decided that the hospitality business would suit me perfect. I did a one-year course back in Sweden before I went to University Center ‘César Ritz’ in Brig, Switzerland. That’s a big melting pot with people from the whole world stuck between the Valais mountains. It was an experience and it brought me to Scotland for half a year and now finally to Atlanta where I’m doing an 18 month internship at a hotel. Once I get some time off I plan to get out of this town and explore the country, hopefully back to NM and see if it’s all the same.

Where to next?? I wish I could bring out my crystal ball and see my future but I guess I just have to wait. I like Atlanta so far but I don’t know what possibilities I have to stay. I do miss Sweden though but I don’t seem to find enough reasons to stay there yet.

You won’t see me making inputs every day here but I’m around….

Hey folks,
First post for me as well so what better place to put it!

My name is Dan and im 22 from Essex in the UK. Im currently saving like a mofo to go off on my travels with one of my pals who i beleive posts on here, mattymcshane or whatever he calls himself! Currently working in London but only til the end of september when we head to the US, the Fiji, NZ, Oz and then possibly coming back through SE Asia and then on the trans-Sib Express. Cant wait! I havent done much travelling before but doing a few jollies round Europe before I go so it doesnt seem too "in at the deep end"! Am looking forward to see what the rest of the world has to offer and meet heaps of new people whcih im sure i will!

Im into soccer and love clubbing/djing/dance music in general, diving, sailing and most other watersports!

Hello hello,

Name's Dan from Florida, USA. In the planning stage of a RTW trip set to take off early next year. Have been on a couple surf trips, and a 3 week vacation to Europe, but no "real" travel just yet. My plan is taking me to S. America, Europe, Africa and Asia.

Hows it going?

I'm Barry, living near Dublin in Ireland. Found BootsNall while researching next trip - to Tanzania; a few days safari, then out to Zanzibar.

Totally different vibe here to the ThornTree - v easygoing! Love to travel in any way possible; and have had some great experiences over the years.

Have visited almost all of Europe, been on the well beaten track in the US (in terms of cities - NY, Chicago, Orlando, SF, LA, San Diego, Las Vegas etc; and Grand Canyon), Barbados, Dubai, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.

Getting ready to be an Olympic junkie for next fortnight, love sport, love TV, and current affairs. Look forward to sharing info on this site.

I have been to the top of the mountain, and it is good.

Hi, I've been on the boards for a little while, making the odd comment here and there. I've travelled in europe alone and with buddies I met along the way, and I'm leaving in about a month for a 5 week solo trip to egypt.

I've been doing crazy research on egypt in preparation, and contacting a few insiders from this site. Please email me and tell me your experiences if you've been there recently. I'm pretty nervous about going there alone.

Hi all,
I've been part of the BnA family for years, but have been keeping a pretty low profile. But now that I've quit my job and am leaving on my RTW trip in 4 1/2 weeks, it's time to shout it out!

My name's Amy, and I'm a travel book editor in the San Francisco Bay Area. I've lived in Northern California for just over 7 years, but am originally from the east coast.

I've been to 48 states (I think), Mexico, Canada, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Thailand, and Laos. And I've been dreaming about extended travel for a long time and can't believe that after much planning and saving it's actually happening! Right now I'm planning on going to South America, India, SE Asia, London, and Africa, and will be meeting up with a few friends for brief stints along the way. I've never traveled alone, and never gone anywhere for more than 3 weeks, so this is a whole new adventure.

I hope some of you will follow along on my blog, The Nomad Chronicles. I've read so many other people's blogs over the years for inspiration and information--I hope I can give back in some small way!

See you on the boards or on the road,
Amy

Hello,
My name is Heather. I'm a stay at home mom, for lack of a better title. I am 29 years old, married and have a 6 year old child. My husband works at a local piano retailer delivering pianos. We live in the Washington, D.C. area.

Over the last couple years we have travelled to some pretty great places. The western desert of Egypt is my favorite!!!

Currently we are getting ready for our first RTW trip. We plan on being away for at least a year, but it's more, when the money runs out then the time.



http://threewebe.typepad.com

hello

My name is Kimberly. This is my first footprint, appropriately stomped on this thread. I really enjoyed everybody's story.

Well I am one of those people that has a split personality- New Yorker versus world traveller. Definitely took the Robert Frost fork in the woods epiphany seriously at a young age, but there was a multitude of forks and I guess I chose the one that was less taken but still managed to put a semi permanent roof over my head while I eeked out some fiction; and now at the Lance-like ascent into my mid thirties I am starting to doubt that turn I took way back when. So I am searching for a happy medium, often times amongst the likable likes of this community. I still travel a ton, and am leaving for a ten day escape to the pac nw, but I am gearing up for my first rtw within the next year.

I have the travel bug bad, viral-like conditions, and I frequently need to flee the city. Sometimes I feel as tho I'm only a function. I am a series of habits, routine and rote. And that's when I get the itch to travel the world and relate to it, live in it, discover it. Hokey stuff, I know, but there you have it.

Well My name's Mike, and as you can probably guess from my handle or name or whatever it is called, I'm from Canada.I'm 16 now, so my travel history isn't as extensive as most people's on here, but more so then some people my age. When I was 6 my family moved down to the Turks and Caicos where my Dad was President or in charge or something of building what is now the Beaches resort in Provo. We lived there for two years and I got the chances to meet alot of locals as well as travellers coming from all over the world. We moved back to Canada and since then I hadn't done much travelling until I went to Costa Rica with EF tours and my school. Getting out of the hotels, and the big cities and seeing the way the majority of the country lived their life and also experiencing the rainforest on horseback was unbelievable, and probably is the cause for my reignited love of travelling. This coming march break I am going to Mexico with EF tours again to see all the mayan and aztec ruins and hopefully experience the culture as well. next summer I'm going backpacking in Europe for a month as a way to celebrate being out of high school. I'm hoping on starting university and travelling as much as possible during that time, but after reading so much here, I'm thinking maybe travelling all the time and schooling whenever possible.

Howdy, my name's Jason from Oak-town California. I've posted a couple times but have mainly just been lurking, soaking up information.

I just ended five years straight of staring at a computer screen in a cubicle! Ah, being jobless feels good! My wife and I are going to spend September driving cross country to New York are leaving from there for our first RTW trip. We're going to England, Egypt, India, most of SE Asia, China, Korea, and Japan. Depending on what we think of E. Asia, we may try to get jobs teaching or something, and hang out for a year or two.

i am jane ng, from singapore. chanced upon this site while browsing around for information for England, as i am planning a trip there. i would be travelling alone, first time ever, and really excited about it.

i am currently a school teacher in a junior college. love travelling because i want to know what other countries are like, the lifestyles and habits. not into the sightseeing and tourist-must-see kind of stuff. want to check out rural and countryside landscape.

what else do i do? i love figure-skating with a passion, and am also learning jazz dance at the moment. i love to see the grace of human bodies moving to music. really awesome!

Hello All.

My name is Brad and I’m in Portland. I came across the site because of the original bootgyrl and her love of cycling. I was having a party to watch the TDF and started talking with Court. So I have gotten to meet most of the staff and a couple of members. I enjoyed them and their stories and thought that I would join up. Strange since I have not done much traveling.
Most of the travel that I have done has been around the USA and parts of Canada. I do plan to try to head to Europe in the coming years to hit some bicycle races. Not sure what ones…but I do know that we have talked about doing one of the tours that follows one of the grand tours (Tour de France, Tour of Spain, and Tour of Italy). And we (family and friends) are also planning a hut to hut mountain bike trip for next year.
The last trip that I took is one that I feel that I am still on. About 20 months ago my life took a little turn and this is something that I have been dealing with every since. It is amazing the journey that your mind can take you on while you are questioning most everything that you know. The trip has slowed down a lot, but it is still going on and most likely will for a long time. Vague, I know. Just e-mail me bustedbrad13atyahoodotcom and I will tell you the story since it really has nothing to do with actual travel.
Other than that…I like to ride my bicycle, snowboard, drink (yeah….just about anything) read, listen to new music, play with my friends, and just try to live life in a good way.

Peace and Love.

BB

Hi! My name is Joey i'm 24 yrs old from Tampa Florida... I just stumbled upon this website through my search for a better understanding of vagabonding and long-term world travel. I have done one solo trip so far and that was to Prague by way of London and I spent 10 days which was obviously not enough! ... I have been interested in travel ever since I was very small when my grandfather taught me all the state capitals and then my parents purchased Where in the US (World) is Carmen San Diego and from that point on I just continued to learn about the world. I am currently a student at community college here and have no clue what I want to other than that I need to start learning! I just recently started realizing that RTW travel is possible at a young age and I am so glad I found this forum to share stories and tips as well as gain knowledge for future trips. I find it so amazing that some of you are actually on your RTW trip right now!! ...

I am fascinated with parts of the world that I know little about... the less I know of a place the more I seem to want to go... or the more other people see a place as dangerous I tend to lean more to it.

My dream trip would include central africa and south east asia.

Take care!
-Joey

Hi everyone!

My name is Kathryn and I'm a 22 year old from Southern California. I recently graduated from university with a degree in electrical engineering. One of my friends invited me on a post-graduation trip to Europe (she wanted to do a Contiki tour). She then flaked on me, which turned out to be one of the best things ever to happen to me. I decided to do a trip on my own and ended up backpacking through Europe for one of the greatest experiences of my life. Until then, I had been under the impression that women shouldn't travel solo.

Since then, I've lost interest in getting a 9 to 5 engineering job and am now applying to teach in Japan. I'm hoping from there to explore other parts of Asia. I eventually want to do an extended RTW trip (if I ever get the money saved up). I love reading stories from all of you that have done them.

Other than traveling I love reading, hiking, music of all kinds, and math (yes, I'm a geek).

Looking forward to talking to all of you,

Kathryn

Well for starters my name is Jake.
I am 20 years old and grew up in rural Indiana just outside of Chicago. I have traveled extensivly over 42 states as well as short trips to Costa Rica, Mexico and Canada. I now reside in Arizona and I dont suggest spending any considerable amount of time in Phoenix. I leave on Sept 6th for Brazil and my return date is Christmas Eve. It has yet to be decided if I will stay in brazil or trapeze around South America but if you want to drop me a line and meet up for a drink somewhere let me know. This travel community is not my primary home. My travel family is on a site called travelpunk.com It's worth checking out. About as different from here as Thorn Tree was. Except much more loving than thorn tree. Anyways I am just looking for some more insights on permenantly living overseas and totally appreciate all ya'lls!

OK, lets see if anyone can read all these biotopics. My name is Shanti Marthaller, and I grew up in portland.

When I was five my family took up, and traveled around the US for a year. I think this is where I fisrt gaot a little of the bug. then I traveled quite a bit around the western US as a kid.

In high school, I joined the volunteer group Amigos de las americas, and lived in Costa Rica for two months.

That is where I got my bug. since then it's always in my mind. But it wasn't in the front. I did some minor traveling in college, mainly road trips, but also a week in jamaica, and then atthe end a road trip across the country.

Then my thirst for travel got larger. My plan was to go work abroad, hopefully Spain. While looking in to this, I found out that was mostly imposible. I then tried to get into the austrelia program, but it was full, and canada was the only abroad program open, and I wanted to go further.

So after almost giving up, I was offered a job in the USVI, on St thomas. I jumped at this opertunity. I was there for six months. that was it, I was hooked.

After that experience, I started taking trips to europe, and I'v been going for at least a month, for the last four years.

Now I'm on the greatest of all adventures, first a year in new zealand, then the world.</p>

Ok Guys.. don’t know how I missed this thread but its about time i said my bit.

My name is Mark (obviously!), I'm 27 (I think!) getting on a bit anyway. I live in Brighton, England, where I went to University and lived ever since.

I was brought up in a small town in Essex, left school aged 16 and got a job which I chucked in three years later when I was given the opportunity to go and work in India, (This is where my travel bug began!) I stayed there for about 4 months when I had to return home to go to University (this is where debt took over and my travel aspirations got put on the back burner)

Anyway now 4 years on from finishing Uni, I’ve cleared the debt and managed to get enough funds together the big trip. During the 4 years I have managed a few short trip to Europe but last year went back to India (Goa) and got ‘the bug’ again. I’m leaving Sept/Oct 2004 off to India 4months, S/E Asia 6 months then on to Oz hopefully to get some work.

Hopefully meet some BnA members en route!