The Traveling Wellburys

Yes, you read that right. My fiancé, Jacob, and I left our jobs in September of last year to pursue a full time-travel lifestyle. I was an Intervention Specialist for elementary students, and Jacob was a Civil Engineer. Many of our friends and family thought we were crazy to leave such established careers for something so unknown. Conventionally speaking, they were definitely right to think this. I mean, we were on a pretty good track for a fruitful retirement, but traveling and exploring the world has always been important to us. So, we said “why wait?” and then we went for it.

The story begins in May of 2016. Jacob and I were in college and we took our first “real” trip together to visit his aunt and uncle in Arizona. By real, I mean boarding a plane, traveling across the country, and exploring a new state together. Before this, I had only been primarily to states that border Ohio while on family vacations, with a single exception of Florida.

The minute our plane touched ground in Phoenix, I was completely in awe of the western landscapes. It opened up a whole new part of the world to me. It was incredible. Jake’s aunt and uncle were gracious enough to take us to all of their favorite spots in Arizona, including Prescott, Jerome, Sedona, Horseshoe Bend, Antelope Canyon, and of course the Grand Canyon. You might be wondering why I am telling this story. Well, this trip was a pivotal moment that shaped my love for traveling and exploring new places that I never knew existed, coming from my small world in Ohio.

After that trip, I made it my goal to visit all 50 states within the U.S. before my 30^th birthday. In the following years we started traveling every chance we had. While I was teaching, we prioritized our vacations around all the holidays, and of course as much as possible in the summertime. I was constantly planning for our next destination, especially within the western states that offered a lot of great hiking opportunities. You can always find us on a mountain chasing the views.

A Crazy Idea

I don’t remember the exact moment we started discussing it, but we eventually started tossing around the idea of traveling fulltime and living a more simple and free life. Kind of a crazy idea, right? However, we started saving up money and kept it in the back of our minds.

Then came COVID-19, and the world stopped. We were very blessed to not have been affected by it personally, but it gave us time to think about our future and how we wanted to live our lives. Both of our jobs moved to a work from home schedule, and we got a feel for a better work-life balance. This made the idea of working remotely and traveling even more enticing. In 2020, our idea seemed impossible with the uncertainty of the world, but nevertheless, places gradually began opening for travel- even though there are a few more hoops to jump through now.

Making it a Reality

Towards the end of 2020, I returned to teaching in person, and Jake went back into the office. So resumed our 9-5 routine, and we started passively discussing leaving our jobs again. We were not fully committed to the idea until it came time for me to sign my teaching contract for another year. We talked through the pros and cons of leaving our jobs to travel, and realized there was only one con: we would not have a stable income. We had saved up enough money to comfortably sustain the lifestyle for awhile, and we knew that it wouldn’t be impossible to get new jobs if the need arose.

That was it. We quit our jobs and here we are, living the life we dreamed about for years.

Since we made this decision, we have traveled to Brazil for three months with our friends, ventured through Uruguay, came back to the states for the holidays to visit family, then to Puerto Rico for three weeks, and now we are back in Brazil preparing to go on a road trip through the entire country.

It is definitely safe to say it has been the best decision that we have ever made. We didn’t want to look back on our lives someday and say, “What if we would have tried it?” Nor did we want to go through the everyday motions, working our entire lives for a retirement that is not guaranteed. Then, if you are lucky enough to make it to retirement, you are not assured the physical ability to do the things you once loved. For us, that is hiking, skiing, and just simply exploring all the new places we go.

Words of Encouragement

In conclusion, I am not here trying to boast or paint a picture of how great my life is. It is definitely far from perfect. I am sharing this story to show where we started, and the moments that led to where we are today. It can be intimidating to make such big decisions, especially when you are choosing to give up a career that you worked very hard for. I am not telling anyone they should leave their job, because that is definitely not everyone’s goal. However, if you are not happy with where you are, I urge you to make the necessary changes in your life.

If there is something you have always dreamed about doing, there is no time like the present. Whether your dream is to travel more, open up your own restaurant, or to write a book, time is not going to wait on you. To try something and to fail is better than to never try it at all. Who knows, taking that chance could turn out to be the best decision you have ever made. If it doesn’t work out as planned, at least you cannot say “what if…” in the future. In our experience, it has been life changing- for the better.

Go after your dreams because you are the only one that can make them a reality.

– Morgan

01/2023 Update: We are still traveling the world, and enjoying our lives every day. The video below is our daily journal.

469 Days of Traveling the World

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