For the first 21 years of my life, I’d never been outside of the country. I’d only been on a plane two times. Then one day I found out about a study abroad program that my university offered in Spain – and for some reason, I decided to do it. Before I knew it, I was on the longest plane ride of my life – seven and a half hours from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Madrid, Spain. I landed in the first foreign country I’d ever been to, young, inexperienced, definitely not Spanish-speaking, and in a completely new world.

For weeks I struggled to adjust to life in my new country. I missed buses, ordered random foods, and stood embarrassed in front of grocery store clerks because I couldn’t communicate fully. Eventually though, I figured things out, and then the fun began. One night my roommate and I were sitting on the couch in our living room when I came across an unbelievably cheap train ticket to Valencia the following weekend. We bought the tickets instantly. It was only days following that first trip before we had a massive whiteboard calendar hanging on the wall of our living room, soon to be filled with a different trip planned out for every week from March to August when we left. I spent 6 months of nonstop traveling across Spain and Europe. We would go on a trip, return to the fun of Madrid for a few days, then regroup and pack for the next trip. It was a constant stream of adventure and serotonin – and it was addicting.

When I left Spain to come back to the US, I’d traveled to 10 countries and felt like I’d lived more of my life in those 6 months than in the past 21 years. I had discovered a new passion; I now had the dream – and the goal – to visit every corner of the world. I wanted to see every wonder, learn every language, and cross paths with every person I could.

After returning to the US, I spent my next few years finishing college, setting up a career, and squeezing in trips whenever possible. I took spontaneous trips to Asia, Central America, South America, back to Europe, and again to Central America. Eventually though, I realized that if I really wanted to see the whole world, this wasn’t the way to do it. There are 195 recognized countries; saving for months to cross off one or two countries once or twice a year wasn’t enough for me. So, I made a plan.

First, I need to be able to dedicate several years where I can travel nonstop, without returning home. This part of the plan requires that I sit back for a while, continue my career, make money, rack up credit card points, and travel only when I absolutely can’t say no. Then, after that period of continuous traveling, I need to adjust my lifestyle – instead of living in my home country and sometimes traveling, I need to live traveling and sometimes return to my home country. I like to think that in this way, the world will become my home.

This brings us to today. I’m currently in the saving, planning, and waiting phase of my plan. And it’s while I’m in this period of waiting that I decided to start this blog. This way, I can share everything I’ve learned traveling over the past few years – stories, mistakes, tips, advice, pitfalls, insider info, hacks, traps and everything – with people like you, people who also have that desire to see the world. If there’s one I’ve learned so far, it’s that everyone has their own unique view of the world around them. I’m here to share mine with you.

Coming soon is all the knowledge I have in my traveling experience up until now. And after that, all the knowledge and stories I’ll have in the future as I continue to make my way around the world. I hope it helps you with yours.

-Noah