![Empty Chairs at Sunrise Empty Chairs at Sunrise](https://www.llworldtour.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Tobacco-Caye_18.jpg)
“…Some think a single girl must be traveling the world to ‘find a husband.’
But that couldn’t have been further from the truth. I was truly happy to travel and be single.
But, I fell hard and fast for CP (for whom I coincidentally and Hollywood-fairy-tale like, had a crush on back in high school)…”
This one’s going to get personal.
My adult life has somewhat been defined by travel. From my first trips to California or Florida as a kid and teen, to my first trip to Europe in my twenties, I reveled in this exciting wanderlust I felt. The only thing I was sure of in life was that I wanted to travel more. While I was working full time as a TV producer, I made it my goal and a priority to ensure I would go on a big (read: far) trip every year. And I did. Each year, during my 2-3 week vacation time, I headed out to places like Tokyo and Greece and Croatia and Prague. But it wasn’t enough. When I returned, my exhilaration quickly turned to depression, as I didn’t want to be back in my scheduled life.
I want to hear from you: How do you feel in between your holidays or vacations?
I longed to be free in the world. There was so much more I wanted to see and do. I filled my days at home with enriching things like learning to play guitar, taking improv classes, tennis lessons, and volunteering as an English teacher and a Chicago tour guide. I loved being involved and learning more about me and about the world. I wanted to soak up all that life had to offer. I didn’t realize it at the time, but it was my way of “traveling” when home.
Travel Around the World
I had no idea this was what I was going to do or even wanted to do until about six months before I actually did it. I knew I wanted to travel more, but, like many, I couldn’t conceive the form that could take. I thought maybe I could try to get a job in Europe so I could just move there. I never set out to be a nomad.
Until I did. I quit my job back in the summer of 2006 (the same time I started this blog), and left the United States that autumn to not return once until 15 months later. I continued to travel in the U.S. and then left again for more world travels and it wasn’t until 2010 that I actually unpacked my bag, got an apartment in Chicago, and put down some shallow roots again.
Part Time Nomad
![Patagonia Lisa Patagonia Lisa](https://www.llworldtour.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Lago-Grey_17-655x436.jpg)
Now I have made travel my life and career. I am immersed in it. I am a freelance travel and food writer/photographer. I speak about travel as well as video and also still do some freelance TV production and video consulting. Many of my new long-term travel friends and peers continue to travel the world with no home base and not many belongings. I love the ‘few belongings’ part, but I know for sure that I like having a home base. I loved my world travels, but I don’t desire to be gone with no home that long again.
I want to hear from you: Do you need a home base or prefer to be totally free?
Slow Travel
![Me in Big Sur Me in Big Sur](https://www.llworldtour.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Me-in-Big-Sur.jpg)
Plus I am all about slow travel now. I don’t necessarily need (or want) the momentum of travel like I did before (the continuous change of scenery and loathsome task of packing and unpacking each week), but I still crave newness and adventure. So, barring the fact that I love my hometown of Chicago and do enjoy returning there each time, that home base could be anywhere really – well anywhere that I like, that makes me feel good, and is aesthetically pleasing to me. For now I travel for a month or two at a time and then return home and it feels right.
Sharing my Life
I have made a conscious choice not to write much about my personal life here. I have made the random reference here and there about relationships, but haven’t revealed too much. It’s a tough balance of wanting to let you in, but keeping some things private and for myself and the ones I love.
When I traveled around the world, I was completely single. I had just left an intense five-year relationship filled with big highs and painful lows. While that was hard, being free and unattached in the world was such a relief. Mostly because, not only was I guaranteed not to argue with myself (well, most of the time!), I didn’t have to “miss” anyone and feel like half of me wasn’t present in the moment. That truly made my travels clear and pure. Because when I am with someone and in love, I give my all emotionally and share my life much more than you may think this independent gal-around-the-world would. But I do. I am loyal and giving and dedicated. I am all in.
It just so happens that upon my return to the U.S., I met and fell in love with someone I knew 20 years ago from my hometown and my high school. Never in my wildest dreams did I think this would happen. I wasn’t really looking. And if I had been, New Jersey probably would not have been the first place I would’ve started. Not only because I’d left New Jersey a long time ago, but because I felt I ‘outgrew’ that kind of suburban lifestyle.
![OBX LL& CP OBX LL & CP](https://www.llworldtour.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/OBX38.jpg)
Some think a single girl must be traveling the world to ‘find a husband.’ But that couldn’t have been further from the truth. I was truly happy to travel and be single. But, I fell hard and fast for CP (for whom I coincidentally and Hollywood-fairy-tale like, had a crush on back in high school – cue music montage).
So now, he is a big part of my life. And that matters to me. Connecting and sharing my life with someone is what it’s all about to me. Life is short and I want to live, laugh, and love.
He couldn’t be more supportive of my travels and hopefully joins me here and there, but I still love to travel alone and he encourages my need for this, so I couldn’t ask for more. So travel is there, but I know for sure, I always want to come home.
Yes – we all deserve to live, laugh, and love! Happy it’s working out! 🙂
Travel + Love = isn’t life grand? So nice to find out a little more about the personal side of LLWorldTour. I think CP looks like a good match. Love the pics!
Munchkin, My heart truly soars for you and that you are “home” at last. xxxooo
Awesome. Continued happy travels Lisa. Love the “slow travel” and “few belongings” lifestyle.
I like this… ” Life is short and I want to live, laugh, and love.” Its so true! Life is short so we need to find what makes us truly happy and go for it!
So nice to hear more about your personal life. Like you, I also need a home base, even though I regularly travel, sometimes with my husband, but often without. Having a supportive partner who “gets it” is so incredibly important. Our relationship wouldn’t work otherwise.
Aaaw, glad to hear you’ve found a partner who supports your passion in life. They’re the best kind 🙂
Mazel Tov, Lisa. You deserve this happiness! 🙂
So sweet! It’s always good to know that there’s somebody to get back home to, isn’t it? You have my blessings 😉
Congrats Lisa!
Congrats Lisa! What a wonderful post. Are you still in Chicago?
xo
Claire
🙂 Awesome!
L-O-V-E 🙂
After my long sabbatical, I learned that I definitely want a home base and prefer slower travel. I realized that while I am perfectly capable of traveling solo, sharing it with someone special is good too.