Welcome to The Weekend Jetsetter! My name is Anna Rice and I’m a technology public relations professional who is traveling California and the world on weekends. I’m sharing my journey as I balance a demanding job with an exciting life off the clock, and saving money along the way.
Many years ago, I fell in love with travel blogs. The life of a travel blogger seemed so glamorous: working from the beach in Thailand, partying at hostels all over Europe and hiking in Peru. The traveling full time thing seems pretty amazing, right?
But traveling full time isn’t for everyone.
First of all, not having a permanent home that I can come back to, dump the contents of my suitcase on the floor and ignore for two weeks between trips sounds pretty stressful. I don’t have tons of belongings, but living out of a suitcase seems less than ideal. Plus, the idea of cooking in hostel kitchens totally grosses me out.
Second, I kinda like my job. Sure, quitting and living out the rest of my days on a remote island sounds appealing after an especially hectic week. But I’m a little too ambitious to give it all up. Plus, I really dig my real-job paycheck that comes every two weeks (and allows me to eat out when I’m traveling so I don’t have to cook in the aforementioned icky hostel kitchens).
Oh, and of course I’m not looking to up and leave my family and friends forever. It’s nice being a drive/short flight/free domestic phone call away from the people I care about most.
Where I’ve Been
I’ve traveled to countries like Colombia and Norway and cities like Miami, Denver and San Antonio without taking any time off from work.
I sometimes also tack a vacation day or two on to a holiday weekend for a four- or five-day trip (those trips brought me to places like The Exumas, Iceland, Ecuador, France, Italy, and Nashville).
Occasionally I even take a REAL vacation. A week in Bocas del Toro, Panama and Morocco were both pretty legit… and I definitely took advantage of the extra time when I visited Palawan in the Philippines, which basically takes an entire weekend’s worth of travel time to get to! I try to take a week-long vacation that doesn’t coincide with a holiday once a year – it’s a nice chance to disconnect.