About Kim

Why I gave it all up to travel the world

I can’t remember when I first decided that my husband Brian and I should chuck it all and travel the world. I do know that when the idea found its way into my head I was instantaneously infected with it and absolutely certain that I’d give up almost anything to do it. 

When Brian and I were in our early twenties we moved from Ohio, in the U.S. midwest, to Oregon, on the U.S. west coast, a 2,000 mile relocation to the unknown. We moved  with $700 in our pockets, two dogs, a car, two spoons, two forks, two plates, a mini television, a bag each of clothing, and a few boxes of mementos, mostly books. Five years later we’d built an entire life: We’d married, bought a house, and filled the house with stuff.  We’d climbed our way up our respective ladders and were earning good salaries. We’d made new friends, joined sports teams, and settled happily into our new city. We’d built a fantastic life that we were proud of. 

 And yet…

There were times while I was at work, sitting in my cubicle, that I’d think to myself: What will life be like if I stay this way? I knew, I absolutely knew for sure, that a 9-to-5-in-a-cubicle kind of life was not what my life was for. I’d always dreamed of traveling. I wanted to write. But my dreams and desires had been placed on the back burner, pushed aside by the pressure I felt to chase the traditional model of success. I was selling my life for a paycheck. Why?  

So we gave it all up

We sold our stuff, quit our jobs, and set off in May 2012 to see the world. We’re still traveling today.

Life is an adventure now. We’ve been swimming with sea lions in the Galapagos Islands. We’ve hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. We’ve danced with village children on an island in Lake Titicaca and kayaked in Patagonia and sipped wine in Argentina. We’ve fallen asleep under a thousand twinkling stars in the Wyoming backcountry and played with monkeys in the Amazon Rainforest.

And we have met a countless number of kind and welcoming people who have made us feel at home in the world.

This is the life that I knew was possible back in those days when I sat in my cubicle dreaming of something different. 

Over the years So Many Places has evolved from a hope to a plan to an action. My life has changed and my goals have broadened, but through it all this blog has always been the place I come to water the seeds of my dream. I hope that So Many Places is also a place where you will find encouragement to chase down the biggest parts of your own life, whatever they may be. 

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Brian has a blog too, aptly named Wandering Sasquatch. You can click here to visit his blog and here to visit his Facebook page. 

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