Then & Now

Graduate of Cal State Long Beach, cultivating her skills as a freelance writer in Buenos Aires.

Now living in Barcelona — couldn't be happier. After Buenos Aires was too wild and LA too loud, Barcelona is just right. Reliable yet spontaneous, hardworking yet fun-loving, balanced.

A longtime American couple who met in Naples, Italy. Jumped at the chance to house-sit in Central America.

Managing a mountain resort near Asheville, NC — renting cabins, tiny homes, and yurts. Household goods in storage. Plan: continue to roam.

Former journalists who sold their home and moved to Cambodia in 2010. 39 house sits across Europe, the Americas, and New Zealand.

Time to slow down. Now settled in a little seaside pad on England's sunshine coast. Travel means local markets, hiking the Downs, trains to London. And they love it.

Author of three novels. For a mixed family, the expat experience never ends.

Moved to Budapest with his Indonesian wife and daughter. Works in film as assistant director, script doctor, and writer. Never stopped writing stories.

Based in Cuenca, Ecuador — a traveller on a budget following his heart.

Back in Chisinau, capital of Moldova, where his wife Olga was raised and educated. Still your travelling buddy on a budget.

Originally from Belgium, living the expat life in Northern Ireland. Culture, food and slow travel make her tick.

Still in Northern Ireland — for now. Planning to start full-time house and dog-sitting around the world with her partner. Freelance translator online.

Spent her 20s traipsing Asia with Shanghai as home base. Moved back to the US for love.

Completing her PhD in Rhetoric and Writing in Michigan. Consulting work still sends her to China once or twice a year. The wanderlust hasn't dissipated.

Retired clinical social worker spending most of the year in Costa Rica.

Still splitting time — 7 months in Costa Rica, the rest in Massachusetts. Last year: 7 spontaneous weeks in Europe. In Hungary, spotted a sign reading "pencion" — a former communist commune. Gorgeous suite, fabulous meals, $50. So who knows when the next adventure will be?

Born in Italy, raised in New York. Worked in New Media before moving to Istanbul. Huffington Post columnist.

Left Istanbul in 2016, stayed in New York to care for her mother, who passed in 2018. Planning next steps — perhaps Scotland, then somewhere in Europe. Maybe Greece. Maybe Southern Turkey. We'll see.

Wandering scholar of language and literature, based in Erlangen, Germany.

Back in Hamilton, Ontario — a steel town now in renaissance. Remote writing, editing and translating. Melissa sells jewelry at Art Crawls. They've taken up house-sitting too. What happens next is still up in the air.

Three years in Madrid until the visa renewal became too daunting. Always about staying away from the states as long as possible.

In Belfast, working on an MA in English & Poetry, planning a PhD at Queen's University. The longer you're away, the harder it is to go back. He misses the food. And the sun.

Seven years living outside the US — Guatemala, Australia, London, Buenos Aires.

Moved to Miami for a leadership role in ed-tech. Every day there's a tiny tug in the heart to slip the trainers back on and explore the world.

After 4 years in Brussels, finally found balance. Sales Manager at a multinational. Happy.

Moved to Chicago in January 2017 — a dream since childhood. High-rise downtown, stunning views. Working at GrubHub. Still misses Europe's slow pace but flies back almost once a month. Living her American Dream.

House-sitting in San Miguel de Allende each year. Vagabond lifestyle, no fixed base.

Walked the Camino de Santiago twice. Planning the Kumano Kodo in Japan and a motorhome trip around New Zealand. They thought about returning to a US home. Changed their minds. Still loving the vagabond life.

Award-winning public radio journalist heading the GraciasVida Center for Media in Guatemala.

Still based in Guatemala, still reporting. Back in the US for a knee replacement — her ticket to more years of wandering. Soon headed back to follow migrant families separated at the border.

Three years based in Colombia. Solo traveller, 100 countries. Empowering women through girlabouttheglobe.com.

Left Colombia, returned to England and felt trapped. On February 1st she left for Spain. Walking into Barcelona's Gothic Quarter she felt it — the magical feeling of being completely aligned. Nearly two years in Barcelona, now back on the road toward 100 countries.