When I was in college, I studied abroad short-term in India. I worked at an NGO in New Delhi called Karm Marg, a home for vulnerable children. The kids here learn how to support themselves by acquiring skills to generate income, which will then help them obtain careers, contribute to their communities, and stay off the streets. Karm Marg also works toward empowering the women and mothers who live in nearby villages. Spending time with these at-risk, yet hopeful, children, and the kindhearted stewards who run Karm Marg, was impactful for the career path I ultimately took in my own life as a travel writer.
I knew I wanted a life of creativity, where I could manage my own time, have a family, and still travel and learn from other societies. Travel—domestic and international—is the best way to practice gratitude, autonomy, and empathy for others. Plus, in an increasingly globalized society, it can only help your career to learn how to accept and appreciate different ways of being. Immersing yourself in other civilizations, increasing your cultural competency, where you get to interact with different races and folks from various economic backgrounds and faiths, begets understanding and awareness. Visiting a new country is an insightful opportunity to not only learn about how the locals survive, love and live, but also, it’s a chance to have an exchange—what can you give or teach others, what are you bringing to the table?
I reached out to some of the most successful and smart women in my circle to learn about how travel has influenced their careers and creativity. These women have all found efficacious careers in the travel space as writers, editors, photographers, and authors.
Marianna Jamadi, photographer and thoughtful content creator at Nomadic Habit, says: “Travel has always been my greatest source of connection—to myself, others, and the land that surrounds us. It demands a certain amount of vulnerability, and this openness always has a way of giving back. As a photographer, the world is always giving me frames, always gifting me photos. I am always grateful for the unknowing. Hungry for the what’s-behind-the-corner feeling of discovery that I can feel in my body and capture with my camera. Travel has given me life, a career, and a deep understanding of the human condition. As a woman, I am always deeply impacted by the strength of the feminine spirit. I’ve connected with countless women around the world just by sharing time and space, whereby a shared language is a bonus but not necessary. This is the beauty of a life well-traveled.”
Theresa L. Goodrich, traveler, writer, Emmy-winner and author of Two Lane Gems Book Series, says: “One of the key pieces of advice for beating writer’s block is to change your location: move from your desk to the dining room table, for example, or leave the library and go to a coffee shop. The change shakes something loose, and you can see things in a different way. This, to me, is the very definition of how travel fosters creativity. When you visit a new place, your brain begins to process experiences differently. A river in Montana looks nothing like a river in Illinois, so while they’re both bodies of flowing water, they’re unique and change the meaning of the word “river.” In the business world, that expanded creativity allows you to see new connections and create solutions. Conversely, I’ve also found through travel that people are more alike than different, and I’ve encountered kindness everywhere I’ve been. That translates to a deeper understanding of colleagues, clients, and customers, and an increased ability to connect with them. As a travel writer, I’ve drunk the Kool-Aid, but I truly believe that exploring new destinations and meeting the people who live there is life-affirming and transformative.”
Jamie Hergenrader, the wild wanderer and editor at TripSavvy, says: “The concept of self-care is especially buzzy lately, and that means something different for everyone—exercise, reading, maybe a relaxing bath. For me, it’s traveling. Almost every trip I take requires me to embrace some element of the unknown, whether that’s simply figuring out the public transportation in a new city, diving headfirst into a place with a different language and lifestyle, or pushing my boundaries with adventure travel (my highlights: paragliding in Switzerland, coasteering in Wales, and going on safari in Sri Lanka). Navigating that unfamiliar territory (sometimes alone) is a major confidence boost, which definitely translates to my work life. I also travel regularly to avoid burnout, the ultimate kryptonite of creativity. The trip doesn’t have to be far or expensive—I’ll take a train to upstate New York for a day to hike and get a change of scenery, or I’ll swap a couple of weeklong trips for shorter, more frequent long weekend trips. Anytime I can get away from my usual scene I am able to get out of my own head for a little bit, see things in a more “big picture” way, and return home feeling refreshed and motivated.”
Linnea Covington, a dig-deep freelance writer from Denver, says:” If we lived our lives entombed in our own heads and never left the comfortable bubble of home, it would be difficult to grow as a creative person. For this reason, I have taken to travel and started as soon as I turned 18 and could leave my parents nest. My first trip encompassed the United States, a place I decided I should get to know first before I crossed borders and seas. That’s when I started writing about what I saw and did, who I met and the general sense of each place I went to. Po’boys in New Orleans after seeing raised graves; the colorful houses of Key West and tasting the salt water on the skin of a young lover; visiting New York City for the first time and falling madly in love with the heat, bustle and treasures seemingly found around every corner. It was this last place that eventually lead me to the Big Apple, a career in journalism and, as I had dreamed about, getting paid to travel the world. Even though I haven’t been able to jump on a plane and take weeks off of normal life since having my two sons, I still visit places near us and salivate at the thought of experiencing something new. I tell my sons stories of Indian tuk-tuks, racing between large trucks and cows; sleeping in a castle in Ireland and learning how to handle a falcon; eating bugs in an Amazon jungle in Peru. In turn, these tales give them ideas and one day, we will share in the adventure together.”
Chelle Walton, a beautiful writer from Sanibel, Florida says: “Of course, as a travel writer, traveling is integral to my career. As a woman, it has always boosted my levels of confidence, independence, and curiosity. Even planning travel gets my juices going. When an assignment comes around and I think to myself, “Well, I could do that from memory and research, thereby increasing my bottom-line earnings,” I rarely take that out. Nine times out of ten, I use any excuse to travel, immerse, and refresh my perspective. I always thank myself afterward for the way that stepping away from the desk and into the world makes the end result more joyful to write and ultimately more self-involving, more intimate and creative.”
Brittany Anas, a Denver-based travel and lifestyle writer, who specializes in adventure travel and tequila, says: “Travel is such a multi-sensory experience if we let it be. I think travel has the potential to sharpen our senses, which in turn can fuel our curiosity and creativity. My taste buds, for example, are on high alert when I’m trying to pick up on an oyster’s merroir or when I’m attempting to catch the caramel notes of a reposado during a tequila tasting. If I’m really “getting it right” when I’m traveling, I’m more disconnected and open to being visually wowed by unfamiliar landscapes and hearing the soundscapes that define a region—whether that’s a chorus of chirping birds or the crash of waves or the soundtrack of a big city’s frenetic hustle. I notice that my pitches are more vivid and that my writing is simply better when I return home from vacation. I think feeling recharged is part of it. But really, I believe this benefit of feeling “on” and connected to my writing can be credited to having allowed my creativity the freedom to roam and explore and break from the linear mode of thinking that comes with checking off tasks on a “to-do” list.”
Sara Ventiera, a clever freelance journalist from Los Angeles, says: “I’m someone who basically lives in a near constant state of stress. The only way I’ve been able to really just cut the noise of that nagging internal voice is by taking a trip somewhere new, where I can fully immerse myself in an experience without constant access to my phone (going somewhere with limited reception or overseas day rates helps). I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who has that problem. Travel, whether it’s stuffing my face with pintxos and cider in San Sebastian or overlooking a giant jade crater at Canyonlands National Park in Utah, fosters that sense of awe that is often missing in normal life. And that understanding that there’s whole world outside my own worries gives me — and I hope others — the space to think, like really think about my life, the future I want to build for myself and art I want to create. On my last trip, I realized that meant getting up the guts to actually start writing the memoir I’ve been talking about for years. I came home and started executing. Whether you have some big creative project you want to work on or some other career ambition, I think giving yourself some space to look at your desires from outside your normal life can help you figure out what it is you want to do and how to start working towards it.”
