5 minutes with... The Freedom Travellers.
Ever had one of those days where you wish you could just quit your job and travel the world? The great thing about being a blogger, is meeting like-minded creatives along the way. Vic & Elaina from the Freedom Travellers are seriously amazing women. They both quit their full time day jobs to pursue their love for travel, and now work their own hours and blog along the way. If you've ever wondered how the heck to quit your boring day job and travel the world... read on!
Tell us a little bit about yourselves:
V: I moved to Australia from the UK seven years ago now, I’ve lived in five countries up to this point and plan to add a few more to the list! My career background is in marketing and communications but these days I’m less about fancy job titles and more about doing things I love and finding a good balance between work and play. I love travelling (obviously) but also love chilling at home…I love to eat too!
E: I grew up on the Northern Beaches of Sydney Australia and have lived/worked/travelled around 37 countries. My background is marketing and events, but I traded in my job title and senior management salary to travel the world with the person I love. Awwww! I’m an avid snowboarder, photography enthusiast and candy crush-aholic!
What inspired you to first quit full time work and travel the world?
V: For me it was when Elaina and I got together that I decided I wanted to change things up. When you find your soulmate things just feel different, well they did for me anyway! I wanted to find a way that we could travel the world together and earn a living at the same time. I loved lots of things about my work but what I didn’t love was being stuck at a desk with only 4 weeks of holiday time per year. That had to change.
E: I’ve always worked my butt off in every job that I’ve had. Thankfully my hard work paid off and my employers always promoted me through the ranks. This led me to work for an awesome company, in a great position with an epic team around me. However, my life-work balance was way out of whack. I wasn’t enjoying my life outside of office hours. I was putting more effort into my job than anything else. When Vic and I got together I wanted to change that. We sat down and brainstormed what we wanting our life to look like and that meant more time with friends, working out and focusing on our health, doing more of the things we love, and of course more travel! So we quit our jobs and did just that!
Where are your favourite places in the world?
V: That’s a tough one. One of the most beautiful places we’ve travelled to is the South Island of New Zealand. The other fave for me is Sri Lanka…mainly for the food!
E: That’s easy… Australia of course! Besides my home country, my top fave places are Brazil, Patagonia and definitely the South Island of New Zealand. I’m a snowboarder so I also love riding in Japan and BC, Canada!
How do you find working as business partners and life partners?
V: We met at work so we’d already had a stint working together when we started working on our own venture together. Some people think we’re crazy to work this much together and live together too but it seems to work pretty well. Don’t get me wrong, we have our moments sometimes, but I wouldn’t change a thing.
E: Love it! Some of our mates think we’re pretty crazy to spend so much time together, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Our relationship is built upon us having fun and open communication.
What would your number one tip be for anyone that is thinking of starting a business with their significant other?
V: Make a list of your strengths and weaknesses together so you can see how your skills complement each other. Once you know where your strengths lie you can agree on what areas to focus on.
E: Totally agree with Vic. For us it’s all about understanding where each other’s strengths lie and identifying which tasks each of us like owning. That way instead of picking holes in each other’s weaknesses, we each own the tasks that we’re best at. Plus, lots of communication. Communication is key!
What does your working day consist of?
V: Each day is different. If we’re at home we’re in more of a routine where we train at the gym first thing and then get into some meetings, write content, attend events, run events etc. If we’re travelling, we could be bungee jumping one day and sleeping on a boat the next so it’s really a mixed bag.
E: Yep, what Vic said! When we quit our day jobs we met with one of our mentors and he challenged us to start thinking differently about how we could earn an income. We now have three different income streams and they all involve meeting lots of new peeps. It’s lots of fun, but our biggest challenge is staying focused… especially when we’re having fun travelling.
Best trip memory?
V: The one that springs to mind for me is seeing baby pandas in China last Christmas, so cute!
E: Ahh…that’s a hard question. We’ve had so many cool travel experiences together from swimming with wild dolphins in New Zealand, to pool parties in Las Vegas, being reality TV stars in China and chasing Komodo Dragons in Indonesia. But if I had to pick one, it would be the month we spent surfing the beaches of Sri Lanka. No itinerary, no agenda. Just cold beer and good waves!
How do you stay active constantly travelling?
V: It can be tough to stay fit when you travel so much but we are usually out and about most days walking when we’re travelling. If there’s a hotel gym, we’ll sometimes get in there for 30 mins or so occasionally…but that is rare! We try and maintain a good baseline by training regularly when we are at home. That usually sets us up pretty well for our travels.
E: We recently completed a 16-month stint booze free which meant when we were travelling, instead of sitting in a bar we spent a lot more time exploring. Hence a lot of walking!
What is your next trip planned?
V: We’re heading to Las Vegas in August!
E: VEGAS baby! Who knew you could have so much fun there even when you don’t gamble!
Favourite bloggers to follow?
V: We have a bunch of blogger mates that we keep up to speed with, Jayne from Girl Tweets World, our buddy Dave, Jones Around The World and Alesha and Jarred from NOMADasaurus are just a few of them.
E: Besides the legends that Vic mentioned, I avidly follow Sharon Gourlay at DigitalNomadWannabe.com and my aunt and uncle Gordon and Paula at the ContentedTraveller.com.
Quote you live by?
V: Feel the fear and do it anyway!
E: I have ‘I’m on the pursuit of happiness’ tattooed on my arm. It’s a constant reminder that life is short. If it doesn’t feel fun anymore then it’s time to make a change.
Thank for reading! Make sure you follow the Freedom Travellers on Instagram @thefreedomtravellers and on Facebook HERE for all their adventures.