We are very excited to get to know Amber and Eric from “With Husband in Tow” travel blog during this installment of our “Love of Travel” series. After years of living the “normal” life and working grinding hours as a lawyer, they decided to pursue their dream of travel, freedom, and entrepreneurship. This travel blog couple are proof that just because you didn’t do something when you were younger, doesn’t mean you can’t do it. And we completely agree with them!
Tell us a little bit about yourselves & how you met. Have you always been travelers?
We met way back in 1997, at a college bar, with a disputed story. It is a classic example of he said, she said. And, it was certainly not love at first sight. But, we stuck it out, and grew together to be the couple we are today, to the couple that now shares a brain.
We slowly developed our travel bug, but things really took off in 2006, with our first trip to Asia. We just fell in love, and it was love at first sight. Although I started With Husband In Tow only in 2012, I have recently started a sappy series of blog posts called Our Love Story (insert eye roll here), specifically to recount our more ancient stories, and to explain how we become the travelers we are today. It also tells my side of the story of how we met.
You guys decided to give up the 9-5 jobs (ok, much longer lawyer hours) to become nomadic. What was the impetus or last straw that made you take the plunge in quitting your jobs to travel?
Although not fully escaping until 2012, the impetus really came in 2007, when I developed tendonitis in my wrist at work, from doing document review for a big corporate client under IRS audit. It started us on the path of asking what do we really want for ourselves out of our lives, and were we truly happy living the Crate & Barrel lifestyle in the US. As a stop gap measure, we took a year off to travel in 2009. We were hooked on long term travel and planned to return back to the US to work for another five years, just to save money. I lasted 2 years back on the job and quit 30 days before making partner. The rest is history.
What do you know now that you wish you would have known before beginning your nomadic lifestyle? And has it been everything you thought it would be?
Some days I wish I had started earlier. We were sitting on the beach in Myanmar last year, enjoying a sunset happy hour, and Eric said he was disappointed we did not realize that this was the life we wanted to live when we were younger. Now, so many people head down the traveler or digital nomad life when they are in their earlier twenties. We left in our mid 30s, and Eric turns 40 this year. But, then I realize that along with the 10 years of law practice came 10 years of income that allowed us to save a nice sized nest egg, which gives us the security to live well overseas while we start up some new ventures. In the end, I think it worked out as it was meant to be.
What is high on your “must see and do” list while living the nomadic life?
This is hard for me because, technically, we are not as nomadic as we once were. We are pretty settled here in Ubud, Bali, at least for 12 months. And, we have not left the island in almost 6 months. I am pretty burnt out on travel, and more importantly travel planning, although we have a few trips planned for later this year. I still would love to visit Bhutan. I would also love to be a beach bum for a month or more. We came close to that in Brazil in 2009, but it was so expensive there it could not last. And, an African safari. Perhaps Antarctica. Even after 65 countries, I still have a lot on my to do list.
Do you two jointly agree on destinations or take turns picking the destination?
Have I mentioned we share a brain? We generally decide on destinations together, although there are times where one of us (me) comes up with a bright idea (let’s go to Central America for awhile) that doesn’t work out (Central America was not our cup of tea).
Being together for many years living “normal” lives prior to going nomadic, has your relationship changed since you embarked on this world journey together? How?
We certainly are a lot closer now than before, when we fought on occasion about the stresses of daily normal life. We still have our moments of disagreement now, but they are offset by the opportunity to spend so much more time together, something we have both learned to really appreciate.
What advice would you give to someone who is thinking of becoming nomadic, as you did?
Do it! Don’t hesitate. We have our nest egg, but so many people live this life on a lot less than we do. Where there’s a will there’s a way, and if you want to live this life bad enough, you will make it happen.
What can we look forward to in the upcoming year (or two) from Husband in Tow?
We are finally heading back out on the road again, to Taiwan, the United States, Vietnam, and Europe in the fall. With only a few trips planned, the blog is starting to migrate more towards an expat life blog than a travel blog, but I have a few tricks up my sleeve. And, we are launching our first online product this May, so look out for Mandala The Yoga Massage Ball on an Amazon site near you!
** All photos were kindly provided by Amber and Eric, With Husband in Tow.
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We would like to thank Amber and Eric for sharing their “Love of Travel” story with us. We really enjoy hearing about other couples who have decided to take the leap together and live the travel life of their dreams. It’s inspiring to see how happy they are and how it has brought them closer together as a couple. Be sure you check out their blog at http://www.withhusbandintow.com/ so that you can follow along. And also check out their new product on Amazon! Happy travels!