We were recently interviewed by Michael Boyink for his Ditching Suburbia project, and our conversation has led me to a few realizations about our town travel and our motivations to travel.

Many of the travelers that we know, and those interviewed for the same project came to travel because of their dissatisfaction with the typical ‘suburban’ life. We were not unhappy with our life in Lehi, and nothing there ‘drove’ us away. Our desire for travel came by observing what travel did for our family on smaller, more typical trips. In the summer of 2012, we spent 5 weeks away from home on an extended vacation. Our experience opened our eyes to the flexibility that we had, and led us to consider what we could gain for our family with such flexibility. Those thoughts led to a small working vacation in Colorado over New Years at the end of 2012, and ultimately to an extended house-swap in Virginia the second half of 2013.

Our drive to Virginia took 18 days, and again opened our eyes to the effects of travel upon our family. It wasn’t a dissatisfaction with normal life that led us to travel, but a realization that there was something better. Typical suburban life seems to fit the needs of many. What I think is most important is that folks find what works best for them, instead of adopting a lifestyle simply because it seems to be what everybody else does.

I’m excited for the Ditching Suburbia project, and I’m looking forward to seeing the results!

As a side note, we have been following the Boinks on Instagram for months (and they us), and it was amazing how well we have come to know fellow travelers without actually meeting up with them. Social media can be a time suck and should not be a replacement for real-live human interaction, but it has been a powerful tool for us. Seeing both the adventure and struggles of other travelers has given us hope, courage, and even a warning here and there.