I met Diana a few weeks ago at the New York Times Travel Show, and we instantly hit it off talking all things travel and blogging. She’s like me: has a full-time job, numerous responsibilities, and yet, makes travel a top priority in her life. Her recently created but downright awesome blog, Without A License, documents her travels around the globe through both video and words. And these videos are superb- go check them out (after you read through her interview of course)!
Get ready for some inspiration >>
1) Tell us a little about your non-traveling/non-blogging self. What are you up to when you aren’t jetting around the world?
I’m a producer at a post production company. Basically what that means is after someone shoots a film/commercial/music video/etc, they give it to us to make it look awesome! Most recently I produced a couple of commercials that aired at the Super Bowl. People often think about “Lights, Camera, ACTION!” when they think of filming and they don’t realize how many people and how much work is put in after the actors have said their lines and the camera crew has gone home. I’d like to think that when I’m not traveling, I’m making someone’s imagination a reality on screen.
2) Is long-term travel something you’ve ever dreamed of? Would you give up your current life to travel the world indefinitely?
I do dream of long-term travel but it would be a temporary situation, like 1 year max. I wouldn’t want to leave my current life indefinitely. I feel like I wouldn’t be able to be there physically for my friends and families. Plus, I feel like having a day job keeps me grounded. I don’t have the discipline and self-control to go freelance. I need some sort of regiment or else I’d spin out of control one day and be completely unproductive the next.
3) Approximately how many days out of the year are you on the road? Is this enough running around for you?
I would say 15 – 20 days out of the year. My parents are still living in Taiwan (where I was raised) so I try to spend 2x weeks out of the year with them. Definitely not enough running around, though. I would love to have more vacation days to explore somewhere I’ve never been!
4) Where was your last trip? When and where is your next trip? For how long?
I went back to Taiwan for the holidays. I was able to piggyback my holidays with the days off I get from Christmas and New Years so I was there for almost 3 weeks! It was amazing.
For my next trip, I am going to Anaheim, CA for VidCon! It’s my first time there and I’m so excited to see YouTube stars and get advice from a budding vlogger like myself! Also, it doesn’t hurt that on Sunday of that weekend I’m going to Disneyland!
5) Have you changed your life to travel more? If so, then how?
Yes. I’m definitely more conscious of where my money is going to and learning to cut corners. I’ve been eating out way less than before, which is tough since I live in the food melting pot of the world, New York City! I’ve also been debating if I should cancel my gym membership to save that extra bit of monthly expenses. I mean, I’m already running around with a backpack filled with camera equipment on the weekends…Do I really need more cardio and weight training?
6) What is one tip you can give others with a full-time life/job hoping to travel more?
The only person from stopping you on actually traveling is yourself. It’s not your boss. It’s not your workload. It’s all in your head. When there’s a will, there’s a way. As long as you’re not dropping your work immediately and catching the next flight out, it’s never too soon to plan!
7) Tell us about your current vacation time from work and how you make the most of it to travel.
I get 17 holidays at my current job. The good thing about my office is that they give you a couple of extra days off if you pull some late nights and have to work during the weekends (which is common in my industry). I try to keep that in mind and as soon as I know that I have a big project (and late nights) ahead of me. Then I can take a couple of days off and take an impromptu trip!
8) Describe your perfect work-life-travel balance.
I would love to be able to travel for work and accrue some bonus mileage points. Part of the reason why I got into this industry was because sometimes they will need us to travel to places like Prague or Brazil for shoots. So far I’m not there yet but here’s hoping! (Fingers crossed)
9) Are there any destinations you’ve been longing to go to? Why?I know this sounds strange but I’ve always wanted to go to Côte d’Ivoire. I read about it and it’s market places in a French textbook in the 8th grade. It’s weird to think that a girl from Taiwan read about the Ivory Coast as part of her French class in Middle School…It’s “bazaar” (sorry, I love puns). Ever since it was always been in my mind as one of those places I need to see for myself.
10) What is the best advice you’ve ever received regarding your dreams and traveling?
I think the best advice I’ve ever received was from my mom, which is fitting since I got the travel bug from her. She loves to travel and has always tried taking my siblings and I on trips. It could be as small as a roadtrip to Vancouver, when we lived in Seattle, to something as big as flying off to Thailand before I even turned 3.
Her advice to me was “Wear sunscreen.” I know it sounds so basic but that’s the best kind of advice. The simplest and most direct one. I wear sunscreen everyday, espescially when traveling. It also is a reminder for me that no matter where I go, or what I do, I can’t lose sight of the fundamentals and can’t forget to take care of myself.
Hope you enjoyed learning a bit more about Diana! Make sure to check out her blog, Without a License, as well as follow her on YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook.
Don’t forget to wear that sunscreen, everyone!
I love this! We need to have a meet up for all us New York City part time travelers!
Ashley, what a fantastic idea!!! Let's figure it out soon!
I love this new serie of yours!
It proves that part-time world travelling is possible plus introduces us to new fellow travel bloggers, which is Always good! 🙂
OH YES! That would be so fun!!!