The Globetrottergirls are the German-American couple Dani and Jessica, who balance a digital nomad lifestyle of full-time work and travel. In April 2010 the girls traded their London apartment to travel the world indefinitely (and work from a hammock as often as possible!). Their blog, Globetrottergirls.com, offers tried and tested budget travel information in the form of hotel reviews, insider tips, tales from the road and travel photography. We managed to catch up with the girls for long enough to ask them a few questions.
Where are you today? Where are you off to next?
We are currently in the German Alps for a month after spending 9 months in Mexico and Central America. We will be spending the next two months in Germany, Austria, Italy, France and Spain, before heading to Canada in June, where we plan to spend 10 weeks.
One of the things that stands out about your blog is the photography. What do you think is a secret people miss about great travel photography?
Travel photography is so popular because each image opens the door to somewhere many people have never been, or maybe even never heard about, before. Part of the success of being a travel photographer is just putting yourself out there and be creative with the angle you use! Seeing the Taj Mahal as it already is on a postcard doesn’t interest anyone, but if you shoot through a window, from below, etc., it adds something special and makes the picture unique. Another important part of travel photography is to be aware of what’s going around you at all times and capturing a moment that represents the people and the place you are visiting.
How do you choose the photos you feature on your Polaroid Thursdays?
We try to choose images based on how well they represent not only a great moment, but also are representative of a feeling or theme of a part of our time in a certain location. We usually pick a remarkable place or person or just something we’d came across that we found interesting. In most cases it is also something that we don’t think we’ll write about in detail but should get mentioned on the website. We love the way that using a Polaroid draws extra attention to the image, as well as giving it an old-fashioned ‘instant’ perspective.
Why did you decide to start traveling in the United States last year?
We both love the US, and we wanted to start our trip in California and travel down through the Americas. We ended up getting an amazing deal to fly into Las Vegas, so we decided to start our trip off with a bang! From there, we explored the incredible South West – the Canyons of Arizona, the Pacific Coast of California and the deserts of Nevada.
How long do you like to stay in each place you go?
This depends, but we like to stay at least 4-5 days in each place to get a feel for it. Sometimes, we stay two, three or four weeks. In the last year, four weeks is the longest we have stayed anywhere. However, we are planning to slow down a bit. Keeping up a hectic schedule all while working at the same time means we run the chance of getting burnt out – something we never want! We are looking to rent more apartments and slow down in our second year of indefinite travel.
What are the best things about traveling together? Are there any things that are harder?
We love being able to share these amazing experiences with the person we love, plus the person we have the most in common with. We are usually completely in synch – when one of us is interested in a place, then the other one usually is too. The only downside we can see in traveling as a couple is that we think it’s harder to meet loads of people when you are with your partner – you are just not as open as when traveling solo, and you might not seem as approachable to people as a solo traveler does.
Is there a reason you seem to plan your travels in 100-day increments?
We don’t actually plan our travels in increments at all. We have chosen to look back and reflect on our travels every 100 days, which is about every 3 months. It has been amazing to see just how much we get done in that time! Between exciting work projects and amazing travel experiences, we do more now every 100 days than each year before we began as digital nomads!
Learn more about the Globetrotter girls on their blog, on Twitter, and on their Facebook page!
Blogger Maria Walters
Maria Walters is a freelance writer from Portland, Oregon, USA, who has lived abroad for over a year and still hasn't seen enough of the world. While she's not traveling, she enjoys interviewing other travelers and hearing about their adventures!
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