Traveling is a privilege. To have the opportunity to leave your home, so many factors come into play: financial stability, physical health, family obligations, and the passport/currency/language of your home country. To be able to voluntarily visit new places, and experience human migration for reasons other than flight and displacement, is a form of luxury that many people don’t have.

We feel grateful every day to have this freedom, which makes us constantly ask ourselves: How do we engage more meaningfully with the places we visit? 

How do we learn about different cultures in a way that’s not commercialized, that feels more authentic and empathetic? When we travel, we don’t just want to be onlookers; we want to understand context. We want to engage with people, understand values and perspectives beyond our own, and approach things with a sense of curiosity. We’ve loved immersing in day-to-day life: living with host families and making new friends, trying new cuisines, and appreciating natural beauty across different lands.

We also recognize the context that travel is changing. With cities like Barcelona and Venice straining from overtourism, we wonder what it means to have a sustainable and balanced travel industry. And we also wonder how to instill a mindset of travel back at home, how to maintain a spirit of weekend or mini adventures, looking at familiar paths with fresh eyes.

Here’s our collection of thoughts and observations around what it means to travel, as well as future models of tourism.