A huge part of travel for me is the people I meet and the friends I make in the places I get to experience. Some of, well most of my best friends are people I have met while living overseas & the number one thing we have in common is that we get it. Get what? This whole travel life. The coming & going frequently, the moving towns often & regularly. The fact that we will rarely live in the same place for long. And the feeling of saying goodbye/reuniting with each other. So when I meet people who share this same passion I immediately want to know more about them and where their adventures have taken them.
One major thing that Cameron from CamOnTheGeaux and I have in common is that we both spent time in the UK and fell hard for the country and the ability to travel Europe quickly and cheaply. This is a huge thing for us North American folk who suffer through long travel days and extortionate travel costs living in The USA/Canada. While living abroad with her Husband these past few years they have truly embraced the jet set life and explored so much of the World together. Find out more below on what makes Cameron September's WanderWomanWednesday!
Alright girl, tell all these wanderers about yourself… I'm Cameron- I'm 30 years old and I'm from Memphis, Tennessee, USA. I am currently living in England with my husband, Anthony, and our pup. I am an avid coffee drinker, pizza fanatic, wine & gin enthusiast and traveling fuels my soul. Most importantly, I'm a mom to be & look forward to a new phase in my life! We have been lucky enough to call England home for 3 years but our time is coming to an end. We said goodbye to Bury St. Edmunds this summer and embarked on our journey back home to America. Although England will always hold a special place in our heart, it's time we settle back in near friends & family again :)
What is something people might be surprised to learn about you?
I have been to more countries than I have been to US States. I don’t know if that’s impressive or sad to be honest. It’s sad that I lived in the USA for 27 years and have barely put a dent on my travels there. I know this means that I have a LOT of traveling to do once I get back stateside- starting with New Mexico. It’s a state I’ve never been to but will be calling it “home” come June. We plan on moving there for my husband’s work so we’ve started a list of places to see.
At the same time, it’s impressive how much I have lived it up while living abroad. My two years in England is quickly coming to an end and I am incredibly grateful for my experiences here and wouldn’t trade them for the world.
Did you always want to travel/what made you start?
I’ve always enjoyed traveling but never made it a priority until now. Growing up, my family would take the occasional trips to the beach for summer break or venture out to the mountains in Colorado for some winter skiing.
I didn’t take my first trip to Europe until the year after my college graduation. I completely fell in love and never imagined in a million years that I’d move to Europe some day. It’s crazy how things lined up- I met my husband at a wedding, we started dating, he got offered a job overseas, and now we’re here! I truly think that his passion for traveling has helped fuelled mine and vice versa. Also, the fact that travel in Europe is insanely affordable compared to the USA has allowed us to travel more. I think we’re in for a rude awakening when we move back stateside (Hah!). Flights will be 5x the price so I see a lot of road trips in our future.
How do you decide where to travel to?
Price plays a big factor for us. We usually book our flights using www.skyscanner.com . I love the feature where you can put in your available dates and see which destinations for those dates are cheapest. We usually end up booking the cheaper destinations but have occasionally splurged on some places we’ve been dying to see.
My husband and I have a tradition we started a couple years ago which I love. It’s called our travel bucket list. Each Christmas, we sit down and write out our travel goals for the following year. Those goals do play a factor in planning our trips as well !
What is your travel style?
We are long-weekend travellers. My husband gets a 3-4 day weekend off work each month so we usually take advantage of that time and go somewhere in Europe. Two to four nights is our usual go to but always depends on how far the flight is from England. (Our longest trip we’ve taken was 8 days over Christmas to the Middle East.) I’d say we are budget travellers to an extent. We love staying in AirBnb’s over hotels, we hike & do free outdoorsy things when applicable but we will splurge on excursions every now and then.
Top 3 bucket list places you’d love to visit?
The top three places I’d like to visit are:
Machu Picchu
Cape Town
Bali
How did you end up living in the UK and what process did you have to go through to get there?
My husband is in the US Air Force so his job ultimately brought us to England. It is a 3 year assignment that has flown by. At the time of his assignment, we were not married so that was a hassle trying to figure out when I would join him/ when we would get married (& where) and then working with the military on getting me a VISA to stay in England. Ultimately, I joined him a year later so he got to spend one extra year in England without me. Lucky duck!
The military handles every bit of the move so we were able to ship over a good bit of our household items- beds, couch, kitchen items etc. I think being able to bring our items over has really made England feel more like home. Shipping our dog over was on our own dime, which was incredibly costly but he’s part of our family and we wouldn’t have left him behind :)
What is something you wish you could share with your pre-travel life self?
I would have gone back to high school and told myself to actually learn French!! I took 6 years but never fully took it in which I regret that so much now that I live overseas.
Best & worst travel moment?
Can I say two because it’s so hard to pick just 1?
The best moment #1: would have to be sailing around in Santorini. We booked a sunset catamaran excursion for our honeymoon and we got to enjoy some wine while watching the sunset. We still talk about this moment & know it’s one we’ll never forget.
The best moment #2: ALL of Jordan. From walking through the siq and spotting the famous Treasury in Petra for the first time to waking up in the Wadi Rum desert, it’s a country that holds some of our dearest memories.
The worst travel moment that pops into my head is actually quite embarrassing. Imagine, looking forward to a sunrise hike at the Masada in Israel for weeks. . . Well, clearly we were idiots, and ordered the spiciest food for dinner the night before not thinking this would affect our hike. Halfway up the mountain at 4 am, we both looked at each other like “oh shit (literally), we need a toilet stat.” If you’ve ever hiked the Masada, you’ll know there are hundreds of stairs to the top. We made a B-line for the summit as quick as we could and barely made it to the toilets. It’s safe to say, we didn’t enjoy the hike as much as we’d hoped. We also didn’t enjoy the sunrise because we were in the bathrooms all morning. However, we did leave with a funny & memorable story from our time there!
Top 3 things you miss from the USA?
Target, Chick-fil-a, and my family/friends.
Famous Last words for all the wanderers out there...
If you’re ever debating a move abroad, I urge you to take it! Living in England these past two years has been eye-opening. I hope I have the chance again someday to move back overseas, even if it is for only 2-3 years.
To keep tabs on what Cameron & her growing family are up to be sure to give her a follow..
Instagram @cam_on_the_geaux
https://www.pinterest.com/camonthegeaux/
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