Seeing new places and meeting new people is one of the things we enjoy most in life. The majority of our travels are fulfilling and eye-opening, but at times it can be downright stressful.
1. Tell us about your background and journey.
After only meeting 4 days earlier in Thailand, Jake decided to change his travel plans and meet back up with Marie in Vietnam. After only 4 weeks together we were completely in love; but while Marie travelled to Bali, Jake needed to go home for work and play Australian football.
However, Jake couldn’t help himself and after just 12 days, he flew to Bali to visit Marie for a week. Then, 7 days later he flew back to Bali again haha. We decided the best way to spend some serious time together was to throw caution to the wind and explore new places!
After knowing each other for 3 months we travelled to North and Central America. Jake bought his first DSLR for $400 and started learning more about photography and editing. Soon after, we started a joint instagram account to keep our friends and family easily updated on our travels.
We combined our savings and together worked seasonal summer jobs in Australia to fund our travels. After two years of this, we noticed some potential on instagram and thought this could be a way for us to work online and gain locational interdependence.
So, we decided to jump in head first and dedicate ourselves full time to growing our social media, and well, the rest is history!
2. How and why did you start your travel blog?
At the start, we were constantly told by friends and family: “this isn’t a real job”, “you can’t do this forever”, “how will you afford it?”.
But, we’ve come to learn that it’s all part of the journey, and to create a life that is special and unique, you need to have a vision which a lot of people may not understand.
When we first created our instagram we never dreamed that this is where we would end up. Though once we saw the potential for growth and realised this was how we could create a future; we set tangible goals, and worked hard to achieve them.
By building a supportive community through creating value for others, we have maintained a lifestyle where we can live the life we’ve always wanted, while sharing our passions with the world, straight from the heart.
We shared the same goals, and surrounded ourselves with like minded people to help fuel our motivation!
3. What's your favourite place so far?
The island of Bali has so much to offer; cute cafés with high-speed WiFi, gorgeous beaches, wild nature and beautiful villas at an affordable price! Without being biased, there’s probably no other place like it.
And the best part of all is the community, a culture supporting self-development in any way possible.
We chose Canggu as our base because we love the variety that it offers. From boutique shops to stunning beaches and endless restaurants and coffee shops as well as corporate spaces.
If you are a digital nomad, you’re destined to spend time there at some point in your life - it just doesn’t get more iconic than here.
Bali is also what holds our next big adventure, and the next exciting stages of our lives! We love travelling, but have always dreamt of having somewhere we call home.
We’re in the process of building our own oasis in Canggu, comprising 5 mini villas with an open courtyard pool area. Just behind our villa, we are also building our first physical retreat space for @clublifedesign.
When we open, we will host our own social media/content creation bootcamps and also rent the space out to others needing a retreat space in Canggu.
4. What are the best road trips have you taken across the country?
5. What place is top of your bucket list right now?
Although there are so many beautiful places we’re yet to explore, we would give anything to be surrounded by our friends and family while getting married! Unfortunately, we’ve had to postpone our wedding plans for a year and a half now, with no date in sight.
Being an international couple, there’s very few opportunities for both sides of our family and friends to come together. There are not only challenges for Australians wanting to leave, but also those returning home.
Currently there are also restrictions on entering Bali, where we plan to get married. However, a silver lining to the delay is when it comes time for us to tie the knot, we’ll be able to accommodate those closest in our newly built villas!
6. What can't you travel without?
Well, although a passport is needed to arrive at most destinations, if we were to lose absolutely everything while traveling, except one thing… it would be our phones haha. We know it sounds cliché, but we have become so reliant on these devices, and for good reason!
From translation, to transport and content creation to communication, it really allows our world to keep spinning while we’re travelling.
In saying this, we recently had a trip to Egypt where we were completely off-grid for an entire week (this was a first for us!) Multiple studies have found a strong correlation between heavy social-media use and an increased risk for depression, anxiety, loneliness and in some cases, self-harm.
This round-the-clock, hyper connectivity can trigger impulse control problems. The constant alerts and notifications can affect your concentration and focus, disturbing your sleep, and at the end of the day, makes you a slave to your phone.
In order to prevent this from happening, it is important to take some time and listen to our bodies. We found that our employees were able to manage our business while we were gone, our community was still there for us when we came back and it gave us a fresh perspective on what is important to us!
7.What is the common misconception people have about travel blogging?
Seeing new places and meeting new people is one of the things we enjoy most in life. The majority of our travels are fulfilling and eye-opening, but at times it can be downright stressful. When you travel the world, especially with a partner you are constantly faced with jet lag, delayed flights, lost luggage, and more!
One of the things we’ve learnt is to never let problems linger between us. When you’re travelling, the only constant is you and your partner, as everything else gets stripped down to the bare minimum.
You spend less time with your partner when you’re at home, working 9-5, playing sports and socializing with friends. It’s easy to overlook problems that might seem insignificant, but over time these can compound and become harder to reconcile.
On the flip side, when you’re constantly travelling, it’s also easy to forget about the future and sometimes this can be unaligned. From wanting kids, to eventually finding somewhere to call home, some couples are in the honeymoon phase throughout their travels, but fall apart when they’re settling down.
While travelling, whether it’s with your partner or best friend, you have no choice but to face your problems head on, and this has not only made us stronger, but closer too.
9. For a complete outsider with inroads, what advice would you like to give?
Know what’s in your control, and what is outside of it, as this will help you avoid unnecessary stressors. A lot of people focus on the negatives of algorithmic changes and new features on social media, but all that means is you need to be flexible.
If anything, this provides a different level of exposure than when we first started. Set clear goals and know what you’re working towards, but be adaptable as the social media world is a constantly changing landscape.
However, It’s not always about going to the most gorgeous locations and taking the best photos; allow your personality to be reflected through the story you tell.
Surround yourself with people and content that fuels your dreams as this can have a huge impact on your motivation and determination. Once you find your niche and start to build a supportive community, you’ll engage with like minded people who will appreciate your worth!
10. Which is your favourite book and why?
The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho. No self-development book list is complete without this one, and there’s a reason we’ve read this countless times. It’s a small book and an easy read, but it gives an insight of how life can be from different perspectives.
It shows the importance of following your journey, listening to your heart, and never giving up on your dreams. If you are ever in need of some motivation or a new perspective, we suggest you give this book a go!
- Marie Fe & Jake Snow
- Interviewed By Pearlina Marie Rein
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