Auston grew up in Phoenix and worked as an engineer for years before moving to Madrid where he now works in marketing. David also grew up in Phoenix and worked as a microbiologist for two years in Chicago before setting off to travel the world. When he's not traveling, he's busy teaching English in Madrid. You can follow Auston and David’s adventures on their blog, Two Bad Tourists, and you can also connect with them on GAFFL.
How We Were Inspired To Travel The World
The idea of our travel adventure started in 2009 with a decision to eventually leave our home in Chicago and relocate to California. Upon leaving, we knew we would have to find new jobs after arriving to the west coast. That’s what sparked the thought: what was the hurry to move and find new jobs immediately? Then in 2012 after three years of planning and saving, we set off on a one-year adventure that took us across five continents and to more than 35 countries. After the trip of a lifetime, we never returned to the US, but instead landed in Spain and never left.
We Have Met Some Great People From Our Travels
We’ve been traveling the world for 8+ years and have met many great people along the way. Some of our closest friends we’ve met on the road include our friend DJ, who’s based in Berlin. and also happens to run a travel blog. We met on a blogger trip to Belgium 6 years ago. We also met our good friend Dan through our travel blog and he’s based in London, though frequently visits Madrid to escape the dreadful London weather.
How We Choose How To Travel Next
There’s no set approach that we use. Although we may have a few bucket list type places at any given time, we generally travel more based on what opportunities present themselves and what seems convenient at the time.
Not including the 2020 pandemic, we typically travel somewhere every 2-3 months. Most trips are under a weeklong these days, however, we got our start when we sold everything we owned in 2012 and traveled continuously for a year. It was an amazing experience, but it’s definitely nice to have a home to come back to in between trips and not always be on the road.
How We Approach Traveling To Countries That Aren’t LGBT Friendly?
This is actually easier than most people might think. If you don’t give people a reason to question you, you probably won’t encounter challenges. This basically comes down to being cautious with public displays of affection. It’s important to point out though that while it’s easy for us to do this, it doesn’t mean all LGBT+ can do it. Some travelers may feel that they can’t “pass” as straight and choose to avoid places, which is perfectly fine. This is particularly applicable to members of the trans community. We’ve published a number of gay stories over the years that explain some of the things we encountered on our travels, specific to being gay in questionable destinations.
