About Me
Since quitting my high paying desk job in 2011, I’ve become a world nomad, tour guide, storyteller, pet sitter, and community builder. I gave up my apartment, my car, most of my belongings, and in return, I got the world.
Welcome to Anyone Can Travel. If I can do it, so can you! On this site, I share adventure stories, trip recommendations, travel tips, YouTube videos, travel photography, bicycle tours, advice on nomadic living, and plenty of adventures with you from my travels around the world.
What I was like as a kid
How did a suburban raised homebody who hated change become an international traveler without a home? Honestly, I don’t know. I can say that none of it was planned; it just evolved.
As a child, I did like planning and organizing. I remember going on family ski trips where I’d carve out channels for sledding. Once I’d gotten the track worn in and everyone was using it, I’d move onto building a new one.
And while I did love the comforts of home, I’d ride my 10-speed far and wide. It seems comical, thinking about it today, that I’d ride as far as 20 miles from home when my mom probably thought I was somewhere in the neighborhood playing with my friends. So there may have been some signs early on that I was an explorer.
Probably the most unlikely part of my current life, that you wouldn’t have seen early on, is my role as a storyteller. I hated reading, and I remember doing a book report on the same book three years in a row. I was pretty lazy when it came to studying. I had figured out the least effort possible to maintain myself as a solid B student, so, it’s ironic today that I spend so much time studying and reading so that I can fill my tours with stories and anecdotes.
How I started, and initially failed, as a world traveler
Though there were a few times I traveled abroad when I was younger, my first real trip was a solo one a few years after I got divorced. I spent a year saving up enough money so that I could comfortably take the following year off. The amount I came up with that I needed was $30k. As it turns out, I didn’t need all that, since I got homesick and returned early.
After figuring out what went wrong, I headed out again, and this time I did manage to circumnavigate the globe. Since then, I’ve been around the world four times, and it’s almost become an annual routine. We are so fortunate to live in a time when it is so easy to do something that, at one time, would have been a once in a lifetime event for a select few.
Check out my past and current travels.
How I became a story teller
I once sat down and tried to figure out who I was at my core, the essence of me that could not be changed. I came up with two things: I love exploring, and I love sharing with others. My stories started out as simple emails to my dad to let him know where I was and that I was still alive. I then started to CC friends who weren’t on social media. Eventually, a friend gave me a blogsite for my birthday, and I began to share my stories more broadly.
People often ask me why I don’t publish my stories. To be honest, I simply love writing. It’s like an artist who just has to paint. It’s not done for anyone else; it’s just done for me, but I post so it can be enjoyed by anyone, especially if I can encourage people to live a life that seems more appealing. What I don’t want to spend my time doing is pitching to publishers and nagging store owners to more prominently post my book.
So here’s where you can find my stories without having to buy the book.
How I became a tour guide
Similar to my story telling, my guiding began as personal exploration. I’d just moved to Portland and got my first dog. Wanting to get to know my new town, I bought a map of the city and mounted it to the wall. Every day I’d walk a new route with the dog and use a highlighter to mark it on the map. Eventually the map was a glowing yellow.
When I told friends about my walks, they asked if they could join me. Soon, I had a pretty decent following. With a little extra effort, I began to learn the history of the area and started to put together tours. It wasn’t long before my paying job got in the way of leading tours. Since what I did at work was fairly meaningless, I decided to quit it and take on tour guiding full time.
While starting my own tour company provided a mediocre income, it wasn’t really sustainable. I confided my struggle to make ends meet with my Dad, and he remarked, “you know Tom, you’ve always made the most money when working for someone else”. In a rare occurrence, I heeded his advice and was hired by a local tour company in Portland. Ten years later, I am an independent contractor for 5 companies, and I only take the work I want to. In my current scenario, I only have to work about 5 months of the year to make ends meet.
The companies I currently contract for:
How I learned that connecting with others while traveling is not just informative, it’s essential
In 2006, I started a Meetup group with my best friend. Breaking the model bringing together only people with a common interest, we created a group called, Anyone Can Join, and for years hosted more than 7 events a week. I later converted that to a travel group, as I found most everyone had in common that they wanted to travel.
Hosting tours locally and abroad has allowed me to connect people and dreams. In fulfilling my dreams, I have found a way to do work exchanges which allow me to help others while keeping a roof over my head.
Here are some of the groups I use to connect with others.
Why to get started on your bucket list (2023 goals)
Even before Covid, I realized my experience wish list had been growing. Covid was just a poignant reminder that you have to live life now. So, I prioritized my wish list for the next year. I called it the three week plan, where I would allow three weeks for each experience.
Here’s a list of my priorities for 2023:
Live in BangkokDoneRevisit VietnamDoneVisit Taiwan for a monthDoneVisit Hong KongDoneVisit JapanDone- Cycle across southern France to Italy
- Kayak in Venice
- Cycle in Norway
Follow my progress live on Polar Steps