About Grace at Girl Gone Wandering

Hi, I’m Grace (sometimes known as Pacifica)!

Welcome to Girl Gone Wandering!

Traveling is my greatest passion in life. I am always gathering travel inspiration, reading travel advice, dreaming of faraway destinations, and planning trips.

I travel solo, with friends, and with my partner, and have been working since I was a teenager to fund my own way around the world, overcoming $20,000 CAD of student debt to get there.

Today, I work full time in corporate as a marketing professional while traveling to at least 10 countries every year since 2015—when I bought a one-way ticket and left my home in Canada. I backpacked solo for half a year, moved to London, then moved to Amsterdam, where I now live with my partner and cat.

Feel free to check out my LinkedIn to see my background and what I do for work.

Even though I started Girl Gone Wandering to document my solo travels, much has changed since. Girl Gone Wandering has evolved from the diary of a solo female backpacker into a travel guide for busy women on a budget. I’m here to help you have amazing adventures abroad while staying safe.

My travel guides will center around European vacations, but I will include other destinations as I learn enough to make honest and accurate recommendations.

I hope you enjoy your time here, and keep exploring the world out there.

 

Here are some things you’ll find on Girl Gone Wandering

I created this blog to tell show that frequent travel isn’t something reserved for the rich elite—it is a very feasible way of life for normal women.

Here is some reading to get you started.

• Travel 101 – tried and true tips from yours truly
• How I afford to travel so much
• Where to go, what to see, who to meet

So, what are you waiting for? Plan a trip!

I’m here if you need me.

xo Grace

 

The full story behind Girl Gone Wandering

1988 to 2010: Dreaming of travel

I was born in Los Angeles, USA to Taiwanese parents to who immigrated to America to study. We moved to Dallas, Texas soon after, and when I was seven years old, we moved again to Vancouver, Canada, where I grew up and went to university.

As a young child, my parents already knew that I dreamt of exploring. There’s a VHS video of when I was a toddler hobbling around our small, dingy apartment in Dallas. My father could be heard saying, “my princess has gone wandering (公主出巡)!” I squeaked back at him “公主出巡!” while I sprinted around the living room with a scarf tied around my neck like a superhero cape.

As a high school student in Vancouver, I was a nerd with glasses who liked telling stories. I wanted to write a book about a girl who gave up everything she knew and bought a one-way ticket across the ocean to see the world and find some greater purpose.

2010 to 2011: Living and traveling Asia for one year

At age 20, I was fresh out of university with a degree in English Literature, $20,000 CAD of student debt, and no idea I wanted to do with my life. I scrounged $1,500 CAD working odd jobs and, with no plan, put myself on a one-way flight to Asia.

I taught English in Taiwan and Hong Kong for a year to fund travels across Southeast Asia.

2012 to 2015: Attempting to settle down at home in Canada

I returned to Vancouver afterwards and spent the next four years trying to put my globetrotting ways to rest—seeing the world with the two weeks of vacation that Canadians are granted. It all came crashing down in 2015 when my then-partner, for whom I was denying my passion, decided to move on with someone else.

2015 to 2018: Solo travels and moving to London

I took out the money that I was saving for a down payment on an apartment, put all of my belongings into storage, and put myself on another one-way flight, this time to Europe.

I backpacked solo through 20 countries and moved to London, U.K. There, I found a job doing marketing at a tech startup, but my real dream was to live in Amsterdam, Netherlands. I fell in love with Amsterdam from the moment I first walked out of Amsterdam Centraal Station and was determined to live there one day. It took years, but I finally found a job in Amsterdam while living in London, moved across the English Channel, and met my now-husband in the first month.

2018 to Today: Living and working in Amsterdam

Today, I live in Amsterdam with my husband and my cat. I take frequent trips and workcations around Europe, visit my family and friends in Canada often, and plan trips to Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and South America when I’m able.

Thought I never wrote that book that my high school self dreamt of, I’m living it instead. I’d love to help you live out your travel dreams as well!

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