Your online resource for transformational travel.
We created this site to help you become a thriving intentional traveler. We’ll show you how to make travel easier, more affordable, and more meaningful.
We’ll help you think outside the box and equip you to make the most of your time and money with simple tools and resources for travel.
Inspiring and equipping every-day people to pursue life-changing experiences around the world.
Why “Intentional”?
Being intentional means deliberately and conscientiously choosing the way we live our lives. It’s often contradictory to doing what’s “normal,” what we feel is expected of us, what we see others do, or what we’re in the habit of doing.
This is a big deal because if we’re not intentional, we will end up wasting time, effort, and money on things that don’t actually matter or bring meaning and satisfaction to our life.
Being intentional is about knowing what our true values are, then making deliberate choices to prioritize those values in our life. For us personally, we have chosen to prioritize flexibility and travel over stability and certainty. There is no ONE way to live intentionally. It looks different for everybody because each person’s values are different.
We hope to encourage everyone to align their daily decisions and life choices with the values they care most about. For people passionate about travel – and we know there are many – our site is for people who intentionally pursue meaningful, transformation experiences around the world.
What is transformational travel?
According to Mark Twain, Rick Steves, today’s top travel bloggers (and every-day people), experiencing a world outside of our own bubble has the power to make us better people.
Not all travel can do this. Though the typical vacation can be a much-needed source of relaxation, it usually doesn’t change anyone’s life. Cross-cultural exchanges; slower, long-term travel; and opportunities to connect with nature are just a few examples that have the power to fuel our passion for life-long learning and global citizenship. Meaningful experiences like these often make us more understanding, compassionate, responsible, and generous human beings – effects that ripple out across our communities and help create a better world.
Intentional, transformational travel is not travel just for the sake of rest, entertainment, or self-indulgence. It’s travel for the sake of learning, growing, and trying new experiences.
Our Vision
We desire to see our society grow in generosity and compassion. We think our world will be a better place if we all strive to better understand others who are different from us. We hope we can all expand our definition of “neighbor”- or brother and sister – and learn new ways to better love them.
We want to see people grow in appreciation of the world we live in – developing gratefulness for what we have, awe of the beauty in nature and the diversity of the human race, and respect enough to care well for all that inhabits the Earth as if it were our own.
We desire to see people live with more intentionality, not simply sleep-walking through the habits prescribed by our culture, but embracing the power of choice.
We believe that the tempting messages of marketing teach us to fulfill our longings with material stuff, and that pushes out room in our lives for what truly matters. Instead, we think we would be better off investing in experiences that help us grow.
We desire to see a people who tread lightly, care deeply, take their global citizenship seriously, and give liberally in ways that ripple out positive effects across communities and around the globe.
This is a life-long undertaking that is not easy or straight-forward, but we believe it’s worth trying anyway.
We think living this way will improve our well-being and inner contentment on a personal level, while strengthening peace and helping to restore justice globally.
For us personally, the opportunity to travel has been the spark that changed our lives and fuels our passion. We recognize not everyone is afforded the same advantages, and we will work towards changing that. We want to live in a world where everyone has access to the transformational power of travel.
Our Story
We are Jedd and Michelle, digital nomads who blog about intentional living and travel. Originally from Hawaii and Oregon, respectively, we got married in 2008 and have been adventuring together ever since.
In 2011, we left our “real jobs” to take a sabbatical- a time set apart to experience new things, to learn, and to grow.
We took an epic road trip and did some house-sitting. Then we ended up serving with the Peace Corps in Jamaica from 2012 to 2014, and it was a life changing decision! Our time away made us realize that we don’t have to go back to a typical life, consumed by careers until we save enough to retire in freedom.
We believe we don’t have to wait until retirement to live our dreams. And if we’re intentional about our choices, there are out-of-the-box ways to make travel a consistent part of our lives right now.
In 2014, we started IntentionalTravelers.com. Travel has changed our lives, and we want to share what we’ve learned along the way to help others reap the benefits, too.
We have made ends meet through freelance web services, serving small businesses and non-profits, seasonal conference/event planning work, and creating travel resources. This allows us to work from anywhere (hence the term “digital nomads”).
We live very simply and keep costs low, trading what we would have paid in rent for the ability to live in many different places. We use our travel hacking skills to earn all our free international flights.
We’ve helped out with events like World Domination Summit and Pioneer Nation, and helped launch a new kind of college called Wayfinding Academy – all in Portland, Oregon. To celebrate our 10th year of marriage, we embarked on a 10 Countries 10 Stories: Global Neighbor Project.
These days, we have established a summer “home base” in Oregon, in a multi-generational household. Meanwhile, we continue to live abroad and travel the other part of the year.
– Our Team –
Michelle
A planner, organizer, learner of languages, introvert, and dabbler in creative pursuits, Michelle earned an MBA from Gonzaga University to expand her practical skills. Prior to serving in the Peace Corps with her husband, Jedd, she worked in higher education, non-profit management, and international development. She also speaks French and Spanish.
Jedd
Growing up in Hawaii, Jedd first started traveling internationally when he married Michelle in 2008 and hasn’t looked back. With a background in sociology and communications, he has worked in higher ed, recruitment, brand management, and customer service. A natural extrovert, technology buff, and big dreamer, Jedd is rarely sitting still – figuratively and literally.
Our featured contributors are perfect examples of Intentional Travelers. Dorene and Troy left the corporate world to become digital nomads, traveling internationally full time and blogging at Travel Life Experiences. Lianne taught English in Korea and traveled frequently with couch-surfing and help exchange. Heath and Alyssa Padgett run a community for entrepreneurs who live full time in RVs.
Ailene joins our remote team from the Philippines. She is a wife and mom who loves traveling.
Discover travel beyond the typical vacation
