Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonathan and Kelly Welch.
Hi Jonathan and Kelly, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
We realized back in 2019 that we could technically work from anywhere because we both work from home.
So we decided to split our years, spending half the year in Dallas, TX to cheer on our favorite basketball team and half the year road-tripping around North America with our pup, Lincoln. We call our time spent in Dallas our “off-season” and our time on the road our “travel season”.
During our travel seasons, we take months-long road trips and explore both places that have always been on our bucket lists and places new to us that end up surprising us in the best ways. For 2021, for example, we took a 3.5-month road trip through Colorado and Utah, spending one week in Moab, one week in Salt Lake City, and one month in Kanab.
After traveling for the past 3 years, and with Kelly’s background as a copywriter, we decided last year to start sharing our road trips and everything we’ve learned about working from the road through a travel blog, Road Trip Locals.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
To work full-time from the road while bringing our dog every place we go, we’ve had to set better work-life boundaries and get more comfortable with regular changes in our environment. (We generally visit 10 or so locations each travel season).
My wife is a self-employed copywriter who is generally able to set her hours, which helps her spend time on the road. However, I work full-time in a corporate job, which means I’ve had to navigate work demands with travel demands, and at times that can be challenging.
Finding a good work-life balance has probably been our biggest challenge on the road, but I’m glad we’ve worked full-time these last three years of travel. It’s forced us to stay in an area for more than just a couple of days, and so we’ve gotten to know different areas much more intimately and locally than we would have otherwise.
Spending an entire month in Kanab during our 2021 Travel Season not only gave us the opportunity to see a lot – Kanab is one of the best road-tripping destinations we’ve been to so far!! – but also enjoy local restaurants, walk local trails, and generally have time for things we might not have prioritized otherwise.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Road Trip Locals?
Road Trip Locals is a road trip blog sharing road trip itineraries, dog-friendly travel guides, and articles to help you work from the road and see more of the States, your way!
For us, road trips have become synonymous with long summer nights (and a few winter wonderlands) and our favorite songs playing in full blast on the radio. There’s a sense of freedom and flexibility with road-tripping we enjoy. Plus, not only are road trips good for the soul, but after 3+ years of road-tripping, we believe they’re one of the best ways to see and experience a new area, especially in the US.
With the growth of remote roles, road-tripping is a convenient, work-friendly way to explore beyond two weeks’ vacation, but they’re great for maximizing days off during traditional trips, too. No busy airports are required. No carry-on luggage or advanced booking is needed. Just grab your pup and go!
There’s so much to see in the United States and North America, so we’re sharing classic road trips you may know and love and new ones we’re creating on the road.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
We are at our happiest in the midst of road-tripping across the US, getting to see both the well-known and lesser-known beauty stateside.
We love hiking with our dog, Lincoln, and the more adventurous and beautiful hike, the better! Utah had some of our all-time favorite roads and hikes, from Monument Valley to the Wave to Angels Landing and The Narrows!
Lastly, we enjoy getting to know and experience different cultures and foods on our travel and immersing ourselves in a new area as much as possible.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.roadtriplocals.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roadtriplocals/
