Featured Blogger: Clay from Headed Abroad

This week we’re speaking to Clay from Headed Abroad!

1. First of all, what are your website and social media links?

2. How did you come up with your website name?

Coming up with my website name was actually a struggle. I remember sitting in my dorm room last year after buying my domain and thinking “Uh-oh! I just bought a domain for three years and I don’t even have a name!” I wrote down all of the travel terms I could think of and combined them on google to see what the results were. As it turned out there was nothing even close to “Headed Abroad.”

3. What more can you tell us about your blog? What are your goals or intentions for it?

My website is primarily a budget travel website. It’s a great place to go if you are unsure how much money you can save when you travel. I provide simple guides and tips to follow that will help you to becoming a more savvy traveler.

My goals are quite large. I just turned 20 and so far I have published a free eBook and brought in a few hundred readers by being a travel contributor to different publications over the past few months. In the next year or two I would like to surpass 10,000 e-mail subscribers and publish my second and much larger book that will be around fifteen dollars. I’m hoping the website will begin paying my bills before I graduate college in 2017 and start my round-the-world trip!

4. Can you provide us with a Throw Back Thursday picture of one of your favorite travel memories?

 

In early August I was able to teach University students from China how to throw a football (they were awesome at it!) and we hung out on the beach afterwords. It was a blast.

5. Which are your favorite and least favorite cities you’ve traveled to? Why?

My favorite city I have traveled to was probably Orlando. I’m a huge Harry Potter fan and it instantly stole my heart. Bucharest will be trying to steal the title in May! If I had to choose a least favorite for a city I’ve been to it would be Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. It’s not that I dislike the city, it’s just that the smell of the pollution can be overwhelming.

6. What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever eaten? Where?

I’ll have to be honest with you, I’ve never eaten anything that can be considered “strange.” I’m still a new traveler and have a lot of experience!

7. Who are your travel idols?

My biggest idol is Matthew Kepnes from Nomadic Matt. I discovered him a few years ago and I loved his writing. I’m lucky enough now to have him as a mentor and someone I can go to if I need any help. My other idol is Rolf Potts because of his legendary book “Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel”

8. What’s your best travel tip?

My biggest tip is to have fun and to not over think things. The more that you take things slow and enjoy the journey, the less stress and the happier you will be. If you ever have a moment where you are freaking out, just ask a local for help!

9. Which is your favorite post you’ve written?

My favorite post is probably an article that I published on Elite Daily awhile back on cheap countries to travel to. The article had overnight success and blew up into Facebook newsfeeds everywhere. I owe most of my readership to it! http://elitedaily.com/envision/10-of-the-worlds-cheapest-countries-to-travel-to/663497/

10. What advice would you give to someone new to travel blogging?

I have to say that it’s important to have resources. Travel blogging isn’t something you can do on your own, so get as many resources as you can to help you develop your blog and to learn marketing tricks. I also suggest getting a website versus a Tumblr if you want to have complete control of your content, contributing/guest posting to as many places as possible and developing small goals that you can accomplish every week to keep yourself motivated. Best of luck on your travel blogging adventures!