Hey guys!
We're back after a crazy few weeks in NYC, and we wanted to take the chance to update you on our big news. In case you somehow missed it, WE'RE MOVING TO BALI! As much as we would love to have the chance to explain our decision with everyone personally, we realize that there's no possible way to do that. So, we're going to do our best to explain it all in this post!
At the beginning of this year, Tara and I both started to feel something strange stirring inside of us. New York is our home- it's where we met, where we dated and fell in love, where our jobs are and where we began our life together. We have the world's greatest friends and an incredible support system, and we couldn't love our church, Hillsong NYC, any more. This wild city is our city. Yet we couldn't shake the feeling that there was a change on the horizon. It came to a head in April, and we started talking seriously about the notion of a move. We both felt ready for an adventure and have long loved Southeast Asia, so the conversation of Bali began. More as a joke to start, really- one of those "what if we just, like, moved to Bali?" followed by laughs at the insanity it took to even suggest such an idea. But then one day, it got thrown out again- and where we would normally laugh, we found ourselves staring back at each other instead. What if we really did? What of it wasn't as crazy as we'd originally thought? And that turned into "why wouldn't we?" and "Let's seriously consider it!".
So, we took the month of May and prayerfully considered it, weighed out our options and our thoughts, got advice from family and close friends, and finally decided to take the leap. We started League Travels with the dream of one day focusing full-time on travel. We've traveled more and more over the last 3 years, and 2017 has felt like the busiest travel year yet. To fully pursue travel blogging as our full-time jobs though, we knew we'd have to step up our travel game even more- but in order to do that, Tara would have to quit her job as a fit model. Without both incomes New York gets real expensive really fast, and it just wasn't a viable option. Since my job as a designer is flexible and most of my clients are remote anyhow, It's easier for me to maintain an income from anywhere in the world. So, we decided to take a chance to do something crazy and unknown in pursuit of our crazy dreams.
In October, we'll be headed to Bali to live and travel from for the next year! Tara's blog has seen amazing growth this year as well, and we're so excited to jump on that momentum and the momentum we have with League Travels and invest full-on into our brand. We want to be back in NYC after our year away, so our plan (if you can call it that) is to head back to the big Apple around the end of next year.
When we first started League, it was just the name of my design studio. It's grown and evolved to encompass our entire brand, and the meaning behind the name couldn't be more perfect for the way it's all happened. The term "League" once referred to a nautical measurement of distance. It was the furthest one could see with the naked eye. Thus, a ship traveling one "league" had reached what was previously the farthest visible distance on the horizon. Journeys would be measured in leagues- and you couldn't know what the next "league" held until you finished the one previous.
That's been our story all along the way of this journey. There's been beautiful doors opened to us along the way, and there's been heart-breaking doors closed. We've had exhilarating successes and nights where we've questioned if we should even continue our pursuits. We never could have imagined 3 years ago that we would be selling all of our stuff and moving to Indonesia, but we've taken each stride hand in hand. We've tried our best to steward each season with integrity and hard work, and we'll continue to pursue the dreams God has placed inside of us full steam ahead.
So here's to our next greatest adventure! We have so many details to sort out and so much to do before we leave (not to mention we'll be in Africa and then Wisconsin for 3 weeks of September... yikes!), so please forgive us if we seem a bit absent this next month and a half. If anyone has any tips or advice, we welcome your input! We'll post another update soon, but until then we'll be packing our lives into a few suitcases, selling the rest, and cramming in as many NYC adventures as humanly possible!
Here's to the adventure!
Zach + Tara