Hey There!
Welcome to Wanderful Horizons! I’m Krysti, a thirty-something travel blogger who aspires to visit every corner of the world. I’m passionate about cultural experiences, tropical destinations, international cuisines, and off-the-beaten-path adventures. A Vermont native, I currently live in Japan, where I’m on a mission to sample all of the country’s ramen and explore as many of its islands as I possibly can.
In addition to Japan, I’ve had the privilege of living in three other countries, including the Federated States of Micronesia, Germany, and the United States. I’ve also had the incredible opportunity to travel to 22 countries and counting.
My path to travel hasn’t always been easy, and I’ve certainly made many mistakes along the way – but I’ve also learned a lot. I hope by sharing my own stories, tips, and advice, that I’ll help inspire and empower you to pursue your own dreams abroad, wherever they may take you!
A Few of My Favorites
My Story
Growing up, I was always surrounded by stories of faraway lands, foreign adventures, and exotic horizons. My mother, who’s a travel agent, had the opportunity to travel often for work. She would go off to places like Costa Rica, Thailand, and Morocco and bring back the most incredible accounts of the people she met, the sights she saw, and the food she tried. I would always beg her to take me along with her, even when I knew it wasn’t possible. And while she was gone, I’d spend my days imagining the adventures she was having in the most incredible places and dreaming of one day traveling myself.
While I did have the opportunity to take a few family vacations when I was younger, they were mostly closer to home and did little to satiate my curiosity. In fact, it wasn’t until I was in college that I had the chance to truly experience life abroad. In the fall semester of my junior year, I did something I always told myself I would do: I spent a semester studying abroad in Germany. Those few months in Europe were a catalyst for me that set into motion my unyielding desire to explore the world.
Unfortunately, it would be a few more years before I could act upon those desires. I ended up finishing college and did precisely what society expected of me – I got a full-time job and rented an apartment in my home state of Vermont. While I enjoyed the work I was doing at the time, I knew there was so much more out there to see and experience; I just didn’t know how to make it happen. Thankfully, I didn’t let that stop me. I researched, I planned, I schemed, and I saved until I had enough money to quit my job and hop on a plane.
My destination, and what would become my home for the next four years, was the Federated States of Micronesia, a teeny, tiny island nation in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. I was originally only supposed to stay for one year – I was headed over there as a volunteer English teacher – but I ended up falling in love with the country and extended my stay. During those next three years, I worked full-time for a local college, where I had the opportunity to travel around the country, visiting several of the nation’s islands and experiencing its varied cultures.
Around this same time, I also met my now-husband while on a trip to Guam. What started out as a short week of getting to know each other turned into a long-distance relationship as he was getting ready to move to Japan. While it was admittedly hard, we made it work and spent the next 2.5 years traveling across Asia to meet up with each other. During this time, I had the incredible opportunity to explore a number of countries with him, including Thailand, the Philippines, and, of course, Japan.
In 2019, my contract with the college came to an end, and I decided not to renew it. As much as I loved the islands, I knew it was time for me to move on and experience something new. My husband was also about to move for work, and it seemed like the perfect time for us to officially “close the distance.” Before doing this, though, there was one more thing I needed to do – backpack across Southeast Asia. So I did; I spent the next 2.5 months traveling through the Philippines, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Part of this trip was done solo, part with friends, and part with my husband, and all of it was incredible, magical, and unforgettable.
Jump forward to the beginning of 2020, and I’m living with my husband in South Carolina. I know – surprisingly, I went back to the US. While it wasn’t the first choice for either of us (we’d have much rather continue our adventures living abroad), it was the only option that made sense with his work and with our desire to finally live in the same city. We had hoped to make the most of our time there and had plans to travel throughout the Caribbean and Mexico; however, the universe stepped in, and COVID-19 happened. And so, as it was for many other people around the world, our lives were turned upside down, and our plans over the next two years fell to the wayside.
Thankfully, that all finally turned around for us in 2022. This was the year we got married, went on a month-long honeymoon to Europe, and finally moved back overseas to Japan! We’ll be here for at least the next three years, and I cannot wait to share all of our adventures, tips, and advice with you!
See you in the blog!
Recent Posts
How to Get to Miyajima Island (& What to Do While You’re There!)
7+ Wonderful Things to Do in Yanagawa, Japan
