About

Hi, I’m Julia Kuhn, and I want you to live a life of adventure and freedom.

Welcome to my creative space on the internet. Here, I express myself and share my experiences through travel, life, and career.

Travel has empowered my life and pushed me out of my comfort zone to live a life of adventure. I hope it does the same for you.

My current home base is Seattle, where I live with my pup, Puka. I adopted Puka in Hawai’i, and we came to the mainland together. Together, we have traveled over 10,000 miles across the United States and have much more to see and do.

So far, my favorite dog-friendly US stops have been the San Francisco Bay Area and Durango, Colorado.

Julia Kuhn’s Early Years

My passion for travel and adventure started at a young age when my family took cross-country RV road trips across the United States and blossomed more throughout my life. 

I grew up in a small town outside of Reading, Pennsylvania.

I was born with a muscular eyelid injury due to birth trauma. During my childhood, I had six surgeries on my eye. If my eyes look uneven in pictures or videos, it’s because they are.

Life has taught me to be thankful for everything I have, and I’m glad I have vision in both eyes. 

During childhood, I always put my head in a book or wrote in a journal. As a teenager, I was writing and performing sketch comedy acts at local events. It’s no surprise that I ended up becoming a travel content creator later in life.

Education

In 2003, I started university at Penn State and felt like a small fish in a big pond, going from a town of 1,500 people to a school of 40,000 students. 

College was a big adjustment, but I was inspired to continue pushing myself outside my comfort zone and attend school in an even bigger place by graduation. 

So, I applied to graduate schools in New England and went to Boston for the next chapter of my life. 

Soon, Dunkin’ coffee, being crushed like a sardine while riding the T, and the Red Sox were all significant parts of my daily routine.

In 2009, I graduated from Emerson College with a Master’s degree and felt like the walls were crashing down because I was entering the workforce with 14 days of PTO a year. 

I immediately booked a solo trip to Europe and toured six countries before coming home to start my career as a speech pathologist. 

That trip changed me and my perspective on life. It left me yearning to travel and explore more of the world.

Combining Work and Travel

By 2010, I knew I wasn’t meant to work a consistent 9-5 in one place for the rest of my life. So, I built a career as a travel speech pathologist. 

This allowed me to work short-term contracts across the United States and travel around my beautiful country while having long breaks to travel for fun in between contracts. 

Highlights of my career as a travel speech pathologist include living in Waikiki Beach, Hawai’i, for seven years, working on the serene coastline of Northern California, hiking the stunning granite mountains in Yosemite on weekends while working in Central California, hiking in Sedona, and eating lobster rolls along the rustic shores of New England. 

Some of my all-time favorite international travel destinations have been Moorea in French Polynesia, the Greek Islands, and Mexico, especially when I spent a month learning Spanish in Cuernavaca. 

Travel teaches us lessons, and I learned a lot by taking travel therapy jobs. The independence and self-sufficiency of taking travel contracts taught me my ability to achieve goals. 

Nothing stops me from going where I want to or achieving goals, and I have travel to thank for that.

BRCA 2+ Diagnosis

In 2017, I was diagnosed as BRCA 2 +, meaning genetically, I’m at an 80% lifetime risk of breast cancer and a 10% risk of ovarian cancer. 

After years of intense screenings and mental tribulation, I got a breast reduction followed by a prophylactic double mastectomy in 2023. 

I share those experiences on this website for women facing a similar decision.

My only regret about the mastectomy is that I didn’t do it sooner. I want other women to know that and be empowered to make positive choices for themselves.

Hobbies and Interests

Outside of travel, writing, and photography, my hobbies include getting outside in nature and curating my house with antiques and art from my travels. 

I love long walks with my pup Puka and hiking the nearest trail. 

I also love thrifting my dream closet and home decor. Despite being a nomad by nature, I stay grounded in having a home to return to. My house’s decor reflects my soul and all of the traveling I’ve done. 

Thank you for reading my work; I hope you enjoy it and it inspires you to lead a life of adventure and freedom.

Best,

Julia Kuhn