Kelsey Dunham: Small City Girl to World Explorer, One City at a Time

Kelsey Dunham, 39, is the kind of person who goes above and beyond for a stranger, with kindness lining every part of her heart, she shares joy wherever she goes for all to bathe in.

Kelsey grew up in a small non-descript Canadian city, a place many wouldn’t be able to even place on the map. It wasn’t until her 20th year that she moved to a small town that made a big difference to her life.

Her new house was a popular tourist destination, which meant Kelsey was suddenly meeting people from all across the world. This new International crowd had such a different life story to tell. Kelsey found herself captivated by their tales and began to yearn for a life unknown.

The First Trip Abroad

But it would take a few more years before she would gather the courage to set foot off Candanian soils to become a world traveller. Her first adventure being a trip to the UK at 25 to meet some friends. It was the first time she flew alone and although everything seemed similar, in truth it felt wildly different. She ventured onto Dublin, Ireland and promptly got lost on arrival but Kelsey quickly found her travel feet, learning an important lesson for life: “In the morning everything looks better”.

After this trip, Kelsey returned to Canada to finish her studies. Deep down however she knew she wasn’t destined to stay, her future lay in another country, and it was up to Kelsey to figure out which. Having loved the UK during her first visit, Kelsey began to converse with UK teaching recruiters about finding a job. It felt like the right first step to building a life abroad, so Kelsey moved to London in 2015.

From the UK to Denmark

The UK was perfect. Kelsey enjoyed it, especially making many new British friends but unfortunately, the job didn’t quite match up to the feeling. After a short period, Kelsey realised it wasn’t working and decided to move on to Denmark, not only a place she wanted to go but there was a romantic venture waiting for her there.

This is when Kelsey began to teach online, as it was hard to find employment in Denmark. The role involved teaching English to Chinese kids online. And at first, it was all about necessity but after a while, she fell in love with the work and it paved the way for many future opportunities.

Denmark marked a great success for Kelsey. As it was primarily a non-English speaking country, Kelsey began an International Meet-up group to help her build a community of friends, some she still has today. In the year she spent in Denmark, Kelsey also managed to travel around Europe hitting some great spots such as Italy and Ireland. Exploring more of the world bit by bit. She also briefly became a nanny for a lovely family in Denmark but her time in Denmark soon drew to close for a few reasons.

Beautiful Bali and Thrilling Thailand

Early 2017 saw Kelsey venture east to Thailand and Bali. Both places were exotic and beautiful. This was her first time to experience scuba diving, something she remembers vividly due to the panic attack she had before her first dive. Kelsey’s partner at the time advised her to either do it or not. Simple and sharp advice but it stuck with Kelsey throughout her travels. In life, you can either do something or not, but there’s no point worrying either way. Just make your choice and be okay with it.

Looking back Kelsey felt like she’d always quit when things got too difficult and this was a chance for her to push through and do the thing she wanted. So she dived and loved it. It wasn’t just diving though, Kelsey ventured all across the world. Moving between places she loved like Thailand and Denmark, as well as meeting new countries and having new experiences. Her community grew worldwide, and soon she found friends would fly out to meet her and explore.

Finding her Travel Style

Over time Kelsey’s style of travel changed as well. At first hostels and cheap guesthouses, but soon she developed standards which made her life and work easier. She also began to develop patterns for settling into new countries quicker. Her network became a powerful tool, leaning on the advice of friends. Often she could know before arriving the tips and tricks of the country. Something only years of travel normally afforded you. She also began to extend time in countries, preferring to get to know a place more and build small versions of her life in each place. Finding home.

Of course, she still has many places she wants to visit. Japan, Berlin and New York to name but a few. And COVID, like for many, has only highlighted the importance of doing what you love and going to the places you want to become you never truly know what is around the next corner.

Currently, Kelsey finds herself happily situation in Georgia. As the borders are closed in many countries around the world, Kelsey’s using this time to settle in and truly embed herself into a place. Thankfully her year visa allows her to do just that.

Kelsey’s Top Lessons: Learn to love people for who they are. Set the boundaries you will accept in your life and take responsibility for your actions. We have a soul contract with everyone we meet on the road, whether it’s short or long, enjoy them for what they gift you and keep in mind, that the most important moments won’t seem like them at the time. Only when you look back will they be, so stay present and enjoy it all.”

Kelsey Links

• Catch her on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/_klsy12_

If you liked this story, please made to give a few claps (up to 50). It really helps with the visibility of these stories. To keep up to date make sure to follow The Travelling Womxn Publication. Thank You!