Kyle James and Ashley Grigsbyhave been together since college, moving from North Carolina to Denver, CO., to start their lives as adults right after school. <\/p>\n
For two years, theyd been saving for a house of their own, and had a little stash when they found themselves itching to travel (on more than just a vacation) before the summer of 2015. At the time, Kyle had started what he thought was a dream job, which was really soul-crushing cubicle sitting, cold-calling people to persuade them to buy billboard space. Ashley, a school teacher, was wrapping up the school year and was free for the summer. <\/p>\n
After talking and deciding the time was right, the two took a leap, quit their 9-to-5s and bought one way flights from Denver to New York, and from New York to Paris. They spent the next 114 days backpacking 15 countries and 38 cities together. <\/p>\n
Ashley was 23 and I was 24 at the time, Kyle tells Personal Space. Ashley was teaching, I made cold calls all day. I was cold calling from this cubicleI struggled with [spending the money] mentally. I was very scared that we were gonna go through all our money or we werent going to come back and find jobs. But Ashley wanted to go, she said lets do this now, and we left June 1, 2015. <\/p>\n
Kyle, skilled at Excel, made them a spreadsheet to budget out $150 per day to spend for the both of themincluding food, transport, and lodging. They Airbnbd it the entire way, it was both cheaper and more interesting than hostels. <\/p>\n
Some days we had 50 cents left and its noon, Kyle laughed. But if we overspent it would auto adjust and wed spend less the next day. We found Airbnbs that were like 30 dollars a night for both of us, you can find entire studio apartments in the middle of Budapest, its great. <\/p>\n
They planned their next steps only a week-and-a-half ahead of time, spending some evenings looking on their laptops as to where they wanted to head next. <\/p>\n
Then wed buy the next two cities, Kyle says. We never thought we were gonna go to Croatia then we got hammered in Budapest and we thought it was Italy. It was so beautiful. <\/p>\n
Now the two are getting married in Croatia next June. <\/p>\n
But the lovebirds didnt go without a few meltdowns. Dont we all have them while traveling? <\/p>\n
We were in a two seater kayak in Croatia traveling around this mountain in the middle of the Adriatic Sea. We were exhausted, we were together 24\/7, a month at that point in the heat, half the air conditioners in the Airbnbs were broken, we had built up anger. That day, on the water, I jumped off a crazy rock all to get a go pro videoI scaled a mountain, jumped off this crazy rock, almost killed myself, and Ashley had hit record by accident then stopped it by accident when I jumped, and missed it. Were in a two seater kayak in the Adriatic screaming at each other. <\/p>\n
It lasted only a few minutes before they broke into laughter, realizing all the moments of the trip were important moments. Among the most moving? <\/p>\n
We took a bus two hours at 5 A.M. into the middle of the jungle in Thailand where they rescued elephants from torture and carnivals, Kyle says. We were sleeping with them, they trumpeted through the night, Ashley was crying. <\/p>\n
As for what they both learned, beside that they love each other a lot, Kyle says hes lost some of the fear that he used to have, saying fear is just the unknown. <\/p>\n
For Ashley, this trip solidified her. She was always a shy southern girl, soft spoken, self conscious, this trip were just living and learning from all these different cultures. She started meditating, Kyle says. <\/p>\n
I try to explain the type of benefit long term travel has on you, he adds. <\/p>\n
Along the way, Kyle wrote in a a leather-bound journal every night, detailing the events of the day for their future grandkids, and had no intention of turning it into a book. But it was too good not to. <\/p>\n
Not Afraid Of The Fall is out now, and Kyle now has over12,000 Instagram followers who tracked his adventures with Ashley. <\/p>\n
If you read the book, the pictures there go along with it, he says. <\/p>\n
But the best part of the book is the dedication. Its how Kyle proposed. <\/p>\n
Ash, you are the wind to my sails and the ink to my pen. No matter where I go or what I do, the only thing I am sure of is that I want you by my side. Every cliff I jump off, every moped I crash, every morning after a night of food poisoning, every Mediterranean sunset, I want you by my side. I never want to stop exploring with you, Ash. <\/p>\n
Will you marry me? <\/p>\n
The two are now in Asheville, N.C., near family. Ashley is teaching kindergarten while Kyle is working for a nonprofit. They are planning on another adventure soon. <\/p>\n
Personal Space is Bravo's home for all things \"relationships,\" from romance to friendships to family to co-workers. Ready for a commitment? Then Like us on Facebook to stay connected to our daily updates. <\/p>\n
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Here is the original post: <\/p>\n
Guy Quits Miserable Cubicle Job To Travel Around The World With Fiance, Then Lands Book Deal - Bravo (blog)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Kyle James and Ashley Grigsbyhave been together since college, moving from North Carolina to Denver, CO., to start their lives as adults right after school. For two years, theyd been saving for a house of their own, and had a little stash when they found themselves itching to travel (on more than just a vacation) before the summer of 2015. At the time, Kyle had started what he thought was a dream job, which was really soul-crushing cubicle sitting, cold-calling people to persuade them to buy billboard space Continue reading