Escape Artist Q&A: Geraldine DeRuiter of The Everywhereist blog
Photos by Geraldine DeRuiter
This column, “Escape Artist,” is a series about folks who have escaped. More importantly, this biweekly column is for those thinking about trading in their 9-to-5, leg-shackled-to-the-desk existences to forge their own way. The brave outliers featured in this collection of interviews are the digital nomads, online entrepreneurs and lifestyle trendsetters who decided it was time to say to hell with the humdrum and grab life by the roots.
Traveler and writer Geraldine DeRuiter runs Everywhereist, a travel blog that documents where she and her husband Rand travel around the world. Since she started the blog in 2009, it has morphed into a lifestyle and adventure travel site. In 2016, she is completing her book, All Over the Place, which will be published in summer 2017.
Paste Travel The “escape the 9-to-5” mentality seems to be popular now. What are your impressions?
Geraldine DeRuiter We’ve seen many people embrace the idea of “escaping” a cubicle. It makes me really uncomfortable. I think it creates an ugly dynamic because people who quit their jobs and travel are seen as brave and adventurous and people who work in an office are seen as not.
I don’t think that’s true or fair. I think that I—and so many other people I know—are really lucky to be able to travel. It’s a gift. For a lot of people, it is a brave act. It’s about overcoming fears or challenging yourself physically, especially if you have mobility issues, or putting yourself in situations that are profoundly vulnerable. But there’s nothing ignoble about keeping your job. It means that you have responsibilities, bills, a family and roots in a place, or you might not want to travel. There’s nothing cowardly about any of that.
PT What was the “aha” moment that sparked The Everywhereist for you?
DeRuiter It was at the urging of my husband that I started the blog. When I started traveling with him, I’d recently been laid off from a job that I loved, and we were extremely fortunate that he was in a financial position to support me while I tried to figure out what to do next. At first, I had no idea what I was doing with the blog. At some point, though, I gave up and started talking about baked goods and how cute my husband is. That was really when the blog started taking shape as it is now.
PT How did you develop the “Everywhereist” idea and brand and attract initial followers?
DeRuiter Like most of mankind’s successes, it involved a lot of trial and error and day drinking. In the early days of the blog, I tried everything — terribly drawn comics, weird photo montages, interpretive dances, haikus. It was terrible. After a while, I started figuring out my voice. If you try everything, you can figure out what feels natural and what feels right for you. That’s a big part of figuring out your brand.