Hi! I’m RunawayBrit.
That’s not my real name (it’s not Brit either, as some people have thought in the past), but it’s a name I came up with when I first left Britain to live overseas. I’m a High school teacher-turned-online teacher from the UK, now living in Sweden. I’m a traveller, an immigrant in Sweden, a cake lover, cat mother, and a horribly haphazard blogger.
Maybe I’m in one of those moods, but I changed my ‘About’ page because it was full of the usual ‘If I can travel, you can too‘ clichés, which, frankly, annoy the hell out of me. Mainly because it’s often untrue.
I am lucky to travel the way I have. Yes, I overcame a mountain of debt before I started – but I have had (thanks, Brexit) one of the best passports in the world, a job that I can do anywhere in the world, and have been, thus far, healthy. I do not have children to worry about.
I can’t tell you how to travel for $5 a day, because, in all honesty, I spend over $5 on cake most days. Neither can I advise you how to pack light because my luggage is full of cosmetics, heavy-duty support bras, and hair straighteners. There isn’t a string bikini or strappy sundress in my bag. Mother Nature isn’t kind after 30, girls!
What is RunawayBrit about?
RunawayBrit is my life since I left the UK in 2007. It follows where I’ve been, what I’ve done, and who I’ve become. When I started, I wrote exclusively about travel, but now I post about living and working overseas, teaching, and sometimes, relationships.
One day, when I’m too tired to travel anymore, I’ll get my favourite posts printed for a coffee table book. I would be truly honoured if you want to come along and read my posts, but, honestly, I won’t be offended if you would rather read ‘The 10 Best Party Beaches Of All Time – Like, Ever‘ posts on a more successful blog than mine.
I live in Gävle, Sweden, now, and with Corona currently rocking the planet, RunawayBrit will be less focused on travel for a while.
If you wish to contact me, please use the contact form
You can also follow me on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/runawaybrit and Twitter http://twitter.com/RunawayBrit
Hey, really great blog posts… I’ve enjoyed reading through your blog because of the great style and energy. I actually work for the CheapOair travel blog. If you’re interested, we would love to have you on as a guest blogger. Please send me an e-mail: gchristodoulou(at)cheapoair(dot)com, and I’ll give you more information. Looking forward to hearing from you.
George recently posted..The Ritz Carlton St Thomas Residence Club
I stayed in the UK from December-March 2011. I haven’t fulfilled my self-imposed task of backpacking in the whole UK. Hope you could visit the Philippines on your next Southeast Asian trip 🙂 More power to you 🙂
Micamyx|Senyorita recently posted..The Corregidor Adventure Challenge
Thanks for the comment. The Philippines is very high up on my list of places to go now, I hope I get to do it soon. Where did you visit in the UK?
Love your blog! Looks like you’re having an amazing adventure(s) and life!
Jacqueline recently posted..21 Days: Day 7
Thanks. I am having a great time, life is too short to stay still!
I like the way you presented “The Clocksmith of Valparaiso”. It’s one of my favorite poems.
Thank you very much. It’s a great poem!
How do you do!
I’m another travelling Brit, today in Mexico City, next week New Zealand. I’m glad I’ve found you, I love your blog.
Thanks for finding me and for the comment! How’s Mexico City? Since travelling South America I have discovered that I have the urge to visit Central America now! Need to start saving again 🙂
Hi,
Contact me if your still looking for work. you can find phone no. on website.
Look forward.
Clinton.
Great to meet a fellow Brit teacher/TEFL guru who’s in their 30’s and also ‘run away!’ I taught in Sri Lanka, on board a container ship (!), travelled through Cambodia and seem to find myself in Greece now.
Check out my blog and adventures and hope to chat about a possible guest post from you some day.
:0)
Bex recently posted..League of Expat Writers (LEW): Greece & Christmas foods
Hey, sorry about the late reply to this!
I would love to be in touch regarding a blog post exchange!!
Cool blog! You just got yourself a new follower 🙂
It’s an EU thing recently posted..Free city tours in Europe
Thank you!
Hey Elaine,
awesome blog, like browsing through your posts while sitting on a sofa dreaming of being on the road again:)
Keep on travelling and posting. As long as I am stationary I will read… will be on the road to Alaska from May on, so then there will be less time for reading again…
cheers Nat
Thank you so much for your comment. How long are you going to Alaska for? I would love to visit Alaska, it is high up on my Bucket List!
I will be up in Alaska for the whole summer season. We are currently remodelling an old school bus for our adventure holiday and we will run five trips up there. Well, if you are interested check out my website and maybe you are joining us this summer!?
Hey!
I really advise you to go on a trip trough hole South Africa for like 3 weeks, the counrty is AMAZING, the only downside is that there is a lot of crime..
BTW, nice blog!
I would love to visit South Africa, it seems like an incredible place. I have heard about the crime, it’s such a shame that crime is a downside of travelling. Fortunately, I have not really been affected by crime when travelling – but I certainly don’t take safety for granted anywhere.
Do you have any recommendations for South Africa?
I will be in Scandinavia later this month. If I came to Stockholm, would you show me some of the city? If you want to just give me advice tidbits on where to eat, sleep, go, etc – (for cheap), that would be fine, too.
I am five pictures down – next to Lenin statue:
http://travelingyourdream.com/?p=453
Hi, I am not actually around in Stockholm much this month. There are lots of National holidays so I will be travelling a lot 😀
Stockholm is not cheap, sadly. Accommodation is expensive, but hostels will be the cheapest option. There are a few cool boat hostels that would be worth checking out, as Stockholm is completely surrounded by water.
Foodwise, the cheapest food you will get is the street-stands that sell hot dogs, and burgers. Next there are the pizzerias and kebab joints. Swedes are crazy about kebab! Again, this is relatively cheap and simple food. They are okay, but don’t expect gourmet! Vapiano’s is a nice Italian chain restaurant that is probably the cheapest more upmarket restaurant.
When are you here?
Hi, I love your website. It’s very inspiring 🙂
Actually, I was thinking about traveling around Southeast Asia and eventually maybe stay there for a year or two. The problem is my budget doesn’t allow me to stay that long, so I have to find some way to make money during my stay. Can you please give me some advice if you’re knowledgeable in this area?
Does teaching there necessarily require being a native English speaker? I am not obviously but I am fluent in three languages, does that help in any way?
Thank you in advance for helping me
Hi Brit, Wow you taught in Tokyo and Vietnam. I did my TEFL in Thailand in 2011, then moved to Hong Kong and taught English there for a year until 2012. I would love to know what you thought about Tokyo and Vietnam, and if you needed a degree? Email me if your interested in HK too!
Alana 🙂
Sorry about the late reply to this – I really need to figure out how to get notifications on this page!
I needed a degree for both Tokyo and Vietnam (for work visa purposes), but I also needed a teaching degree for the school I was at in Vietnam. They were both wonderful places to live and work – Vietnam more financially accessible as Tokyo was expensive.
I would love to work in HK, so any info you could share would be appreciated.
Hello,
I recently discovered your blog and it’s become one of my few favourites. I love how personal and provocative your posts are. I also love the way you travel: as oppose to travelling just to build up bragging rights on how many places you’ve been to or how many attractions you’ve seen, your trips seem to be much more meaningful. Travelling has always been a passion of mine and I’m lucky enough to hold my dream job as a flight attendant as well. Perhaps I’ll bump into you somewhere on this wonderful planet!
-tony
Hi,
Love the blog – are you from Birmingham?
Sam
Love the honesty. It’s refreshing.
I stumbled upon your site when researching safety concerns for my upcoming visit to La Paz / Bolivia… Your experiences, advice and associated comments have been very helpful.
Hopefully La Paz will be a rewarding, incident free experience!
Honestly, I really liked La Paz and personally did not feel intimidated or threatened. Keep your wits about you, but don’t let anxiety make you paranoid or overshadow the experience. La Paz is a cool city to be in. Enjoy your trip!!
“I would love to offer advice on how to travel on $5 a day, but in all honesty, I spend over $5 on cake most days.” – oh I laughed, so honest and so true for so many!
I am the worst ever and sticking to a budget. Especially when there’s cake around 😀
I’ve love reading your posts – they’re definitely giving me the travelling bug. I’d love to read more about your US trip.
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing from Aventura company. We liked your travel blog very much and wanted to ask whether it is possible to publish one of our not advertising articles about Armenia there with a dofollow backlink to our web site? If yes, what are your rates? You can see some examples of our articles here:
http://www.travelwithamate.com/best-resort-towns-visit-armenia/
https://www.travel-experience-live.com/mountain-holidays-south-caucasus/
Thank you,
Best regards,
Marine
I used to read your blog a long time ago and recently I started re-reading some of my favorite travel blogs. It was refreshing to see this updated About page. I’m in my 30s now, and it’s nice to see how everyone has grown. I don’t want to read posts about how to travel on $5 a day because I was never, ever able to do that, and shoestring travel isn’t my style anymore–I like a little comfort. Like I’ll book private rooms or splurge for an occasional hotel, but when I was 23 it was all about 14-bed dorms.
Looking forward to reading more.