Happy Blog-o-versary: 4 Years with Boarding Area

Blogging has been a hobby of mine for more than seven years. Writing about our vacations and sharing tips on how to save money on travel has always been a fun way to spend time. And it was a dream come true when I got the approval to join Boarding Area in May 2016. A lot has changed in the last four years, and I have all of you to thank.

Made a lot of new blogger friends

Many people view websites as just a collection of words and a bunch of bloggers sharing their experiences and advice. It is totally that, but so much more. I’ve made a lot of great friends over the years in the Boarding Area family and beyond. And, I can honestly say that I would have never had the chance to meet many of them if it wasn’t for getting this invite.

Although Tyler, Charlie, and Brett no longer write for me, I know that many readers really enjoyed their content. You can still read Charlie’s stories on TravelCharlie at TravelUpdate. Brett is now a full-time employee at ValuePenguin, a LendingTree website that is also one of my freelance clients. And Tyler is focused on his career and getting married soon.

Moved from Prior2Boarding to the main page

After being on the Prior2Boarding platform for the first couple of years, it was awesome to get called up to the big leagues and be on the main page of Boarding Area. I’m still nowhere as prolific of a writer as Gary or Lucky, but it is such a great feeling to see my articles side-by-side some of the most admired people in the travel blogging world.

Quit my corporate job and moved to Nashville

It’s hard to believe that it was almost two years ago that I quit my corporate finance job and moved to Nashville. An incredible change from everything I knew in California to move to Nashville.

The skills I learned while blogging for fun (and a little bit of revenue) helped me launch my new career as a freelance writer. I’ve been fortunate enough to be published on a lot of great sites that I respect so much. You can check out some of the sites I write for on my portfolio.

Started the We Travel There podcast

Whenever I travel, one of the things I always do is ask the locals for their tips on the best things to do in their city. Anyone can use Google to look up attractions and restaurants, but you know that locals have way better suggestions.

I started the We Travel There with Lee Huffman podcast in September 2018 and have now released more than 100 episodes from around the world. So far, listeners have downloaded my podcast episodes almost 45,000 times! Here’s the latest episode featuring my friend Deb Pollack about Syracuse, New York.

Upcoming episodes include:

• Key West, Florida
• Berlin, Germany
• Montevideo, Uruguay
• Guatemala City, Guatemala
• The Hamptons, New York

The We Travel There with Lee Huffman podcast is about 30 minutes and comes out every Monday morning. It can be found on all of the major podcasting platforms, so subscribe now so you don’t miss any of our upcoming episodes.

And I’m always looking for more guests to represent their city. Submit your info using our form if you’re interested in being a guest.

What will the next year hold?

With coronavirus, the crystal ball for the next year is a bit hazy. I’ll continue to write here on a regular basis and release weekly podcast episodes. Freelance work is a bit erratic as clients adjust and try to figure out how best to make money in today’s economic environment.

I’m going to continue to add resources to my site that will help you travel more, spend less, and live better. For example, I just published this guide to the World of Hyatt loyalty program. Additional dedicated pages for many of the major airline, hotel, and bank loyalty programs will be coming soon.

Once it is safe to travel again, I’ll have more adventures to document in trip reports of hotels, premium flights, airport lounges, and attractions. In the meantime, I have a lot of previous trips that need to be written about. So stay tuned for those.

If you haven’t already, please join my email list. I write about once a week to share tips, latest adventures, and upcoming content.

The Bald Thoughts

A big thank you to everyone who has read my articles, followed me on social media, and told their friends about me. I appreciate your support. Without you, I would not be where I am today.

Enjoy the rest of this Memorial Day weekend. Please support our troops and show your gratitude for their sacrifice. Without them and their families, we wouldn’t have the freedoms we do today.