How it all started
Scott and I met online, but don’t misunderstand, we weren’t using any dating sites. In fact, we ended up commenting on the same post about travel on Facebook back in 2014. After responding to each other a few times, we switched to private messages and began talking about different cultures, stereotypes, languages, and travel. The conversation flowed smoothly and after a month or so, we decided to have our first Skype call.
We had so much fun Skyping and it brought on a whole new dimension to our communications! It was much more tangible than chatting and we really enjoyed each other’s company and our interest in each other continued to grow. At that point, Scott and I wanted to meet up and see each other in person. There was definitely a romantic component to our conversations, but we didn’t want to admit it quite yet, because we still hadn’t seen each other in person.
Since we both share a desire to travel invited Scott to visit me in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Scott didn’t have a passport yet and he decided to apply for one to get the ball rolling. To our surprise, Scott got his passport much earlier than either of us expected. There was still the issue of his Russian Visa, which was still going to take a couple of months to process. Our patience grew thin and we couldn’t wait for the Russian visa any longer, we just wanted to meet! We agreed on meeting up in Helsinki, Finland because it was much faster and easier for both of us. Scott didn’t need a visa to get there and I was able to get one very easily.
International Relationship, International First Date
After a sleepless night of travel, we both arrived in Helsinki and saw each other for the first time as I met Scott at the airport exit. The excitement and anticipation were overwhelming, but we were so happy to finally meet in person!
Since we had a lot of uncertainty about how things would go on our first date, we prepared for the worst and hoped for the best. Instead of getting a hotel with a single room, we decided to rent an Airbnb apartment. It had a kitchen, living room, and bedroom which gave us some space if needed. We learned from our conversations that we enjoy each other’s company. However, Scott and I wanted to try living together like a regular couple and find out if we were compatible. We only had 7 days together and we wanted to make them count without feeling like a vacation. We explored beautiful Helsinki and its suburbs, and had a great time together! Unfortunately, Scott and I had to go back to our normal lives and our fun had to come to an end. It was very sad to say goodbye, but we knew we had to see each other again.
Scott and I had to return to our own countries and our regular lives to start figuring out our next adventure. With our first meeting under our belt, we knew that we had some compatibility and chemistry between us. We also learned that we had a lot of fun exploring new places together. Scott and I continued to work on his Russian Visa in hopes that we could meet again in five months.
Our Second Date
Five months went by very quickly and Scott was able to get the Visa just in time. He arrived in Saint Petersburg, Russia and we spent our first week touring around the city and visiting my friends and family. Since Scott had made it all the way to another continent, we wanted to use this opportunity and go someplace special together and the plan to visit Italy was born!
Italy has been a dream destination for both of us, even before we met. Scott and I wanted to see Venice, Florence, Rome, Naples and tour around the countryside. For us, this was another great opportunity to get to know each other and travel together as a couple. We spent two weeks in Italy and we couldn’t get enough of it. You can watch the highlights of our trip here! After an amazing two weeks, that trip came to an end and we both returned to Saint Petersburg. We were down to our last week together. I was able to show Scott more of historical Saint Petersburg, we toured around the suburbs and visited more people. We both knew that we had a really strong connection and we would need to figure out our future together.
Unfortunately, Scott used all of his vacation time for this trip and I couldn’t get a tourist visa to come to visit him. Our plans slowly evolved into getting Sasha a fiance visa. We spent about eleven months apart, talking and preparing immigration paperwork. It was very stressful because we were venturing into the unknown. We had a lot of work to do and decisions to make, being so far apart has its own stresses on top of the work required to see each other again.
Reunion
Finally, after eleven months of waiting, I received my K-1 visa and all of our hard work and patience was paying off! I hopped on a plane and arrived in the United States. The first few months were very difficult. On top of a new environment and the excitement of being together, I got sick. We spent the next few months visiting specialists and hospitals trying to get some answers. After many doctor’s appointments, the diagnosis came back as an Epstein-Barr Virus infection. Thankfully, it wasn’t serious and I got better over a couple of months. However, it certainly caused a lot of worry for both of us. The infection had several symptoms that were similar to Lymphoma and we spent a few weeks working with an oncologist to get to the bottom of the illness. In the meantime, it was also hard to adjust to a new culture and country. I couldn’t legally work, but I was able to volunteer at a local library where I ended up getting a job later.
During most of this time, we were traveling all around New England and surrounding areas. We visited New York, New Jersey, Maine, Vermont and toured around New Hampshire. We also took some vacations to Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Costa Rica. Exploring nearby states and some tropical countries had been a lot of fun, but we quickly realized we wanted more. Ever since Scott and I started talking, the idea of exploring the world became our dream. We were excited to fulfill our dreams and started working towards making our goals a reality
Now
After a few years of living together, working towards our goals, and saving money. We finally got to the point where we sold most of our belongings and were able to hit the road in November of 2019! Scott and I spent a lot of time in Florida and Texas. We also explored New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and all of the places in between. We absolutely love our new lifestyle. It allows us to declutter, meet like-minded people and shift our focus to what’s really important. Travel is a great way to learn new skills, explore remote areas, and find inspiration for future goals in life. We wrote an article about how to find great boondocking in remote areas, you can read it here!
We both feel very lucky that we met a significant other who is equally willing to travel! Scott and I found that many people have a hard time giving up the lifestyle that they’re used to and venture into something so drastically different. We are sure that we will eventually grow tired of constant life on the road and settle down somewhere, but for now, we are enjoying our adventures. We made a video about the story of how we met, you can watch it here.