Welcome to

Changes in Longitude!

Glad you could join us here on our travelers blog! We help you enrich your vacations by finding the best destinations for foodie travelers, along with road trips, car-related sites and slow travel strategies.

We’ve been full-time travelers since 2011, and have loads of travel tips and inspiration to help you make your next trip your best trip.

Please read through our site for articles about unique destinations, money saving tidbits and reviews of travel gear that might be of interest as you plan your next vacation. Great things happen when you Change YOUR Longitude!

About Larissa & Michael

We’re a midlife couple who have been exploring the world full-time since 2011. After 25 years of marriage we sold our house, ditched most of our possessions and took off to travel around the world for (what we thought would be) a year. Along the way we discovered that travel is our true passion and resolved to turn our “adventure” into our “venture.” Changes in Longitude is a travelers blog where we share our experiences, showcase unique destinations and provide tips for fellow travelers.

Since we began our odyssey we’ve visited over 70 countries, 6 continents and all 50 states. We’ve taken a self-drive safari in Africa and gone truffle hunting in Italy. We discovered the secret to visiting Angkor Wat without crowds, and swam with sea lions in the Galapagos. Closer to home, we’ve learned Anchorage, Alaska and Buffalo, NY are terrific cities to visit.

Along the way we’ve also figured out ways to make travel easier (or sometimes cheaper), and we share those tips with you. Whether it’s a free pdf copy of a Better Paris Metro map, an insider tip on currency conversion, or how to choose the best spinner suitcase, we’ve got you covered.

But how did we get here?

Our Backstory

A love of travel is one of the things that drew us together when we first met. As a kid Larissa used to gauge the success of summer vacations by how many trips she took. (You can see her in this photo at age 9 in a stunning pixie haircut at the ultra-chic Camp Tweedale Girl Scout camp.) Michael had a loftier goal: he wanted to fly. (Once he realized his dream at age 4 of becoming Superman wouldn’t pan out, he needed an alternate plan.)

By the time we met in our 20s we were each in the business world. We traveled extensively for business throughout the US & Europe but dreamed of a day when we could travel with an open-ended itinerary. However, life always seemed to get in the way.

Then a harrowing family situation left us burned out, broken and in need of a major change. And so our journey began . . .

Larissa (left) & Michael each developed a love of travel at an early age

Larissa as child by pool, Michael as child in Superman costume

From “travelers” to a travelers blog

We created Changes in Longitude originally as a blog to chronicle our round-the-world journey. In August 2011 we left our hometown of Philadelphia with a one-way ticket to Beijing and only a rough idea of where we would go next.

We chose “Changes in Longitude” as the title to reflect crossing every line of longitude as we circled the globe. It also indicated the changes we were making in our own lives. Because we’re from Philly, our mascot, “Little Rocky,” came along with us and helped us make new friends everywhere we went.

Although we hadn’t been travel writers before, our story of chucking it all drew the attention of our hometown newspaper. We created a yearlong series for The Philadelphia Inquirer where we shared the stories of our round the world journey. The series was a hit, and coupled with writing the blog, it gave us the push we needed to become travel writers.

We were delighted—and stunned—when this travelers blog received a Lowell Thomas Silver Award from the Society of American Travel Writers. We must be doing something right! 😊

Life as Digital Nomads

Once we made the decision that we wouldn’t be returning to our former jobs/lives, we worked to establish ourselves as travel writers and bloggers. Fortunately, full-time travel gives us plenty of material!

In addition to sharing destinations and travel tips here on the blog, we also write the Field-Tested Travel Tips column for the Philadelphia Inquirer & Inquirer.com. These tips are based on our personal travel experiences (which are sometimes mis-adventures!).

As you see on this blog, we’re passionate about discovering great food in our travels. Larissa is also a regular food travel contributor to USAToday’s 10Best. She specializes in unique regional foods and their history.

Michael, aka, “Mr. Road Trip” writes about classic car museums and attractions around the world. His articles are featured in a monthly column in Hemmings Motor News and other automotive magazines in the US & UK. He is also the author of The Roadster Guide to Americas’s Classic Car Museums, which is now in its 2nd edition!

Our Travel Style

Good Value

We believe in getting the most for your money. Careful budgeting helps us to travel more extensively. But that’s not the same as “cheap.” We simply recognize that we’re willing to spend more money on some things while scrimping on others. It’s all a matter of personal priorities.

As a married couple we like to stay in comfortable lodging. We typically stay in vacation rentals; a kitchen lets us frequent local markets and do some cooking. For shorter stays we like mid-range hotels or bed & breakfasts. We still love to dine out—our focus is tasting authentic local cuisines.

We plan our own itineraries. We see what we want, when we want and only spend money on things that interest us.

You WON’T find information here about hostels, camping & backpacking. There are plenty of terrific blogs that feature this type of travel, but it’s just not us.

Slow Travel Strategies

Slow travel is more a state of mind than a specific amount of time. To us it means slowing down and really absorbing the experience or sight that’s most important to you. (Which ties into our “Value Travel” philosophy.) You don’t need to have oodles of time, you just need to use your time wisely.

We’d much rather spend an afternoon exploring a food market in Europe or Asia than race around trying to cram in 5-6 different sights. Strolling through a neighborhood in Modena, Italy and stopping in a local cafe for a coffee or snack is a perfect way to just “be in the moment.”

We know that everyone’s interests are different. We try to provide recommendations of sights and experiences that are worth exploring if they sound interesting to you.

Avoid the Crowds

To us, seeing one of the great wonders of the world with 10,000 other jostling tourists is just no fun. We find visiting sights much more enjoyable when we have the place (virtually) to ourselves.

Sometimes this means arriving at a destination at off-peak times. Other times it means venturing a little farther from the main entrance to get away from the hordes. Or it might mean skipping the “greatest hits” sights altogether and finding something a little more off the beaten path.

We consider finding a “hidden gem”—whether it’s a museum, a restaurant, or just a quiet corner of a well-known sight—one of the greatest joys of travel. It’s your special little secret and adds some spice to your trip.

Here we share with you those hidden gems we’ve uncovered (with the understanding that it will still be “our little secret” 😉 ). And when we’ve found away to avoid the crowds at more well-known sights, we provide those tips as well.

Connect with us!

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Member, Society of American Travel Writers (SATW)

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What our readers are saying

“Changes in Longitude makes even the most daring travel seem easy, and the writers tell stories of their journeys that are intimate, accessible and fun.”

Lowell Thomas Awards Committee(Society of American Travel Writers Foundation)

“Wonderful article on your walk along Hadrian’s Wall. I would love to take that walk next year for my birthday. Thanks for the inspiration!”

Vicki from New Jersey

“Thanks for your great suggestions on long term travel abroad. I look forward to reading more”.

Terry from California

“I loved reading your blog about the [Local Hero] movie scenes in Scotland!”

Mary from Iowa

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