Welcome to my blog, Hippie in Heels!
I’m glad you’re here.

I always told my friends I would work any job six months a year if I could travel the other six. Travel AND shop: my two favorite things. I saved all year in college to spend my summers backpacking in Europe, or my winter having Christmas alone in Africa.

I grew up in a small town in Ohio, in a close knit family of 4. My dad worked at General Motors and my mom is a special education aid. I have one older brother (I’m hoping him and his wife pop out some babies soon to take the pressure off me).

travel blog, family, backpackingWhen I graduated with my BSN, my brother, Travis finished his Masters

I have been lucky enough to have some of the same friends since preschool, perk of being from a small town. High School was a blur of soccer, studies, and getting into lots of secret trouble on the weekends.

travel blog, solo female travelHigh School graduation and best friends weddings

College was typical, lots of partying, working, and trying to study (but not really). It was the summer between my sophomore and junior year that I started to really think about the course in which I wanted my life to go. I spent two summers backpacking a little in Europe, and one month in Uganda my senior year.

Somehow, even with all of the great things and people that my life had blessed me with; I knew that something was missing. I knew in my heart that I belonged among the wildflowers, I belonged somewhere that I could feel free (Tom Petty, my favorite song of all time).

College at OSU: the school year spent partying, and the summers abroadCollege at OSU when I got addicted to travel

Upon graduating with honors as a Nurse I moved on from OSU to Charlotte, NC where after 11 months of cardiac care I was ready for retirement. Obviously it hadn’t taken long for me to realize the “real world” and I didn’t click. So I chose to create my own reality.

I chose the world on the road, living out of my backpack, eating street food and getting $4 massages…over the world where I’m barely breaking even to pay rent and worrying about finding car insurance willing to take on 3 speeding tickets.

I wanted to ride a camel & climb a mountain. It was as simple as that. I didn’t want to waste any time. I set off for India for a 3-month solo trip. I met the love of my life…in a bar, in southern India.

backpacking, india, solo traveler

travel nurse, seattle, city life, party, love, Back in Seattle when my boyfriend came to visit; fellow nurse gypsies

I went back to the states and tried out Seattle as a travel nurse for 3 months but couldn’t sit still. I was back in India before I knew it.

I see this quote often: Travel is only glamorous in retrospect. (Paul Theroux) and although on my first couple trips I could agree, I am learning how to make it glamorous IN the moment, while not spending a fortune (despite my unfortunate newly gained allergy to champagne). I want to show you another side of India; a pretty side the movies hide.

Sometimes I fail miserably, but I’ll teach you what not to do. There is a balance; taking the cheaper option for transportation, like a local bus, will give you the extra money to stay in a nice hotel when you arrive. I am a pro at finding the cutest boutique hotel with a pool, bargaining in the markets for precious jewels, and finding exotic yet sometimes expensive silks and cottons to make my own clothes.

Yes, I may have to take the lowest class sleeper train with 3 people trying to share my bed to be able to afford it… but with a little sleeping pill and my iPod, it’s the ADVENTURE that makes it so worth it.

backpacking, travel, world travel, hippieViews from Charlotte, my dog Huckleberry Finn, England with Ben; Thailand nights

I have been told I’m a contradiction (my bf calls me the hippie barbie). I love to put on a full face of makeup and a new dress for a club just as much as I love to spend a week love-drunk on a beach forgetting what a hairbrush is. Some of my friends think I’m a girly-girl and some think I’m a dirty hippie. I’m a little of both, hence the name of my blog. I call this a glamorous travel blog because I like luxury, but don’t need to be in a 5 star hotel- I enjoy girly beach shacks with a hammock and cozy homestays where the owners make local food for dinner.

I love fashion, jewelry, coffee, reading, the Real Housewives of almost everywhere (I’m a writer for Bravo TV’s travel section of their website), and my pup Huckleberry Finn (edit, my pup passed away this year… but I love him too much to erase this. I now have two new dogs and a cat: Shanti, Omni, and KitKat).

I think I’m becoming what people call a “foodie” to be nice, but really I just eat a lot.

If I were two people mixed together it would be Liz Lemon (30 Rock) and Monica Geller (Friends). Does that make me a nerdy, socially-awkward, clean freak? I don’t think so… but people have frequently made these comparisons, so it’s worth mentioning as a warning.

Not all those who wander are lost (JRR Tolkien) is another one of my favorite quotes, and although I’m not lost in life… if you see me wandering down a road I probably am lost. I have been known to not know which country I was in on a couple occasions… don’t get on a ferry drunk, my friends.

Barcelona

Now I’m living in Goa, for the past 3 years, learning what being an expat is all about as well as continuing my travels all around the world. Some of my favorite places have been Hawaii, Jordan, Turkey, and Sri Lanka. I’ve now been to 30 countries and counting!

I come home to see family and friends every “monsoon” season in Goa for a month in July. We usually take family vacations and I’ve written about our trips to Toronto, Hocking Hills, Vegas and Nashville.

I am sharing my stories to inspire other girls (and boys) that you can quit your job, travel, and look cute doing it. You don’t have to be rich (but you do need some money folks!), you don’t have to be with your friends, and we are only getting older… There’s always going to be an excuse not to travel, and it’d be a shame to keep waiting just for it to never happen.

meme

Get to know me better

Below are some posts about how I ended up living in India after quitting my job in the U.S. which is what a lot of people e-mail asking about, plus a few posts to get to know me better.

How I Afford Travel: Learn Thai Yoga Massage in India

What do you do all day? (pff! my most asked question!)

How I make money from travel blogging (my main income)

So, You Want to Travel to Find Yourself?

My Accidental Boyfriend

Travel Playlist: What’s On My iPod (this is embarrassing and friends say I should take it down… )

Shop My Favorite Things (everything I pack on trips organized into a list.. organization & lists are two of my favorite things)

Why I Don’t Think You Should Quit School to Travel

meme drop out of school to travel

Travel Resources

When it comes to booking flights and rooms, I use a variety of sites. For full details see my Travel Resources.

I have a discount code: you can get $35  off your stay if you use this airbnb link to book.

meme drop out of school to travel

New Here?

If it’s your first time visiting Hippie in Heels, I’m linking below a few posts that I think are a great place to start reading. I write a lot about travel beauty products, packing, health, some of the more off the beaten track places I’ve been, and the dumb predicaments I’ve found myself in while traveling abroad.

That Time I Called my Couchsurfing Host from Jail…

Survive Dengue Fever Symptoms Like A Boss

On Money:
9 Tips for Saving Money toward Travel & 14 Ways to Earn Money Abroad & 12 Ways to Travel the World for Free & 13 Tips to Save Money While Traveling

On Health:
11 Ways to Stay Healthy Without Sacrificing Experience & 10 Tips for Not Gaining Weight While you Travel

That Time I was Head-butted by a Cow

Hippie in Heels

A Year in Review:

Top 10 Backpacking Europe Experiences

9 Things You Need in Your Beach Bag

meme

India

I write about India, obviously. I have lived here for two years and have over 200 posts on this site, most about India. These are a great place to start if you’re just thinking of planning a trip to India:

My India Travel Bucket List

Ultimate Guide to India: All the FAQ Answered

My Guide: the Best Itinerary for India

When to Travel to India

Everything You Need to Know

Your Backpacking India Budget

20 USD per day

Love Hate Relationship With India

Backpacking India Alone

Do’s and Don’ts of How to Dress in India

14 Tips for Solo Female Travel

Traveling India Alone is Hard: Here’s a Pep Talk

50 things to do in Goa

10 Common Mistakes Everyone who Travels to India Makes

Step by Step: How to Apply for a Tourist Visa

WARNING: 20 Common Tourist Scams in India

10 Safety Tips for Train and Bus Travel in India

15 Tips for Eating Street Food in India & Not Getting Sick

10 Tips for FIRST time travel to India

A Complete Guide to Karnataka (with links to dozens of articles I’ve written on the state… a really overlooked amazing tourist destination)

How to Rent a House in Goa: Tips & Prices

Two Months in India Itinerary & Experiences

meme

Blog Series on Hippie in Heels

I do a series called International Boho-Chic Designers, where I share some of the coolest designers, artists, and models I meet abroad. I shop a lot when I travel, and I had so many friends back home asking me where I get my clothes and jewelry. Most of it is from local designers. I let you in on the shops I find and how you can purchase online from them too and sometimes there’s even a giveaway if I can talk the designer into it ;)

Another series is called This is India. Each Friday I post a story about something crazy/silly/funny that happens here in India. Although most my posts outside this series about India are informative, these are more to help you picture what it’s like living here and prepare you for culture shock before a visit.

Feel free to check out my Ask Me Anything posts. I share FAQ I get via e-mail and let you know the answer I give the readers who mailed in.

Lastly, I have a series on Sundays called Backpackers Boutique.

  • Interviews with other bloggers about what specifics they pack- what brand bag, what hair products, or how many pairs of shoes… (I’m no longer taking more of these)
  • Luxury guides from expats who know the area very well. If you’re a blogger and you’d like to share a place you know well, e-mail me at rachel@hippie-inheels.com

Don’t forget to check out my most popular posts on the column to the right or you can search by category at the top. Thanks for stopping by Hippie in Heels! Be sure to contact me if you have any questions.

meme