While many women in their 30s are looking to settle down by buying a home, getting married, and having children, Daisy Dyke is forging a different path.
Dyke, 33, has been traveling solo full-time for 15 years -- and she's not planning on stopping any time soon.
"I've never had the urge to settle down and have a 'normal' life," Dyke, a content creator from Dorset, UK, told Luxury Travel Daily.
The travel bug started during her gap year in Australia when she was 18 years old -- and she's been on the move ever since.
Dyke ventured Down Under in 2010 on a working holiday visa with a plan to "get the travel out of her system," but the opposite happened.
She's since visited 69 countries, traveling almost non-stop for 15 years and documenting her journey online.
"I'm 33, single, and doing a job that didn't even exist for the first few years I traveled," she said. "I never imagined my life would turn out like this - but it's also turned out better than I ever could've imagined."
"18-year-old me would be in shock - I thought 30 was so old and grown up back then, I wouldn't believe I was still single and traveling at this age."
After working on an outback ranch as a cowgirl, Dyke saved up to travel the East Coast of Australia before going on to Thailand, Kuala Lumpur and the Borneo jungle, where she lived with a tribe.
She returned to the UK to study in Liverpool for three years, saving money during that time to spend her spring and summer breaks traveling in Europe.
When she graduated, she knew she would never have a traditional life, at least not any time in the near future.
"The more I traveled, the more opportunities and jobs arose, so one thing would lead to another, and my travel list kept getting longer," she said.
In 2014, Dyke moved to Greece to work as a waitress before returning home briefly to work a normal job to save up to backpack across South America.
She then flew to New Zealand and spent two years there working as a horse trekking guide. She also volunteered in Tonga and Hawaii during this time in exchange for accommodations and took a holiday in the Philippines and the Cook Islands.
After that, she had a run leading travel groups in Europe which helped her get discounts on her next travels, including six countries in Africa.
Things shifted for Dyke when COVID-19 hit and she lost her job. She was forced to temporarily move back home and work full-time as a marketing manager before starting up her travels again.
In May 2021, she booked a one-way ticket to Mexico where she taught English and worked remotely, which ultimately led to her becoming a content creator.
She quickly garnered a community of 196,000 followers on her Instagram, @daisystraveldiaries, and now runs a digital community called Globe Strutters.
Of course, she had her doubts during her travels. In 2019, she even turned down a job in Japan out of fear of settling there and ending up flying back to the UK
"I definitely doubted myself a lot, comparing my life to friends at home who were getting married, working corporate jobs, and having babies," she admitted.
"For some strange reason, I convinced myself that I should try and settle down in London and felt like I was weird for not wanting that life."
Very quickly, the intrepid explorer realized that she hated the thought of settling in London and set out across the globe again.
"There is so much to see and so many things I want to do around the globe -- I have never felt that urge to 'settle,'" Dyke declared.
However, she does admit there are things she doesn't like about constantly being on the road.
"The only big one for me is missing out on things at home," she said. "My family is super close, and I miss events and parties -- although I do always go home for friends' weddings."
She continued, "Relationships are tough too -- you may meet an amazing man and get on well, but then have to say goodbye. But I also think that when the right one comes along, it will work."
Plenty of trolls attack her for her lifestyle of being single and not settling down, but Dyke embraces it and jokingly calls herself a "miserable spinster" in response.
"Trolls are my biggest inspo," Dyke said.
"There are so many voices, especially to women, saying we should live a certain way - but that's ridiculous," she said. "There is no 'right way' to live a life that makes you happy."
"Choose the life that makes you happy, and as you get out there and start your travel, you realize how many other people there are living this life."
She added that even though she chose a different path for life, she's still extremely happy for her loved ones who went the more traditional route.
"I'm also super happy for my friends who have beautiful babies, fur babies, who are corporate baddies, and who are buying houses. We are all on different journeys, and each one should be celebrated equally."