Are you a Downtown Traveler?

As the founder and editor of Downtown Traveler, I’d like to extend a warm welcome.  Thanks for celebrating our birthday with us!

We’re just one day old today, but we hope to stick around for years to come.  As we continue to grow, we’d appreciate your thoughts, tips, and contributions.

We’ve learned so much from other travelers and bloggers and can’t wait to give back.  Our goal is to bring you entertaining travel stories, thoughtful advice and tips on the latest attractions and gear.

I’ve created Downtown Traveler as a lifestyle site for adventurous travelers. As a Manhattan resident and former round the world backpacker, I fit squarely in this category.

I enjoy the energy of the city.  I’m drawn to the street art, the free performances, the art openings, the inexpensive restaurants and the cultural fusion that comes from living side by side with people from all over the world.

I also love to travel. I’ve never been into package tours; I prefer to discover new destinations independently. In 2008, my fiance and I quit our corporate jobs to travel around the world.  In one year, we visited 17 countries and five continents.

Before the trip, I’d rarely been camping and had only hiked a few times.  (Those weren’t highly valued activities when I was growing up in the New York City suburbs). However, it didn’t take long to pick up those skills.  We camped in Australia’s Outback, hiked the Colca Canyon in Peru and scaled the Drakensberg Mountains in South Africa.

In fact, when it comes to traveling, I believe us city folks have a real advantage. Once you’ve managed the subways, buses and crowds in a bustling city, it’s not hard to navigate a hiking trail, negotiate with a tuk tuk driver or use a foreign metro rail!

So whether you’re from New York, Rio de Janeiro, Bangkok or beyond, please join us on our journey and become a member of the Downtown Traveler community.

Best,

Leslie Koch
Founder and Editor,
DowntownTraveler.com
Aka “LeslieTravel” on Twitter and Facebook

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