Community Spotlight: Youtubers Keith & Dev
Youtubers Keith & Dev are on a year-long adventure backpacking post-Covid around Europe, going as far south as Morocco and as far north as Scotland, and stopping just about everywhere in between.
With a collection of previous travel experiences, from Dev’s study period in India and Keith’s childhood in Portugal, they’ve embarked on this new chapter together with the purpose of authentically showing the realities of long term backpacking through their channel.
From their two weeks with us in Scotland, we got the chance to chat about their unique experiences, including how they fund their adventures, what challenges they’ve faced, and what their advice is for travellers looking to have a similar experience.
Keith and Dev came to visit us in Scotland for two weeks in early July after their first six months of long term travel.
What was the initial inspiration to do a trip like this?
“I’ve wanted to travel since I was in university, but originally pictured more of a 3-6 month thing between jobs” Dev begins. Since meeting Keith in high school, who had always wanted to travel the world, their shared interests of combining education with exploration came together to form their initial idea of long term travel.
Their inspiration for starting a platform on Youtube came from youtubers Kara and Nate in the first Covid lockdown of Spring 2020. “I’ve always been a big fan of Youtube as a source of entertainment, and when we found [Kara and Nate] it was a revelation of like, holy shit, this is something we could do”, Keith says, “With Covid, we didn’t know when it would be possible, so we looked at the rest of our time locked down as an opportunity for us to figure out how we could do it and to be able to head out as soon as things opened up again.”
They mentioned that Covid was actually a great test to living and working together, which was a different dynamic to what they had been used to, “we realised we liked being in each other's company” Keith jokes. When Canada opened up once more, they took the opportunity to road trip from their home in eastern Ontario to Vancouver, which they documented on their new channel. “After that, when the rest of the world slowly started opening up again, it was like, we’ve seen our backyard, now let’s see what else there is”
Thinking of taking the leap with your partner? Check out our tips on travelling as a pair.
What would you say your travel style is?
“When we were planning, we realised really early on that a cookie cutter experience doesn’t exist for this kind of travel. From reading blogs and watching other Youtubers, we learned there is no ‘best way’ to do it, and from our travels so far, we’ve seen it’s truly about figuring out what works for you as you go”
The pair speak about how important it is for them to make the most of this year and see as much as they can but in a sustainable way, taking their time and seeing where their travels take them. “Our travel style has changed with us” they mention, referencing how their mindset has shifted in the five months they had been on the road. “It’s definitely made us more adaptable, and we feel like we’re still changing all the time with every new thing we try”.
How do you currently fund your travels?
“In 2020, when we knew we wanted to make the leap, we did a bunch of research online about this”. They speak about reading through blogs and other articles of how much others saved to do a year-long adventure of this kind. They mention that at that time, they didn’t know if they would be able to do Europe and/or Asia, the two continents they had their sights set on.
“We found out that it was possible to go ‘super-budget’ for the year on around $10,000 p/p (CAD)” Dev says, “like, stay in hostels, couch-surf, eat beans for every meal, that kind of thing… but we wanted to be able to budget a bit more than this to have more flexibility - and of course, we also realised that the budget really depends on where you want to travel to”.
They decided in the end to aim for $40-45,000 CAD for both of them for the year, taking into account the potential for them to be in Europe for most of it.
As of November 2022, the pair are back in Canada and ultimately only spent half of their allocated budget (amazing!).
Watch as we take Keith and Dev to some of our favourite places in the Highlands…
As for budgeting on the road….
“We’ve been able to budget through travel by relying mainly on three things” Dev begins, “One is our community - we’ve been able to stay with lots of people we know who have hosted us, and it’s helped us to save a lot in accommodation cost”. She also speaks about how connecting with friends, family and acquaintances on the road has been really helpful to ‘fill her cup’, giving her a sense of familiarity in unfamiliar places, so it’s been a win-win.
“The second is travelling through cheaper countries. Although we had this idea of doing Asia as well, most countries (were) still closed (at the time), so doing places like Morocco and Turkey were great because they are less expensive than other European countries”.
“Finally, the third has been through our Youtube experience”. The pair go on to mention that they’ve started to make a small amount through their content creation (which is awesome) “It’s not enough to survive off of -yet, but it extends our budget for sure”. They also mention that they’ve been able to secure a few partnerships, where they collaborate to make content about a certain travel experience with local businesses within the tourism industry.
Looking for more helpful hints on saving £ travelling? Check out our tips below.
Chatting about the dynamics that come with living and working with your partner while travelling, we all agreed that setting boundaries and communication are essential to enjoying the experience.
How have you found the video journey?
“The more we film and show positive energy, the better we feel, even if our energy is coming and going”, the pair say, speaking about their experience of searching for the balance between being genuine on camera and managing their energy. Documenting even their travel days, the two have been committed to a continuity in their videos so their subscribers can follow along with the adventure. This has meant showing not just the fun-filled days but the less glamorous sides of travel and budgeting as well.
As for the editing, and how they fit that in with their travels, “We had a different approach to it at first. We had had ideas of like, planned videos comparing two places, that kind of thing, but as we started filming and editing we realised it was better to go with the flow and think about how we’ll tell the story afterward” Keith says. They decided early on to have dedicated filming days and separate editing days to be able to make the most of new places, and they’ve learned to play to their unique strengths while making the videos.
“I do most of the editing because Keith is a perfectionist” Dev laughs, and Keith agrees “I’d never get a video done because I’d be obsessing over the smallest details”. So while Dev edits the footage they capture, Keith uses this to have the final glance and make any last minute changes before they post.
What’s been the most challenging part of living “on the road”?
“At the beginning, it was adapting to the change,” Dev says. “During Covid I had this set routine and when we made the move, the realisation that there were some things we couldn’t plan for was definitely difficult at first….but more recently, the most challenging part is missing my people, especially in a place that is so unlike home”. Dev comes from a tight knit (and completely awesome) family and we speak about how so many long term travellers have to navigate those feelings of missing their favourite people while also enjoying new places, people and things.
For Keith, an inherent extrovert who thrives off of energy from others, it’s more about the challenge of isolation that sometimes comes with travelling with one other person and going from place to place. Something that all extroverts can empathise with, being reliant on one person can be challenging at times.
“We found that we reflected off of each other's moods quite a lot, like if one of us was upbeat, the other would feed off of that energy, but the same was true for when one of us was tired or down. Also, travelling and making the videos added a whole new dynamic to the relationship so we realised early on that non-stop communication was essential” Keith added.
Not always as glamorous as it seems, travel can be a true labour of love. Check out our tips on navigating mishaps on the road…
What do you wish you’d have known when you just started out?
“Definitely take a chill pill!” Dev laughs, “the whole planning aspect like I mentioned was challenging at first. We had Lanzarote (their first destination) fully planned, but with the shorter term planning, it was a learning curve that taught me to not sweat the small stuff”.
“Reminding myself that this is the best thing you’ve ever done so relax, enjoy it.” Keith says, which is definitely something these two practice as well as preach. From all they’ve learned throughout their travels thus far, every stressful encounter has still been met with the air of gratitude with what they’re doing.
Connecting with a piece of home abroad can be very needed for travellers who go months or years on end without heading back. Although there’s nothing like the excitement of experiencing new people, places and things, you’ll always miss some of your people!
Some of our favourite ways to get a touch of home abroad:
Which place surprised you the most so far?
“Scotland and Turkey!” they said unanimously, “These two came in at the top because they went way above expectations and not just by a little bit” Dev says. “We hadn’t done much research on either of them, they were both kind of last minute decisions”.
“For Turkey, a lot of people said to be careful, but when we arrived we were totally blown away - in the best way,” Keith adds. “The landscapes, topography, people- we felt totally safe but were kind of expecting the opposite, just based on the reaction we got from others…. and with Scotland, everything just lined up, which is a huge factor for us. To be in nature, and with that cultural aspect, it just feels like an escape in the best way. We’re learning a lot about our preferences through the experiences we’ve had- we’ve learned that space and pace matter quite a lot to us”.
If you had to say what the most important thing you carry in your pack with you, what is it and why?
After clarifying that we didn’t mean travel essentials, Dev already had her mind made up. “Our foldable tupperware containers” Dev says resoundly, “They are small and easy to pack, ours come with utensils as well, and it’s come in handy so many times”. Since Keith and Dev normally stay with Airbnb and champion travelling on a budget, they’ve found packing along containers the smallest thing you can do to always have a meal on hand.
Keith is slightly more on the fence. “Non-essential…other than airpods… I‘d say first, packable backpacks, and second- our kindle! It’s a great way to decompress after a day of filming and editing… like a full on break in the world”. They’ve more recently made a video of how they pack their bags, admirably through just using carry ons, and go through their must-haves and things they don’t use too much, check it out below.
Hilarious and down to earth, the pair are currently in western Europe and are soon reaching their 9 month milestone on the road, with many more adventures ahead.
Follow their adventure on Youtube by Subscribing to: Keith and Dev.
Happy Travels,
Sam
You may like….
Traveling has unfortunately become synonymous with spending, but it doesn’t have to be. For those looking to travel longer term and on a budget, there are a lot of ways that you can cut back on expenses to fund your next adventure.