Five Years of Caroline in the City

Five years. 60 months. 1,825 days. This is the time that has passed since I sat at my desk in my Charleston apartment and typed out my first post on my recently created Blogger site. Looking back on those posts, I feel so silly, as they’re nothing more than photos and typed journal entries from trips I took.

But then it developed into a way to share my love for my city. And when my time there came to an end, the blog became more about what comes next, even when you don’t know what that is. And like Doctor Who (yeah, that happened), Caroline in the City has had a number of lives, regenerating from one point of life to the next, each looking different than the last.

This website that is so near and dear to me has been a travel journal, a Charleston photo blog, a working holiday in Australia blog and is now something in between. But through these lives, the readers have been loyal, despite the fact that I never know what’s ahead.

Sometimes I feel down about the lack of progress I’ve had in this five years. Some of my colleagues have had their audiences grow on a massive scale in the same amount of time, some even being offered book deals and being awarded countless honors. But I’ve always been a late bloomer and always gone at my own pace. Slow and steady wins the race and I’ve been growing and developing this site and myself. I still think great things are in store for this blog.

Year 5 of Caroline in the City

• My work was featured on National Geographic Traveler’s Intelligent Travel blog and named one of the Best Female Travel Blogs for 2014 by Travel Junkette.
• I worked with even more tourism boards, including those of my home state of Georgia, St. Augustine, Baton Rouge, Niagara Falls and Montreal, as well as beloved tour companies BusAbout, Urban Adventures and Royal Balloon. I also stayed at some fantastic properties, including the King and Prince Resort, M Hostel Montreal, #Bunk Istanbul, Taskonaklar Boutique Hotel Cappadocia and many more.
• I met so many great travel bloggers between press trips and TBEX in Toronto, including Brenna, Jackie, Derek, Tom and Jim, among so many others, but I’ve realized that massive conferences and press trips aren’t really for me. I work better by planning my own trips.

• 2,601 Twitter followers, up from 2,081 last year
• 1,013 Facebook followers, up from 713 last year
• 772 Pinterest followers, up from 363 last year
• 554 Instagram followers, up from 339 last year

Blog Wise

• most commented post: Caroline’s Favorite Things 2013, in which I give away all sorts of travel goodies to my beloved readers.
• most viewed post: 26 Things to Do Before Turning 26, my yearly list of personal and professional goals to accomplish before my next birthday.
• total posts this year: 124

Travel Wise

• States Visited: Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington DC, Louisiana, New York
• Countries Visited: Canada, Turkey, Mexico
• I drove the entire east coast of Florida and back by myself, took Megabus from Atlanta to Toronto and traveled around Turkey solo, so you could say I got around.

Life Wise

This year was one of the most fruitful of my career, as I transitioned out of the AFAR Ambassador program and into their Local Expert position for Atlanta. Through this, I’ve been able to write three separate guides to Atlanta. I also have taken on more writing clients than I ever could have imagined five years ago when I was nothing more than an intern at my local newspaper. Read my writing from the past year over on Contently.

In the Next Year

In two days, I’ll be accomplishing something I’ve been talking about for over a year: running my first half marathon. I’ve never been much of a runner, but needed to prove to myself (and maybe my friends) that I could do it. Three days after that, my sister and I will board our flight to Sydney to begin the next great adventure.

The next year of Caroline in the City will, of course, feature travel through Australia and Asia heavily, as that’s where I’ll be spending the next few months. I will also be focusing more on specific topics, including working holidays and tips for becoming a writer. And as always, you’ll find content on budget travel, solo travel and musings on the traveling lifestyle.

Thank you for the last five years! Here’s to the next five!