WHO AM I?
Why hello there! I’m Millette Stambaugh (formerly known as Izzy Pulido), a 32-year-old Bostonian by way of the Philippines. I am currently based in Philadelphia with my husband Tim and my one-year-old Marcela, both of whom make the occasional appearance on the blog. I’m a serial traveler and halfway to my dream of joining The Travelers Century Club. I’m a textbook Leo and avid collector of first time experiences. I live for colorful aesthetics, tea breaks, exploring cities, and splurging on paper goods. My traveling style is 75% planning ahead and 25% winging it. I’m a corporate worker by day, and content creator by night. Check out my featured work here. And take a look at some of the memories on the road here.
Every Person Has a Story To Tell
I’ve climbed active volcanoes in Guatemala, danced with Berbers in the misty Atlas Mountains of Morocco, brewed spicy cups of Masala Chai with feisty grandmothers in India, abseiled down raging waterfalls in Vietnam, freeclimbed craggy limestone monoliths in The Philippines, broke bread with Amazonian shamans in the deepest corners of Peru, stood in the presence of Michelangelo’s David in Italy, eaten the freshest pistachio ice cream on the banks of Anatolia in Turkey, bathed with elephants in Thailand , ridden on bus rooftops through the winding roads of Nepal, and chased the sun on the back of an e-bike in Myanmar…
ABOUT THE BLOG
Soft launched in September 2015, and officially a blog as of February 2016, The Next Somewhere is a digital travel, food, and lifestyle journal where I house my design and written work. For those suffering from destination preoccupation, you can easily find trip inspiration through thoughtfully curated and highly detailed content.
MY STORY
Travel is at the heart of my story. I left The Philippines at the age of two with my parents for a shot at “The American Dream.” Both my mother and father are explorers in their own right, pursuing overseas work in their earlier years for a chance to broaden horizons. Having two parents who loved to travel but never compromised working hard opened me up to seek out new experiences despite hardship. To this day, traveling with my family is still my favorite thing in the world.
Life as an immigrant in the USA was not always easy. We moved around a lot before settling in Massachusetts. During high school, the travels were minimal until my parents’ divorce forced a need to reevaluate my life, which led me to take a gap year as a Rotary Youth Exchange Student in Thailand. That one year was the turning point of my life. After coming home, I attended UMass Boston where I studied Anthropology and furthered my love of cultural studies. During college I studied abroad in Florence, Italy and participated in service learning trips to the Peruvian jungle and the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, USA.
Post-grad, I decided to move my life overseas and teach English in South Korea. During that life changing year, I met my partner-in-crime, Tim. After my first year of teaching, we embarked on a seven month backpacking trip around Asia, winding up in Vietnam of all places where I was lucky enough to transition into being a full-time creative and became the managing editor for the Vietnam Tourism Board. Then in June of 2017, Tim and I said goodbye to Asia, returning to our respective homes on separate USA coasts in preparation for the next chapter of our lives. We did cross-country long distance for over a year, and in that year, Tim got down on one knee and proposed in December of 2017.
After a year of long distance, I packed my bags and moved out west to San Jose, California to start my greatest adventure with Tim. We got married in Oaxaca, Mexico in August 2019 and lived in California for four years before trading coasts for a new adventure in Philadelphia.
Where to next? Discovering the gems of our new city Philadelphia with my daughter Marcela and a big summer trip to South Korea so Marcela can finally meet her grandmother. Stay tuned!
You are an explorer. Your mission is to document and observe the world around you as if you’ve never seen it before. Take notes, collect things you find, document your findings. Notice patterns, focus on one thing at a time. Record what you are drawn to.