Who am I. Where am I going?

Hi! My name is Vanessa.

I cook for a living and I've always wanted to travel, but time and money never fell in to place at the same time. So when the restaurant I work for experienced "Death by Train", I saved up money and decided to travel to various countries and cities, including my parents' motherland, to cook, eat and experience. I'm writing this blog mainly as a vessel to let people know what I'm doing and how my trip is going without writing a million emails to everyone I know who wants know, also I want to keep like a journal for my memories

Countries abroad will be:

Canada

Thailand

Vietnam

Cambodia

Hong Kong

Singapore

Turkey

Greece

Canada- only because I'm so close to the border, why not hop over to Vancouver? I'll also have a layover in Toronto on my way to Istanbul so I'll count that as a visit as well 

As part of the process of finding myself and my calling, I've decided to move away from Los Angeles after my trip abroad so I have added a few American cities to my itinerary so that I can find a place and a restaurant that matches me. I have been considering moving for a couple of years now and I settled on these cities because I felt that there are a number of restaurants that piqued my interest, the chefs there are relevant, they find local and sustainable ingredients to be important (both chefs and diners), and the dining culture has more respect for the restaurant and the chef and want to experience the restaurant the way the chef intended, not just to be seen or to be trendy. 

American cities will be:

San Francisco

Seattle

Portland

Austin

The criteria for deciding the city I will live in are: 

-Is the city affordable? Can I live there and not have to work 3 jobs to make ends meet?

-Public transportation. I won't have a car so can I get around with what the city has put together?

-Work. How much will I make and where will I work? I vowed never again to work for a soul sucking, lifeless place just cause they paid well and offered benefits

-Live. Distance relative to where I work and places of interest. Is it safe and affordable? Can public transportation get me to/from work at any (reasonable) hour

I was advised to visit San Francisco, Seattle & Portland during the darkest, nastiest time of year to see if I can handle it cause apparently it's like that for most of the year. Coming from sunny Southern California, I am in for a rude awakening... Or serious depression...We'll see...  

SFO, SEA, & PDX here I come!

Follow me on Instagram @vnesst