About James

(aka The Savvy Backpacker)

City Guides

Howdy.

I’m James.

I created The Savvy Backpacker waaaaaay back in 2010 to help people plan their budget travels through Europe.

My mission is simple: I want to help you travel around Europe without spending a fortune.

I was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri but I’ve lived in Madison, WI, Richmond, VA, New York City, and Paris.

I studied abroad in England at the University of Leeds in 2007 and I’ve visited multiple countries throughout Western and Eastern Europe. In the summer of 2010, I studied French at Middlebury College through their intensive summer language course.

In the summer of 2011, I found a job in Paris so I packed up my stuff into two suitcases and moved to a tiny 7th-floor studio in the City of Light.

I have a Master of Business/Advertising from Virginia Commonwealth University. Before that, I was in the U.S. AmeriCorps (the domestic version of the Peace Corps) where I worked for an organization that helped provide food to underprivileged people in Missouri and Kansas.

I also published the book The Savvy Backpacker’s Guide to Europe on a Budget in 2015 with Skyhorse Publishing (but the information on this website is much more up-to-date).

Got A Question? Hit Me Up!

I love hearing from my readers.

Email me directly at james@thesavvybackpacker.com

Note: I do my best to answer all questions but I don’t always have time to answer complicated questions.


The History Of The Savvy Backpacker

It all started in 2006.

I was researching my first European backpacking trip.

I quickly realized that most budget travel websites offered very little well-researched content. I spent countless hours wading through hundreds of websites but I never found one site that gave me all the information I wanted.

Then I went on my first trip to Europe.

As a solo traveler, I got a lot of opportunities to talk to other backpackers. I picked up helpful information from more experienced travelers, and I learned things the guidebooks never talked about.  After a few months of travel, I noticed that many of the novice backpackers were struggling with the same issues I faced when was just starting out.

When I returned home I was often asked for backpacking advice from my friends and I got the idea to create a high-quality site about backpacking in Europe — a site that I would want to actually use. My vision was to build an online resource that was well-designed, user-friendly, and contained a wealth of information.

This is how The Savvy Backpacker was born way back in 2010… and it’s grown little by little ever since.

I hope you find it useful!

Contact Me

Have a question? Send me one of those fancy emails to james@thesavvybackpacker.com

See me on LinkedIn and Twitter and Facebook and my Google Author Page.

Want to Work With The Savvy Backpacker? Sweet! Check out our Advertising and Partnership Page

Read My Posts

 
Back to Top