Rising Stars: Meet Alexandra Booze

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexandra Booze.

Hi Alexandra, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was living in Washington DC where I worked in politics and media relations. I was working long hours, sometimes on weekends, and I was looking for a side hustle or hobby I could pick up to help break up the monotony — and if I’m being honest, relieve a lot of the stress.

At this time, there were a plethora of new restaurants popping up all over the city as DC had recently been named the “Foodie Capital of the US” by Zagat and numerous other publications. I naturally come by a love of food, so I decided to start visiting these restaurants during their opening week, and started an Instagram page with a friend to document it all for fun. Within months, the page exploded and started gaining thousands of followers. I started to get emails from public relations agencies with invites to private dinners and events and was even given local awards for my writings about food. It wasn’t until a couple of years later that I really started to blend in the travel aspect of my blog and social media that people see now, but the two niches go hand in hand.

Since then, I’ve traveled to 35 countries, and am on a mission to visit all 50 states by the end of this year. I’m currently at 48 and will have visited all 50 by the end of the year!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has been anything but! The first couple of years were the best — full of excitement for something new to keep my mind off of how unhappy I was in my current industry. In the third year, I ran into some disagreements with a business partner and we parted ways, which meant I would be running the publication solo.

I slightly rebranded and decided to bring more of a travel aspect to the publication, while still keeping a portion of the content food. In 2018, I finally quit my job in DC to pursue blogging full time and decided to test my hand at living abroad for a while. I lived in the Czech Republic and Spain for nearly two years (and this alone presented many, many struggles). I experienced language barriers, periods of homesickness and loneliness, and struggled to adjust to new cultures and taboos that weren’t taboos in the U.S.

Just when I was starting to feel like I was finally getting established, the world came to a halt and I decided to move back to the United States for health and safety reasons. Navigating the new normal for travel has been extremely challenging personally and professionally. To be honest, I held off on traveling internationally for almost two years because of the stress surrounding ever-changing restrictions and requirements.

Even in spite of all of this, I’m a very resilient and determined person and have been able to turn a negative into a positive by exploring parts of the U.S. I had only dreamt of seeing and working with brands I never thought I could work with! I will also be making my first overseas trip since 2020 in early March.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
By formal education, I’m an editorial journalist and creative writer. I graduated with a double degree in both in 2010. While in college, I learned how to operate a camera on a basic level while working at the local newspaper. It was an old-school, black and white film camera that required me to develop my film by hand in a dark room. I credit this to originally sparking my interest in photography, and ultimately, helping me to improve my photography skills over the past decade. I’m most proud of how I have evolved in all aspects of my publication, from writing to editing to photography.

I think my writing style is definitely what sets me apart from others in my industry. I love to tell more interactive stories in an editorial way versus personal diary-style blogs, which I think really helps people who are reading my pieces imagine themselves in a place. My photography is also relatable, as I try to focus less on being perfect and more on bringing a humanization aspect to each image.

What makes you happy?
Unsurprisingly, the answer is simple: travel. To someone who enjoys travel, a vacation once or twice a year typically will suffice. But for me, I crave adventure and exploring new places. It’s like an addiction that needs to be fed almost weekly. If I go too long without it, I start to feel like a big piece of me is missing and will mentally and physically begin to feel sad. I also love to meet other professionals in the travel and hospitality industry to discuss trends, future plans for expansion, and stories of resilience. It gives me such a rush, and making new friends and connections across the world is very fulfilling. It’s difficult to describe, but I think when you find something you love so much and are so passionate about, you have no hesitation to do it for as often and as long as you can.

Contact Info:

• Email: eastcoastcontessa@gmail.com
• Website: https://www.eccontessa.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eastcoastcontessa/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eastcoastcontessa/
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/eastcoastcontessa/

 

Image Credits
Alexandra Booze