I am delighted to share with you our UK travel blog of the month – tikichris, written by Chris Osburn, a London-based American expat. His award-winning blog features photo-rich posts published on a regular basis highlighting the best of London culture and lifestyle alongside lots of mouthwatering food and drink articles and of course travel tips. Over to you Chris!
What inspired you to start blogging?
When I moved back to London in 2006 (I’m American but had lived briefly in London before this time), I started writing a column for a small local newspaper for the area of New Jersey where I had been living. The column had a sort of fish out of water/stranger in a strange land theme to it and involved me (an American) getting acquainted with my new home abroad (London). The paper’s website was little more than an online calling card. My editor allowed me to publish my articles on the web so more folks could read them. A blog was the easiest way for me to go about that. Soon enough I was blogging about other things. One opportunity led to another and here we are today.
What exciting blogging and travel plans have you got for the rest of 2018?
I’ve already spent roughly half the year thus far out of London with most of that time abroad (in fact, I’m writing this from Basel, Switzerland). I’m going to the US soon to visit San Antonio on a freelance commission and then to Denver for IPW (the US Travel Association’s annual international marketplace). I’ll be in Catalunya for a snail eating festival right after that. I plan to stay put in London most of the summer. For autumn, I’ve got a couple of more trips to America planned, and I’m working on some other ideas for the last few months of the year. Ask me this question in another week or so and I’ll probably have a bunch of other adventures lined up or in the pipeline.
You’ve travelled extensively! Where would you say is your favourite destination in the world?
Probably Namibia. The landscape, the open road, the sky at night, the wildlife: it all blew me away. But in a tie for a very close second place are Hawaii, California, New Zealand, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Laos, South Africa, Scotland, and New Orleans … and a zillion other destinations!
Do you read other blogs for inspiration?
Honestly, much of my inspiration comes from non-blog sources. Authors such as James Michener and Paul Theroux have a lot to do with why I wanted to be a travel writer myself. Situationist philosopher Guy Debord and Urbanist Jane Jacobs have influenced how I travel and engage with a destination. My blog is my way of trying to emulate what these folks did in a more contemporary, 21st century approach (on rare occasion I come close to succeeding).
But some of my favourite blogs include Rosanna McPhee’s Hot & Chilli blog and Jeane Horak’s Cooksister blog. I’m impressed with Alexandra Kalinowski’s #365LDN Cafes project on her When I’ve Got Time blog.
Can you share the three most popular posts on your blog?
A few of my very most popular posts include a promotion I ran with Uber for free rides during its London launch back in 2012; a post about the Best BBQ of 2015 based on a 2,500 mile road trip from Texas to North Carolina I took in search of the most delicious BBQ in the southern United States; and surprisingly a rather recent post about food and wine pairings.
What tips do you have for newer bloggers who would love to set up a travel blog?
I’d suggest you really look at what’s already out there and try not to reinvent the wheel! But don’t be a carbon copy of what’s trendy or create your content in an echo chamber that only other bloggers and influencers will notice. Aim for consistency and tone but play around with plenty of trial and error. Don’t pigeonhole yourself from the start but don’t be too broad of topic if you hope to be taken seriously.
If you could go back in time to when you first set up your blog would you do anything differently?
I’m pretty happy with where the blog has ended up and the direction it and my freelance writing seems to be headed so I’d be hesitant to go back and mess with it too much. I wish I’d opened my blog up to contributors earlier and more wholeheartedly than I did, and I wish I’d started podcasting way earlier than late last year. Both these things have been fun and rewarding. Stats are up, and I’ve got more time to pursue ideas and projects that interest me.
I would give my blog’s name a long hard think. Depending on the day and my mood, naming it “tikichris” was either one of the smartest moves or the absolute dumbest I’ve made in my career!
If you’ve enjoyed getting to know Chris and would like to follow his travels go check out his social media channels! Podcast, Twitter, Instagram.
