Seattle: Would you pay a stranger to travel with you so that you can check off places in your bucket list? Well, this man hopes so.
Jon Levesque, who is
based in Seattle, is offering himself as a paid travel companion – but you will have to fund the trip. He has built a website where strangers can fund the trips in exchange for his company as an “adventure buddy.” The post has gone viral, sparking curiosity and debate online.
Pay me to travel with you
I built a website where strangers can pay to take me on their bucket list trip. I’ll be their adventure buddy. Yes, I’m serious…
by
u/Bigjon84 in
offbeat
He wrote, “I built a website where strangers can pay to take me on their bucket list trip. I’ll be their adventure buddy. Yes, I’m serious…”
The idea is simple: if someone has a dream trip they’ve been postponing and don’t want to travel alone, he will join them. All they have to do is cover all his expenses, including flights, accommodation, food, activities and visas.
To ensure safety, he outlined a screening process. Both parties undergo background checks and have three video calls before agreeing to travel together.
He added, “I’ve been to 21 countries and 36 states – Im decent at this all. I’m a hobby photographer so at least your photos will be good. My jokes land roughly 70% of the time. I’ve been told I’m a “wild person to be around” which I think is a compliment. There are only 6 spots a year cause I have to work sometimes. I don’t really cuddle. Just putting that out there.”
But why did he come up with the idea? He explained, “I genuinely built this because the best trips I’ve ever taken were with other people,” he said, adding that not everyone has a friend who can spontaneously travel.
“Is this the most normal thing I’ve ever done? No. Am I doing it anyway? Apparently,” he said.
Netizens react
The idea quickly drew mixed reactions online. One user joked, “Although paying for a total stranger’s vacation sounds like a sound financial choice in this economy, you might get more takers if you’re willing to at least cuddle.”
Another shared a similar experience, writing, “You might get takers of disabled people who need aides, or parents who need nannies and chaperones. I was asked to be an aide by a random woman. The conversation was funny, she was like “I want you to travel with my daughter, I think you could really carry her.” And I was like awe you think I’d be a good influence? And she was like no, I mean you look like you could physically carry her.”
