Welcome to Let’s Fly Everywhere!
My name is Emma, and I’m the storyteller and Photographer behind Let’s Fly Everywhere.
I’m a British-born expat who, after quite the journey, became a proud dual citizen of the UK and Canada — currently calling Toronto home.
I LOVE to travel and am incredibly fortunate that I’ve found my way into a career (and several companies) that allow me to travel the world as I earn a living.
I guess you could say, I travel to work and I work to travel!
I travel as a tourist, for business and as an expat — now with the privilege of two passports — and I’ve spent over three decades finding ways to make the most of every trip, whether that’s a month-long adventure or a single day in a city you’ve never set foot in before. I look at travel through a different lens, and that’s exactly what I try to share here. I also love photography, and am rarely found without a camera.
My Story
My story is not unusual. I went to school, studied hard, got a good job I enjoyed, worked with talented people, and had an amazing family and great friends around me. Life was good.
Then, in late 2010, everything changed.
My employer at the time (a global Defence & Security company) announced another round of redundancies (layoffs for my North American readers) — the fourth or fifth round in just under two years. For the first time, my team and I were affected and I was formally put “at risk” of losing not only my job, but potentially my ability to support myself through travel in early 2011. To say I was devastated would be an understatement.
For more details, check out my very first post.
But here’s the thing — my life was about to change whether I chose it or not. So I chose it. I reframed the redundancy as a gift: my opportunity to stop doing what was expected of me and start living life on my own terms. It turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me. Not just to me — but for me.
I was one of the lucky ones. Although I had no idea what I was going to do, I knew it was going to be very different from anything I had done before. All I knew was that it would involve travel — but not in the typical, tourist-y way.
I didn’t just want to travel around the world. I wanted to live around the world.
“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” — Helen Keller
The Journey
On February 10, 2012, I landed at Toronto’s Pearson Airport — work permit in hand, two suitcases packed with everything I owned, ready to embark on what I thought would be a two-year experiment of meeting new people and exploring new places. I didn’t know it then, but Canada would quickly become more than a temporary stop on my journey. It would become my second home.
Two years became twelve.
I went from Working Holiday visa holder, to Permanent Resident, to — after a journey that was anything but straightforward — a proud Canadian Citizen. The journey took eleven years, eight months, and twenty-seven days — and was every bit the rollercoaster you’d expect.
On November 8, 2023, after what felt like an eternity of waiting, I attended my Oath of Citizenship ceremony via Zoom. My screen was filled with over 100 faces of all different ages and races, Canadian flags pinned up behind them — and like me, enormous smiles. After a few formalities and the slightly nerve-wracking experience of cutting up my PR card on camera, we raised our hands and recited the Oath together (in both English and French), and the words “WELCOME HOME” flashed up on the screen. A huge wave of emotion washed over me — excitement, pride, and, yes – relief.
That moment represented almost twelve years of my life and everything I’d achieved to get there — and the reason it took that long? I kept travelling so much I couldn’t clock enough days in Canada to qualify. Oh, the irony!
I was at the passport office first thing the next morning, Certificate of Citizenship in hand, ready to apply for my first Canadian passport. The lady behind the counter laughed that she’d never seen anyone quite so excited to be there that early.
I now officially call two countries my home — two places that have my heart — and it’s an incredible feeling.
About Let’s Fly Everywhere
Born in 2011, Let’s Fly Everywhere started life as an online journal documenting my experience as I prepared to pack my life into two suitcases and move to Canada for my two-year working holiday adventure. Once I moved, it became a way to keep family and friends back home updated on my adventures, proof I was still alive, and a place to share my insights into the differences between the UK and Canada.
Over fourteen years it’s grown into something much bigger: a platform for travel and expat stories told through photography, food, music, architecture, and an enduring love of the ocean.
My obsession with Crème Brûlée, Afternoon Tea, and great wine has also become a non-negotiable part of every city I visit — consider yourself warned.
Above all, this is a space for inspiration and discovery. Whether you’re dreaming of your next adventure, navigating a move abroad, or just curious what expat life actually looks like — you’re in the right place. For the full immigration story, head to the “Expat files”.
Although my immigration journey has come to an end (at least until I decide to pack up and jet off to live in another part of the world!), Let’s Fly Everywhere will continue to document my travels and life as a British-Canadian exploring the world.
“Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.” — Anthony Bourdain
Thank you for joining me on this journey — now, where shall we fly next?
Work With Me
I’d love to collaborate with travel brands, tourism boards, hospitality partners and lifestyle companies where there’s a genuine mutual fit — bringing authentic storytelling, original photography, and an engaged audience of experience-driven travellers.
📩 emma@letsflyeverywhere.com 📸 @letsflyeverywhere | @emmajlogue
Bon voyage, Emma