Name: Laura Moore
Pronoun(s): she/her
Nationality: Canadian
Hometown: Vancouver, BC
Current location: Paris, France
Occupation: Event Manager, Ghostwriter/Copyeditor, Tour Operator, and Theatre Producer
Meet Laura
Hello! My name is Laura, and I am a Canadian currently residing in Paris, France. I originally arrived in the City of Light for a four-month stay. At the time, I didn’t know anyone in France, I didn’t have a job, and I didn’t speak French, but I fell in love with Paris anyway. Six years later, I’m thrilled to call this beautiful city my home.
I’m the typical freelancer, in that I have a lot of job titles, and my resume is wide and varied. I love traveling, both for work and pleasure, and I’ve been extraordinarily lucky to have lived and worked abroad for years prior to settling in France. I’ve been to so many beautiful places, but a recent highlight was a trip to Uluru, Australia for my 35th birthday. I first decided I wanted to travel there when I was six years old, so finally getting to see Uluru in person was truly a dream come true.
On Education
Did you attend college? If so, where, and how did you choose that school/those schools?
I went to Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Technical Theatre and Film Production. I originally went to SFU specifically for their film program, but decided to pursue a joint degree in theatre once I was there. I ultimately specialized in stage management, and after graduating, I worked primarily in that field for the first several years of my career.
Did you participate in study abroad while at school? For how long, and with what program?
I really wanted to study abroad, as I love to travel, but unfortunately my program was too specific to my university. There were opportunities for me to study abroad, but that time would have been added to my degree instead of counting towards it. Back then, I was eager to graduate and get out into the workforce, so I chose to forego it. However, I did take a year off between second and third year to work and travel (sometimes both at the same time), and in a sense, I viewed that as my year of study abroad. (Even if there wasn’t much studying happening!)
I was also in the incredibly lucky position of knowing that my future jobs would likely involve travel, so that knowledge made it easier to prioritize finishing my degree.
What advice would you give someone who isn’t interested in attending a traditional college or university, but knows they want to travel?
There are so many opportunities to travel and work/study that don’t involve attending a traditional university. The key is knowing where to look. I vividly remember the conversation that opened my eyes to all the possibilities outside of school.
I was 19, and I had just asked one of my classmates how she had managed to have so many incredible experiences when she was only a couple of years older than me. She quickly reeled off a list of ways to travel and work, and then simply said, “Just go for it.” Three months later, I was on a plane to the US to work as a camp counsellor for the summer and I’ve never looked back.
If you want to travel for more than just a vacation, there are working holiday visas, volunteer exchanges, seasonal work, house sitting, and so many other incredible opportunities. Just go for it
Professional Background
How long have you been in your current position?
I have been a freelancer for my entire career, much to my grandmother’s chagrin. She always worried about the instability, but I love the flexibility it gives me over my career and schedule. It’s also given me the freedom to explore new opportunities as they come up. As a result, I’m forever getting funny looks when I tell people I’m an event manager/ghostwriter/copyeditor/tour operator/theatre producer. It’s a bit of a mouthful, but I love constantly moving between industries. It keeps things fresh, and ensures that I’m always learning something new.
What sorts of challenges do you face in the workplace? How has travel prepared you to deal with these challenges?
Traveling is often a big part of my job, but it can also have a huge impact on how I manage things in the workplace.
For example, when you’re working international events like the Olympics or the World Cup, you’re working with, and have to get along with, people from all over the world
You don’t have to be an expert in every culture, but traveling will give you the experience and skills needed to work well with people from different cultures and mindsets.
Traveling will also give you an incredibly broad and random knowledge set, and you never know when that knowledge will come in handy. I’ve lost track of how many times something I’ve learned while travelling has informed my writing.
On Lifestyle
Why do you enjoy traveling?
When I was 14, my parents organized a house exchange with a family in the Netherlands, and we packed up and moved there for several months. It was my first time out of North America, and it was my first time in a country where they spoke a different language from me. I loved every moment of it.
I loved discovering what was different and what was the same
I also loved exploring the country and the little towns that were well off the usual tourist trail. It was at that point that I was hit hard by the travel bug, and that’s never gone away. I’m endlessly fascinated by the different ways other countries do things, and it’s one of the main reasons why I love travelling.
Which has been your favorite country/city to live in?
To date, I’ve lived in seven different countries, but my favorite would have to be where I am right now. I’m often asked why I decided to settle in Paris, and I still don’t have a good answer. All I can say is that it only took a week for this city to feel like home, as opposed to a city I just happened to be living in at the moment. That’s not to say those other countries weren’t incredible experiences. I’ve just connected to Paris at a really fundamental level.
Has traveling changed the way you view the world? If yes, how so?
Traveling has absolutely changed the way I view the world. One of the first things I learned from traveling was that there is always another way of doing things. And it may be better than the way you’ve always done it. Or it may not. But the point is that there is never just one way of doing things. That realization did more to open my mind and broaden my horizon of thinking than anything else in my life, and it still positively affects my life and work to this day.
One last question
What advice would you give to a young person who knows they want to travel but aren’t sure where that fits in with the rest of their lives?
My best advice would be to make sure you’re traveling for the right reasons. Do not be fooled by the Eat, Pray, Love narrative that Hollywood likes to spin. Traveling will not magically fix all of your problems, nor will it automatically make you a better person. Especially if you’re doing it for the wrong reasons. What it can do, however, is give you the tools and skill set needed to broaden your understanding of the world.
Traveling will encourage you to be independent, brave, adventuresome, and open-minded
It will force you to listen and learn, and to think outside of your bubble. Most importantly, traveling is the best way that I know of to foster empathy for others; something the world desperately needs more of right now. So go in with your mind and heart open, but without any preconceived expectations. If you let it, travelling will teach you more than any classroom ever will.
Editor’s note: This feature has been lightly edited for concision and clarity.
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If you enjoyed Laura’s story and would like to connect with her, please read her message for you:
“To follow my current writing project, please follow the Daily Hart on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. I’ve committed myself to discovering new artists and voices, one per day, for a year.
To read my weekly articles about my life in France, please follow Story of a City on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.”
Thank you for reading! Fearless Friday Features are posted every Friday evening France time. If you have any follow-up questions or comments about the feature, drop them below! Until next time – a bientôt !
