After graduating from Lawrence Technological University, Brad and Amber Foley were, by all accounts, succeeding in their careers. Brad, who earned a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering in 2016, was a rising engineer in the defense and medical industries. Amber, who earned a Master of Science in architectural engineering in 2017, was nicely ensconced in her field, working remotely for an architecture and engineering firm.
“There’s a certain element of climbing that ladder that is really satisfying,” Brad said. “You have a lot of pride in your work, you get to do really cool things, and you can surround yourself with really amazing people.”
As much as they appreciated their career opportunities, the pandemic seemed to strike a nerve: did they want to remain on their established career paths for the next 30-40 years?
“There had to be more than just designing the same widget over and over [again],” Brad added, as he began viewing full-time travel videos on YouTube with Amber. “COVID-19 hit exactly at the right time for our mental state.”
Working from home also gave them the space to consider the long-range possibilities of remote work. After considering all the “what-ifs,” they saved enough money to travel for a year, and in 2023 left their jobs, sold their cars, and boarded a ship to Europe to join the ranks of world travelers.
The Foleys started out as backpackers, traveling on “planes, trains, and buses,” Amber said.
Two months into their travels, Amber accepted a surprising offer to work as a remote contract engineer for Strategic Energy Solutions, while Brad remotely managed their Michigan real estate properties; they began investing in 2020, purchased five residential buildings, renovated them on their own, and now lease the properties.
Amber’s employment status also mattered—to be able to move around while staying ahead of foreign tax laws, she decided to work as a 1099 contractor for the company rather than as a direct employee.
Early in their transition, Brad and Amber created a profile on a house sitting site and began to house sit for people all over Europe, blending low-cost accommodations with personal and professional mobility.
With Wi-Fi, fully equipped kitchens and even Netflix, they had “all the comforts of home,” the pair noted. The gigs allowed them to extend their stays in places like London, Switzerland, and the French countryside, while also making their way over to Serbia and eventually, Colombia, South America. “We also spent about six weeks in Japan, and that was incredible because the cherry blossoms were in full bloom the whole time,” Brad added.
Missing a home base but not wanting to end the adventure, they bought a sailboat in July 2025. Hardly an impetuous purchase, they first became certified day skippers through the Royal Yacht Association in Great Britain, which taught them crucial navigation skills such as setting waypoints and calculating angles, wind, and water depth. They also “boat sat” for a friend in Greece, sailing 800 miles over a six-week period, learning to repair things that broke, which was “pretty much everything,” including the engine, Brad said.
Their LTU engineering education—particularly its focus on theory and practice—played a critical role in developing their competencies. “We have confidence from learning, doing, and working with our hands. I mean, I was soldering little robots for mechatronics class when I was 20,” Brad shared.
“Working in the full-built environment in the architectural engineering program helped a lot with both real estate and the boat,” Amber added. “The practical aspect was very helpful.”
Navigating cultural differences in Europe—especially around the 9-to-5—has only added richness to their lives.
“What they do for work is not what they do for a living,” Brad observed. “And I think the American culture is very much tied to that directly, because if you ask someone from the States, oh, what do you do? They’ll say, ‘I work at X, Y, and Z, and I work on these projects,’ right? It becomes your resume. If you ask someone from Europe, they’ll [say], ‘oh, I play the guitar, I cook, I like to hike.’ It’s that natural reaction, I suppose, of the different cultures. And I think it’s amazing to understand those differences as well.”
Europeans also seem less stressed than Americans. “They’re less anxious, and there’s less of a general feeling of depression,” Brad said.
“There’s also less caring about what other people think. They’re like, I’ll just do my thing, you do your thing, and we’ll be happy,” Amber said.
Still, they miss some of the nuances of everyday life in the U.S., including the hospitality and attention to detail shown in restaurants, for example, and conversational ease with strangers. “If you were standing in line, you would talk to the person behind you occasionally in the [States]. Here? No, not even close,” Amber explained, who believes language factors into their reluctance. “In the [States], everyone speaks English, but in other countries, you don’t really know who speaks what. In Belgium, they speak three different languages. So, you do kind of miss that personal connection a little bit, just with random people.”
At the time of writing, Brad and Amber, who had traveled to over 40 countries, were anchored in Malta. What does the future hold?
“We’re both 31 years old and having kids is a huge topic for everybody around our age. How does that look on the sailboat over the next 5-10 years?” Brad wondered, noting that some families have adopted the concept of “world-schooling” as they continue to blend global travel experiences into their children’s education.
But for the immediate future?
“We’re going to be in the Mediterranean for the next year and a half or two,” Amber said. “Then we’ll probably cross the Atlantic to the Caribbean. At that point, we’ll see if we still love it. Right now, we’re enjoying our lives.”
By: Pam Houghton