After decades of corporate life with just a few weeks of vacation each year, Laura Ross was looking for a better work-life balance.

“Slightly better,” she laughed. “I mean . . . I still have to earn enough money to afford all of those things on the other side of the scales!”

With her more flexible work schedule, staying fit and taking advantage of all of the cultural opportunities of her beloved New York City were high on her list, but at the very top was travel. “Especially after that terrible pause for the pandemic,” she explained, “I really wanted to step things up and see some places in this world that have been on my list forever. I mean . . . I’m not getting any younger, and neither is the planet.”

NextTribe takes fun, adventurous women ages 45+ around the world on amazing trips. Learn more here!

The question was how to experience fully some of the places on her bucket list. “I was out with a friend [Lesley Dormen, another proud NextTribe lifetime member] and mentioned that I needed a winter beach vacation,” she said. “When Lesley suggested I join her in Troncones, Mexico, with NextTribe, I was dubious. It’s hard to imagine now, but I didn’t want to travel with a bunch of ‘old ladies’! She talked me into it and I’m so glad she did—it was such a fun and memorable trip that I immediately signed up to go again the following year!

Catching the NextTribe Bug

Since then, Laura has never looked back. Besides those two visits to our favorite beach resort, she’s gone on four other NextTribe trips—to Umbria, Cuba, Portugal, and San Miguel de Allende—and is signed up for Iceland next summer. “I’ll just say it,” she commented. “NextTribe women are the best, funniest, smartest, most adventurous travel companions a girl could want. ‘Old ladies’? Ha!”

On top of that, she and Caytha Jentis, another NY NextTriber, are working on putting together a series of events and experiences for New York-area NextTribers. “The challenge is going to be getting all of our busy New York sisters to make room in their schedules,” she told me, “but we’ll figure it out. From what I’ve learned about these women, if there are food and drinks involved, we’ll draw a crowd. We’re currently putting together a WhatsApp group as a way to communicate, so if you’re in the New York area and want to be included, stay tuned!”

Where do you live?

New York City since 1981, which I think qualifies me as a New Yorker. I was born in Cleveland—a great place to be from.

Marital status?

Happily married in spite of my penchant for wandering off with hordes of rowdy women.

Occupation?

I’m a book editor, writer, and ghostwriter. I guess my list of publications must seem bewildering, but I love learning about new things—and I love beautiful objects so the ones I’m most proud of are large-format, full-color, old-school coffee table books: Traveling the Silk Road, Theodore Roosevelt: A Passion to Lead, and, most recently, The Art of Bob Mackie.

What’s your favorite thing about traveling in a group of all-women?

I love traveling in any way, but I’m quite particular about who I’m going to be sharing these experiences with. After my first trip with NextTribe, I knew I’d always enjoy the company, make some new friends, laugh endlessly, and feel very safe—to say anything, try anything—and in my element. There are many great things about the NextTribe trips, but the company of smart, bad- ass women is definitely one of them.

  What I love about NextTribe trips is making new friends, laughing endlessly, and feeling safe to say anything and try anything.

What’s your favorite place to visit and why?

My most memorable trip overall was a safari in Tanzania—this was before NextTribe was even a thing— simply for the chance to be so far outside of my own life, in the midst of such breathtaking wildness and natural beauty. But I’d put the NextTribe Umbria trip right up there with my top experiences because of the balance of beautiful surroundings, wonderful women, and the chance to live communally while learning and creating art. Oh yeah, and eating!

I’d have to say my favorite NextTribe trips are the ones that include at least a few days of living communally, as we did in Umbria and also in the Douro Valley of Portugal.

Read more: What Two Sisters and Their Aunt Learned Traveling Through Portugal Together

What’s your dream travel destination?

Japan is high on my list, as are South Africa and Morocco. I hope to do at least two of these with NextTribe.

What type of travel are you looking for when booking a trip? 

When I was working full-time, my favorite trips were the do-nothing ones involving a beach, a lounge chair, a cocktail, and a pile of novels. I still see the appeal of that, but now I’m eager for a bit more adventure—in foreign cities, national parks, and exotic “bucket list” places. I find NextTribe is a great source of adventure for me because the stress of figuring out a great itinerary and then planning and booking it is eliminated. All that’s left is soaking it all in, meeting great women, and making memories.

Do you believe in wearing sweatpants on the plane? If not, what’s your go-to travel outfit?

Do they still make sweatpants? I’m all for anything stretchy, plus shoes that are easy to slip off and on and layers for the temperature changes from plane to airport to fabulous new destination.

Do you have a favorite souvenir from your travels?

I love my handmade wooden fisherman from Cuba, and the little sculpture I learned to make on a delightful afternoon in San Miguel de Allende, though it’s still in transit. I’m going to be cheesy, though, and say that my photos and memories are the best souvenirs of all. The word “souvenir” means “to remember,” after all.

I’m going to be cheesy and say that my photographs and memories are the best travel souvenirs of all.

Do you have any travel rituals or tips that you swear by?

I always pack early so that I can rethink every single thing and pack again. The second time is the charm. (This was definitely true for Mexico, where I packed first for the weather I thought I wanted and then for the weather we were actually going to have—which happened to be perfect but not tropical.) I became a happier traveler the day I decided there were no extra points for jamming everything into a carry-on. That said, be able to carry your own bag!