Living The Dream: A Wheelchair Won’t Stop Cory

Travel doesn’t discriminate, it’s open to everyone. Cory isn’t your average traveller. When he travels it requires a bit more planning, but it certainly hasn’t stopped him from Living The Dream.

Cory Lee

What was the first country you visited? Who with and why did you choose it?

The first foreign country that I visited was the Bahamas when I was fifteen years old. My mom and I went on a cruise and in the 12+ hours that we were on the island, I fell in love with it. I've since been back a few times and the Bahamas continue to be one of my favorite destinations. While it isn't very far from the US, it's different enough to be worth visiting and the beaches are absolutely gorgeous! There's nothing quite like that beautiful turquoise Caribbean water. 

When did you start a travel lifestyle? What inspired that change?

I have always been a traveler at heart and usually take a few vacations a year. I got serious about having a travel lifestyle about a year ago though, just before starting my blog curbfreewithcorylee.com. I was trying to figure out what my greatest passion was and travel was the only thing that came to mind. Since then, I have graduated college and I now focus on my blog full time.

Do you have a base you travel from? Or is it continuos travel? And why do you choose that style?

I live in the state of Georgia in the USA. I would love to travel full time, but that's taking a little longer to organize than I expected. As a wheelchair user it's very difficult to find a traveling companion that will travel and help me full time. I would rather travel continuously, but I suppose that taking a few trips a year does give me a greater appreciation when I'm on the road. And for that, I am thankful.

How do you fund your travel lifestyle? Is it something you do when travelling or are you a saver?

I am a saver. It's taken a long time to master the art of saving, but now it's easy breezy. Once I made travel my number one priority, it made saving a lot easier. Now, instead of buying a $50 shirt I think of how that money could help buy a night's hotel stay. And then the shirt seems unimportant suddenly.

If you could tell yourself one tip before you started your travel lifestyle, what would it be?

I would tell myself to embrace every opportunity that I am offered, no matter how crazy it may seem at the time. When I was younger (in my early travel days), I was much more cautious about what I was willing to do in regards to adventurous activities. There are some great opportunities that I missed out on. You do always have to use your best judgment of course, but you also need to remember to "dream as if you'll live forever and live as if you'll die today" (that's one of my favorite quotes).

What does "Living The Dream" mean to you?

To me, 'Living the Dream' means being able to wake up every day and be happy about what you have planned for the day. I may not be a full time traveler, but I still look forward to working on my site, writing, and organizing trips every day. That makes me very happy and makes me feel that I am truly living the dream.

You can find Cory Lee here -

Website: Curbfreewithcorylee

Twitter:  @coryleetweets

I am a 24 year old travel addict and wheelchair user, hoping to inspire you to start rolling around the world.