Hi, I’m Jen

I’m an American–Italian dual citizen who quit my 9-to-5, built a freelance career, walked 500 miles across Spain, and eventually moved to Italy to reclaim my roots.

About Jen

Woman smiling and taking a selfie while walking down a narrow, cobblestone street lined with old buildings.

I’m Jen, and I’m always on the run around the world.

I’m the traveler behind Jen on the Run, where I share slow travel stories, cultural insights, and practical tips for exploring the world more deeply.

My path into travel didn’t start with a big plan to become a blogger or content creator. It started with a decision to leave the traditional 9-to-5 path and build a freelance career that gave me control over my time.

After college, I worked a series of jobs in Los Angeles before eventually landing the kind of office job I thought I wanted. But the long commute, the windowless workspace, and the routine left me wondering if life could look different.

So I started freelancing on the side.

A woman sits smiling at a desk in an office with a computer, paperwork, and a framed black-and-white canal photo on the wall behind her.
Photo from my last day in a windowless office in 2017, with a photo of Venice’s Bridge of Sighs hanging above my desk!

One client turned into two. Two turned into more. Eventually, I saved enough to quit my job and run my own freelance business full-time.

Because I could work remotely, I began experimenting with longer trips and living abroad for stretches of time. I spent weeks in places like Lisbon and Budapest, using them as home bases while working and slowly getting to know the culture around me.

That’s when my relationship with travel changed.

Instead of rushing through destinations, I started staying longer, paying attention, and experiencing everyday life.

In 2023, I walked the 500-mile Camino de Santiago from France to Spain, one of the most transformative journeys of my life.

A woman with curly hair sits smiling on a sailboat under a partly cloudy sky, with the ocean and a distant coastline in the background.

Then in 2025, I took another leap and moved to Sardinia, Italy to pursue Italian citizenship through descent (jure sanguinis). After receiving my Italian passport, I made the move permanent.

Today, Florence is my home base, and I continue exploring Italy and the world through the lens of slow, immersive travel.

Why This Blog Exists

I started Jen on the Run because I realized something important while traveling:

The experiences that stay with you the longest rarely come from rushing through a checklist of attractions.

They come from the quieter moments. Lingering over dinner, learning a few words of a new language, getting lost in a neighborhood, or spending enough time somewhere that it begins to feel familiar.

A woman named Jen with hiking poles standing on the Camino de Santiago road at sunrise.

This blog exists to help you experience travel that way.

Here you’ll find:

• thoughtful destination guides that go beyond the typical highlights
• stories from the road that capture culture and everyday life
• practical tips for slow, immersive travel
• insights from immersive journeys like the Camino de Santiago and living abroad in Italy

Whether you’re planning your first trip to Europe, dreaming about walking a pilgrimage route, or simply curious about traveling in a more intentional way, my goal is to help you connect more deeply with the places you visit.

Because the best travel doesn’t just show you the world.

It changes how you see it.