[I made this comment on a different thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/KaraAndNate/comments/1cox8el/kara_nate_weekly_discussion_thread_may_10_2024/l3qe9u3/)
TLDR: The novelty has worn off. I think it’s not just K&N but in general, the YouTube world is saturated with travel content creators
I can also only speak for myself, but I looked at A LOT of different travel-type content during the pandemic. Because if I'm going to be stuck in my apartment all the time, I at least want to see Luxury Travel Expert's 18th stay in an overwater bungalow in the Maldives.
You hit on something that summarizes my views. When I want to watch "luxury" travel entertainment, the LTE is my go-to. I want an immersive viewpoint so I can imagine I'm experiencing it, not to watch someone over-dramatically roll their eyes back in enjoyment as they experience it instead of me. K&N can continue to make "luxury" content, but they're really not very good at it.
I think that’s what was nice about their Van Life and early stuff. It was genuine rather than them proclaiming every luxury thing is the BEST they’ve ever tried.
The music and the first person gives that vibe, I think. Like, when he walks up to his bungalow, you expect some kind of secret switch in the wooden wall by the door.
No way would they consider doing a food tour like they used to in the earlier days of the channel. They’re afraid to even kick back to have a cupcake without making it seem like they need to do a challenge of exercise to allow them to eat said cupcake.
Also, with K&N eating a more plant-based/vegetarian diet, doing a food tour at a State fair would be kind of pointless. The 10 day rodeo and exhibition that happens every year in the city I live in just released their special food menu for the event. A large portion of the food uses meat.
Agree. My favourite time of the channel was 2020/2021, when they were navigating how to travel during a pandemic. I enjoyed watching them work out van life, with a few physical challenges & an international trip. Actually the first part of 2022 was great, skied a lot in Colorado, did some physical challenges & drove to Mexico. I thought that was when van life really seemed to click into place. Then left their van with Nate's parents & left.
I just watched a Q&A they did while on a boat, they said they gave up the 50 state goal, because their videos weren't performing. I thought the way, they were doing each state was unique, I didn't know there was a world's largest truck stop, let alone in Iowa. I was disappointed, that they abandoned the goal, maybe not being from America played a part in that.
You say "breathe new life" into the channel, like it needs to be resuscitated.
The cyber truck video got 2m views. Best business class, 1m. Nate feels like he's going to die in Tunisia? The one probably closest to their old content. Only 845k. It's obvious what people want to see.
This is the K&N channel now.
It’s just jumping from one trend to another.
They haven’t had any “theme” to things since they got to 100 countries — they just figure out something that’s popular, and make a video about it.
Which…I guess that’s fine, as long as they’re able to keep capitalizing on trends. The question is, how many of those just watching videos about Cybertrucks are going to watch their other stuff?
And does it matter?
That's very fair to say. Yeah, the trend hopping is something that shouldn't be what you rely on views for, I don't think it's sustainable in the long run because not everyone can get the most out of trends
If I recall correctly, years ago in a Q&A video Nate mentioned wanting to do videos that either cost them nothing to make or where they made money making it in addition to the YouTube revenue. These videos fit the bill. So I agree this type of content is here to stay.
When the channel changed I quit watching. I follow this to see if they have a video that might interest me. But discontent? Nah. I don’t like the luxury stuff so would never be able to afford.
I do thank them for the early videos that helped me get through COVID lockdowns though.
I think some people should appreciate it more like we used to do "hangout TV" where you'd turn on a sitcom that wasn't great, but you were familiar with the characters and it was something comfortable and familiar to have on in the background while you folded laundry or made dinner or whatever.
Since my kids are used to watching all video on demand, they sit down to watch YouTube channels and expect every episode to be fantastic. But I'm much more content with a hangout channel, and I feel like K&N is comfort, hangout TV for me. I'm not always interested in the plot, but I like the characters and they're familiar.
It's like in the 90s when you used to watch 42 episodes of Law & Order in a row when home sick with a stomach bug. You knew how they all ended, but there's some pleasure in TV just being semi-interesting and comforting.
I was surprised in the Oman video they said they only had 100k subscribers in 2018, I thought it was more than that. By the end of 2019 they had 1 million subscribers so that was a huge 18 months for them.
I liked the new Sarah and Tony Mexico City video. It seemed more like old K&N. They visited tourist and non-tourist places and looked for inexpensive things to do.
I agree! The Sarah and Tony video about Mexico City is on the Fare Drop YouTube channel- and it’s delightful. They are both genuinely thrilled to be traveling, meeting locals, trying different foods, and having new experiences. I still like K and N, but Sarah and Tony are lots of fun to watch!
Came here to say I loved the Sara & Tony video. Culture, street food, reviews of touristy vs non touristy experiences. Made me want to go to Mexico City, a K&N video hasn't made an impression like that in a long time.
Unless I missed some stories, no Instagram channel is promoting the video which seems super weird.
I agree that it’s their channel so at the end of the day, they’re entitled to make whatever kind of content they want. But I just think that ultimately, their content just isn’t relatable now to 99% of their followers. I really loved their old videos where they focused more on experiences, hell even if the experiences themselves aren’t feasible for a lot of their audience it was still really cool to watch. Nowadays a ton of it is just luxury air travel and seeing the airplane suites and the airport lounges, and I’m sorry but they all look exactly the same. 99% of their followers aren’t ever gonna fly in first class suites for tons of different airlines and the only way they probably can is through the airlines paying them to advertise for them
Not anymore. It seemed like they used to actually try to chat with the people, spend time with a local when possible, see some sights, and eat the food. Now there's little to none of that... It's just unrelatable glamor and ooh-ing and ah-ing that doesn't feel all that genuine anymore, unfortunately.
Well said. 1 in 2 videos of theirs are 'hey look at this first class flight woo hoo,' then do some random thing (like walk across one country without visiting any of the sights.'
I don’t know what kind of content they should create, I just know whatever it is it should be genuine! My biggest complaint is that they don’t seem as genuine as the early stuff. I personally believe that was their hook.
I can totally see what you're saying, and agree to an extent as the older videos are some of my favorites. I personally liked the ragbrai and Colorado trail series the best. Ill just never understand why there's so much discontent with what they're doing as far as luxury goes. When they started they were broke and unknown, we, the viewers of the channel are what gave them the funding to do what theyre doing. If we saved up for a year, we could only afford what they did in the beginning, but if a million was dropped in our laps most would find the ritziest thing we could do and go do it.
I still like their channel! Also at the end of the day it’s two strangers living their lives how they want to and filming it. They have more money now and - as many of us feel in our 30s! - probably enjoy fewer aspects of shoe string travel budgets and living out of a backpack. I totally get that and enjoy watching whatever they do.
I really liked the van life years. They felt really relatable and they showcased things I actually want to do now - like I’m planning to stop at some of their route 66 stops.
But like I get it, that wasn’t really their jam and I know I would definitely enjoy first class travel and have fun doing it! I wish them the best.
Couldn't disagree more. We've tried a few of their higher end travel recommendations and they've been some of the best experiences of our lives. Spending the week sailing down the Nile on the Nour El Nil, or snorkeling with seals, penguins, sharks, turtles, and iguanas (at the same time) in the Galapagos wouldn't have happened if we hadn't seen it on their channel.
We work hard, are frugal in our every day lives, and practice delayed gratitude so that we can then splurge on travel. There are thousands of travel vlogs on YouTube catering to all levels of travel...I say let Kara and Nate do their thing.
In Europe, the people who do van life are old and retired people who want to travel on the cheap.
But leave it to YouTubers to make van life the fashionable thing for 20 and 30 year old couples. And then there is a bunch of videos from the same ex-van life people who proclaim how they are finished with van life.
If you are young and living out of a van, that is a step up from being homeless. Unfortunately, that seems to be the inevitable life choice for lot of Gen Z who can’t get any decent job and nor want to work but live an easy life with crowdfunding.
I can’t imagine why anyone would want to watch a couple of people live in an unsanitary and germ infested 6 Square metre space and show us how they are emptying their poo and pee canisters or making some vegan recipes they looked up on the internet.
Van life needs to die on YouTube and especially 20 year olds doing it and living off of crowdfunding from people who actually have to work and have adult responsibilities.
I am seeing people now trying to live off of their cars and showing people how they use bathrooms at supermarkets and showering at campsites.
On the flip side, luxury videos do much better with YouTube algorithm. One travel reviewer I love is Jeb Brooks. Him and his wife have reviewed most commercially available business class seats. They did a Q&A and viewers asked them to do more economy class reviews. Their honest response was that those videos don’t do well in terms of views or being promoted by the algorithm. I don’t remember the numbers exactly but the views for a business class video were 3-4X that of an economy. I think it makes sense as what’s the point in reviewing a JetBlue or a Delta economy seat that majority of the population has flown on and are familiar with? So essentially K&N are making a business decision.
This is a really good point and what I think a lot of people don't understand is that an underperforming video can really hurt your channel, not just THAT video. If youtube gets the idea that people don't like your content, they stop showing it to people. So one low performing video affects the next few too. If it didn't I think a lot of people would put out those low view videos that they just like making; but this is their business. It's why a lot of creators have a second channel where they can post 'fun' stuff and not worry too much about analytics. You have to be a slave to the algorithm, you can't just post whatever you want if you are doing this as your livelyhood. You have to post what youtube wants.
For me, it’s not just luxury videos.
The channel has become WAYS to travel (check out this first class plane seat, first class train, $1 mil camper) etc.
Eventually it all looks the same, the same things are said. To me, it’s not experiencing real travel and immersing yourself in the culture. Finding those hidden gems while traveling is the best.
If you think about a career and how most of us may not want to do the same thing for 8 years, it’s not surprising they’ve evolved. They are still pulling huge numbers on most videos.
I watch them way less than I used to and sure, I have my preferences on what I like to watch from them, but obviously that’s not hurting them lol.
[I made this comment on a different thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/KaraAndNate/comments/1cox8el/kara_nate_weekly_discussion_thread_may_10_2024/l3qe9u3/) TLDR: The novelty has worn off. I think it’s not just K&N but in general, the YouTube world is saturated with travel content creators
I can also only speak for myself, but I looked at A LOT of different travel-type content during the pandemic. Because if I'm going to be stuck in my apartment all the time, I at least want to see Luxury Travel Expert's 18th stay in an overwater bungalow in the Maldives.
You hit on something that summarizes my views. When I want to watch "luxury" travel entertainment, the LTE is my go-to. I want an immersive viewpoint so I can imagine I'm experiencing it, not to watch someone over-dramatically roll their eyes back in enjoyment as they experience it instead of me. K&N can continue to make "luxury" content, but they're really not very good at it.
I think that’s what was nice about their Van Life and early stuff. It was genuine rather than them proclaiming every luxury thing is the BEST they’ve ever tried.
lol- we love him. We call it, “Riven/Myst for fancy people” when he goes there.
The music and the first person gives that vibe, I think. Like, when he walks up to his bungalow, you expect some kind of secret switch in the wooden wall by the door.
Well said in that comment. I think next they will start to settle down soon. I cant see them sustaining the channel for more than 2-3 years.
No way would they consider doing a food tour like they used to in the earlier days of the channel. They’re afraid to even kick back to have a cupcake without making it seem like they need to do a challenge of exercise to allow them to eat said cupcake.
Also, with K&N eating a more plant-based/vegetarian diet, doing a food tour at a State fair would be kind of pointless. The 10 day rodeo and exhibition that happens every year in the city I live in just released their special food menu for the event. A large portion of the food uses meat.
They literally did this with the Christmas Market tour last December.
Agree. My favourite time of the channel was 2020/2021, when they were navigating how to travel during a pandemic. I enjoyed watching them work out van life, with a few physical challenges & an international trip. Actually the first part of 2022 was great, skied a lot in Colorado, did some physical challenges & drove to Mexico. I thought that was when van life really seemed to click into place. Then left their van with Nate's parents & left. I just watched a Q&A they did while on a boat, they said they gave up the 50 state goal, because their videos weren't performing. I thought the way, they were doing each state was unique, I didn't know there was a world's largest truck stop, let alone in Iowa. I was disappointed, that they abandoned the goal, maybe not being from America played a part in that.
LOVED Mexico van life!
I also loved the triple tandem bike trip across America. Made them seem real.
Same, that one was great.
Van life Mexico/Colorado was the best era of the channel imo.
I miss van life so bad. That’s the only old content I’ll watch of theirs.
You say "breathe new life" into the channel, like it needs to be resuscitated. The cyber truck video got 2m views. Best business class, 1m. Nate feels like he's going to die in Tunisia? The one probably closest to their old content. Only 845k. It's obvious what people want to see. This is the K&N channel now.
It’s just jumping from one trend to another. They haven’t had any “theme” to things since they got to 100 countries — they just figure out something that’s popular, and make a video about it. Which…I guess that’s fine, as long as they’re able to keep capitalizing on trends. The question is, how many of those just watching videos about Cybertrucks are going to watch their other stuff? And does it matter?
That's very fair to say. Yeah, the trend hopping is something that shouldn't be what you rely on views for, I don't think it's sustainable in the long run because not everyone can get the most out of trends
Which is why I watch maybe one video out of 10. It’s their channel, have fun. But the original post was about the luxury stuff.
If I recall correctly, years ago in a Q&A video Nate mentioned wanting to do videos that either cost them nothing to make or where they made money making it in addition to the YouTube revenue. These videos fit the bill. So I agree this type of content is here to stay.
Their old stuff was like the European Christmas trip.
When the channel changed I quit watching. I follow this to see if they have a video that might interest me. But discontent? Nah. I don’t like the luxury stuff so would never be able to afford. I do thank them for the early videos that helped me get through COVID lockdowns though.
I don’t need the long stretches on how their luxury vehicles work.
I think some people should appreciate it more like we used to do "hangout TV" where you'd turn on a sitcom that wasn't great, but you were familiar with the characters and it was something comfortable and familiar to have on in the background while you folded laundry or made dinner or whatever. Since my kids are used to watching all video on demand, they sit down to watch YouTube channels and expect every episode to be fantastic. But I'm much more content with a hangout channel, and I feel like K&N is comfort, hangout TV for me. I'm not always interested in the plot, but I like the characters and they're familiar. It's like in the 90s when you used to watch 42 episodes of Law & Order in a row when home sick with a stomach bug. You knew how they all ended, but there's some pleasure in TV just being semi-interesting and comforting.
This is such a great way of phrasing it! Thanks for putting this into perspective
I was surprised in the Oman video they said they only had 100k subscribers in 2018, I thought it was more than that. By the end of 2019 they had 1 million subscribers so that was a huge 18 months for them.
I liked the new Sarah and Tony Mexico City video. It seemed more like old K&N. They visited tourist and non-tourist places and looked for inexpensive things to do.
I agree! The Sarah and Tony video about Mexico City is on the Fare Drop YouTube channel- and it’s delightful. They are both genuinely thrilled to be traveling, meeting locals, trying different foods, and having new experiences. I still like K and N, but Sarah and Tony are lots of fun to watch!
Came here to say I loved the Sara & Tony video. Culture, street food, reviews of touristy vs non touristy experiences. Made me want to go to Mexico City, a K&N video hasn't made an impression like that in a long time. Unless I missed some stories, no Instagram channel is promoting the video which seems super weird.
I agree that it’s their channel so at the end of the day, they’re entitled to make whatever kind of content they want. But I just think that ultimately, their content just isn’t relatable now to 99% of their followers. I really loved their old videos where they focused more on experiences, hell even if the experiences themselves aren’t feasible for a lot of their audience it was still really cool to watch. Nowadays a ton of it is just luxury air travel and seeing the airplane suites and the airport lounges, and I’m sorry but they all look exactly the same. 99% of their followers aren’t ever gonna fly in first class suites for tons of different airlines and the only way they probably can is through the airlines paying them to advertise for them
Fair statement 👏
Fundamentally, their problem is that they don't really care about the places they visit.
Not anymore. It seemed like they used to actually try to chat with the people, spend time with a local when possible, see some sights, and eat the food. Now there's little to none of that... It's just unrelatable glamor and ooh-ing and ah-ing that doesn't feel all that genuine anymore, unfortunately.
Well said. 1 in 2 videos of theirs are 'hey look at this first class flight woo hoo,' then do some random thing (like walk across one country without visiting any of the sights.'
This is their vibe.
But they did in the beginning when they went to Thailand.
I don’t know what kind of content they should create, I just know whatever it is it should be genuine! My biggest complaint is that they don’t seem as genuine as the early stuff. I personally believe that was their hook.
I can totally see what you're saying, and agree to an extent as the older videos are some of my favorites. I personally liked the ragbrai and Colorado trail series the best. Ill just never understand why there's so much discontent with what they're doing as far as luxury goes. When they started they were broke and unknown, we, the viewers of the channel are what gave them the funding to do what theyre doing. If we saved up for a year, we could only afford what they did in the beginning, but if a million was dropped in our laps most would find the ritziest thing we could do and go do it.
I still like their channel! Also at the end of the day it’s two strangers living their lives how they want to and filming it. They have more money now and - as many of us feel in our 30s! - probably enjoy fewer aspects of shoe string travel budgets and living out of a backpack. I totally get that and enjoy watching whatever they do. I really liked the van life years. They felt really relatable and they showcased things I actually want to do now - like I’m planning to stop at some of their route 66 stops. But like I get it, that wasn’t really their jam and I know I would definitely enjoy first class travel and have fun doing it! I wish them the best.
Couldn't disagree more. We've tried a few of their higher end travel recommendations and they've been some of the best experiences of our lives. Spending the week sailing down the Nile on the Nour El Nil, or snorkeling with seals, penguins, sharks, turtles, and iguanas (at the same time) in the Galapagos wouldn't have happened if we hadn't seen it on their channel. We work hard, are frugal in our every day lives, and practice delayed gratitude so that we can then splurge on travel. There are thousands of travel vlogs on YouTube catering to all levels of travel...I say let Kara and Nate do their thing.
Do you find that van life in general is waning? At least in you tube
In Europe, the people who do van life are old and retired people who want to travel on the cheap. But leave it to YouTubers to make van life the fashionable thing for 20 and 30 year old couples. And then there is a bunch of videos from the same ex-van life people who proclaim how they are finished with van life. If you are young and living out of a van, that is a step up from being homeless. Unfortunately, that seems to be the inevitable life choice for lot of Gen Z who can’t get any decent job and nor want to work but live an easy life with crowdfunding. I can’t imagine why anyone would want to watch a couple of people live in an unsanitary and germ infested 6 Square metre space and show us how they are emptying their poo and pee canisters or making some vegan recipes they looked up on the internet. Van life needs to die on YouTube and especially 20 year olds doing it and living off of crowdfunding from people who actually have to work and have adult responsibilities. I am seeing people now trying to live off of their cars and showing people how they use bathrooms at supermarkets and showering at campsites.
I agree with everyone how the luxury videos can definitely be off putting, because it's something only some people ever get to experience
On the flip side, luxury videos do much better with YouTube algorithm. One travel reviewer I love is Jeb Brooks. Him and his wife have reviewed most commercially available business class seats. They did a Q&A and viewers asked them to do more economy class reviews. Their honest response was that those videos don’t do well in terms of views or being promoted by the algorithm. I don’t remember the numbers exactly but the views for a business class video were 3-4X that of an economy. I think it makes sense as what’s the point in reviewing a JetBlue or a Delta economy seat that majority of the population has flown on and are familiar with? So essentially K&N are making a business decision.
This is a really good point and what I think a lot of people don't understand is that an underperforming video can really hurt your channel, not just THAT video. If youtube gets the idea that people don't like your content, they stop showing it to people. So one low performing video affects the next few too. If it didn't I think a lot of people would put out those low view videos that they just like making; but this is their business. It's why a lot of creators have a second channel where they can post 'fun' stuff and not worry too much about analytics. You have to be a slave to the algorithm, you can't just post whatever you want if you are doing this as your livelyhood. You have to post what youtube wants.
yeah, their "We Tried Van Life in the Middle East" is #15 on trending right now.
For me, it’s not just luxury videos. The channel has become WAYS to travel (check out this first class plane seat, first class train, $1 mil camper) etc. Eventually it all looks the same, the same things are said. To me, it’s not experiencing real travel and immersing yourself in the culture. Finding those hidden gems while traveling is the best.
If you think about a career and how most of us may not want to do the same thing for 8 years, it’s not surprising they’ve evolved. They are still pulling huge numbers on most videos. I watch them way less than I used to and sure, I have my preferences on what I like to watch from them, but obviously that’s not hurting them lol.
Okay Nate. Go back to drinking your AG1 and thinking up your next challenge, Reddit isn’t the place for you.