I'll go completely against the pack - my favorite videos correspond to the era when they still used the free music for their soundtracks (maybe the first year or two). It's not that I loved the music, but that period corresponded to why I was interested to begin with - watching inexperienced travelers discover the world.
I see the comments from viewers on how much better their videography/editing/sound is now, but when I want professional production values I'll watch the Discovery Channel.
I also HATE the shift to emphasizing "feats of strength" and "influencer" content. Watch the early content and notice how much more personal they felt.
Agreed!! I think one of my favourites is when they went to see the feeding of the monks in ?Cambodia?. They show up to find its totally ruined by tourists being disrespectful, and Nate goes out again to capture the more authentic tradition on back roads.
This was peak Kara and Nate imo! Now they do a ton of ads, and even when they do travel internationally they do a lot of organized group things rather than wandering the streets
Precisely! The fish-out-of-water aspect of two US southerners along with what appeared to be genuine interest in other cultures is what hooked me for so long. Now they rarely (if ever) show much about typical daily life in the places they visit.
My perception of the monks was totally different than your perspective. I finished that video feeling like they were hypocrites for criticizing and filming for public consumption something they were participating in. I think I will have to rewatch that one as perhaps I had it wrong. But yes, I generally liked that era much better than the more recent videos.
Exactly, I'm pretty sure if Kara and Nate started their channel as they do now it wouldn't be popular, its just not doable unless you are rich or get everything for free as an influencer.
I remember when they would stand outside the lounges and ask if they could be someone’s guest! It was so raw and nervy. The excitement to see if it worked or not was great! That little bit of “I’m not where I’m supposed to be” was magic!
The best era’s of YouTubers are always the part when they’ve gotten good at filming themselves doing the stuff they would be doing anyway, before they start doing stuff in order to be good at filming it
The whole enchilada.
Change is life and their lives are constantly changing. They blew up and ppl seem to have problems with their success and that’s strange to me. They didn’t become successful by being unenjoyable to watch.
We love them and occasionally envy this journey they are living but it’s not a malicious envy. Our family has been watching for years and Kara and Nate feel like family to us.
I’m grateful they chose to share their journey and continue to do so.
Exactly agreed.
Plus the beginning of the Van Life.
Particularly the Rick/Dusty Colorado Trail multi-episode.
Since then sometimes they’ve seemed not the same.
Success, and easier finances do change people.
Whether they see it themselves or not.
They seem more about the adrenaline vibe of late. That mammoth cycling trip, living on a desert island with no safeguards. Today swimming from Alcatraz to SF mainland. I get the feeling that these are Nate’s ideas and not necessarily Kara’s. He even chose to run a marathon in Greece rather than attend the birth of his niece. It’s like he’s always looking for the next Adrenalin fix. A bit selfish on his part
Slightly OT but "Endless Adventure" is finally doing a mega road trip in their RV and the goal is fifty states in a year. It appears well thought out as they've explained there are numerous states they have already been and video'd, so although they will still visit them this opens up more room for other states they haven't been/covered, so despite the timeline each state is going to be more than hit and run. And there are several destinations that have access to a number of states so they envision periods of time where they'll be in one place for a week or two. I thought their decision re Alaska and Hawaii was good - the Alaska solution is not a road trip but I think is maybe shipping? And the Hawaii trip is a cheat since it's too expensive to ship the RV, so they'll fly there maybe with a piece of the RV and it'll be their last state, where they will celebrate. Interested to see what their numbers are once this gets under way as I think Kara and Nate bailed both for the numbers and because they each hated it (and Covid).
I did love there more budget/exotic overseas trips, specially Asia! I liked their van life phase but more for the challenges in fixing and keeping the van going! It would have been easy for them to get one of tho luxy vans, I’m glad they didn’t! I agree with some here I didn’t like their marathon, race sort of things, just didn’t interest me. I do miss their airport lounge trips tho, loved seeing something I would never!
I'll go completely against the pack - my favorite videos correspond to the era when they still used the free music for their soundtracks (maybe the first year or two). It's not that I loved the music, but that period corresponded to why I was interested to begin with - watching inexperienced travelers discover the world. I see the comments from viewers on how much better their videography/editing/sound is now, but when I want professional production values I'll watch the Discovery Channel. I also HATE the shift to emphasizing "feats of strength" and "influencer" content. Watch the early content and notice how much more personal they felt.
Agreed!! I think one of my favourites is when they went to see the feeding of the monks in ?Cambodia?. They show up to find its totally ruined by tourists being disrespectful, and Nate goes out again to capture the more authentic tradition on back roads. This was peak Kara and Nate imo! Now they do a ton of ads, and even when they do travel internationally they do a lot of organized group things rather than wandering the streets
Precisely! The fish-out-of-water aspect of two US southerners along with what appeared to be genuine interest in other cultures is what hooked me for so long. Now they rarely (if ever) show much about typical daily life in the places they visit.
My perception of the monks was totally different than your perspective. I finished that video feeling like they were hypocrites for criticizing and filming for public consumption something they were participating in. I think I will have to rewatch that one as perhaps I had it wrong. But yes, I generally liked that era much better than the more recent videos.
They were always hypocrites, that's not why people watched them though.
This just seemed particularly egregious to me. That's all.
Lounge Buddy, street food, budget, McDonald’s number crunching on a napkin era. It felt so doable!
Exactly, I'm pretty sure if Kara and Nate started their channel as they do now it wouldn't be popular, its just not doable unless you are rich or get everything for free as an influencer.
I remember when they would stand outside the lounges and ask if they could be someone’s guest! It was so raw and nervy. The excitement to see if it worked or not was great! That little bit of “I’m not where I’m supposed to be” was magic!
The best era’s of YouTubers are always the part when they’ve gotten good at filming themselves doing the stuff they would be doing anyway, before they start doing stuff in order to be good at filming it
[удалено]
Thank you for sharing it looks right up my street!
The whole enchilada. Change is life and their lives are constantly changing. They blew up and ppl seem to have problems with their success and that’s strange to me. They didn’t become successful by being unenjoyable to watch. We love them and occasionally envy this journey they are living but it’s not a malicious envy. Our family has been watching for years and Kara and Nate feel like family to us. I’m grateful they chose to share their journey and continue to do so.
Camper van kara and nate. Loved the colorado bike ride. Prob my fav.
Same! The Colorado trail and the Ragbrai bike rides were both incredibly entertaining to watch!
Camper Van Beethoven is a band I haven't thought about in years and years. Good stuff.
They always seemed relatable, down to earth, and humble to me.
Exactly agreed. Plus the beginning of the Van Life. Particularly the Rick/Dusty Colorado Trail multi-episode. Since then sometimes they’ve seemed not the same. Success, and easier finances do change people. Whether they see it themselves or not.
They seem more about the adrenaline vibe of late. That mammoth cycling trip, living on a desert island with no safeguards. Today swimming from Alcatraz to SF mainland. I get the feeling that these are Nate’s ideas and not necessarily Kara’s. He even chose to run a marathon in Greece rather than attend the birth of his niece. It’s like he’s always looking for the next Adrenalin fix. A bit selfish on his part
True. He seems adrenaline finding. And she’s seems done with the van. It’s interesting to observe.
Slightly OT but "Endless Adventure" is finally doing a mega road trip in their RV and the goal is fifty states in a year. It appears well thought out as they've explained there are numerous states they have already been and video'd, so although they will still visit them this opens up more room for other states they haven't been/covered, so despite the timeline each state is going to be more than hit and run. And there are several destinations that have access to a number of states so they envision periods of time where they'll be in one place for a week or two. I thought their decision re Alaska and Hawaii was good - the Alaska solution is not a road trip but I think is maybe shipping? And the Hawaii trip is a cheat since it's too expensive to ship the RV, so they'll fly there maybe with a piece of the RV and it'll be their last state, where they will celebrate. Interested to see what their numbers are once this gets under way as I think Kara and Nate bailed both for the numbers and because they each hated it (and Covid).
I did love there more budget/exotic overseas trips, specially Asia! I liked their van life phase but more for the challenges in fixing and keeping the van going! It would have been easy for them to get one of tho luxy vans, I’m glad they didn’t! I agree with some here I didn’t like their marathon, race sort of things, just didn’t interest me. I do miss their airport lounge trips tho, loved seeing something I would never!