When your career revolves around travel, there’s one question you’ll inevitably field once per dinner party: “What’s your favorite place?” curious new acquaintances ask, before the words “travel writer” have fully escaped my lips. Depending on my mood or which recently filed feature is looming large in my mind, my answer varies, but a few of the places my tongue finds itself reaching for time and time again seem to have a clear common thread. Sometimes I respond with Cape Town, the most beautiful city in the world; other times I propose a twofer in the form of New York and Mumbai, similarly chaotic metropolises that feel like sister cities with their twin energies. Or maybe I’ll say Hyderabad, but more specifically my grandmother’s palm-shaded house, even though she’s no longer there to welcome me. Perhaps in that moment I’ll think of Dubai, with its bonkers skyline that wholly captured my heart. Whatever the answer I settle on in the moment, there’s a theme that links them: These are all cities where, at some point, I’ve had a mailing address, phone number, and bank account, and where I’ve navigated paperwork, politics, and pop culture with varying degrees of success. In other words, places I’ve called home.
There’s an interesting duality that comes with the life of a serial expat—third-culture kids, as those of us who got an early start on this itinerant existence are called. You feel at home in multiple places, but a part of you is always longing for somewhere else. Your heart is never whole, leaving fragments in your wake across the continents. Returning to one place might reunite you with one piece, but at the cost of leaving the others thousands of miles away. (Not to mention the cravings that never abate—for Hyderabadi dosas, for the garlic sauce at Saudi fast-food mainstay Al Baik, for Canadian Coffee Crisp bars, for Simba’s smoked beef chips from South Africa, for classic American Sweet-Tarts, for the barbecue chicken sandwich from Farooj Alabdalla in Dubai that I sometimes used to order twice in a day.) There’s a blessing in the sense of ease I find in so many different cities, but within that resides a sense of loss knowing I’ll never feel all those emotions at once.
In my inaugural (and only) edition of this newsletter exactly 12 months ago, written as I recovered from the most hectic—and exhilarating—year of my life, I had set out a few goals for myself: “I’m hoping this year will look different: a less chaotic pace of travel, meaningful stories that help me satisfy my relentless curiosity, new challenges… and plenty more time curled up on the couch.”
I’m pleased to report I succeeded on all counts. I didn’t travel anywhere near as much, and my year mostly included places I’d been to before (Portugal and Turks & Caicos were my only new passport stamps) as I prioritized reconnecting with former homes that hold a lot of significance for me: South Africa and India, which I hadn’t visited since the pandemic; Canada, where I was born but rarely return; and Dubai, which I simply can never get enough of. And this past year wasn’t just about the places, but the people I experienced them with. After having stood by my side as I’ve declared “Cape Town” in response to the aforementioned “favorite place” question too many times to count, Sameer finally got to behold its magic for himself—and thanks to the ultimate first-time itinerary I curated for him, he now agrees with my assessment of it as the most beautiful city in the world. I returned to Canada on a cruise with my mother, and while we didn’t sail our way to my birthplace of Toronto, we still reminisced together of long-ago Canadian quirks that had once been a part of our daily lives. Sameer and I ended the year in India with my parents, which was an amazing way to reintroduce him to a city he hadn’t been to in 26 years (I’ll proudly take credit for making him a born-again Hyderabadi). Afterward I spent a few days in Dubai reconnecting with a host of dear friends. While these trips were fewer in number than my utterly crazy 2022—when, you may recall, I managed to squeeze in a transcontinental move, a three-city wedding, and stops at all seven continents over the course of a year—they were intentional, meaningful, and reunited me with so many pieces of my heart.
Not traveling so much also gave me the chance to acquaint myself with my actual home, the one where I have my husband, my clothes, my books, my couch, and where I pay rent and taxes. In New York, I found comfort in routines big and small—from more home-cooked meals to coffee dates with dear friends to regular dinners at 53 to talks at the Met—and ventured out to discover new cafés in Queens and Brooklyn, visit family in Staten Island, and get pampered during a spa day on Governor’s Island. Add visits from my parents and sister from Boston and my brother, sister-in-law, and Amaan and Zainab, my nephew and niece, from San Diego, and I felt more at home in 2023 than I have in years. (And, yes, I once again dedicated an obscene number of hours to curling up on my couch with more series than I care to recount.)
On the work front, exciting new challenges came in the form of consulting and editing projects that kept me busy even when I wasn’t on the road—but I still made time to report and write the kinds of thoughtful stories I’d hoped to work on as 2023 began. I explored Islamic history in South Africa and Portugal, let my K-drama obsession guide to me Seoul, reflected on what it was like to grow up in Saudi Arabia in a very different time, and ate my way through Dubai. Aside from travel, I also wrote about fashion and film and beauty and music—which brings me to my 2024 goals. This year marks my 20th year in journalism, and while I certainly still intend to write about travel (and already have some exciting reporting trips lined up), I also want to get back into writing about other topics. Profiles, culture stories, personal essays, reported deep dives, maybe even a book proposal—I hope 2024 sees me exploring all those realms and more.
And as I type this newsletter cozily curled up in my favorite spot—my couch—I hope this new year sees me spending lots of time at home, in whichever form I find it. Maybe that’s Boston, because home is where your parents are; Hyderabad, because home is where your roots are; Dubai, because home is where you discover new facets of yourself; Cape Town, because home is where you lost yourself, and New York, because home is where you find yourself again and again. But when you lead a transient existence, once thing quickly becomes apparent: Home is wherever your stuff is.
2023 in numbers
51,134 miles
6 countries
4 continents
2023 in destinations, #WhereInTheWorldIsSarahKhan
USA: New York City, Hudson Valley, Austin, Boston, Chicago,
South Africa: Cape Town and Kruger National Park
Turks & Caicos
Portugal: Lisbon and the Algarve
Canada: Halifax, Sydney, Quebec City
India: Hyderabad and Mumbai
2023 in (selected) publications, #BySarahKhan
Robb Report, Port of Dreams: I edited a special supplement for Robb Report
New York Times, When One Wedding Requires Four Outfits, Try Renting: taking a look at rental platforms for South Asian clothes
Wall Street Journal, Insider’s Guide to Dubai: four prominent locals share their favorite spots
Vogue, Makeup Is More Than Meets the Eye: an interview with Zahra Hankir, author of Eyeliner: A Cultural History
Condé Nast Traveler, Trace Elements: unearthing Portugal’s Moorish legacy
Condé Nast Traveler, Why Playlists Are My Favorite Souvenir: about the music I bring home from every trip
Condé Nast Traveler, Gorging on K-Drama, IRL: letting my obsession with Korean dramas guide my first visit to Seoul
Condé Nast Traveler, Southern Exposure: meeting Cape Town’s Cape Malay creatives
List, The Mother City Welcomes All: exploring South Africa’s Islamic history
Food & Wine, Dubai on the Rise: why this city is one of the most exciting places in the world to eat right now
Virtuoso Life, In Living Color: about Jaipur’s block-printing tradition
Netflix Queue, Welcome to Riverdale, India: interviewing director Zoya Akhtar about her new film, The Archies
List, Growing Up in Saudi: reminiscing about my childhood in Jeddah
…and many more, all at www.bysarahkhan.com