We’re very proud to have created our “6 months of hosting, 6 months vacation.”

In the off-season, we love traveling and getting inspired by other hosts and their accommodations which in turn help us to improve and grow our business.

We frequently get asked about how we started and built The Hohnstead, so we decided to write a book about this alternative lifestyle, get the E-book by signing up with your email at the top of this page.

A physical copy is available for purchase in The Commons Area lobby.

Table of Contents

Our Mindset

Why we left the US searching for life abroad

What was so special abroad that kept us there for 14 years?

Buying the land sight unseen and building The HohnStead at a snail’s pace

The Pandemic and getting off mountain #1

Let the uncertainty begin: Can we make it?

6 months of work, 6 months of play

Our favorite places abroad for less than $1500/month

the short version of our book

Garrett’s family moved across the country from Michigan to Montana back in the 1990s, while Alla’s family moved from Ukraine to Delaware (which is still 2000 miles away from Montana).

After finishing university, unable to land a job in TV production, Alla traveled solo to South Korea to teach little kindergarten children how to speak English. Little did she know that a degree in Communication is not quite the same as teaching little children.

Having studied Education at university, Garrett was impressed with how polite and well-behaved Korean students were at his Hawaiian job, so he randomly picked a Korean job recruiter who placed him in a town of 300,000, called Masan, South Korea.

Seven months into Alla’s contract, she got an email from a random guy, who read her blog, complimenting her article about the gym that she was using.

As a solo traveling female, Alla didn’t feel comfortable answering random emails from strangers and when Garrett’s email appeared in her mail box, she ignored it, assuming he was another “weirdo” who liked seeing a young, blonde chick traveling abroad without a fellow traveler around.

And that could have been the end of the romance that never was.

But fate had another idea in mind and a few weeks later Alla and Garrett walked past each other on the street. Being a typical introvert, Alla surprised herself by saying:

“Hello, where are you from?”

As Garrett and his co-workers (all drunk on Soju) paused so Alla and Garrett could chat, Garrett realized that she looked familiar, perhaps like a girl he emailed a few weeks ago. Not wanting to be rude, Alla felt bad for ignoring his email and never responding to this not-so-weird” but actually a cute guy!

Seven months later, we got married and eventually would be called a “campus couple” for teaching English at the same university as co-workers, a job where we both proudly worked for over 10 years.

HOHN + HOMESTEAD = THE HOHNSTEAD

A huge credit goes to Mama and Papa Hohn, who spent over a decade searching for the perfect piece of Montana property that the family can work on and enjoy together.

The perfect but bare piece of land was finally found, but it had:

❌ No roads
❌ No buildings
❌ No electricity
❌ No septic
❌ No water
❌ No fun (as Alla would say)

Since 2010 (2 months at a time, while on vacation from South Korea) we worked the land, as a family of four, helping each other by learning to build, fix things, paint, sew, hammer, cut, burn, and general DIY.

It may be rustic and imperfect in many ways, but we’re immensely proud to say that the only thing that we paid out for — is the concrete slab inside the Commons Area.

Honestly, we never planned to build “a glamping cabins resort.” We just built what we needed at the time and what we could afford.

We’ve been very fortunate to be able to keep building and learning, and a single $400 off-grid glamping cabin - the Shanty - turned into two, three, and eventually five short-term rental cabins. We’ve hosted over 550 guests and been featured in over 70 publications since 2017 and we sincerely look forward to getting to share this gorgeous and peaceful piece of Montana with you!

OUR FIRST BOOKING

We will never forget our first booking, which came from a handsome man from Amsterdam, named Gert. He was a riot, drinking Smirnoff Ice coolers in between his workouts of running up and down the mountain. We really enjoyed connecting with Gert and his partner, sharing stories and laughter with complete strangers was an incredible feeling. Gert set the vibe, and The Hohnstead continues to attract adventurous, kind, passionate, and fun couples and solo travelers with the friendliest pups.

We hope you enjoy our 5 cozy, off-grid, pet-friendly cabins that we created for nature-loving couples and groups, that are looking for a simple getaway in the mountains to relax, unplug, hike, and stargaze.

Come and check out this magical place for yourself.

Alla and Garrett