An actuarial wanderlust's journey to 100 countries

Susan Pantely is an accomplished actuary and world traveler, and she approaches her hobby with the precision of her profession. For example, when asked how many countries she’s visited, she responds without hesitation.

“Ninety-four,” says Susan, a San Francisco-based principal in Milliman's Health Practice. “And 95 is already booked.”

Then, when asked for a comprehensive list of the countries, she produces an Excel spreadsheet. It’s this dedication and documentation that has her primed to keep conquering the corners of the world.

“It got serious about 10 or 15 years ago,” Susan says. “That’s when I decided to visit as many countries as I could. It’s been a fun and rewarding challenge.”

The first time Susan ventured outside the United States was when she was in fourth grade in the Pittsburgh area. She went to Munich, Germany, tagging along with her parents on a trip her dad had earned by being one of State Farm’s top insurance salespeople.

“I probably didn’t appreciate it at the time,” Susan says. “I wanted to stay home with my friends. But they dragged me kicking and screaming, and I’m sure that experience made me more open to it later.”

Once Susan got the bug, she went all-in. She says she made sure to hit all 50 states before crossing countries off her list, and then would visit one new country per year when her co-travelers’ schedules aligned with hers. Then a friend of hers took off solo to Italy for two weeks, and Susan experienced an epiphany of sorts.

“I thought, ‘People do that?’” Susan says. “It was something that never occurred to me. But she did it and she had a great time. I said, ‘I’m just going to do it. She did it. I can do it.’”

Suddenly, her schedule went from one trip per year to five or six, and that Excel sheet began to fill up. While she still occasionally travels with friends and family, she has no problem going it alone these days.

“Once I did it, it got easier every time,” Susan says.

Susan’s rule for being able to say she’s visited a country is to “spend at least one night there, and the airport doesn’t count.” She says Cambodia was the hardest to get to so far because of airline glitches. Her most recent journey was to the African country Gabon for safari, where she snapped memorable photos of hippos and gorillas. She’s booked for a wellness retreat in Oman over the Fourth of July holiday. The countries on deck for upcoming excursions include Namibia, North Macedonia, and Cyprus.

Her advice to novice travelers is to ask locals for restaurant tips, be flexible with your itinerary, and don’t stress out if you get lost because “sometimes that’s part of the fun.”

“Also, even though we all have Google Translate, I always do try to learn one or two phrases,” Susan says. “Hello, thank you, nice to meet you… you can’t go wrong with those. People appreciate it.”

Her favorite countries – as of the publishing of this article – are Turkey, New Zealand, Morocco, and Rwanda, where she had the unforgettable experience of sitting with gorillas. Susan says she had said for a while that she’d stop the global traversing once she made it to 100 countries, but now she’s not so sure. 

“I’m closing in on that number,” she says. “There’s a good chance I’m going to want to do more once I get there.”

Photos from Susan Pantely's travels.