Gab Small: Making a Life Worth Filming

By: Larry Felton

Gab Small couldn’t wait to leave upstate New York. After growing up in Saratoga Springs, she headed west and built a career in tech marketing. Then she quit her job to travel the world, only to have COVID bring her back home. Today, she lives in Troy, making YouTube videos about the places and people of upstate New York—and why life here might be better than people think.

RRX: Before you started making videos about upstate New York, you worked in corporate marketing in California. What were you doing?

Gab: I worked for startups and small tech companies. I was basically a marketing generalist, a one-woman show. It was as good a fit in corporate America as I could get. But I was still dragging myself to work every morning. I never really felt passionate about it.

RRX: What was missing that made you decide to leave?

Gab: I’ve always been passionate about traveling. When I was living in California, I realized I was never going to have enough vacation time to see everything I wanted to. So I saved my money, quit my job, and traveled for a year.

I could have gone longer, but I was in Asia when the COVID pandemic started. It became obvious I needed to go home. But home never really was California. I grew up in Saratoga, so I got a one-way flight from Manila back to JFK.

RRX: You’d been eager to leave upstate New York. What changed while you were traveling?

Gab: There wasn’t any one particular moment. It was seeing the different ways people live and figuring out what’s really important to me.

Seeing the world gave me the perspective to come back to upstate New York. The place I was so ready to escape as soon as I got to college was actually a really beautiful place, and I could see myself being happy here long term.

RRX: When you came back, you eventually settled in Troy. Why Troy?

Gab: My husband, Tim, suggested we look at Troy. All I knew was that it was nicknamed “Troilet” when I was growing up. People said, “Don’t go there, it’s not safe.”

Then we were driving down Second Street past Washington Park, and we were like, whoa, this is really nice! We found a house near the park.

Troy has this grittiness. I know my neighbors, and they’re awesome. People look out for each other. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.

RRX: How did you get started making videos?

Gab: When I was traveling internationally, I had a YouTube channel documenting my travels with my boyfriend at the time. Then COVID happened, we broke up, and I was single, living at home, unemployed, with no car. I had to start over.

I didn’t know what the new channel would be about, but I knew I wanted to keep making videos.

RRX: So how did you find your subject?

Gab: In June 2025, I put out a video called Nobody Wants to Live in Upstate New York. Right?

People I worked with in Boston and California kept asking, “Why do you live in upstate New York?” The negativity started bothering me. I thought, I’m going to explain why I love living here.

I spent hours on that video because I was having so much fun putting the narrative together. It was such a passion project. I truly didn’t think it was going to be anything. And then it took off like wildfire. I thought, huh, maybe there’s something here.

RRX: You’d spent years learning marketing and making videos. Now you were telling stories you cared about. What’s been the hardest part?

Gab: Finding the right angle. How can I translate what interests me into storytelling? How can I find the right people with interesting stories? I still don’t have that perfectly figured out.

RRX: Which video has gotten the most attention?

Gab: One about Gilbertsville, a tiny town of about 300 people. A woman who relocated there emailed me. She had an e-commerce business and a house they’d bought for something like $30,000.

She invited me to visit. I think it resonated because who hasn’t thought about moving to a tiny town in the middle of nowhere, having a cool online business, and living in a beautiful restored old house you got for pennies? For me, that’s the dream.

RRX: Who’s watching these videos?

Gab: My number one geographic audience is New York City. I think there’s a lot of fantasizing about escaping the city. People are tired of the corporate lifestyle and keeping up with the Joneses. They wish they could move upstate and have a simpler, happier, cheaper way of life.

RRX: Where do you see your creative work going from here?

Gab: Right now, I’m all in on getting really good at videography, storytelling, and identifying interesting topics.

I have a Google Doc on my phone with a list of ideas. I have tons left. I’m not even close to the bottom of the barrel.

RRX: So your videos aren’t just about places. They’re also about how to live?

Gab: There are tons of beautiful old historic homes in upstate New York with so much character. I think everybody’s first home should be a multifamily home. It’s a great financial move, and it’s set us up well for early retirement.

It’s also about doing something you’re passionate about and feeling like you’re putting energy into the world that you can be proud of.