When Samantha Brown heads to the office, she can be anywhere from a beach on the New Jersey shore to the grand palaces of South Korea. That’s because Brown’s “workplace” is wherever she happens to be producing the latest episode of her PBS series, “Samantha Brown’s Places to Love.” In effect, she vacations for a living. And that’s been her career ever since she started hosting travel shows two decades ago — initially, for the Travel Channel, where she helmed such series as “Passport to Europe” and “Girl Meets Hawaii.”
A Dallas native who grew up in New Hampshire, Brown, 52 years old, didn’t plan on such an unlikely path. She started out wanting to make it as an actress — musical theater was a particular passion — but took other opportunities as they came her way. Traveling the world became the ultimate opportunity. Today, Brown, who is based in New York City, can be on the road several months a year. But she put down her suitcase to chat with MarketWatch recently about her life and work and to share some advice about how to avoid travel pitfalls, especially in this summer of …