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In People We Meet on Vacation, Poppy’s job takes her and Alex around the world for their annual trip — but also becomes a point of contention for the best friend duo.
In the film based on the best selling novel by Emily Henry, Poppy (Emily Bader) meets Alex (Tom Blyth) at college. For spring break, the pair end up road tripping to their shared hometown of Linfield, Ohio from Boston. Poppy and Alex quickly realize on the ride that they are complete opposites; she dreams of seeing the world while he would rather stay at home with a good book. The unlikely duo end up forming a strong friendship.
After graduation, Poppy moves to New York City to become a travel journalist while Alex is an English teacher in their hometown. Despite the distance, Poppy and Alex take a vacation together every year thanks to her job. While they travel to different places, the twosome form a deep connection that later turns romantic.
Keep scrolling for a complete breakdown on Poppy’s job and how it impacts the movie’s plot:
Warning: Spoilers below for People We Meet on Vacation.
What Is Poppy’s Job in ‘People We Meet on Vacation’?
Poppy works as a travel journalist at an upscale magazine called R&R which stands for rest and relaxation. Following her time in college, Poppy relocated to New York City to work at the publication. During her time at R&R, Poppy gets to travel around the world at the expense of her job. She ultimately decides that instead of traveling alone, she will bring Alex with her for one vacation every summer, which he ultimately agrees to.
How Does Poppy’s Job Impact Her and Alex?
While becoming a travel writer was Poppy’s dream career path, she ultimately becomes unhappy. Poppy’s feelings don’t just stem from her job, but how she became disconnected from Alex. The pair had a falling out after getting into an argument during their trip to Tuscany.
The Tuscany trip was different from Alex and Poppy’s typical getaways as they invited their significant others, Sarah (Sarah Catherine Hook) and Trey (Lucien Laviscount). During their stay, Poppy has a pregnancy scare and Alex remains by her side to comfort her. The friends almost kiss during the intimate moment, but Poppy explains that it was a mistake and Alex subsequently storms off. The next morning, Alex proposes to Sarah and she accepts.
Following Alex and Sarah’s engagement news, Poppy gets into an argument with Alex. Alex tells her that he and Sarah plan on settling down in Ohio. Poppy objects to Alex’s plan and claims that’s not what he truly wants. Alex gets offended and declares he’s done traveling with Poppy.
Two years after their argument, Poppy lies that her job is sending her to Barcelona around the same time Alex’s brother (Miles Heizer) is getting married there. Poppy’s goal is to rekindle her friendship with Alex as she remembers the last time she was truly happy was when they would take their annual vacation.
While in Barcelona, Alex is single. He later admits that he and Sarah ended their engagement because of his feelings for Poppy. Poppy and Alex declare their love for one another, however, the couple’s story doesn’t end there. When Alex broaches the topic about what’s next for them, Poppy explains she wants some time to figure things out. Alex accuses her of not knowing what she wants and using her trips to escape from her problems. Poppy fires back about his desire to stay in their hometown.
In the end, Poppy gets clarity from Sarah about what happened between her and Alex. Sarah shares that Poppy wasn’t the only factor in their split as she was unsure about what she wanted in her life, which leads to Poppy figuring out Alex is what makes her happy, not her job.
Does Poppy Keep Her Job at the End of ‘People We Meet on Vacation’?
Poppy ultimately quits her job at R&R. She ends up going back home to Ohio and finds Alex. They declare their love for each other again. The movie ends with Alex and Poppy living together in New York City and continuing their tradition with an annual vacation. While Poppy gave up her glitzy magazine job, she does continue to write professionally. In the book’s epilogue, Poppy ends up writing for a column for a local outlet.
