How I Became A Digital Nomad
Are you a traveljunkie? Do you daydream of travel? Here's the story of how I broke free and started exploring the world . . .
Travel On The Brain
Since I was roughly 5 years-old, all I ever wanted to do was travel. I was one of those kids that hoarded National Geographic magazines and had world maps on her walls. Whenever extra money and/or extra time was coming my way, I always thought of travel. I had the good fortune of traveling to exotic and fun places with family while I was growing up - that only fueled the desire for MORE travel.
In college (while working as a travel agent, of course), I initially thought it would be cool to find a job where I had to travel for work, but after speaking with people who had to do it routinely, I changed my mind fast. They did not paint a pretty picture about that aspect of their job. It was common not to have much of a choice of destinations (if at all), most of the time was taken up by a meeting (not sightseeing), and bringing family or friends along was not an option. Worst of all, when vacation time came; the last thing they wanted to do was travel! Based on these discussions, I decided that I would wait until I could travel on my own terms.
. . . I Was Tired Of Waiting . . .
After college, I hopped around from corporate job to corporate job - trying to find the 'sweet spot' of a good paycheck and ample vacation time. Unfortunately, over-demanding jobs made it uncomfortable to be out of the office for too long, so small weekend trips became the norm.
I quickly became unhappy
I felt like my dreams of long-term travel (past 7 days) were NEVER going to happen.
In 2007, I "snapped" . . . quit my job, sold all of my belongings (except what I could carry in my suitcase) and I set out on a road-trip. Didn't really have a destination in mind (or a plan), I just decided to live off of my savings and spend some time visiting friends/family in other cities. This was the beginning of my nomadic lifestyle, but it wasn't sustainable on my savings alone.
It dawned on me that for centuries people have moved to new places for a better harvest, better paying jobs, better education, etc - I could do the same. My road-trip ended in San Francisco where I stayed with a friend until I found a job and an apartment to rent. My perspective on 'home' shifted. My plan was to stay temporarily until I had enough money saved to enable me to move to a new place (when I was ready). In 2010, I was plotting my "escape" to New York City when I decided to do something EPIC for my 40th birthday. I decided to take a trip around-the-world!
Finally On The Road!
Shortly after my decision to take an around-the-world trip, I also decided to blog about my adventures. The blog was where I documented my research, explained how I was saving money for the trip, and how I got friends & family (and other travelers) interested in my journey. Setting-up and maintaining the blog was a crash-course in the digital marketing field - I seriously had NO IDEA what I was doing. But, I loved learning about website building, search engine optimization, content marketing, social media engagement, and paid/affiliate ads.
When I returned from my travels, I knew that I wanted a job - No, a career - working in digital marketing. Not only would I use the new skills I developed over the course of 2.5 years, but it was easier to find work that could be done remotely . . . thus, helping me stay nomadic.
While there are many resources out there sharing work-at-home jobs, I found my current position through FlexJobs.com. There are SO many scams aimed at those looking to work from home and I was overjoyed to find a service with LEGITIMATE jobs, with real companies. Instead of being a freelancer and/or having my own company, I opted for a full-time employee position since it's a guaranteed paycheck and provided much needed stability (being 'on the road' is unstable enough).
Stay Tuned . . .
In upcoming posts, I will share details on the reality of being a digital nomad, my favorite travel gear & services, and ultimately why I decided to become an expat.
free upvotes. looking to do something similar.
yeah lets do it man
Thanks, @hotdogs! I hope you get to be nomadic :)
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welcome to the great community.
Thanks!
Welcome to Steem @jannell I have upvoted and sent you a tip
Thanks!
Wow, seems you have led a most interesting life. Particularly after making the 'leap' to other things of life. I read back to your intro and some other posts. It is always amazing to me when people have the courage and 'go for it'-ness to just take the next step, as many talk about it, but never follow through. Plus, you live in what sounds like a way cool and fun (friendly) place. Looking forward to reading more on where you've been, and what lies ahead.
Thank you so much for your comment! It was a lot of hard work and LOTS of soul-searching to get to this point, but TOTALLY worth it ;) Cancun is amazing - at least for me - it has a certain "vibe" about it and the expat community here is incredible. Thanks for taking the time to read my other posts and get to know me - I'm impressed!
I love your story. I think everyone would love to travel full time but there is this stigma of not having a normal, corporate 9-5 job with stability. But I feel we have to do what makes us happy, even if it requires that we get out of our comfort zones. Your story was very inspirational! I hope one day we can all focus on doing what we love and break the boundaries!
Awww, thanks for your comment, @wandertwins. I hope my story is proof that it is possible. In fact, it wasn't until I gave myself over to nomadism that I truly felt like myself. It's very possible to have financial stability AND be nomadic!
Digital nomad.. one who travels frequently as an expat that funds themselves with digital / online content creation?
Would that be an accurate definition?
Yes, that is a good definition. It could also be any traveler (even in their own country) that works remotely - in any job
Welcome! What a story as I can always appreciate another open spirit as to the explorations of the world one stop at a time. Your story sounded similar to mine. I'm sure you'll totally enjoy it here and be that much closer to the ultimate freedom of just going when and where you want at the drop of a hat.
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Hi @jacobchamplain! I appreciate your comment - and, yes, it is always wonderful to meet other travelers (the freedom aspect is AWESOME). Thank you SO much for selecting my post for the OCD project - you may use whatever content/photo you wish :) Looking forward to learning from other authors.
Also, for your travels if you have friends that go with you that are U.S. military or veterans they can get exceptionally low rates all around the world. Through my a travel club for veterans alone I've been able to get really nice suites in places such as Fiji at 300USD for a week. Another is through USAA whereas the cheapest hotel deals I'd seen were for like 90 bucks in Puerto Rico I believe. All of the places were really nice resorts by the way. The first place is armed forces vacation club. If you know someone that has a membership they can get you the discounted rate you may have to pay an additional 50 or 100 but it is well worth it.
I will keep that in mind.
We live in an amazing time when we can live and work anywear. I recently finished 3 1/2 months of slow travelling while working online. Amazing! Following
Yes, being able to work anywhere has opened a LOT of options. slow-travel is the best. . . . and it helped keep me sane. Hahaha
Great to meet you. One of my life goals is to blog the world. Not the typical tourist spots -- though those are amazing, I want to share the real people, the real life, the real food, the real living conditions. I know that is not unique, but my perspective is unique -- perhaps someone will be interested in that. Steemit provides the means, eventually.
@chapcl, you'll find there is a unique audience for every author. I know bloggers that write about food in smaller neighborhoods in foreign cities, others that write about adventure travel, . . do whatever you enjoy - that's the key.