Becoming a digital nomad has totally transformed my life. 4 years ago today (February 18th 2019), I made a decision that could have been really stupid 🙈. I gave up my “prestigious” medical career and jumped on a plane to South Korea.
I literally went from being a doctor one week to being an English teacher for 3rd graders the next. I didn’t know exactly how the path was going to unfold. I wasn’t sure if I was going to like living abroad, or if I’d be homesick and on the next flight back to Alabama.
But I was working on a hunch:
There MUST be more to life than working 24 hr shifts in a hospital and desperately counting down until my next vacation.
I decided to trust my intuition.
To follow my expansion.
To prioritize my joy.
To live from my soul instead of my mind.
I’ve lived more in the past 4 years than ever could have been possible in my old life. I’ve built a six figure business I absolutely love. I’ve traveled and worked in 24 countries across 5 continents. And most importantly, I’m growing into a person I am proud of more and more everyday.
In this post, I want to share with you the ins and outs of these past 4 years and talk about how becoming a digital nomad has changed me for the better.
The journey to becoming a digital nomad
Ok first, let’s talk travel by numbers. I want to give you an overview of the logistics and timeline of my journey to becoming a digital nomad so you can understand where I’ve been.
I kicked off my travels by jumping on a 14 hr flight to South Korea. I had a year long contract teaching English through EPIK (English Program in Korea). During the year, I mostly explored the different cities and hiking trails of South Korea, but I took two international trips as well. For summer holidays I spent 2 weeks traveling around Japan and then for winter break I took my first fully solo international trip to Taiwan.
As soon as my teaching contract was finished, I jumped on a plane to Vietnam to officially start my digital nomad journey. This was in February of 2020. My goal was to stay in Vietnam for a month or so, meet some people in the digital nomad community in DaNang and then continue on through SE Asia. However, the Universe had other plans. In March 2020 the world shut down due to covid and I ended up staying in Vietnam for 8 months.
In September 2020, when international flights finally opened up again, I decided to head over to Mexico which was one of the only countries open to travelers at the time. This began my Latin America phase. I spent 19 months backpacking through Latin America covering Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Costa Rica in Central America. I continued on to South America to Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
I had one 46L backpack with all my belongings practicing some extreme minimalism so I could travel faster. Financially, I was earning about $2-3000 a month and trying to re-invest most of that in the business. Which meant I was scrimping on living expenses big time. I was side hustling teaching English while also trying to make my business work. I was learning how to balance the instability of travel, work and play. I discovered Ashtanga Yoga, learned some Spanish, went through a dark night of the soul, was hospitalized with food poisoning, met warm, open hearted humans, hiked volcanoes and almost gave it all up at least 25 different times. It was such a painful and gorgeous part of my journey. I still wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to create a sustainable business, but I showed up every day and kept pursuing the dream.
In May of 2022 things were looking up in my business. I was starting to make consistent $8-10,000/ month and decided it was time to upgrade my identity from broke backpacker to traveling CEO. With the identity change it was also time for a change of scenery. I bought a plane ticket to Paris and the plan was to have a magical European summer. However, the Universe once again had other plans. My first week in Europe, I was in a freak accident where I fractured my pelvis and ankle. The next 3 months were spent in bed in the countryside of the UK. I went from being in a wheelchair, to using a walker and then crutches as I slowly learned how to walk again. When I was finally able to ditch the crutches and walk unassisted, I took off the Greek island of Crete for a 2 week holiday before the next phase of my journey.
September of 2022 I flew into Capetown South Africa to begin a 4 month journey through Africa with Remote Year. I made it from South Africa to Tanzania to Kenya, before my nervous system needed a little change. I decided to skip the last month of the program in West Africa and instead went to Turkey for the month of December. I spent the New Year holidays traveling through Jordan and Israel and then started off 2023 spending a month in Oman with Wifi Tribe. I learned how to scuba dive, rode camels and hiked in the grand canyon of Oman. To close out my Middle East chapter I hopped over to UAE to see the view from the tallest building in the world.
Now, as I write this post, I’m in this quaint little mountain town in Bulgaria called Bansko, a popular ski resort town in Eastern Europe. But honestly in my opinion all the logistics and details about where I’ve been are the least interesting part of my travel journey. To me, what is infinitely more interesting is the inner journey I’ve been on. The ways I’ve learned about myself and grown as a person. Let’s talk about 3 major lessons I’ve learned over the past 4 years of traveling and how living nomadically and becoming a digital nomad has changed me for the better.
#1 Breaking Free of Societal Conditioning
Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority it’s time to pause and reflect.
Mark Twain
When I was living in the US, I was so deeply entrenched in the societal norms. There was a formula for success and happiness written out for me and I didn’t even think to question it. Most people don’t ever question it.
I really believed that in order to be happy I needed to get married, have kids, and buy a house.
I thought that in order to be considered a successful adult I should secure a high paying job working for someone else, work diligently from 9-5 for 40 years while taking 2-3 weeks of vacation per year.
I thought that in order to be financially stable I should embrace an energy of restriction, stick to a budget so I can pay off my student loans as fast as possible and start painstakingly saving for retirement.
I accepted these statements as just the truth of adulting. The way things are.
There was a script that I was given and I didn’t question it, until I started traveling.
Now I see that there are so many ways to create a fulfilling life. The one path offered to us by society is not the only way. There is not just one formula for success and happiness. It’s all individualized. Following someone else’s plan for your life without checking in to see if it’s right for you is the quickest way to guarantee a dissatisfied, unfulfilling life.
Becoming a digital nomad and having physical space from the societal conditioning in the US has helped me to question the status quo. Now, I get to make thoughtful decisions about what types of intimate relationships I want, if I want kids or not, what sort of living situation works best for me, how much I want to work and how I want to earn, spend and save my money.
I no longer feel the pressure of a series of milestones that I need to complete. Instead of feeling restrained from blindly following the status quo, I now feel freedom that comes from intentionally designing life in a way that works for me.
It’s like that Mark Twain quote that says “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it’s time to pause and reflect”. Traveling has given me the space I needed to pause and reflect. To decide what parts of the status quo worked for me and what parts didn’t.
#2 Trusting the Universe is a Friendly Place
The most important decision we make is whether we believe we live in a friendly or hostile universe.
Albert Einstein
When I was living in the US, I didn’t necessarily believe that I lived in a hostile universe, but I did think it was a competitive, scarce universe. For the most part, I felt like I was on my own. I had to throw elbows and push and shove my way to the top. I felt like I had to fight for resources such as acceptance into academic programs, scholarships and men. I felt like if I wasn’t giving 110% and pushing myself to work harder, then I was falling behind.
In many ways I felt like the world was not a friendly place. And this is me coming from a background of white privilege, middle class privilege, and many other privileges that I’m sure I am unaware of. I can only imagine that this feeling is wildly intensified for people of color and with less privileges than me.
Traveling has given me a totally different belief system. After living out in the world for 4 years, I now feel taken care of by the world and the people in it. I feel like people are here to help me and, that I am here to help others.
At some point during my travels, I decided to start looking for evidence that the world is a friendly place. That people are here to take care of me. That all my needs and desires are always met. And I started finding evidence in droves (because in life, you tend to find what you look for).
From the El Salvadorean woman on the bus who tied up my luggage with a green plastic straw to keep it from moving around.
To the housekeeper at my guest house in Colombia who made me a special tea when I had menstrual cramps
To my hiking crew who cheered me on and helped me put one foot in front of the other on the Inca trail
To all the friends who did free yoga classes, breathwork and reiki sessions to help me heal after my accident.
I feel so deeply taken care of by the world.
I also have a sense of knowing that I am playing MY part in taking care of others.
I’ve had moments where I am met with this feeling in my bones like I am meant to be here. I am meant to be out in the world. I am meant to be meeting people like this. Experiencing and exploring. I am not meant to locked up inside a hospital fighting for scarce resources of money, time and success. I am meant to be expanding into the ever abundant universe where there is always more than enough. Where all my needs and desires are always met.
#3- Learning to Love Myself while Becoming a Digital Nomad
One night in October of 2021, I was taking an overnight bus ride in Latin America and I had this sudden realization.
”Solo travel has taught me how to love myself.”
This may sound lame or cheesy. Why didn’t I already love myself before solo traveling the world? I’m not quite sure, but here is my theory.
Working in medicine taught me how to hate myself. Or more accurately- it taught me how to hate my humanity. I would curse myself for not being able to stay alert and energized enough for a 24 hr shift. I would get frustrated with myself for not being fast enough in putting in orders and writing notes.
Why couldn’t I get everything done? Why couldn’t I work harder? Why couldn’t I learn faster? Why did I have to make mistakes?
In medicine, I was constantly at war with myself. Now, I have come to a place of peace. While solo traveling the world, I’ve learned how to befriend, trust, take care of and fully love myself.
Yes, I’ve made lots of friends on my journey, but there are plenty of times where I am fully alone. I’m the only one who has been there with me through it all. Just me on a 14 hr plane ride and 18 hour bus trip, lying in a hospital bed, or crossing the border into a new, unknown country.
In these moments I’ve developed a deep sense of love and tenderness for this being that I am. I’ve developed a compassionate acceptance for this person that I carry with me everywhere I go. I know I always have my back. I can figure out any challenge life throws at me. I’ve got me.
4 years ago when I boarded that plane to South Korea, I had no idea what was going to happen. I wasn’t sure if becoming a digital nomad was just a silly pipe dream. I wasn’t sure if I was just running away from my problems. I wasn’t sure if I was making a huge mistake.
And through all this uncertainty, I decided to trust. I decided to live it out to see what could happen.
I’m so grateful for the 27 year old Chelsea who took the risk. Who bought a one way ticket to South Korea. Who decided to bet on herself. Who refused to settle for an unhappy, mediocre life. Who gets to be here today, celebrating 4 years of travel.
