I am super excited to feature a new series on my blog: Interview with a Nomad, in which I ask five questions of people who identify as digital nomads - (am I the only one that loathes that term)?
These questions are:
What is your website if you have one? Talk about your brand and what work you do online while travelling.
Where are you from? How did you come to be travelling long term and what was that journey like?
What is the biggest challenge you face when travelling long term and being a digital nomad?
What advice can you give someone that wants to either quit their job and travel long term or just take an extended leave from their job and home and transition to working online?
What are your top three online resources for either finding online work or accommodating your digital lifestyle?
Today I am featuring the brilliant Vianessa Castaños, Digital Content Director & Editor-in-Chief/Owner of the Hustle Juice, a resource for nomads and freelancers. Take it away, Vianessa!
My website is called the Hustle Juice and it's a resource for freelancers and location-independent workers who want to learn about making money and travelling - it's essentially an online toolbox for aspiring and existing digital nomads.
We offer information on co-working and co-living spaces, advice on where to find work and travel destination tips. When I'm not working on content for Hustle Juice, I work as a marketing content creator and scriptwriter.
I grew up in a travelling family; we moved around maybe every 3 to 4 years while I was growing up, either to a new city or a new country (we alternated between the US and the Dominican Republic in my early years). We also took a lot of road trips and family vacations - so being a perpetual traveler is in my blood.
I decided to go from simply taking vacations to travelling on a more permanent basis after walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain and deciding that I really felt most at home on the road. I think moving every few weeks is exhausting - I tried it - so now I'll keep a home base for a few months and use it as a launching pad to visit other areas.
I think the biggest challenge is finding a balance between wanting to pack up and go and being productive at work. I love logistics and planning travel, but it can be very time consuming, so I need to reel it in and focus on work and not on the next trip.
Some digital nomads can be on the move constantly, but I find that always having to think of travel logistics cuts into my ability to be creative (which my career depends on), so I've had to slow down a bit.
The decision to quit a job or even transition careers can be very overwhelming and is quite personal, so my biggest piece of advice is to be honest with yourself and know yourself well. I'm very impulsive, but I'm also a hustler and know how much I need in order to get by and what I'm willing to sacrifice (and not sacrifice) in order to pursue the things I want.
Other people are more cautious and won't travel unless they have a specific amount of money saved up. There's no right or wrong way, it really depends on you and your ability to tolerate uncertainty.
That said, travelling -- be it for self-discovery or just adventure -- is life changing and if you happen to have money saved up or are comfortable with the idea of quitting your job and starting fresh, go for it! Start your search for a remote job before you quit though in order to ease the transition and ensure you have some money coming in.
Facebook has been a great resource for getting information about remote jobs and the digital nomad lifestyle. Two groups that I recommend are Female Digital Nomads and Digital Nomad Girls Community.
If you're looking to work with a startup, Angel.co often lists remote jobs. And, of course, we have a resources page on Hustle Juice with info for anything from the cities with the best Wi-Fi to job listing sites.
Thank you so much for your powerful insight, Vianessa! If you want to hear more about the Hustle Juice and how Vianessa's team can help you live your nomadic dreams, check out their website or follow them on Instagram here.
Make sure you also check out these great pieces that will be sure to inspire wanderlust:
Do you want to be featured in one of these profiles? If so, get in touch at jenn.peters@gmail.com or leave a comment below!