This time next week, I will be settling into my new apartment in Hanoi, Vietnam. This will be the first city in my 4 month stint of travel throughout South East Asia with Thailand, Japan, and Malaysia making the list as well. Though I’ve spent my last 8 months traveling and the last 4 doing so as a solo female traveler, this time around, I’m stepping out of my comfort zone and will be traveling with a Nomad Travel program called Remote Year.
What does this mean? I will be transitioning from the flexibility and spontaneity of my 'one-man wolf pack' mentality in exchange for a structured and ‘safer’ travel experience that I will be sharing….with 40 other strangers.
How Did I Get Here?
I first began to seriously reconsider Remote Year while living in Argentina in January 2018. See, I was dating this super cool, super cute, and absurdly knowledgeable local guy….who turned out to the ‘Local Host’ for this, at the time, infamous nomad travel program, called 'Remote Year'. Little did I know that meeting him would be the catalyst for my eventual decision to join up 8 months later.
Exploring Different Nomad Programs
When had I began my initial process of exploring options for my year of international travel in mid 2017, I had actually heard of the company and their offerings first. I soon found myself on a call with one of their reps but a few cursory Google searches led to a bit of apprehension around whether or not this program would be the best fit for me.
2017: Is Remote Year Right for me?
What were some of my initial RY concerns?
The program seemed hella homogenous
When I looked on the website on got my stalking on and I’m talking DEEP stalking (think searching IG hashtags, fb pics & groups, etc.) I was seeing 27 flavors, all Vanilla.
I got weird adult ‘Study Abroad’ vibes
When I studied abroad in College, I choose to return to my Brazilian ‘motherland’ and DIRECT enrolled to my university in Rio. This means that I didn’t have a CIEE or EF or WHATEVER program to hold my hand as I adjusted to the new language, culture, etc. No built in friend group of mutually terrified and ‘ignorant’ (not in a pejorative sense, but just straight up ‘green’) fellow gringos to latch on to when things go tough…And I believe that it’s this setting that laid the foundation to what was to become the most transformative experience of my life.
When I’d look the RY testimonials and photos, it reminded me of my peers who took the more traditional route to Prague or Denmark and spent a semester, yes in a new country…but with the same friends, speaking the same language, and maintaining the same cultural habits and behaviors that seemed to be almost identical to their life back home.
If your study abroad experience sounds more like that latter than the former, there’s no shade at all. Its just not the experience that I was optimized for MY intentions for studying abroad.
The cost and program model seemed catered towards travel virgins
It’s common knowledge that an American earning a modest salary in US dollars can live QUITE comfortably in most places in the world, outside of the US. I lived in a 2 bedroom, fully furnished, and STUNNING apartment in the heart of Budapest for $700 USD/mo, all utilities included. I also ‘drink’ 3/4s of my meals [Shout out Isagenix] and am an attractive enough female {shout out Tinder] such that my cost of living for food, drinks, and entertainment were extremely reasonable, to say the least. I was paying maybe 1100/mo for rent, food, socializing, and an unlimited Pole Fitness Studio Pass. The idea of paying $2000/mo NOT including the cost of living was a big issue for me.
If you’re someone who has never lived abroad, only speaks one language, or are such a quintessential introvert that the idea of traveling alone sounds about as appealing as going for a swim in the Hudson, paying the ‘tourist tax’ is likely something you’ve taken into account while budgeting out your potential nomad journey.
None of these things applied to me
I Wasn’t in Love with RY
All of this being said, there was one decision making factor to rule them all: my mother.
Now, don’t get me wrong. At 24 years old, I have started and sold my first company, lived abroad for 2 years, and demonstrated my abilities as a high functioning Polyglot and Social Chameleon. At the same time, I am the youngest and only girl in a family of 7 and the idea of me claiming ‘yolo’ to take on the world on a solo adventure terrified her. She felt strongly that starting with a program would be the safest introduction to this new lifestyle and, because I was rather indifferent, if honoring this one request was the difference between her calling daily versus her hiring a private security detail to secretly tail me around the world, I figured I could oblige.
Looking into Other Options
So what did I do?
I started looking into other travel coordination programs. I eventually found one that was a fraction of the cost, hit most of the same destination targets, AND would let me leverage my social media following to get and even more discounted rate. So what this program was newer, smaller, and had fewer reviews?; it began in South America, which has always been my second home. I knew that, independent of their ability to perform, I would be sure to have my own Grade A adventure.
I’m not for dwelling in the past so I’ll keep this part brief: The program was a dud. Don’t get me wrong, I had a BLAST for the majority of my time. I speak almost fluent Spanish, had friends in every city from my Brazil days, and had the resources to consciously create my own adventures and outings.
This is not the same story for many of my program peers. I was one of two people who spoke Spanish in our entire program. Someone got an eye infection and needed to see a doctor? Translator Taylor was called in. Trying to Order a Pizza? Ring, Translator Taylor Setting up a new sim card Ring, Ring. I actually loved the opportunity to practice my Spanish so much! But for the others who were promised a resource on the ground to help facilitate this all…they were less than impressed. As the program went on, the lists of complaints grew and grew and by the 4th month, we were down to 3 participants.
My Initial Program Falls Apart: Enter Solo Travel Adventures
By this point, I had sufficiently demonstrated to Carol-San (that’s what the cool kids call my mom) that I was adequately prepared to begin my solo travel adventure and that’s what I did. I gave notice to my program, made a list of all the places I wanted to see, and pulled the trigger.
Traveling Solo Proves Dope AF
During my solo travel, I did so many amazing things I never even imagined I’d take on. I fell in love, I fell out of love, I competed in my first Pole Fitness Choreography competition, sang HOURS of Karaoke with strangers, spent a week alone in Mykonos, reading on beaches and touring archeological sites (with a group that looked like they really could have been some of the original inhabitants of the island back in the 3rd century), linked up with friends from grade school in Krakow for a weekend of debauchery and partying with our new friends, the Vikings, attended my first Week Long Music Festival ALONE & in Portugal (though I wasn’t alone for long; Shout out to my Boom Family & Spirit Sister, Usta <3 )…
But ask me how much work I got done.
Solo Vacation vs. Solo Nomading
I’ll save you the trouble; the answer is none.
Unless you are an INCREDIBLY discipled person, being productive while traveling can be damn near impossible. You need to have a place with consistently stable Wi-Fi, the resources to maintain your mental and professional health in every city, friends or peers that are also hustling to provide sanity checks and remind you what you’re actually there to do…and I had lost all of these things once I moved away from the structured format of my initial travel program.
Return of the Argentine Bae
It was at this point that I though back to my Argentinean Bae. I started thinking about how many hours of his day were spent operating at 175% to make sure the people in his program had everything they could ever want or need to guarantee success, independent of their unique metrics.
A call with him turned into a call with another RY rep and next thing I knew, I was re-evaluating my evaluation process from the year before. After about 3 months of dating, I decided to take the leap and enroll with a 4 month RY program, called Rumi, that would take to me 4 countries in SEA to close out my 2018.
To be extremely candid, I still have some reservations about these types of programs but there were a few factors that encouraged me to give them a try and its these factors that I will be evaluation so that, in the end of it all, I can say with confidence, whether or not I think it was the right decision.
2018: Is Remote Year Right for me?
Short answer? I still don't know but am ready to give it a try
What Changed My Mind?
The program has a diversity of participant experiences
Though my initial focus had been on the ethnic and cultural diversity, unlike my past program, my RY cohort is made of fellow Entrepreneurs, as well as freelancers, and remote employees. The idea of being surrounded by fellow entrepreneurs is extremely exciting and I hope we’re able to cultivate a collaborative and symbiotically beneficial dynamic
Uncharted Territory
While I do think of myself as a pretty seasoned world traveler, South East Asia is an area that is admittedly the most foreign to me and my experiences. If there were one ‘region’ in the world where I would opt in for a few more resources, this one would be it
Social Reintegration
After spending so much time traveling solo, yes I have made a ton of friends who soon became family around the world. That being said, there is a unique type of relationship that develops when you’re cohabitating, coworking, coexisting with others, especially when it’s the same group of ‘others’ and for an extended period of time. Even with such a full home growing up, being the only girl did afford me certain luxuries. (my own room, bathroom, etc)
This time with RY will give me the opportunity to take everything I’ve learned about Social Intelligence, Self-Awareness, Mindfulness, and all of the other practices I’ve spent the last few years ‘mastering’, all in the name of EQ.
As the countdown to our RY start dates looms closer and closer, I won’t lie and say I’m not incredibly nervous. I am. That being said, these last 8 months have refined me in ways that I can’t even fully articulate. I have almost zero expectations, other than the constant reminder that I am the author, editor, published of the Taylor Wallace Book of Emotions and I get to choose how I show up in any and everything that I do. It’s this attitude of ownership and accountability I’ll be bringing into this next chapter and I know some dope things are on the horizon.
So, Remote Year- Rumi; Can’t wait to see what you’ve got. Let’s get it.
Interested in Learning More about Remote Year Yourself? Click DIS link and check it out!