The Nomad on FIRE Podcast - #05 | Nicole Hudson | From Corporate Life in NYC to the Location Independent Lifestyle

#05 | Nicole Hudson | From Corporate Life in NYC to the Location Independent Lifestyle

02/12/20 • 40 min

Guest Bio:

Nicole Hudson is a digital nomad from the US and a consultant in the financial industry. In this episode, we discuss how to take your job remote and overcoming a "Resume Gap". We also discuss how to continue to grow and advance in your career while being a remote professional. We also discuss personal development and discovering so much about yourself while traveling.

Links Mentioned:

Show Notes:

Nicole Hudson, welcome to the Nomad on FIRE Podcast! 00:30
How Nicole and I met. Nicole is a "Citizen" or alumni of the Remote Year program. Nicole and I met in Medellin, Colombia when she joined our program 01:05
Nicole's work history 1:30
Conversation with her employer on how to work remotely 04:15
How you can grow in your career by taking a break to travel as opposed to being worried about the "Resume Gap" 06:30
So many opportunities to collaborate with fellow digital nomads 07:30
Nicole's conversation about going remote with her employer 09:00
Nicole's history of travel and working remotely 15:15
Nicole's 4-month Remote Year Program in Europe 16:45
Reverse culture shock 17:40
Nicole's future travel plans 21:15
The flexibility of the digital nomad lifestyle and ideal time in each location 22:15
Benefits of being a Remote Year citizen and jumping in with other groups 25:30
Balancing between group and solo travel 27:00
What Nicole has learned about herself and how she has changed as a person 28:20
The importance of taking some time for yourself 31:15
Nicole's Perfect Day 33:00
Importance of journaling 35:00
#1 Takeaway- Take the leap! 36:45
And much more...

Significant quotes:

"Pretty much everyone I spoke with said if I had the opportunity to do that I would go" 05:10
"I'm not losing my skillset, and I'm not losing my network" 06:07
"I had a goal every year I was going to take an international vacation" 15:40
"When you come back from traveling your change is all internal" 20:00
"One thing that I really learned and its changed me as a person and I love it is that I'm much more spontaneous" 21:50
"One month allows you to get a taste of the culture but not get ingrained in the culture" 23:30
"New ideas are really good; I'm not always going to be right" 30:20
And much much more...

Guest Bio:

Links Mentioned:

Show Notes:

Nicole Hudson, welcome to the Nomad on FIRE Podcast! 00:30
How Nicole and I met. Nicole is a "Citizen" or alumni of the Remote Year program. Nicole and I met in Medellin, Colombia when she joined our program 01:05
Nicole's work history 1:30
Conversation with her employer on how to work remotely 04:15
How you can grow in your career by taking a break to travel as opposed to being worried about the "Resume Gap" 06:30
So many opportunities to collaborate with fellow digital nomads 07:30
Nicole's conversation about going remote with her employer 09:00
Nicole's history of travel and working remotely 15:15
Nicole's 4-month Remote Year Program in Europe 16:45
Reverse culture shock 17:40
Nicole's future travel plans 21:15
The flexibility of the digital nomad lifestyle and ideal time in each location 22:15
Benefits of being a Remote Year citizen and jumping in with other groups 25:30
Balancing between group and solo travel 27:00
What Nicole has learned about herself and how she has changed as a person 28:20
The importance of taking some time for yourself 31:15
Nicole's Perfect Day 33:00
Importance of journaling 35:00
#1 Takeaway- Take the leap! 36:45
And much more...

Significant quotes:

"Pretty much everyone I spoke with said if I had the opportunity to do that I would go" 05:10
"I'm not losing my skillset, and I'm not losing my network" 06:07
"I had a goal every year I was going to take an international vacation" 15:40
"When you come back from traveling your change is all internal" 20:00
"One thing that I really learned and its changed me as a person and I love it is that I'm much more spontaneous" 21:50
"One month allows you to get a taste of the culture but not get ingrained in the culture" 23:30
"New ideas are really good; I'm not always going to be right" 30:20
And much much more...

Previous Episode

#03 | Bev Yeager | Transitioning to Freelance Graphic Designer & World Traveler

Guest Bio:

Bev Yeager of Bee-Designs or Beverly Yeager .com is an award-winning graphic designer and digital nomad. After becoming unhappy in her full-time job, Bev started her own freelance graphic design business and now travels the world living the digital nomad lifestyle. If you're interested in doing the same, you have to listen to this episode!

Links Mentioned:

Bev's websites Bee-Designs or Beverly Yeager .com
Nomad on FIRE Score, balancing the cost of living (COL) with quality of life (QOL)
Remote Year, the work and travel program for digital nomads that Bev and I met on
Bev's Instagram

Show Notes:

Bev welcome to the show 00:30
Bev's Background 01:15
Made so many changes all at one time- quit her full-time job, moved back to Massachusetts and ended an eight-year relationship 02:34
Not sure if she wanted to continue being a designer and how she transitioned to freelancing 03:05
Bev's advice for making significant life changes 05:00
Take the leap! 06:10
Starting a business working for yourself 08:15
Bev designed the Nomad on FIRE logo!!! 11:10
Upsides of being a freelancer 11:45
- Time flexibility
- Can work when you're more focused and productive
Downsides of freelancing and working remotely 14:45
- Set up boundaries with clients
Routine as a digital nomad and getting set up in a new place 17:15
One month pace of Remote Year 19:30
Mexico City for digital nomads 21:00
Eric's love of tacos 22:15
Bev's future travel plans and the possibilities of the digital nomad lifestyle 23:00
Eric's future travel plans 26:39
Working nights in SE Asia 28:00
What is Remote Year? 30:15
Advice for aspiring digital nomads 34:40
How Bev affords this life of travel and how having a savings buffer helped her thoroughly enjoy her Remote Year experience 37:30
How Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) and the digital nomad lifestyle complement each other so well 40:30
It's important to balance saving for retirement and the future with enjoying your life in the present 42:30
A perfect day for Bev 43:45
What Bev learned about herself by becoming a digital nomad 46:10
1# Piece of advice for an aspiring digital nomad 48:45
The power of community 50:00
Where to find Bev online 52:30
- Bev's websites Bee-Designs or Beverly Yeager .com
- Bev's Instagram
And much more...

Significant quotes:

"I was just really unhappy sitting in an office all day" 02:05
"I enjoyed the fact that it was on my terms" 03:35
"You can't be afraid to fail" 05:17
"I could just literally live my life traveling if I wanted to" 06:30
"I liked doing everything by myself, just to understand it all" 10:17
"I could go literally anywhere" 24:38
"Stop and celebrate your wins for sure" 48:10

Next Episode

#09 | Allison O'Hanlon | Transitioning from Marketing to Software Development and World Traveler

Guest Bio:

Allison O'Hanlon transitioned from studying Marketing in college to learning Software Development through a Bootcamp. Her employer allowed her to work remotely and she traveled with me during the 4-month Remote Year program I was on in Latin America! We discuss her transition to software development, how she got her employer onboard with remote work, what it's like being a digital nomad traveling throughout Latin America and so much more in this exciting episode!

Links Mentioned:

The Nomad on FIRE Podcast Prize Giveaway
Remote Year, work and travel program for digital nomads that Allison and I met on
Airbnb platform we used to book accommodations for a variety of side trips during our Remote Year Program
Casa En El Agua

Show Notes:

Allison welcome to the show! [00:00]
Allison’s Background 1:10
How Allison switched from Marketing to Software Development 3:30
How Allison got her employer on board with joining the Remote Year program 5:45
Allison’s experience on Remote Year Abeona 08:00
Casa En El Agua side trip 12:45
Positives of the digital nomad lifestyle 16:00
The importance of a structured routine 19:30
Downsides of the digital nomad lifestyle 21:15
Getting into a good working routine as a digital nomad and switching up your environment 25:00
Allison’s future travel plans 33:30
Advice for aspiring digital nomads 38:30
A perfect day 42:30
#1 piece of advice 43:30
Where to find Allison online 44:30
And much more...

Significant quotes:

“What we’ve done in the last four months would literally take someone like five years” 11:57

“Traveling at that slower pace is less exhausting and gives you more time to think about what you’re doing” 16:45

“I’m not giving myself the time to be alone and recharge” 23:00

“The digital nomad lifestyle isn’t just for years and years and years of travel I think you can make it your own” 37:00