I am Bostonian by birth, San Franciscan in my heart, and often feel like I am Latin in my blood (despite literally being 0% Latin). I grew up in a Boston suburb called Wellesley and felt early on that the small town life wasn’t for me. I left suburbia to go to Loyola University in Baltimore where I double majored in International Business and Spanish. Only 10 days after graduating I moved to San Francisco where I spent 3 years.
Searching for a purpose
My time in San Franciso was amazing. I lived the tech scene dream- equiped with catered lunches and beers at your desk at 4pm. However, I quickly realized that being stuck at a desk all day doing grunt work at a tech company that didn’t care about its employees or customers, wasn’t for me. I wanted to be out in the world and I wanted to impact people and somehow make a difference. I also hoped to use my Spanish and travel the world not as a backpacker, but making a life for myself. The Universe heard me. A friend offered me an opportunity to build her startup in Mexico… alone, and could I leave in 2 weeks. I quit everything in SF (job, boyfriend, apartment), packed up, and left 3 weeks later.
TRAVEL IS IN MY BLOOD
My mother passed her travel bug along to me at a young age. So it was not a surprise to my parents when I decided to do a 2 week service project in El Salvador, followed by a 4 month exchange to Beijing, China for first semester, then a 6 month exchange program in Buenos Aires, Argentina for second semester and then finishing with 1 month of travel around Peru, all in the same academic year. As you can imagine, that year had a tremendous impact on me. While living in SF I would always think about my time in Buenos Aires and how it felt unfinsihed. I had this feeling that I needed to go back to Latin America. So when the oppotunity to move to Mexico appeared, I jumped on it. What was supposed to be only 3 months in Mexico turned into 1 year, which turned into 2 years in Colombia, and now I am approaching 4 years in Santiago, Chile. I used to call myself a digital nomad, now I am realizing I am more of a serial expat.
Now What?
For the last 6 years I have been designing a lifestyle for myself based on the dreams and desires I have had since my teen years and maybe as young as childhood, living abroad and traveling the world and not being trapped in a 9-5 job. In 2013, I left the corporate world and never looked back. I have started from scratch (with no connections or family) in 5 cities around the world. I have worked at international startups, as a virtual assitant, freelance writer, social media consultant, Adidas running coach, gym trainer, affiliate marketer, social media influencer, and even as an extra in some soap operas and comercials. Living abroad has blessed me with so many experiences that I wouldn’t have had otherwise. Now I want to help others do the same. Anyone can make a career change, a lifestyle change, reinvent yourself, move to a new country, start a new business, find their passion and follow their calling. If I went from unhappy and unfulfilled in my 9-5 job to living my drean life then you can too, and I would love to help you do that.
