I celebrated 180 days/6 months anniversary of being a digital nomad a few days ago. I left USA in September 2021 and it felt like it was just yesterday. My life was completely changed compared to how my life was before.

I am also excited that I only spent in average of $66 per day. I know I can spent less but I also like to experience things and enjoyed delicious food that sometimes can cost a bit more. That amount included everything from transportation, accommodation, health insurance, visas, food, clothes, excursions, tours, and fun activities.

I was able to visit 17 cities in 6 different countries in the period of 6 months. I think for the next part of my journey I will move slower, not only to save some money but also because now I have more students that I need to teach. I teach English online to support my travel and for expenses. There are days that I teach up to 8 hours a day and there are days that I teach only for a few hours a day. It’s flexible but the pay is not that great. Teaching English is a very saturated market. However, I am still able to support myself with this income because I live in not so expensive countries. I definitely can’t do this if I lived in USA.

There are things that I missed for having a permanent home for sure and these things are pretty trivial. I missed having a good and steady hot water while I am showering. Also a good water pressure from the shower head. My hair is definitely not happy. I missed taking a hot bubble bath. Most bathrooms in this world don’t have bathtubs. I definitely missed having one.

I also missed eating delicious juicy burgers. USA definitely is the land of juicy burgers. I tried burgers in every country that I’ve visited and nothing can compete to USA’s burgers. I also missed Kraft Mac & Cheese. Yes the Macaroni noodles with fake cheese. I missed it so much even though back home, I didn’t even eat it that often.

Of course, I missed my friends and family the most. It’s a strange feeling to be by yourself in a new city where you don’t know anyone and you have to start from scratch again of getting to know people. I feel lucky so far, that I’ve met so many amazing and incredible people throughout my journey. Some of them made me realized that I am privilege to be able to be a nomad and travel everywhere and anytime I want. There are so many people that can’t travel whenever they want to because of their nationalities, economic situations, or they have weak passports (again because of their nationalities). They made me feel humble and sometimes I feel guilty because of how much privilege I have as a USA citizen.

I never forget the manicurist that I’ve met in Istanbul. She helped me with my nails and she told me about her life story. She was from Uzbekistan. She moved to Istanbul with her husband because they were searching for a better life. They live in a house with 12 other people in Istanbul. 7 men stay in one room and 7 women stay in room. She told me that the place is dirty and she is just there to sleep. It was really hard for me to hear that and I can’t imagine how hard it is for her. Especially before I got there, apparently there was a male customer who harassed her. He touched her hand and offered her money if she would come to his hotel room. It’s disgusting. There are so many women out there who are facing the same problem and they don’t make any money at all.

Travel changed me as a person. When I lived back in Portland, all I had to worry about were my bills, my cat, what Netflix show I should watch, what takeout food I should get, and what fun things I should do for the weekend. Now, of course I need to worry about how to support myself so I can continue to be a nomad, when can I find time to write for this blog and also books that I want to write, when can I explore the city, when can I have time for socializing, and have time for myself. I feel now that my time is filled with activities that fill my heart and soul. I love teaching even though there are some hard days. I like it because I can help people to be better in English and when my students told me that I help them, they just make my day.

I don’t know for how long I can keep going without going back home and pick up a regular job again. I do know that I am trying my best so I can keep living this nomad life. I know it’s not for everybody but I really wish people will give it a try even for a little while. It’s definitely not easy because this is not a vacation, but if you loved adventure, meeting new people, building connections that possibly will last a lifetime, seeing how amazing this world actually is, you should definitely give it a try. If it all fails, you can always come back home.