Female Solo Traveler Finds Freedom in Paris and the Digital Nomad Lifestyle

Sneak Peek:

 Dinah:    00:00:00    When I told my family I was going to Europe, it was like, you can't go there. That's insane. Like, it's too dangerous. You're gonna get kidnapped. And like all the typical things you hear, my family has always fed me this idea of fear. So it really was an evolution of my personality and like really becoming this like more courageous person. That's why I love it so much. 'cause it really has given me so much empowerment and strength.  

Introduction: Welcome to Badass Digital Nomads, where we're pushing the boundaries of remote work and travel, all while staying grounded with a little bit of old school philosophy, self-development, and business advice from our guests.

Kristin:    00:00:46    Hey there, Kristin Wilson here from Traveling with Kristin. And welcome to episode 252 of Badass Digital Nomads. My guest today is Dinah Redhouse, who is the CEO of Digital Prodigee. She is an AI app builder and we met in Tulum through a co-working WhatsApp group. So very cliche digital nomad thing to happen. But I interviewed her for the podcast today because she is a new digital nomad. She's been traveling for about a year or a year and a half now. And she was scared to become a digital nomad at the beginning. She almost didn't do it, but she did. And she's been solo traveling the world ever since. And so I invited her on the podcast to share her experience with that. And I hope that her story inspires you to solo travel somewhere on the globe. I also want to thank Coach Cosette for leaving a five star review for the podcast last week.  

Kristin:    00:01:49    They say so many only share the highlight reel of travel business and even life in general. But I love that Kristin guides her guests to tell authentic and real stories. Love this podcast. Thank you so much Coach Cosette. That was a review for our 250th episode a couple of weeks ago. So if you also get a lot of value from the podcast, we would really appreciate if you can leave a review wherever you listen, and you can easily go to lovethepodcast.com/digitalnomad right now and leave a review on your favorite platform. That's at lovethepodcast.com/digitalnomad. Quick note before we get started. There are only two early bird spots left for our group trip to the Gulf of Papagayo in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. And there's only a few weeks left to book. So bookings are gonna close in less than one month.  

Kristin:    00:02:48    So if you want to grab one of the early bird specials and get $150 off of your trip, then go over to the link in the show notes. Or if you just Google Traveling with Kristin Trova Trip, that's T-R-O-V-A. It should come up on Google. Now when recording this episode, I thought it would be a good idea to film outside in the beautiful nature and jungle of Tulum. But it turns out that even with having really good microphones and having wind protection on the mics and also turning down the gain of the mics, there's still quite a bit of wind noise and also some background noise from other people who are out by the pool where we were. So I do apologize for some of that background noise. I think it's still okay to publish. I don't think it's too bad, but it's not the same level of sound quality that we would have, for example, on this intro right now when I'm sitting in my studio or at home. So apologies for that. But I hope you enjoy this conversation with Dinah and I'll see you on the other side.  

Podcast Interview:

Kristin:    00:04:04    Welcome back to Badass Digital Nomads. We are live on location in beautiful Tulum, Mexico and I'm here with  Dinah.  Dinah, welcome to the show.  

 Dinah:    00:04:14    Well, thank you so much for having me, Kristin. I'm excited to be here.  

Kristin:    00:04:17    Tell us a little bit about where you're from and how you ended up living and working here in Tulum.  

 Dinah:    00:04:23    Yeah, no worries. So it all kind of started back in June of last year, um, where I decided that I wanted to kind of see more of the world and I also wanted to kind of take my business more abroad. And just recently when I made the decision to come here, it was kind of on my bucket list for a while. But Tulum, as you know, is kind of a very magical place. I was just like kind of called here honestly, I, I didn't wanna come here just to party even though we know it's got some of the best restaurants and the best clubs and all of that. But, um, it's got a beautiful community of very mindful like people and so a lot of different kind of progressive, um, kind of alternate ways of therapy kind of in, in business. I think you're only as strong as your mindset is. So I really wanted to spend a lot of time and over the last month coming here to focus on work. As you can see, this is very serene to work. I was very focused, but I also got to take advantage of some of the amazing, uh, things in nature. And then also just like the therapy things that they have that are a little bit different from like the states and different places you go to.  

Kristin:    00:05:22    Yes, I lived for many years in Costa Rica and that's where I started to learn a lot about health and wellness. Yeah. In Nosara and then here in Tulum, it reminds me a lot of, of the vibe there.  

 Dinah:    00:05:32    Exactly.  

Kristin:    00:05:33    So is this your first time here?  

 Dinah:    00:05:35    It's my first time coming on my own with like this intention. Okay. Before I did come here for a birthday party and we just went wild, went crazy. Um, and I got to see that side, which I thought was insanely awesome here. I mean the food, the, the vibes. I, I almost kind of think of the vibe here as far as like the clubs and the restaurants as like, uh, this surreal experience. It's like you could go down the main strip and see like into these little places that look like a dream reality. It's like just so beautiful and so kind of, uh, euphoric. I really love it. But this time around I actually haven't even like really partied too much. It's been a whole different experience.  

Kristin:    00:06:11    It is so surreal. Yeah. I went to dinner with some friends and we ate at this Greek restaurant one night and then we went to Bacca another night and I was like, where am I? It feels kind of like a mix of Vegas with Orlando with a burning man or something. 

 Dinah:    00:06:27    Yes,  exactly. It is kind of that mashup. You're right. Yeah. Yeah.   

Kristin:    00:06:31    But I also came here to work and to focus. Yeah. And so what line of business are you in and how long have you been working remotely?  

 Dinah:    00:06:39    Yeah, so I've been working remotely since I started my business two years ago. I do, uh, basically software development for people that wanna create an app. And so we just launched a new product where now people can build their own app on our own platform. So it's kind of a, using ai and so it's very advanced, uh, but it's for everybody. And so as you can imagine, the kind of digital nomad community has been very interested in it. In fact, um, a couple people that I've met so far and kind of networked with are very interested in, in partnering up. And so that's one of the benefits I think too is just the collaboration that you have with other digital nomads 'cause they're into that kind of same, you know, vibe of, of working and, and kind of scaling their business and getting to know what's progressive and, and like online, you know, working and whatnot. Also with the forward moving kind of, I think mental space of the people here, the person that did one of my mindful events is actually interested in doing an app as well with me. So it kind of worked out really well. Um, and yeah, I've been meeting some amazing people here.  

Kristin:    00:07:34    And where do you go after this?  

 Dinah:    00:07:36    Well, I'll be taking a little bit of a stint in the states, uh, to get some meetings done, but then I'm going to Brazil.

Kristin:  Oh, right.

Dinah:  Yeah. I love Brazil. 

Kristin:    00:07:44    Which  part were you in?  

 Dinah:    00:07:45    So, Rio and Copacabana and Ipanema.  

Kristin:    00:07:48    Okay. I didn't make it to Rio. I was up in Fortaleza and Salvador. Yeah. But yeah. 

 Dinah:    00:07:55     <Portuguese> 

Kristin:    00:07:56  No only espanyol.

 Dinah:    00:07:58    Oh, you're fluent in Spanish?

Kristin:  Yeah.

Dinah:  Amazing. 

Kristin:    00:08:01    So that's  helpful. Yeah.  

 Dinah:    00:08:01    That's really helpful. It's better than me. I'm not fluent. Um, and I'm trying to learn Portuguese before I go back so that I could be a little more well equipped this  

Kristin:    00:08:09    Time. I I started on Rosetta Stone.

Dinah:   Nice.

Kristin:   Writing Portuguese. And then what were you doing? So two years ago you started your business. What were you doing before that?  

 Dinah:    00:08:18    Yeah, so here's the thing. I, it's kind of interesting 'cause had you had met the two years ago, me, or even the three years ago, me, like lifetimes apart in personality, um, when I was in corporate, which was like just probably four years ago, it took me a lot to even get into the mental, like space to think I could even live a life like this. And what I mean by that is I used to be in a corporate desk job thinking, oh my God. Like I can't imagine living a life that's remote and oh my god, what if I could travel wherever I wanted to? <laugh>, oh my god, what if I could actually work for myself? Like, that to me was the pinnacle of a life and freedom. Like geo freedom and financial freedom and time freedom. Right?

Kristin:   Yes the trifecta.

 Dinah:    00:09:04    The trifecta, I love that and so for me, it took like these steps of breaking through to the next version of myself. So it went from like working a desk job to finding a remote job, which allowed me to move to Florida, which is where I aged my company. And then from working kind of at my, my new place in Fort Lauderdale, kind of getting to know the remote life a little bit better, realizing that I could, you know, make my own schedule being my business owner. So I went into moving into having my own business and launched that into 2022. And then just a year later, you know, I decided I wanna see the, you know, Europe, I wanna go to all these places. I'm stuck here seeing the same thing every day. Now, while I do work really good with habit and a lot of people do, I think the thing that's most beneficial, in my opinion, if you're like a business owner looking for, I think when you're looking to break out of who you are and hit the next level for you to have new neurons firing because you got out of that daily routine, I think is so like, really like important and, and it's fundamental to becoming like a better version of yourself.  

 Dinah:    00:10:02    And so when I finally did it, I realized all these new ideas were coming to me that were just stuck before. And I couldn't really, you know, without changing my environment, Alex, her moey or someone else says like, I literally get away when I need to like problem solve. I literally change my whole environment and that's when ideas will come to me. Yeah. And for me, that's what happened. Like I just had a lot of solutions to problems that I was facing for a long time within my business that just going to a new location, new routines, new people help me up like solve.  

Kristin:    00:10:29    Yeah, that's a great point because I've been in this lifestyle for so many years that when I started creating content, I was also creating content about helping other people create content. And I wrote an article about why you can't really have writers block or this business block when you're traveling because the idea is there's almost too many of them coming to you. And it's like overstimulation. But what I found is that there is this balance between, you know, traveling too much and not enough. And it's easy to get stuck in the hamster wheel of wherever you're living, whether it's New York or Miami or anywhere. But then when you're like moving around too much, it's hard to get in that routine. Agreed. So how do you find the balance, like the sweet spot between how often you're changing locations and, yeah.  

 Dinah:    00:11:17    That's actually a really great question. 'cause I thought I had figured that out in the beginning and then I kind of found out what my sweet spot is. And it might differ for everybody, but here's, I, I think it takes a week or two when you're doing time zone change. Yeah. And then it also takes a week or two to kind of really acclimate to the new environment. So I always say at least four to six weeks each location, because you need those couple of weeks to also prepare for the relocation and to plan. And if you're like, you know, like many people and you wait till the last minute, it's just gonna be a bad experience to like, especially with Airbnbs, there's so many unpredictables. Yeah. Whether it be like how to get in like the, you know, all the different circumstances. Right. Um, and, and even making adjustments for me, like I only travel on weekends.  

 Dinah:    00:11:58    It gives me enough cushion to get acclimated to get prepared. And then I don't disrupt my business. 'cause here's the thing, if it's, if you're doing it to help improve yourself and your business, you don't want to take out time, you know, out of your day and disrupt your ecosystem of business to do it. Yeah. So I only travel on Saturdays or Sundays. I feel like because I don't travel so often, like it's one to two months at a time. And the the way that I like to do it is I, I budget out so that my costs are as much or lower than they would've been back at home. Yeah.  

Kristin:    00:12:27    And are you keeping an apartment in Florida still or anywhere?  

 Dinah:    00:12:30    No, I gave up my apartment back in 2023. So last year around this time I gave it up and um, I've been nomading since. Um, I have a property in another state, so that makes it kind of easy for me to go have a home base if I need to. Yeah. But I don't really, like, I have people, like my family lives there, so it'd be hard for me to yeah.  

Kristin:    00:12:48    Yeah. And what do you find that your average cost of living is in this lifestyle?  

 Dinah:    00:12:53    So generally speaking, I would say that my, my cost of living, I usually don't let it go beyond 15 to, to a couple thousand a month for just like the actual accommodations. And then when you're in places like Brazil and Mexico, whatever I would've been spending on my budget in the past, it's about half of that.  

Kristin:    00:13:14    Yeah. Okay. For food and everything. Yeah.  

 Dinah:    00:13:16    Yeah,  

Kristin:    00:13:16    Yeah. Yeah. Right before we started, you mentioned that here, staying here is only $35  

 Dinah:    00:13:21    A night. $35 a night. Yeah. It's incredible. That's  

Kristin:    00:13:24    Not bad. That's more than I'm paying and it's right around the corner. <laugh> Yeah,  

 Dinah:    00:13:27    Exactly. Well, because okay. I usually look for three different things when I'm making a decision because I really do like to feel like I'm part of a community. So having a place that feels like, and I'll get into one more thing I think is interesting is, is that element of home. So when I, when I'm making a decision, it takes me a couple days to make a really thorough, I just go through and I, I wishlist a bunch of things in a location before I even am thinking about like the plans to go there. And so I have like an idea of what kind of thing I want when I'm going there, but it's always gonna be the ability to work, right. Like the work space gym. And if I can make sure that like my amenities, like laundry is taken care of, so I always make sure I have the same things I would get in a home right.  

 Dinah:    00:14:07    In a home community where I have a great place to work out, be fit, um, I can have a routine and nothing else will affect that if I have the basics right. Yeah. And it's so funny because it's taught me this incredible lesson on minimalism. And like, it made me really, like, people ask me like, well, you just travel out of a luggage and, and the la the old version of me would've been like, just like, never, never gonna happen. That's not possible. But I realized that I, I literally don't need much. Like even before I left when I was working out of my apartment, there was a coworking there. I'd wear almost the same thing every two weeks 'cause I'm working. Yeah. Like I really don't care. And I look professional on camera, but like, that's not my focus. And I have my things, I, I have like a few things like always bring, bring a LBD, your little black dress.  

 Dinah:    00:14:52    Yeah. Always bring an outfit for something very extravagant. And then always bring like your beachy wear, which is, you know, mine fits into like, the palm of my hand for like five bikinis. Yeah. And then like, you know, always bring like a white outfit and a black outfit. So you have like, you know, a few different options if you have to go to all white party, you know, things like that. And then like professional clothes if there's like an event that you need to go to. But besides that, I'm usually like in my yoga pants and I'm comfy and I'm working all day and I can use the same clothes I work in to also work out. So it's doubled there, so it's really easy.  

Kristin:    00:15:19    Yeah. So where have you been traveling over the past year, year and a half. And then how do you choose where you're going going to go next?  

 Dinah:    00:15:25    All right. I really, you're gonna hate me for how I answer that question. <laugh>. Okay. So back in, um, the summer when I finally decided to kind of go on this excursion in life and it, the idea didn't even hit me until somebody said something. So here's what happened. I was actually supposed to go do it with my boyfriend at the time and we were gonna do Europe for the whole, like the whole summer together. And we had literally, like, I sold my car. Like I made a lot of moves to make it happen. And finally we're at the point to, to finally pull the trigger. And some things happened. I finally decided this isn't something we're gonna do together. And I broke up. We broke up  and my stylist was like talking to me 'cause they're really your therapist. And I'm like, well, okay.  

 Dinah:    00:16:08    Like I obviously I can't go to Europe now. And she's like, uh, why not? And I'm like, because I can't go alone. That's crazy. You are gonna get abducted <laugh>. Right. I had that old school mentality because my family has always fed me this idea of fear. So it really was an evolution of my personality and like really becoming this like more courageous person. That's why I love it so much. 'cause it really has given me so much empowerment and strength. So I finally like, I'm, I'm crying, I broke up with my boyfriend and I'm unpacking my bags and I see a Paris mug  

Kristin:    00:16:41    In your stuff?  

 Dinah:    00:16:42    In my stuff. I take out my Paris coffee mug and I'm like, I'm gonna Paris <laugh> <laugh>. So I literally, I I, I made the decision right then and there I'm like, that's what I wanna do. And so I was like, I don't know what's gonna come after that, but I know that I will spend at least a month in Paris and be the happiest person alive because what I said to myself, like going up to that point, 'cause I'd been in Europe, I'd been to a lot of places like on vacation, but I promised myself I wouldn't go to Paris until I was married. Oh. Because I thought like to myself, like, well I want the me memories to be permanent with that person I share Paris with, 'cause it's such a near and dear place to me. And I said, oh, this is so corny, so corny. Like, don't judge me. That's okay. I said, I am gonna bring the love of my life. I'm gonna bring it myself.  

Kristin:    00:17:25    Oh  

 Dinah:    00:17:25    Well. So yeah. 

Kristin:    00:17:27     I love this. Maybe it does sound corny, but like yeah, you've gotta love yourself 'cause you're with yourself 24/7. And that's so true. We ignore ourselves sometimes. We're always looking into the external of like, what's on your to-do list or this per, what does this person need or that person need? And so always, some people can say this lifestyle can be selfish, which I guess it could, but so can any other kind of lifestyle literally. Yeah. But at the same time, put your oxygen mask on first. You know, take care of yourself.

 Dinah:    00:17:55    A hundred percent. I literally use that analogy all the time because at the end of the day, like I think that the, the, the person you end up becoming is the person that you're gonna ultimately attract the rest of your life around. And that's the next 20 years, the next decade, whatever it is. So I wanna be like the best version when it comes to meeting my significant other when it comes to raising a family. Like I wanna literally be the best version possible. So all these enriching experiences, all these humbling experiences, all this empowering of myself, it's really helping me kind of break through to, to a new version that I want to imprint into somebody else. And I would love to like share that personality. But looking back at who I was, I'm not ashamed, but I also see all the growth. Right. And I'm so proud of the things that have happened to allow me to be where I am. 

Kristin:    00:18:40    There's that quote that if you're not embarrassed by who you were six months ago, you're not growing enough or something.  

 Dinah:    00:18:46    I love that.  

Kristin:    00:18:47    I'm constantly embarrassed. So that's good. So how was Paris once you got there? What, what was that experience like as a solo female traveler and how long did it take you to feel like you were in a comfort zone there? 

 Dinah:    00:19:00    Yeah,  so because it was my first official solo travel, I had done a lot of research on like how to be safe as a female traveler. Um, and so I do have some things that I think helped me out a lot. For me, it was really being intuitive of the, the surroundings. 'cause even though I was in Paris, like with it being Paris, it still has a lot, a little bit of a dark side that you need to make sure you're always aware of. Um, so like for example, I went on a jog by myself and literally right in front of the Eiffel Tower, a guy starts following me and I literally like, stop and tie my shoe, go the other way. He calls me the other way. So like, you know, and I, I realized that like when people see a woman by herself, it's gonna attract, you know, more attention because they think you're just unobservant and you're an easy target.  

 Dinah:    00:19:45    So I literally, like, what I did was I started tying my shoe. I got on my phone and I started walking next to a guy that was going in the opposite direction again. And he stopped. Ah. Um, one of the things I would say is there's probably like a few tips I can give right now that I think is important. I don't know if you've given these before, but like when I'm, if I'm in an Uber and like, or taxi and I feel like the guy's a little suspicious, um, I won't go directly into my door. I'll like walk around until he leaves. So he doesn't know exactly where I am. Oh. And that goes for anyone. If you like, feel like someone's watching you, like go to your place. I always go someplace else until they're gone because I just never want somebody to know exactly where I live because then I'm an easy target.  

 Dinah:    00:20:22    Right. You know, and then for example, like in Paris there's a lot of underground places with no lights. It's, there's like a new movement I guess with like lighting safe female areas. Oh good. And Paris is not one of them. Like you have to actually be in a dark area for the light to finally turn on. And there's a lot of places with that kind of auto automatic lighting. Okay. And so there was a lot of kind of scary situations, but I would just make sure, like I always have friends that know my location. I'm always sharing it. If I ever feel like it's a dangerous, like in and out area, I make sure I call someone before and call someone after or text them before and text 'em after. Just, you need somebody to keep a little bit of some tabs, you know? Right. And I think it's important to always have somebody in the loop of, you know, some areas that might be precarious they're going to, or even a place you might be staying at. But I say always follow your intuition.  

Kristin:    00:21:08    There is an app that registers your location. Like I share my location with my mom, with my sister, but I know they're not, you know, checking it every Yeah. <laugh>. But there is an app that, um, I'll, I'll link, I can't remember what it's called, but I'll link to it in the show notes. I remember when I was researching for my book, I wrote Digital Nomads for Dummies and I did a whole chapter on safety and I learned so much of things that I don't even do.  

 Dinah:    00:21:33    Oh my God. Tell me a good tip that I may have not thought of.  

Kristin:    00:21:35    Well, well that was the biggest one was I realized that I wasn't registered on any app. Wow. And I think because I've been traveling for so long, I got in this comfort zone of Yeah. I go to this country, that country, I mean, I used to change countries and not even tell anyone that I was going to another country. 

 Dinah:    00:21:52    <laugh>.Wow.  

Kristin:    00:21:53     I just,  You know, just go continue with my life. It'll see on social media by there. Yeah. Yeah. But now I'm, um, but I am also very, uh, cognizant of that. And so I am always telling my parents, okay, here's my itinerary. Yeah. I'm going here, going there. This is where I'm staying. Yeah. This is my insurance info. But yeah, I have been followed as well in, in other places. Yeah. I, I travel with this bracelet called the Little Viper. Oh. And it's a mace bracelet. I don't have it on right now. That's, but um, you actually can't bring mace into some country. Yeah. So you gotta be careful. But on the countries that you can bring it into, it just looks like a black bracelet. And so I would just wear it when I go out to Thailand or Mexico, Costa Rica, wherever I'm like, well, just in case I could spray.

 Dinah:    00:22:39     A hundred percent.  

Kristin:    00:22:40     Spray to somebody. But also like, just using common sense. And even here I've heard, uh, my friend was mugged for her phone 'cause she was walking by herself at night with her phone out. So yeah. Just being, being very aware of your surroundings. And I think a lot of women, we have this sixth sense Yeah. As well.

Dinah:   Oh yeah.

Kristin:  I'm always like looking around. So, and also staying in places that are secure. Yeah. Like here, there's a guard, there's a gate to get in. Exactly. I never stay in houses by myself that just don't have any security. Yep. Just a regular house on the side of the road  

 Dinah:    00:23:14    Same.

Kristin:    00:23:15    So yeah. Always being in a gated community.  

 Dinah:    00:23:17    One thing I learned that is probably my, my paranoia kicking in is that when I come into an Airbnb, if it's, even if it's on the second floor, I still do it. But like, I always make sure all the windows are actually locked.  

Kristin:    00:23:28    Uhhuh 

 Dinah:    00:23:29    A lot of times we assume that it's done. I've been in so many, even the one here, there's one in the bathroom and then the, the window was unlocked. Oh. And I'm like, yeah. Like, you never know. You just never know.

Kristin:    00:23:40    

Yeah.  I always try to stay on the highest floor. Yeah. So currently I'm in a penthouse that you can't even get into it. Like, I could leave my doors open like the sliding glass door. Yeah. There would be no way for anyone to get in. That's amazing. Unless they were Spider-Man, <laugh>  

 Dinah:    00:23:54    <laugh>. 

Kristin:    00:23:55    So  that's good. But yeah, being on the ground floor can be a little, a little bit riskier, but yeah. Not that much. Right, right. So, okay, so you're in Paris. You're finding your, your flow. How were you able to meet people there and, and find community? Or did you feel like you were really like solo the whole time?  

 Dinah:    00:24:13    No, Kristin. Honestly, by the first week I was there, I had a whole crew of people <laugh>. I was going out with no lie. Like, I was like, calling up everybody, like, you guys ready to go out? Like I,  

Kristin:    00:24:22    You feel like you know them for so long.

 Dinah:    00:24:24    Oh, I meet people. I'm like, oh, we're bonded for life. Like, it was so bonding. Actually, the way that I met people was when I would go on dates with like a guy or here and there, whatever. I, like, if they invited their friends along, like girlfriends and I was around their friends, I would actually like become more friends with the girls. Um, but I, I, I like social media apps a lot. I just put, I'm here for friends like Tinder, Bumble, things like that. Okay. Bumble even has like the friends only part, the friends. So I think those work. But there's always the Facebook groups, which I think is awesome. And then on the WhatsApp part of it, like, it's just more real time communication. And like with you, we just pulled each other to the side and had a conversation. Yeah. So I,

Kristin:    00:25:00    From a coworking group.   

 Dinah:    00:25:01    From a coworking group. Yeah. Which is crazy. And what's funny is like, I, I literally just like pulled it up, saw it referred a couple people in there. So now they're in it and they do like digital content, um, kind of like similar to you, but more for businesses. So now he's working with a couple people in that group and it's like this spider web that always keeps growing, which I think is awesome. 'cause people are just so open. You have to be right. Right. Because you're, you wanna meet people, so you have to stop being so like, cliquey and like kind of your guard up now. Unless that's your thing and you don't wanna meet people, that's okay too. But I just found like a girl that was here, she's a digital nomad. She literally was like, oh, let me give you some coffee since you can't get it. And oh, by the way, you can use my scooter for the day. Like, she literally was a saint and like, not expecting anything in return, but to be like, nice because you're another digital nomad and you're trying to learn the area and she understands, you know?

Kristin:    00:25:49     Yeah. Yeah. If there was a girl who lost her laptop charger and then someone else had an extra one, just gave it to her.  

 Dinah:    00:25:55    I love that. Like, use it for the week. Yeah. It's like your little family. Yeah.  

Kristin:    00:25:58    Yeah. Is which neighborhood were you in, in Paris? Or which area of the city?  

 Dinah:    00:26:02     I was like, the Eiffel Tower was literally right in front of me. So it was right, right across the bridge and like to the left, like one block. Um, and it was like a shoe box. But, um, I, I worked there during the day and then I would find some really cute coffee shops to go at, um, to work. Like sometimes like just to keep the, you know, um, seeing new areas. The great thing about Europe is the time. Right. So I didn't start working till about five o'clock and I had a blast. Actually. I was so happy that I didn't go with my significant other because I partied way too hard and I probably would've never had the same experience. I fell in love like three times. <laugh> Okay.  

Kristin:    00:26:39    With French guys or, yeah. Okay. I was gonna ask about,  

 Dinah:    00:26:43    I mean, as Paris, you have to like fall in love least one time while you're there.  

Kristin:    00:26:46    He is very romantic.  

 Dinah:    00:26:47    I had this musician guy that we had like got on some dates and he's like playing guitar and the Eiffel Tower's there at night and it's raining. I'm like, I literally couldn't make a movie about this. And I tried like, this is so picturesque and so like cliche in every way, but it was fun.

Kristin:    00:27:01    Like notebook and Yeah. Another thing. So when the month was up, you know, I see this happen a lot. People are like, okay, I'm going to travel for one month, or I'm going to go nomadic for three months, or I'm going to move to this country for six months. But then it always turns into double, triple, you know, 10 years later you're still doing this. So what was your mindset at the end of that time? And then, you know, where did you go next? Were you like, okay, I'm ready to go back to normal life or go?

 Dinah:    00:27:32    I, I got the bug. I got the bug bad and I knew it because I was like, there's no way I am going home. I was like, Wolf of Wall Street. I was like, I'm not leaving <laugh>. Like, I'm just like, there's no way I can leave because I just, I, I have so much to do here in Europe now. Like, it was like, I had a calling and so, um, from Paris, I went to Saint-Tropez. Oh. Uh, because that, that's where everybody goes. Right. How to do, it was literally August --

Kristin:    00:27:56    Summer in  Saint-Tropez 

 Dinah:    00:27:57     <laugh>, literally, because I didn't really know that like Paris becomes like a ghost town in that, you know, August or whatever, or Yeah, I think it was August. Everyone, so like, okay, I guess I'm gonna go where the people are going. So like, I met like three other people down there that I had made friends with the Paris and I had a little crew out there too. And I stayed in this place that was just absolutely stunning. It, it was just so beautiful. But I would say out of that journey, one of my favorite things that I did was, it was very spontaneous. Um, I saw an ad pop up for yacht week, which I'm like, I'm on this side of the world, c'est la vie, you know? Yeah. So I'm like, okay, let's go ahead and do it. And so I bought the ticket for Yacht week in Croatia. Took a train after Saint-Tropez to get like, I don't know, it was like a 12 hour journey. And I finally arrived to Croatia right on time to like, 

Kristin:    00:28:43   oh, so  you went from Saint-Tropez to Croatia by train. 

 Dinah:    00:28:45 By train.

Kristin:  Interesting.

Dinah:  Well, by flight, once, one was flight and one part was train, it was like half and half. 'cause you couldn't really get there directly from train. Yeah. I flew in the last part of it got into, I think it was  

Kristin:    00:28:57    Split maybe?  

 Dinah:    00:28:58    Yes. Split. Okay. Yes. Split. And the next day I met my whole crew and um, had one of the most incredible experiences during yacht week. And it was like actually really affordable too. I love being very budget minded. And so like, I think for yacht week it was a thousand bucks for like the full, full week. And you get your skipper, you get food, you get all that. Yeah. So it was very, you know, cost effective for like an experience of a lifetime. You know, it was my first week off in like two years  

Kristin:    00:29:21    <laugh>. Oh wow. Yeah. Yeah. That's beautiful. I went, not on the yacht week, but we followed the Yacht Week boat. Yeah. We did the whole tour, you know, all of the stops. Yeah. And it, to this day was one of the most fun experiences. Oh my God, ever. I did my birthday in Italy and then flew to Croatia for yacht week and then we went on, on a road trip through the Balkans and Yeah.  

 Dinah:    00:29:44    That's amazing.  

Kristin:    00:29:45    Well, I'm curious if there were any times during Paris or yacht week, or where did you go after that that you felt down or that you felt like you were questioning things? Or Sometimes there's these moments where you're pinching yourself and then sometimes there's moments where you're like, what am I doing here?  

 Dinah:    00:30:04    Totally. It's this like, looming fear of being so physically distant from home. I think because it's like, if you're in the states, like you can like find a way to get home and like, it's almost like you could touch it and with being like overseas or in another country, it feels like, like this, this little like thing in your ear being like, you know, like you're alone. And for me, being alone in general was a really hard issue personally with alone time in the past. Like just being able to be happy by myself. Like, and, and that was a stem of a lot of like personal development things that I had gone through when I was in Paris. I would say that's when things transition a lot for me. But I would say in general like that, that looming kind of fear. I think it just means you need to kind of connect with yourself and to also kind of get a little grounded.  

 Dinah:    00:30:52    So like maybe having some habits in place or call home or get in touch with home. But I have experienced that it was particularly when I was on a train and I was really scared because it was like I wanted to sleep, but I kind of felt nervous to sleep 'cause it wasn't the best train quality in the world. And like, it was kind of a little scary. And I didn't have like, they didn't have charging ports there, so I kind of felt like scared to let my phone die. So it was like all these variables and usually I'm very, very prepared. But after leaving out Yacht week, it was kind of like, 'cause I went from, um, Croatia to Istanbul. I would say that the moments have definitely happened and that's, that's part of the process. I feel like it's a little bit of you getting more comfortable with being by yourself and, and finding home in yourself, which I think is an act of self-love and is also an evolution in yourself. So I think it's definitely natural and normal. And it, it doesn't mean like you are different from anybody when you feel that feeling. I think that's part of the process for sure.  

Kristin:    00:31:48    Yes. Ironically, when I was here 10 years ago, I saw this rv, it was like a food truck or something in Playa del Carmen just up the road. And on the top of it, it said, home is where my head is, <laugh> <laugh>. And I took a picture of it and you know, home is where the heart is, but also Yeah. Where, where, where is your head? Yeah. Are you physically present there or are you thinking about some other place? Yeah, some other person. A lot of times we're thinking about the future or the past and that can create a lot of anxiety and preclude us from enjoying the right now. And I've, I have to reality check myself on that a lot. Like, I was stressed this week about being able to finish everything I wanted to do. Yeah. Videos, work, self care, working out restaurants I wanted to go to. And I just thought, just enjoy every day. You're not gonna go to every restaurant and to live this week.

 Dinah:    00:32:45     And sometimes it's a good thing 'cause it makes you come back and you can Right. And have a different perspective the next time around.  

Kristin:    00:32:52    Yes. And every time you come back to a new place, it's like you are different.

Dinah:   Exactly.

Kristin:   When you come back, there's this evolution. When I look at photos of when I went to Paris in 2017 or when I went to the south of France in 2012. It's like, wow. You know, sometimes you remember those moments that are in the photos, but some then you also, it seems like you're a different person. 'cause you are, you change in five years, you change in 10 years.  

 Dinah:    00:33:20    Hundred percent.

Kristin:    00:33:20    Yeah. And, and so then you went to Istanbul, but also by yourself. I love that you went from, you know, being afraid to go to Europe because of the breakup to now you're going over to Istanbul, which is a massive city and I was very intimidated to go there for the first time. Yeah. So, um, how, what brought you there?  

 Dinah:    00:33:41    I, I wanted to see Istanbul. 'cause I had heard a lot of great things about it. Um, and I was planning to do Cappadocia. Am I saying that right?  

Kristin:    00:33:49    I don't know. I call it Cappadocia, but  

 Dinah:    00:33:51    Cappadocia, you're, you're right. That's the right way. I always say it wrong. And so I wanted to do it. I didn't get around to doing it, but that was the plan. There was a family trip back in the States that I had to decide between and I was like, I'm going to, I'll try to make the family trip. So I left a little early, but yeah, I mean, here's what I felt like, and this may not be for everybody. It was, it was a unique experience in the sense that it was the first time in my life that I felt like the ultimate freedom to be myself expressively with clothing was like maybe not so smart. Um, meaning like, you know, wearing like a short dress out at night could have put me into an uncomfortable or even a dangerous situation with the way some people dress.  

 Dinah:    00:34:31    Now what I found is there's some areas of Istanbul where like everyone's wearing crop tops and bralettes and clubby clothes and that's fine, but there's some areas that they wear everything full and like it could be considered to be inappropriate, you know? Yeah. And so the guy I was kind of friends with there mentioned he is like, you know, you look beautiful, you could wear that, but like, it also could be not so good if you do and you're in the wrong situation. And I'm like, then I won't wear it. And that's the first time in my life I had actually taken outfit off because of society. You know, and that was such a unique experience, which I'm not saying it was good or bad, but it was just a unique learning kind of situation. 

Kristin:    00:35:07    Right.  Yeah. Being respectful of the local culture.  

 Dinah:    00:35:09    Yeah.  

Kristin:    00:35:09    Even if you don't necessarily identify with the reasons for it, I think is really important. And I like to choose sometimes places where, you know, like in Brazil you can wear whatever you want in Miami, but also I think it's really good to put yourself into situations that are outside of your comfort zone, you know, in countries that maybe you have a different religion or, you know, different ideals and things like that. And and then how long were you there?  

 Dinah:    00:35:40    I was there for about another month there. And, um, I mean I loved just the food and the, the people and like the little like, like city areas and, and a lot of the restaurants were just amazing. Yeah. It was really fun. It was a, it was a little, um, how should I say it? That was probably the most like alone that I was at that time because I didn't make a lot of like girlfriends there. Kind of just had like a couple friends that I was hanging out with. But I would say like overall, just like, I really enjoyed that experience, but it was a little bit different from all the other ones that I've been to.  

Kristin:    00:36:15    The language barrier can also be pretty significant there.  

 Dinah:    00:36:19    Yeah, it is a lot harder. I think I only remember like three words there.  

Kristin:    00:36:23    I don't remember any words in Turkish and I'm not proud of it, but I know, yeah, that's a top one. Especially if you're only there for, for a month or so. Yeah. Yeah. And so what other places did you go to last year?  

 Dinah:    00:36:37    I took a couple months to go back to the States and then I left for Brazil in November. I spent two months there. And, um, out of all the places, I would say it probably fits me best because it's a two hour ahead time zone where I get, I don't have to start working until like noon. So I have so much of my daily routine that I can get and feel really strong in the early part of the day. Um, and I'm working late anyway, so working until like six or seven, there was not a problem. The beach is so accessible. Kind of like Playa del Carmen when you said like, it's like really easy to live there. Um, you don't need a car. Like everything was really central. The people were amazing. Just like the, the steak and meat dishes and like having all that there was just so amazing at such a low cost.  

 Dinah:    00:37:17    Like I was used to at that point living in Miami for such a long time and like in Fort Lauderdale to where like the dishes were like what it would be for four people would be like for one person in Miami. Oh yeah. In Brazil. So I just love that. And you know, like just the culture is very happy. Um, my friend was telling me, 'cause he, the pers the, the people I traveled with, one was actually from Brazil originally. He had family there and he said my cousin was here, my little cousin. And she goes, uncle, you know, people are so happy here. Like is this normal?   

Kristin:    00:37:46    Oh, How old is she?

 Dinah:    00:37:47     She was like 11 or 12 I think. And she goes, people are actually living. Yeah. And I agree. They're actually living there and they actually like, you know, a lot of 'em from what I heard, like they'll go to like a grocery store and they'll have like tabs. They'll be like, put it on my tab. Like, it'll be like a trust thing where like they get groceries a lot of times they don't even have the money, but they're so happy, you know? Yeah.  

Kristin:    00:38:07    Actually people are dancing in the streets there. Yeah. And it's not an exaggeration. <laugh>

 Dinah:    00:38:14    Exactly.  Like the cookouts in the streets and like the very first sunset I was there, they started clapping and I was like, oh my God, I love this. This is awesome. 

Kristin:    00:38:21    It is  weird that we think that we noticed that. 

 Dinah:    00:38:24    Isn't it?  

Kristin:    00:38:24    I think it's sad.  

 Dinah:    00:38:25    Yeah.  

Kristin:    00:38:26    And even around here in Mexico. Yeah. I mean everybody says hello. Good morning. Yeah. I was eating some fruit by the pool today and a construction worker walked by carrying lumber and stuff and he stopped and he said, good morning, you know, bon appetit. Yeah. I was like, thank you. And no matter how many times I come in and out of my building. Whoever's sitting out there, even if they're not working there, they're greeting you and saying hello. Yeah. And in some places, people, it's not that they're not nice, they just, they don't have the custom of talking to strangers.  

 Dinah:    00:39:02    Yeah. And that goes back to like your routine. It's almost like you could literally, I I I know for me that saying when like you drive home and you don't remember the journey home. Yeah. You're just, but that's like, people live their lives where year after year they do that and before you know it, it's like, God, five years went by, what happened? Yes. And you're just literally on autopilot. And I love the, the way that it delineates your life a little bit more when you're doing these experiences because I'll have like a month feel like a year sometimes. Yeah. It's like extending your life. It literally is a hack. Because I do think that when you're on autopilot, what that means is that you have no capacity to live in. Now if I ask somebody that, that lives in autopilot, how do you feel right now?  

 Dinah:    00:39:38    They wouldn't have a clue because they're not tapped into now they're tapped in tomorrow. They're tapped into what I have to do when I get home. And when you're a nomad, especially a female, and you're being more attuned to what's going on around, you have to be in the present moment. And that's why I love that book. The Power of Now. Yeah. Because it really does like, teach you when you can really settle into the moment, it's the most powerful feeling. There's a word that I, I can't remember the name of it, but it talks about like force bathing. Oh, like when you go  

Kristin:    00:40:03    Yes. In Japan. Yeah. Uhhuh  

 Dinah:    00:40:05    Um, I can't remember the term, but basically you go in the forest and you like literally waken all your senses. And there's been all these studies that show like how much it lowers cholesterol or uh, cortisol and all these things. And so I think the same thing usually applies to when you're able to really be in the moment in life. And I think being a nomad does teach you that. 'cause you are kind of not in a fear state, but you are more attentive to the environment and it's just no way you could be in that groove where you're not thinking about right now, you're thinking about the future. You know, it just puts you into a state of, I think, uh, gratitude too because you, I I feel so grateful to live this life because I know where I came from in the journey. And so I'm always in this really abundant mindset being in this, this kind of like mode so.  

Kristin:    00:40:47    And what do your friends and family think about your lifestyle? Do they comment anything to you or ask when are you coming home or back to normal?

 Dinah:    00:40:54     Always. Always. I stopped. That's why I stopped telling anyone where I was going. Uhhuh Um, I have my friends that know, but like my family, because there was a lot of, I think imprinting of negative, like, kind of like fear-based thoughts when it came to living a different lifestyle. Um, even starting a business. Um, you know, I, I think I've always been the one to break the mo-mold on things. So I think I'm a very big energy person. Not to get too woowoo, but I think that that energy can contaminate your experience before you get to even have it. So like, you know, when I told my family I was going to Europe, it was like, you can't go there. That's insane. Like, it's too dangerous. Like you're gonna get kidnapped in like all the typical things you hear. So it, it did put me in a, a precautious mode. But um, you know, I didn't want that affecting the rest of things. So I do get the calls, like, when are you coming home? Um, I, I do try to let them know like kind of an idea of it, but I usually like stop giving like travel plans in advance because I just don't want that energy to affect my experience, you know? Yeah.  

Kristin:    00:41:56    And so how moving forward, how do you think you'll integrate the travel with the time spent back in the US?  

 Dinah:    00:42:03    That's a good point because the more I do this, the more I think I wanna actually live abroad. You know? I think that I could definitely see myself living in Italy or Brazil, like that kind of quaint town life where it's like a very simple, beautiful lifestyle. Yeah. So my family might really not be too happy, but they do get to travel wherever I go and have a place to stay. So they'd be very happy for that. I know they would love to do Brazil, Italy. I know it would be a dream for them. And who knows, maybe I'll like throw out their passport so they gotta like stay or something. <laugh>  

Kristin:    00:42:31    <laugh>. Well if you go to the Amalfi Coast, go to Ravello, Ravello. It's this beautiful town kind of inland. From the beach, but it just looks beautiful like vineyards, mountains. Yeah. Views of the, the ocean and Mediterranean. So yeah.  

 Dinah:    00:42:44    It sounds like really  

Kristin:    00:42:45    Good food. 

 Dinah:    00:42:45     Oh man. You're speaking my language girl. I love it. Yeah. Um, we'll definitely have to sync up with, with that trip so I can get the best tips from you. Or maybe I'll just watch a video on it.  

Kristin:    00:42:56    <laugh>, we can make another video. I love it. And during this year of being a digital nomad, have you come up with any things that you can't live without that are in your suitcase or any must haves that you had to order, that you forgot to pack with you and then you're like, wait, I need this to live abroad.  

 Dinah:    00:43:13    That's such a great point. 'cause you know what else this has taught me is something that I was not naturally as a person and that's like being very organized. Oh, I am like someone, my friend comments recently, they're like, wow, you, you're so like, like tidy now. <laugh>. It was such a mess before. 

Kristin:    00:43:32    Like your luggage, Luggage is organized.  

 Dinah:    00:43:32    Everything. Luggage. My, my living quarters, like everything is very, very well organized because I like for packing to be easy and easy out. I even cleaned my Airbnbs because I wanted to truly feel like my home. Yeah. Um, so like they say like, oh make sure you take care of our property. I'm like, you have no idea. <laugh>,  

Kristin:    00:43:47    I have in my Airbnb thing that I will leave your property better than you.  

 Dinah:    00:43:51    Yeah. To me. Yeah. Like I was sleeping my outdoor patio today and they have people that are hired to do it and I'm like, yeah, but I want my place to be nice. And yeah. What I found was my essentials would probably be, you know, my international chargers. 'cause you never know when you need them and those are like such minuscule things, but they prevent you from living your whole life sometimes. Right. Um, I always have two backup chargers, um, just in case you never know again. Um, and then something that probably doesn't make a difference 'cause I've never had to use it, but it makes me feel really safe. Well actually two things. Um, one is a window breaker. Oh yeah. So it's like it goes on your key chain. The glass breaker. Yeah. Glass breaker. You never know what it is.  

 Dinah:    00:44:30    It actually does also cut your seatbelt too. So there's some multifunctional aspects of it. Hold it down and there's a little like spring in it and it's got like, I don't know, like a thousand pounds of pressure or something. And it will break any glass that you, you know, need to break instantly within a second. So I have that and it's just a easy thing. You hold it against the glass and it pops open and like, if you ever feel unsafe, your car door's being locked or something. 'cause I do notice there's a lot of like in taxis, like where you can't unlock the door yourself. Yeah. Yeah. That doesn't make me feel good. Yeah. So I bought it for like 10 bucks on Amazon and that just gives me comfort when I'm like traveling in a new place. I always have it on me. And then I always have my air tag. Yeah.   

Kristin:    00:45:11    I have a little bit of an air tag for your luggage and stuff.  

 Dinah:    00:45:14    Actually for my passport.  

Kristin:    00:45:15    Oh, you have it on your passport case?  

 Dinah:    00:45:17    Well, yeah. So I either put in my case or put it in the bag where my passport always is 'cause I have a little secret pocket that I put my passport in and I put the air tag right in there so that say something were to happen, I'm in a pinch and like, I really, really need my passport and somebody steals it. I could like locate it. Oh, I love air tags. They're so awesome.  

Kristin:    00:45:33    Yeah, they're so useful.

 Dinah:    00:45:33     Yeah. <laugh>.  

Kristin:    00:45:35    Well, thank you so much, Dianh. Do you have any, anything else that you wanna share with us or any last thoughts?

 Dinah:    00:45:41    I guess  the last thought would be, you know, for anyone watching that isn't a digital nomad, I might think it's like out of their realm of possibility. Like you have one life to live and to me, like, you know, eventually I'll have a family and maybe not be traveling so much, and maybe not in a position to do this, but you got one shot at this amazing journey in life. You know, live your best life and if you need travel tips, you absolutely know where to go. So yeah.  

Kristin:    00:46:07    <laugh>, Thank you so much. I, I agree. It's like if, if you don't try, you'll never know.

Dinah:   Exactly.

Kristin:  Or if you don't go, you'll never know. 

 Dinah:    00:46:15   Exactly.  Yeah, a hundred percent. Well, thank you so much for having me. Appreciate it. Thank you.  

Kristin:    00:46:18    Safe travels too, your next Thank you. Next destination.  

 Dinah:    00:46:20    I appreciate it. Thanks. You're a really great interviewer. Oh, thank you so much, <laugh>. I've been on some podcasts before where it's like, um, it feels like the questions are just like to ask questions and it doesn't flow. Yeah. But that was really good. It felt good.  

Kristin:    00:46:34    Thanks so much for spending time with me today. You know, talking with Dinah really made me feel a bit nostalgic about all of the travels that I did when I was younger. So if you're very young, whatever that means to you listening now, then I hope that you take advantage of being so young in life and having a lot of adventures around the world. If you've already traveled a lot, I hope that this also brought up some memories for you on some of your past travels. And if you have been waiting until you retired to be able to travel or live abroad, I hope this gives you some inspiration to act now and start to go on those bucket list trips or to follow your dreams of living or traveling in another country. And if you want some help with that, you can always reach out for me for a consultation for moving abroad.  

Kristin:    00:47:26    You can apply at TravelingwithKristin.com/relocation and I would be happy to talk with you and see if it would be a good fit for us to work together. But the big takeaway that I want you to take from this episode is basically to seize the day, get out there, travel the world, have fun, whether you're going by yourself with a significant other, with your family, or if you've just gone through a really tough life experience or a breakup, don't let that hold you back. Get out there and travel today and I'll see you here again next week. Thanks again to Coach Cosette for the five star review and remember to check the show notes for the resources for this and every episode.