Jan 26, 2017
Hannah Dixon - Digital Nomad
(Links coming soon!)
She's currently in Hanoi, although based out of Bangkok. Sardinia, Sicily, Budapest...
I want to live your life" - Lisa
I think the pros outweigh the cons for sure." - Hannah
The digital nomad community is incredible everywhere. They do meet ups for dinner and drinks and such.
Hannah is a virtual assistant but is now training other virtual assistants.
She's been a VA for three years, and on the road for the last 8 years.
She worked at a husky dog center, a farm in Italy, mostly bars and farms.
"I think we forget how privileged we are when we just want to "get out of here""- Hannah
Why are you moving again? "I don't have a home"- Hannah
Do you get sick? Yes I'm a bit more sensitive to that.
What's the first thing you tell people who want to transition to this lifestyle?
Take your laptop and work on the other side of town all day. If you can do that, then you kind of have an indication already if you can do this thing.
Take smaller trips. Go to a different city in your country for a month.
You have a lot of things you have to change all the time.
You can't be sentimental about stuff anymore.
Hannah is from London, UK, and she'll stop home about once a year in October for her parents and her birthday.
What made you decide to do this?
I guess I was travelling already, I knew this nomadic lifestyle was for me. I never even considered working online, I was a farm girl. Past partner taught her how.
"I know it doesn't just happen-but it does!" - Lisa
Working online, it's so important to have these communities online.
(insert communities)
"It's like another family, and I'm not even on the road" - Lisa
What's the best place you've been to?
Budapest! (she confirms the food is great!)
Low cost of living, and being an introvert, the people aren't going to chat you up a lot. Outdoor baths and autonomy.
Who do you follow? Who do you think is really cool that's doing what you're doing?
Natty and Jodie - the house sitting academy
The had a business in Dubai that went really wrong but they're kind of house sitting extraordinaire so they decided to teach people how! They teach you how to make sure that you're selected for sought after sits. An online community with referrals. They don't pay you and you don't pay them.
"I usually save a bunch of money and plan a two week trip, but I think I want something else now" - Lisa
It's actually very much up to you "You just need your first months rent and a plane ticket" - Hannah
Flight stein - a subscription that finds you the best price flights
Nomad Fly - flight hacking course saving $100s and $100s
Having a boyfriend / dating.
What if you have a partner that's in a stable job? Should you just date nomads?
No real solution, but this lifestyle is becoming more normal, so we're still looking for solutions.
Did it get more addicting as you did it?
Yes, after becoming a digital nomad. You meet people who tell you about amazing places and you "Get a bit of jealousy, I want to go there!" - Hannah
"There's a whole different life out there" - Lisa
You're really chasing WiFi, right?" - Lisa
Nomad list - a resource for checking places out, i.e. is it safe/female friendly/wifi/cost of living
Are there people in their 40's and 50's?
Oh yeah! Way older than that too!
What if I'm seasick the whole time?" Lisa on sailing around the world on a boat.
Co-boat - co working co living sailboat that goes around the world for digital nomads!
One of the big issues with traveling a lot is Visas. Always having to do visa runs. Counting down the days having to rush places.
"I have a year lease on my apartment but I can't be in the country for more than two months at a time. Have to get on a plane and leave." - Hannah
I could have just flown out for a day and back, but it's cheap so I figured I'd visit.
Worst place?
I've been to many places where the other people haven't liked it, but i'm very easy going and I realize " that's the way they do that here"
Sicily- More run down than anywhere and very corrupt system. Getting ripped off all the time. Little Mafia towns. Alcomo?
"Really run down with dead cats on the street, okay I'm good" - Lisa
"I walked up to my hostel, and there's a man shaving a cat on the doorstep. Luckily I gave it a chance" - Hannah
Everything in Vietnam is a mild inconvenience, things just don't work the same.
Airbnb gives refunds if it isn't at all what you expected!
BTBY event in New York, not LA.
"It's the new year, I wanted to put out into the world...this is my plan!" - Lisa
If you're thinking that you can't do it, here's a little sheet that helps pinpoint how you can do this digitally. This is from my course.
"Identify what you're doing in your traditional job and how you can take that online" - Hannah
"There's nothing wrong with keeping a home base." - Hannah
You can rent it out with airbnb while you're not there, and make money, you can also plan around when you need to be home.
How cheap is it? How much are you paying to sleep?
Air bnb is expensive because it's not long term. $180 for the week, which is pricey for the area. $70 is local style, "I opt for the western style toilets and showers"- Hannah
Long term, $350/month in Bangkok, water bill is .40/month. Share it with someone, it has a gym and a pool - and this is the more expensive side. Airbnb is great because it helps you test it out.
Facebook group where people talk about all this stuff.
VA-a personal assistant online, and the scope is even more. (website, answering emails...)
"I don't call anywhere home, which people find really strange." - Hannah
"I don't need a place to call home when I know that the world is mine" - Hannah
What about medical insurance?
"The only issue is in the US. Medical care is cheap or free anywhere else" - Hannah
The only time when she buys insurance is coming to the US. As a dual UK-US citizen she travels with her UK passport and buys travel insurance.
"You're renting a nice place for what I pay in insurance monthly" - Lisa
"Bali is a little bit less gritty, feels more comfortable, and it's still cheap" - Hannah
"I kind of gave you a bad question" - Lisa
Verbal Rorschach
rug: chamber
tacos: food
painting: gallery
love: heart
dogs: thailand (lot's of wild dogs)
mascara: beautiful
iphone: technology (she's an android lover!)
earring: jewelry
comfortable: bed
Last question!
What is your favorite bush?
Rose bush?
How to leave a love note on iTunes for my Podcast.
From your computer:
1. Open the iTunes software on your desktop. (Not the web version.)
2. In the search bar (upper right-hand corner), type in “Honestly Lisa”.
3. Click on our album cover that pops up towards the bottom of the screen. 4. This will take you to the homepage for our show, but make sure you don’t accidentally select one of our individual episodes instead.
5. Right under the show description, you’ll see three tabs. “Ratings & Reviews” is the second one listed, and this is the one you want to click on.
6. On that page, there should be a button called “Write A Review” and if you click there, it will hopefully let you create a post with your thoughts!
From your iPhone:
1. Open the “podcast” app that comes pre-installed on all current apple smartphone devices.
2. In the lower right-hand corner, you’ll click on the magnifying glass “search” button and type in “marriage is funny”.
3. Click on our album cover that pops up towards the bottom of the screen. This will take you to the homepage for our show, but make sure you don’t accidentally select one of our individual episodes instead.
4. Select the “reviews” tab toward the top of the screen, and you’ll see a purple “Write a Review” button on the next page.
5. It might ask you to log in to your iTunes account, but otherwise, this will open a form where you can enter your thoughts!