Nomadtopia Radio: Digital Nomad and Expat Lifestyle
206 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 year ago - ★★★★★ - 38 ratingsNomadtopia Radio features interviews with people all over the world who have created their ideal lifestyle through location independence, long-term travel, living abroad, and more. Guests run the gamut from serial expats to slow travelers, digital nomads, location-independent entrepreneurs escaping winter, families traveling overland (and homeschooling!), solo backpackers and road-trippers... you name it. Their stories highlight all the different ways to explore the world, live and work on your own terms, and have the freedom and flexibility to create the lifestyle that matters to YOU.
Join us to learn about the ins and outs of daily life on the road and back at home; nitty-gritty details of living and working anywhere in the world, like banking, technology, what to do with your stuff, and having a home base (or not); getting started and making it happen; and much, much more.
This podcast is hosted by veteran traveler, expat, digital nomad, and location-independent online entrepreneur Amy Scott, founder of Nomadtopia.com, where you can access resources, community, and inspiration for creating and savoring the life your nomadic soul craves.
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Episodes
Ep 105 KeeKee Cornelious: All Kinds of Freedom
September 13, 2017 10:00 - 35 minutes - 48.6 MBAfter starting and running numerous businesses, KeeKee built her consulting business to cater to a location-independent lifestyle. She’s based in San Diego but travels frequently and chooses to live on vacation no matter where she finds herself on the map. In This Episode Building relationships online and off What it means to “live on vacation” What she wishes she’d known before she started The essential mind-set that prepares you for this lifestyle How to create a business yo...
Ep 104 Gabriella and Vernon: Living More with Less
September 06, 2017 10:00 - 34 minutes - 47.9 MBGabriella and Vernon sold it all and moved their family to Mazatlán, Mexico, in October 2016. They have spent the last ten months growing closer as a family, raising three third-culture kids who are now 4, 5, and 6 years old, building their location-independent businesses, and simply living life on their own terms. In This Episode Why they decided to move to Mazatlán Doing a reconnaissance trip to scope things out Preparing to move abroad as a family Challenges of living in Mexi...
Ep 103 Kit and Nick: 9 Years on the Road
August 30, 2017 10:00 - 43 minutes - 60.4 MBKit and Nick have been working while traveling the world for nine years. They don’t have a home base, and they move around a lot more than some other long-term nomads (like me!). They also co-founded the 7in7 conference for nomads, and joined me to talk about everything from how much we spend each month to travel hacking and other insights from nine years on the road. In This Episode How they came up with the idea for the 7in7 conference for nomads Finding the “secret nomads” How ...
Ep 102 Emily Belyea: Led by Freedom
August 23, 2017 10:00 - 40 minutes - 55.3 MBWith freedom as her core value, Emily has made intentional choices to create a location-independent life that works for her (and her partner who chooses not to be location independent). We talked about budgeting for the lifestyle, exploring a city via Airbnb, and lots more. In This Episode How she created location-independent income streams Choosing to go freelance Making intentional choices to create freedom in our lives Managing money as a freelancer/nomad (and why we’re both ...
Ep 101 Naomi Hattaway: Life as a Triangle
August 16, 2017 10:00 - 42 minutes - 59 MBAfter several years abroad, Naomi and her family moved back to the States, where she wasn’t at all prepared for the challenges of repatriation. Learning about the idea that her experience had shaped her into a “triangle” helped her make sense of it all, and it led Naomi to create what is now a thriving community of people living global lives. Tune in as we talk about what it means to be a triangle, differing experiences of being an expat (and why she’d like to remove that word from our vocab...
Ep 100 Amy and Guests: Celebrating a Milestone
August 09, 2017 10:00 - 1 hour - 106 MBI never thought I’d end up doing 100 episodes of Nomadtopia Radio! To celebrate this milestone, I asked a few nomad friends to join me, and we recorded this episode live on video on August 7, 2017. Tune in as we talk about our nomad lives, our favorite tools, and so much more. You can check out the video replay at www.nomadtopia.com/100live. In This Episode How we find good internet access (and manage if we don’t) How we make money/support our lifestyle Our favorite tools The “b...
Ep 99 Dan Grec: Overland through Africa
August 02, 2017 10:00 - 36 minutes - 50.3 MBAfter falling in love with overland travel on the Pan-American Highway, Dan went home to save money for his next adventure: two years overland through 30 countries in Africa. He’s about halfway through his trip and joined me from Cameroon to talk money, logistics, and more. In This Episode Cultivating the mind-set to save money for travel Costs of overland travel vs backpacking Deciding where to go and getting visas Tools and community for overland travel Do you need a lot of ...
Special Announcement: Join us live to celebrate 100 episodes!
July 28, 2017 17:41 - 1 minute - 1.11 MBI'm hosting a LIVE video broadcast for our 100th episode! Join me and special nomad guests on August 7, 2017, as we celebrate, chat about our lives, answer questions, and more. Register at www.nomadtopia.com/100live.
Ep 98 Valerie Conners: Where Is She Now?
July 26, 2017 10:00 - 38 minutes - 53.4 MBThe way we each live our Nomadtopia often changes over time, so I’ve asked Valerie back on the show—two and a half years after she first joined me in February 2015—to share where she is now. We talked about how things have gone and what’s changed in her Nomadtopia—and why—in the last few years. In This Episode Choosing to have a home base Creating a home Finding or building community Getting sick on the road Knowing when it’s time to make a change Ignoring the shoulds of thi...
Ep 97 Elizabeth Potts Weinstein: Legal Matters for Nomads
July 19, 2017 10:00 - 38 minutes - 53.3 MBElizabeth intentionally created a business that fits the lifestyle she wants to live. As a location-independent lawyer for small businesses, she manages a remote team and takes lots of road trips. In This Episode Where to set up your business if you’re traveling within the U.S. or abroad U.S. state taxes when traveling domestically Structuring contracts when your clients are in different locations Legal concerns with partnerships and in-person events Business liability insuran...
Ep 96 Luke Benjamin Thomas: Travel Wherever, Whenever
July 12, 2017 10:00 - 32 minutes - 45.4 MBSince he decided he wanted the freedom to travel wherever, whenever, Luke has taken advantage of Working Holiday visas in a number of countries, learned how to talk to pretty much anyone, figured out what it takes to work from anywhere, and lots more. In This Episode: How Luke ran his first business into the ground Traveling on Working Holiday visas How travel made Luke more extroverted Luke’s tips for meeting/talking to people Biggest challenges in his Nomadtopia Resources that...
Ep 95 Naomi Peters: Full-Time Housesitting
July 05, 2017 10:00 - 37 minutes - 52.2 MBNaomi describes herself as a “nomad who likes to nest”—and housesitting is the perfect way to get the best of both worlds. She joins me from her current sit in Sydney, Australia, to talk about her Nomadtopia as a full-time housesitter. In This Episode How Naomi became a triple citizen Considerations when traveling with multiple passports Logistics/requirements of citizenship (taxes, voting, etc.) How/when she books housesitting gigs Dealing with/avoiding crappy Internet when house...
Marianne Manthey: Long-Term Living Abroad
June 27, 2017 20:17 - 36 minutes - 49.8 MBWhile living in Colorado, Marianne and her husband came up with the idea to move to Costa Rica. About five years later, with their young son in tow, they finally made it happen. Tune in as we talk about making a change on a long timeline and lots more.
Jessica Broome: Work Challenges on the Road
June 21, 2017 10:00 - 34 minutes - 47.7 MBJessica learned the hard way that taking your business on the road isn't always as easy as it sounds. After experiencing some challenges on her first adventure abroad, she made some changes and set everything up to run smoothly—and her business and lifestyle have thrived ever since.
Robert Taylor: Nomadic Screenprinter
June 14, 2017 10:00 - 27 minutes - 37.9 MBRobert Taylor is a screenprinter from South Africa. He and his wife are educating their four-year-old on the road as they travel, perfect their craft, and teach others a skill that they can actually use anywhere in the world.
Jodi Ettenberg: The Legal Nomad
June 07, 2017 10:00 - 30 minutes - 42.7 MBAfter saving money while working as a lawyer for five years, Jodi Ettenberg quit her job in 2008. The plan was to travel the world for a year, but nine years later, she has yet to return to the practice of law. What started as full-time travel, then a nomadic lifestyle while making her living on the road, has morphed into a home base in Oaxaca, Mexico, while she continues to work in food and storytelling.
Ep 90: New Interviews Coming Soon!
May 31, 2017 10:00 - 10 minutes - 15 MBNomadtopia Radio is back! Tune in for a short update from Amy on her travels since last July, plus the inside scoop on what’s next for the podcast.
Hiatus 2016
July 27, 2016 10:00 - 18 minutes - 25.6 MBAs she prepares to take a break from the podcast, Amy shares her travel plans, tips on some of the logistics of traveling to the U.S. (or anywhere, really), what's next for Nomadtopia Radio, and more.
Britany Felix: About to Hit the Road
July 20, 2016 10:00 - 45 minutes - 62 MBBritany and her husband recently sold almost everything they own (including their home) and quit the highest-paying jobs either one of them has ever had. When we talked, they were just about to embark on an open-ended journey around the Western half of the United States in their travel trailer with their two dogs.
Bobby Casey: Personal and Financial Freedom
July 13, 2016 10:00 - 1 hour - 84.2 MBLifelong entrepreneur Bobby lives primarily in Latvia these days, and he travels frequently to get the "boots on the ground" experience necessary for his work offering offshore corporate and trust services. He also advises location-independent entrepreneurs on how to properly structure their businesses to minimize taxes and take advantage of global opportunities such as second residency and citizenship options, all of which we talk about in great detail on this episode.
Mel and Armando: Van Life in Europe
July 06, 2016 10:00 - 1 hour - 83.3 MBAmerican writer Mel and Italian filmmaker Armando met while she was living in the Czech Republic and he in Bulgaria. A couple years later, a few spontaneous decisions found them living and traveling together in a VW T4 Westfalia, and they’ve now been on the road since 2012.
Billy and Akaisha: Retire Early Lifestyle
June 29, 2016 10:00 - 1 hour - 82.8 MBBilly and Akaisha retired at age 38 in 1991—long before Skype, email, and online bill pay!—and have been traveling the world for the past 25 years. They typically set up housekeeping in a foreign location for a while and then hit the road again for more exploring. Sometimes they house sit, or rent apartments or live out of an apart/hotel for months at a time. Over the years they have survived financial crashes, bear markets, and the Great Recession, and actually have more money today than th...
Carlos Peñalba: The Year He Became a Nomad
June 22, 2016 10:00 - 1 hour - 83.5 MBOriginally from Spain, Carlos Peñalba is a passionate traveler and photographer who quit his job in New York to backpack through Asia for a year. It turned into an 18-month journey, during which he was also launching a new freelance career. After leaving Asia and as he tried to figure out what was next for him, Carlos wrote a memoir about his adventure, The Year I Became a Nomad: A Journey through Asia on a Quest for Freedom, Love and Happiness.
Nicole Liloia: Part-Time Nomad
June 15, 2016 10:00 - 1 hour - 90.4 MBA former social worker, Nicole is a business strategist + coach who helps entrepreneurs make money doing work they love and create multiple income streams through her program the Authentic Affiliate Academy. She lives in New Jersey full time but travels regularly and takes one-month international trips to experience new countries and escape winter.
Louise Cottrell: Settling into Nomad Life
June 08, 2016 10:00 - 1 hour - 85.7 MBAfter 4+ years living in Argentina, developing location-independent skills, and taking a few trial runs, Louise is back on the nomad train. This year will be full of new (and old) countries, as well as the first time nomading with her partner. They only have tentative plans/ideas of where they’re going through winter. After that they’re not sure; they may even pick a base to stay for a while (but not Buenos Aires!).
Michelle Jackson: Creating Lifestyle Flexibility
June 01, 2016 10:00 - 1 hour - 84.5 MBBefore she made the switch to digital entrepreneurship, Michelle had a long commute, was stressed out, had family problems that prohibited her from leaving her job, and felt rootless. Then, she began blogging about personal finance and was introduced to the idea of digital entrepreneurship and lifestyle design, fell in love with the idea, and never looked back. Now she is growing a digital business helping people who are working on quitting their 9-to-5 but can't quit yet. And although Miche...
Barry and Simone: Experiments in Nomadism
May 25, 2016 10:00 - 1 hour - 88.4 MBBarry and Simone started their location-independent life by accident in 2012. They now split their time moving between Scotland (where they met) and Australia (where she is from) each year, by spending a few months in different locations each time. While they travel, Barry runs several businesses and Simone sometimes works with him, sometimes teaches English, and sometimes temps as an executive assistant.
Rebecca Tracey: An Uncaged Life
May 18, 2016 10:00 - 1 hour - 88 MBAfter starting her most recent business while living in a van, Rebecca has created a flexible lifestyle that allows her to balance rock-climbing trips, running retreats, and other adventures with time at home.
Ebonie Allard: 99% Location Independent
May 11, 2016 10:00 - 1 hour - 83.5 MBEbonie is an author, a coach, and an entrepreneur. She’s currently settled in Brighton, England, but incorporates a lot of travel into her location-independent business and lifestyle. Tune in to learn about the 1% that’s not location independent and much more.
Emily McGee: An Adaptable Career
May 04, 2016 10:00 - 1 hour - 57.4 MBEmily set herself up as a location-independent freelance writer so she’d be ready to go anywhere her husband's job might take them, and they’re currently living in Maputo, Mozambique, with their two-year-old daughter (and another baby on the way!). Although she considers herself a digital nomad by circumstance, not by choice, Emily loves living overseas and working remotely.
Amy Love: Real Food Road Trip
April 27, 2016 10:00 - 1 hour - 60 MBAmy and her husband made the transition from living the typical life in suburbia to organic farmers in New Hampshire to now location-independent entrepreneurs. They are currently on a two-plus-year road trip across the US and Canada with a focus on discovering great real food spots and natural beauty, connecting with their online community, and more.
Jeremy Jacobson: Financially Independent Nomad
April 20, 2016 10:00 - 59 minutes - 54 MBJeremy and his wife, Winnie, achieved financial independence and retired in their thirties so they could travel and start a family. With their one-year-old son they now travel slowly, eating their way around the world.
Amy Truong: Collecting Moments and Experiences
April 13, 2016 10:00 - 1 hour - 55.5 MBAmy has found a way to make her love for travel a lifestyle by running a travel blog and a travel planning service while keeping a full-time remote job. She has been to more than 22 countries, mostly traveling solo, and is considering setting up a base in Hawaii.
Erin McNeaney: On a Never Ending Voyage
April 06, 2016 10:00 - 1 hour - 59.4 MBErin sold everything she owned and left the UK in 2010 to travel the world with her partner, Simon. They mix living in one place for a few months with faster periods of travel and have travelled to more than 30 countries with just their carry-on backpacks while running a popular travel blog, Never Ending Voyage, and creating iPhone apps like Trail Wallet.
Melissa D. Jones: A Woman with Wanderlust
March 30, 2016 10:00 - 1 hour - 57 MBAfter years of squeezing every minute of travel possible into her vacation time, Melissa loves being her own boss and working from anywhere, which means she doesn’t have to ask for permission or time off to continue exploring. You’ll find her enjoying her home base, Portland, Oregon, when she’s not roaming the globe.
Nicole Harlow: Reverse Engineering Location Independence
March 23, 2016 10:00 - 1 hour - 56.7 MBAfter trying out a number of different living arrangements, including Berlin and living in a van in the U.S., and setting everything up so she could live and work anywhere, Nicole and her partner ended up in the tiny island nation of Malta, where she’s loving life and running her location-independent web design business.
Tommy Joiner: English Teacher to Nomad Entrepreneur
March 16, 2016 10:00 - 59 minutes - 54.2 MBTommy started his adventure abroad teaching English in South Korea. Eventually he landed in Medellin, Colombia, which is now his home base for further travels while he runs a content marketing agency and helps freelancers transition from side income to a full-time living.
Nick and Gen: Nomadic Couplepreneurs
March 09, 2016 11:00 - 1 hour - 59.4 MBAfter starting a successful online business (and getting burned out and losing sight of their bigger goals along the way), Nick and Gen decided to try out a more nomadic lifestyle. They discovered that it allowed for more inspiration and creativity (and time off), so they sold everything and now run two full-time businesses together while traveling full-time.
Hannah Vallance: A Life of Love, Play & Work
March 02, 2016 11:00 - 1 hour - 57.9 MBSince having their daughter in 2013 (and with a second child on the way), Hannah and her husband, Chris, have seen their travel lifestyle change to involve longer spells living in one new place rather than constantly traveling like many nomads do. They occasionally return to their flat in the UK for a few months at a time, and spend other periods focused on travel and living overseas.
Eli David: A Dedicated Nomad
February 24, 2016 11:00 - 1 hour - 58 MBSince he became a nomad in early 2011, Eli has been changing locations every two months. He almost always chooses to go to new places rather than ones he’s been to before, and over the years he has created a set of “rules” to guide his lifestyle that allow him to work on his businesses, connect with locals, and explore his surroundings.
Caz Makepeace: Creating a Life of Travel
February 17, 2016 11:00 - 1 hour - 61.4 MBSince she was a teenager, Caz has made travel a priority in her life. As a solo traveler, then with her husband, Craig, and now with two young daughters, the travels have continued—and along the way, she and Craig have built one of the world’s most successful travel blogs. Their most recent adventure was an 18-month road trip around their home country of Australia, and they’re already gearing up for their next road trip in the U.S. in late 2016.
Jasper Ribbers: The Traveling Dutchman
February 10, 2016 11:00 - 1 hour - 65.9 MBJasper travels the world while renting out his apartment in Amsterdam on Airbnb. He spends most of his time between Asia, the US, and South America. He typically stays put for a month or two in a city to focus on work, alternating that with a few weeks of scuba diving.
Lewis Smith: The Itinerant Developer
February 03, 2016 11:00 - 58 minutes - 53.3 MBA honeymoon in Thailand led Lewis and his wife, Jenny, to quit their jobs to start traveling, which turned into more than three years on the road. They have recently returned to the UK, where Lewis has taken on a six-month contract job, and they’re finding that just as travel gives you a better perspective on your home country, being home gives you a better perspective on your travel!
Shannon Martin: Balancing Each Partner’s Needs
January 27, 2016 11:00 - 1 hour - 58.5 MBShannon and her husband currently live in Shanghai, China, where she is a freelance writer and he teaches English and business skills. They enjoy being serial expats, settling down somewhere but being able to travel and try new places after a while. This allows them to balance the needs/career of one partner who is more location independent and one who really needs/wants to do his job in person.
Aglaée Jacob: Nomadic Life as a Family
January 20, 2016 11:00 - 57 minutes - 52.8 MBAglaée and her husband have been digital nomads on and off since 2010, both before and after their son was born. She is also a registered dietitian whose work has been greatly influenced by her travels. In 2015 her family spent time in rural Québec and Costa Rica, with more adventures planned for the coming year.
James Ranson: Holding Still to Move Forward
January 13, 2016 11:00 - 1 hour - 58.5 MBJames is currently based in St. Louis, Missouri, but from July 2014 to July 2015 he was on a road trip around the US. He stopped perpetual travel to focus more closely on building his business. While he can work from anywhere, James has found that he doesn’t have to be on the road all the time in order to be location independent, and he’s created a lifestyle that offers him both the security of having a place of his own and the flexibility to travel when he wants.
Amy Scott: Founder of Nomadtopia
January 06, 2016 11:00 - 1 hour - 62.6 MBAs the host of Nomadtopia Radio, I’m busy interviewing lots of other nomads and don’t often have the chance to share more of my own background and experiences. So to celebrate Episode 60 of the podcast and the first of 2016, I invited my friend Jill Sessa (whom I interviewed in December 2014) to come on the show to turn the tables and interview me. Jill did a fantastic job digging into the back story of how my own Nomadtopia came into being back in 2004, my early days as a freelancer, meetin...
Vicky White: A Spacious Nomadic Life
December 30, 2015 11:00 - 1 hour - 62.3 MBAfter spending most of her adult life outside her native New Zealand, Vicky moved back in 2014 and is now enjoying a nomadic lifestyle living in a bus and traveling around the country. Along the way she realized she didn’t want to continue her coaching business, and that thanks to her simplified lifestyle she doesn’t need to work right now, giving her even more freedom.
Tamala Huntley: Figuring It Out as She Goes
December 23, 2015 11:00 - 1 hour - 60.8 MBNow a web developer and digital marketing strategist, Tamala first started exploring the world of online business as a side hustle in the late ’90s, and she’s been location independent since 2010. All along, she’s been motivated by a deep desire for freedom, and in 2015 that led to her first international adventure in Costa Rica. When we talked she was back in the States, regrouping and figuring out what’s next.
Yasmine Khater: Creating Systems and Bucket Lists
December 16, 2015 11:00 - 1 hour - 62.8 MBYasmine has lived in eight countries and describes herself as “a typical third culture kid trying to find my place.” She’s on a mission to visit every country, and is currently traveling to connect with friends she’s met all over the world. As she travels, she continues to work helping small business owners develop systems to scale their businesses, and she enjoys developing a daily routine to work and live like locals do wherever she goes.