What is Remote Year??

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked this question, “So what is Remote Year?? Do you like work for them, do you get paid to travel, etc??” I’ve constructed this elevator speech:

“Remote Year is an organized work travel group for professionals that share common interests”. If you like to travel, can work remotely, enjoy meeting new people, want to take risks, and create incredible memories, then heck yes Remote Year would be perfect for you!! Remote Year organizes all your travel and housing for the duration of your stay so all the stress of research and negotiations are eliminated! You pay a monthly fee that includes housing, a work space with reliable internet, connecting flights to the next country, and a farewell party. Yes, you do have to have your own job or enough money to sustain- Remote Year does not provide you with a job. However, Remote Year does have an amazing community that shares great recommendations for the work force when it comes to remote working. Got it?? Any questions- definitely feel free to reach out to me! I'd love to get you set up on an upcoming program!!

Okay now that you know what Remote Year is, this is my journey story…

October 2017, I made a goal to travel the world starting by October 2018. This gave me a whole year to make goals towards this goal, etc. I will always say this as it happened to me. I kept telling the universe I will travel the world this year and make it work!! The universe has a crazy way of connecting your desires and goals. If you shout it out enough it will happen! I did so much research on how to travel and make money etc. and I wasn’t convinced after months of research.

I then started getting pop up ads of Remote Year on social media sources. I applied for the program in December 2017 and then ignored it because it sounded too good to be true. I then got an email in April of 2018 and decided to revisit the opportunity and I had a phone call with Camiella. I say her name because she really helped me realize I could actually do this crazy exploration and wanted to give her some recognition!!

Okay, so now I’m super inspired to travel the world and do this Remote Year thing so how do I find remote work now?? (I now have the resources to share about finding remote work that I didn’t know prior thanks to Remote Year community). The struggle of finding a remote friendly job was hard! I read all the blogs, watched the vlogs, and couldn’t land a remote job. So I researched website development, sales, and worked on getting an online store launched. (Don’t believe all the blogs on how easy it can be because it’s actually more work than you think- website layout, niche, branding, marketing, operations, etc). I was also super busy with my current job so I was getting exhausted but I had to keep reminding myself of my end goal!

Fast forward a bit, I am finally starting to work on this online store. I knew this would be some income but not enough to sustain 6 months to a year of travel.

I had some savings but not much so I had to convince my Mom to basically sponsor me partially and believe that what I’m doing is for personal and professional growth. Oh and I had to also convince her that I wasn’t going to get scammed, trafficked etc. After much convincing, she agreed to help me as long as I eventually paid her back. So asking for help to pursue your dreams is okay- You never know who may want to help!

Okay so I have some funds, a goal to start an online store, and still working on landing that remote job. Now, the rest is up to me to pull the trigger! I finally secured my spot with the Remote Year Exupery group to arrive in Croatia on August 25th 2018! I can’t even put into words the emotions I felt once I confirmed! Of course I was ecstatic but I was also nervous. How did I know if I would like the people in this group, would they like me, would I get home sick, etc. So many thoughts were racing through my mind but I had to keep telling myself, “You got this far and you’re not backing out now”!

I now only have a few months to prepare before I explore the world with 38 strangers! I worked my butt off while still at Cincy Magazine so I would have some extra commissions and finally gave my notice in August 2018. I tried to convince my boss to let me work remotely but he wasn’t having it.

Half of my friends thought I was crazy and that kind of made me feel like they didn’t believe in me. However, after they knew I wasn't backing away from my dream, most of them supported my decision! I also had friends that stopped talking to me for no reason. Oh, and I met someone that I felt strongly for and I was leaving a possible love interest for this next step in my life. I knew I would miss my family terribly as we are all very close. I experienced so many ups and downs prior to leaving for this journey but I wouldn’t trade it for anything as it made me stronger! I saw true colors from many people and I am thankful that I got to see that. I am even closer to those that supported me through out this whole journey!

Fast forward, August 25th, I swear I cried of happiness the first time I saw Rodolfo, our team leader (pic to the right), when I walked off that plane alone in Croatia. (And yes, he is single ladies)!! I was relieved I made it safe and also so anxious but yet ready to meet my new "Tramily"! Expectations were exceeded and I seriously have had the best time of my life!!!

I traveled to 11 countries, experienced the unexpected, left my comfort zone, only got sick once, and created hundreds of memories with amassssinnngg people!! (Amasssing is an inside joke not typo)

Fast forward again to July 2019, I had to unfortunately leave the program early in May as I wasn’t able to secure a fully remote job as well having to take care of a few things at home. I miss my Tramily terribly and will rejoin them for the final farewell in August! I seriously couldn’t have imagined experiencing the 9 months of freaking world travel with any other group! I am so grateful to have met so many amazing humans from the Remote Year community as well as meeting all the other terrific people that I met around the world! Everyone in my Remote Year Tramily is special in their own way and I know I will for sure create more memories soon with them!

Travel will leave you speechless but it’s the people that you meet that will forever change your life!!

More in depth Remote Year experiences coming soon so stay tuned!