Finding Myself: A Nomad's Story

What's your deal?

Where are you from? Where do you live? How long are you on vacation for? These questions are nearly impossible to me to answer without getting into a deep conversation. So let's start by having that conversation right here to launch my first blog post.

Introduction: The Questions That Define a Journey

As I write this, I am currently in Rabat, Morocco at an Airbnb. But I'm not from Morocco. I was born and raised in New Jersey, USA to an intercultural family, my mother being American born and raised and my father coming from Cairo, Egypt. My last place of residence however would be Florida, USA. None of this however informs where I will be in five weeks time. I have only planned out two months of residence. I do not have a "home" per se, but I'm not exactly homeless either, I am what many call a digital nomad. This lifestyle involves having a job that allows me to work virtually and the lifestyle choice of full time world travel.

Roots and Routes: Embracing My Journey

In 2010 as I began my first slaes career, it was within a few months that I moved to France and became a remote employee as I grew my book of business. I was at that time known as what many call an "expat" or "ex-patriot" which is just fun term for immigrant. From there, my wife and I enjoyed regular travel across Europe, where I discovered my passion for travel, adventure, and exploration. After some bouncing around, we ended up back in Florida where for a few years I resumed the normal office life. But, when our daughter was born in OCT 2017, our perspectives quickly shifted particularly after our first family trip. At four months old, Maya proved herself to be an amazing traveler. Our short trip to Riviera Maya, Mexico was a success, from plane ride, to hotel transfer, to the entirety of our stay, we had a very happy little traveler who was clearly born with the travel bug.

From Epat to Digital Nomad: Embracing a Life on the Move

We quickly started planning a summer trip to Morocco and Europe to visit family and friends as well as explore new places as a family. We spent the summer between visiting family in Rabat, Morocco, seeing friends in Lyon, France and visiting Sardinia Italy, doing a rod trip to Lutry, Switzerland, and another road trip between Croatia, Montenegro, and Bosnia. None of us had ever felt so alive, as a family we were thriving. By the time we returned to Florida, the longing for travel didn't take long to sink in. My wife and I decided to sell the house within ten months and began a journey with the intention of traveling the world over the next two years while I continue to work from home full-time.

Family Travels: The Family Travel Bug

We had a strong start to an incredible journey, returning to our favorite part of the world, Southeast Asia. We had the privelage to fall in love with Bali, Indonesia over the course of a month in paradise, followed by travel across: Australia, New Zealand, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Malaysia. However six months into our intended two year journey around the globe, the world had other plans. The pandemic was off to its start, and in March 2020, we had to retreat to an airbnb in Orlando. But even the pandemic didn't stop us for long, we were able to safely travel to Spain, then to Morocco where we stayed and traveled the country for a year, followed by two months in Bali, and a month in Turkey. And when the restrictions were building back up, we retreated to Florida once again for 15 months of "normal life."

Inner Journey: Discovering Mindfulness and Personal Growth

During all of this adventure, however, I was on a parallel journey, my personal journey was an internal one. I had been dealing with issues in my life for years that were piling into my baggage and creating quite a bit of trouble for my relationships with my self, my wife, and if left uniterrupted would also inevitibely cause harm to my daughter. My journey was one of spirituality and self growth. I found myself in nature, meditation, mindfulness and it was during the time that the world came to an abrupt pause that my internal journey truly began. I took that time to dig deep within myself, explore areas and disciplines I never thought possible, and began this ongoing process of rebuilding myself, my relationships, and my life as a whole.

Over the last year and a half, we continued to travel the world with a focus on South and Central America with a few month pauses as needed in between in Florida and now in Morocco. This is it. This is the life my family and I have chose. And I would not trade this unconventional life for anything. Follow our journey to learn more of this inner and outter exploration I have embarked on. A place to learn not only about my journey but about the many lives I get to meet along this ride and together lets grow our mindsets.

Much Love,

Jason A.