Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristin Wilson.
Hi Kristin, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up in Florida – born in Vero Beach before my family moved to St. Augustine when I was 13 years old. I’m definitely a Florida girl at hear – my mom grew up in Miami Springs and so I used to come down here to visit often before my grandparents retired to Wellington and eventually St. Pete Beach.
My love of travel started early because my grandparents worked for Pan Am. I still have some of the menus from First Class flights in the 1960s! I traveled overseas for the first time to Italy when I turned 17, which was my high school graduation present. After that, everything I did revolved around saving money to travel. I was a lifeguard and competitive surfer during college and the NSSA East Coast and National Champion in 2004. At that time, I traveled mostly for surfing to Puerto Rico, Mexico, California, and Hawaii. In college, I received the Rotary international ambassadorial scholarship, which allowed me to live in Costa Rica for a semester and learn Spanish. That experience changed my life and planted in me the seed to live in foreign countries. The following semester, I studied abroad in Australia and studied international business. I graduated from the University of Central Florida in 2005 with a degree in international business and an MBA.
Less-than-impressed with the job prospects in Orlando, I took a job working in real estate in Costa Rica for a friend. One year turned 2, then 3, then ultimately seven years living in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. During that time, I enjoyed the flexibility to travel and take time off from work to go on sabbaticals in Europe, Bali, and beyond.
Eventually, many of my real estate clients asked me for help moving to the country, so in 2011, I started an international relocation company called Orbis Relocation https://www.orbisrelocation.com/, with a branch dedicated to helping professional poker players and sports bettors, called Poker Refugees. https://pokerrefugees.com/
I’ve since helped over 1,000 people move overseas to 35+ countries.
In 2017, I began documenting how I was able to travel the world while working remotely from my laptop as an entrepreneur. In 2018, I started a YouTube channel, Traveling with Kristin, with travel tips and advice for living overseas. https://www.youtube.com/travelingwithkristin
The following year, I launched a podcast, Badass Digital Nomads, where I interview other location-independent or financially free people who are living alternative lifestyles. https://www.badassdigitalnomads.com/
My YouTube channel currently has 135,000 subscribers and my podcast as 250K+ downloads from nearly every country in the world. https://www.youtube.com/travelingwithkristin
I’m also a new author. My first book, Digital Nomads for Dummies, just came out this week. https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Digital+Nomads+For+Dummies-p-9781119867456
Although I still plan relocations for people, my role has evolved more to writing, content creation, and thought leadership for the new era of remote work and location freedom.
I have been featured in BBC News, Bloomberg Businessweek, Business Insider, ESPN, Huffpost, HGTV, The Today Show, The Independent, The NY Times, Yahoo!, Wall Street Journal, and more.
More about me:
https://www.travelingwithkristin.com/about-kristin-wilson-digital-nomad
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Life is rarely a smooth road, however I believe that surmounting challenges makes us who we are. I’ve been a solo female traveler or digital nomad for most of my adult life, which would seem intimidating to some people, but I adapted to it and it became my daily reality.
I experience struggles on a regular basis, whether it was moving to another country by myself, starting my own business, learning a new skill like launching a podcast or a YouTube channel, or when unforeseen things happen, such as getting lost while hiking a volcano, or my car breaking down in the middle of nowhere in Nicaragua. Or coping with grief when a friend or family member passes away.
The way that I get through struggles is always to try to see things objectively and from a bird’s eye view. Every problem has a solution. Some struggles are more urgent than others, but some of my tips are to journal, ask for help or advice, hire teachers, mentors, and coaches, and to remember that it’s all part of the journey. A problem can change when you shift your perspective.
Although I get frustrated sometimes, I just focus on what I’m grateful for and reflect on what I’ve overcome in the past. I also try to stay calm, resourceful, and logical rather than falling into the drama of the ego or emotion.
I was recently going through old things that were stored at my parent’s house, and I found a lot of old journals and mementos and realized that a lot of the things we worry about never happen and everything works out in the end.
When I moved to Miami in February of 2020, I had no idea that the pandemic was around the corner. But 2.5 years later, I’ve written my first book and become a DJ and music producer who has DJ’d at top venues around town such as Do Not Sit, Treehouse, Le Rouge, and 1-800-Lucky. Writing a book and learning to create music are two of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but to achieve big goals, it’s important to break things down into small tasks and habits you can implement on a daily basis.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My primary job for the past 10 years has been as an international relocation consultant. I help people move to different countries for work, retirement, or quality of life: https://www.orbisrelocation.com/
I have personally traveled to more than 60 countries and have helped 1,000+ people move to 35 countries.
Since 2018, however, I have become more passionate about sharing how to live abroad or become location independent through content creation.
In the past 4-5 years, I have reconnected with my artistic and creative side. I’m now a multi-passionate creative: author, filmmaker, podcaster, and travel host. I’ve been a top writer on Medium and Quora and my first book, Digital Nomads For Dummies, comes out on August 23.
I’m also one of the top 0.1% of photographers on Unsplash: https://unsplash.com/@kristinwilson
My work in total across platforms has been viewed or downloaded more than 50 million times.
One thing I am very proud of is pursuing my love of music. I played my first DJ gig on December 1, 2021 at Treehouse Miami, and have since played 25 times at local an international venues. My goal is to integrate my music career with my travel career since I can DJ and produce music anywhere. I find creating and blending music to be the ultimate form of self-expression and connection with people.
Depending on how people find my content, that’s what they know me for. I think that developing skills in all of these areas is my biggest strength. I’ve always been a jack-of-all-trades and I see that as a good thing. The full saying goes like this: “Jack of all trades, master of none, often times better than master of one.”
In today’s remote, tech-focused economy, it’s important to be a specialized generalist – an expert in more than one field – blending your expertise, passions, hobbies, and personality together. That’s what sets you apart, that’s what makes your work priceless, and that’s what allows you to design your own job.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Many people would say that surfing massive waves in Fiji, solo traveling throughout Central America and Asia, quitting your job to work for yourself, or moving to a country that you’ve never been to before is risky. But my perspective on risk is different.
To me, the biggest risk in life is *not* to take risks. Modern day life can be stressful, but it can also be too comfortable. The biggest risk to me is becoming complacent, not challenging myself, or not continuing to learn and grow.
What’s outside your comfort zone today can become your comfort zone tomorrow with time and action.
Knowing that life is short and fragile motivates me every day to face my fears and do uncomfortable things. The more you live outside your comfort zone, the more your comfort zone grows and the more comfortable you are with the idea of risk.
Rather than only asking yourself what could happen if you took a risk, ask yourself what could happen if you *didn’t* take risks.
99% of what people worry about will never happen. Err on the side of action.
Pricing:
- People can inquire about booking a travel or remote work consulting call with me at travelingwithkristin.com/contact
- $24.95 for my book: https://amzn.to/3AAN4ta
- DJ bookings and inquiries on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristinwilson.dj/
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.travelingwithkristin.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travelingwithkristin/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/digitalnomadsuccess/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/travelingwithkristin
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/kristinwilsondj
- Other: DJ Instagram Account: https://www.instagram.com/kristinwilson.dj/
Podcast: https://badassdigitalnomads.com/
Image Credits
Courtesy Traveling with Kristin The photo of me dj’ing with the green background is by Shyft Studios Miami (permission to use)
