Spoiler alert: I'm not rich. I'm not retired. And I'm currently writing this from Portugal.
So, is becoming a digital nomad actually possible?
Yes. For some people, absolutely. But whether it's realistic for you depends on your work, finances, responsibilities, and willingness to make some pretty significant changes.
And no, you don't need to be a 25-year-old tech entrepreneur making six figures while sipping smoothies in Bali.
I'm 41. I'm Canadian. I'm not rich. And I currently live wherever the fuck I go. 😂
I manifested this life.
But it didn't start with a vision board, a manifestation ritual, or some magical fucking frequency.
It started with a love of remote work, a whole lot of life changes, and, at one point, a very strong desire to stay home in my blankets.
My Love Affair With Remote Work Started Long Before the Pandemic
Back in my early 20s, I worked as a summer student for a telephone company while I was in university.
One year, they let me work remotely.
Why?
Because my boss told me I accomplished more in two hours than most people did in an eight-hour shift.
Well, alright then. 😂
I LOVED the flexibility.
But eventually that job ended, life moved along, and I went back to working in person.
Fast-forward to the pandemic.
My in-person job at family court moved online, and suddenly I was reminded how much I'd missed working remotely.
Around the same time, an opportunity came along to facilitate self-esteem workshops for women at a women's centre.
So there I was, working as an employee while building a side business.
And let me tell you something about that version of me.
I was over 300 pounds, living with significant physical pain, drinking wine and using cannabis edibles to numb some of what I was experiencing.
I wasn't dreaming about hiking mountains or exploring the world.
I wanted to stay home.
With my blankets.
And my snacks.
And my cozy little setup where I didn't have to go anywhere. 😂
But as the pandemic went on, I remember telling a colleague that I didn't want to return to working in person.
And somewhere in that conversation, I said something like:
"How cool would it be to just sit in cafés anywhere in the world and work?"
Well.
WOULD YOU FUCKING LOOK AT THAT. 😂
Because now I do.
Back then, I barely knew anything about the technology and systems I now use in my business.
Today, I support clients with technology, systems, and operations through the remote business I've spent years building.
I travelled here and there while growing that business. Then, at the end of January 2026, I gave up my apartment.
No fixed home.
Just me, my work, my routines, and a whole lot of figuring shit out.
What Does Being a Digital Nomad Actually Mean?
A digital nomad is someone who works remotely while living or travelling in different locations.
Some have permanent homes. Some travel for a few months each year. Others, like me, live without a fixed address.
But here's something worth understanding.
Being a digital nomad isn't the same as being on vacation.
I still work, buy groceries, do laundry, go to the gym, pay bills, and occasionally have a complete brain meltdown trying to understand rental car insurance in another country.
It's regular life happening somewhere different.
And sometimes that regular life involves wondering what the actual fuck you've gotten yourself into. 😂
I Got Rid of Almost Everything I Own. But Somehow, I Still Have a Home Everywhere.
When I gave up my apartment, I found new homes for practically everything I owned.
This past summer, I stayed with family and friends back in Ontario.
And everywhere I went?
Oh look! There's my bookshelf.
There's my couch.
My baskets!
My desk and chair. My lamp. My old bedroom set.
I basically get to visit my old furniture at other people's houses. 😂
But I love it.
These familiar pieces of my life are now part of theirs. And when I visit, I feel comfortable. Familiar. Regulated.
I feel at home.
And I also know I can leave whenever I want.
I can get in my car. I can get on a plane. I can go somewhere completely different.
I haven't lost my sense of home. I've changed my relationship with what home means to me.
And when I'm travelling, I bring the things that help me work and feel comfortable.
My laptops. My equipment. My routines. My cozy clothes.
Apparently 40 kilograms' worth. 😂
I didn't give up comfort to have freedom. I'm figuring out how to have both.
Do You Have to Be Rich to Become a Digital Nomad?
No. But you do need to understand your finances. Ish lol…
I'm self-employed, providing remote administrative, operational, and program support to organizations.
I still have deadlines, expenses, and responsibilities.
Depending on your circumstances, living somewhere else might mean replacing some of your existing living expenses rather than adding an entire vacation budget.
But flights, accommodation, transportation, insurance, taxes, and unexpected costs are real.
And so are mortgages, children, caregiving responsibilities, health considerations, and employment restrictions.
You also need work that can travel with you. That might be remote employment, freelancing, consulting, or running a business. And being able to work online doesn't automatically mean you're legally permitted to work from another country.
I'm not going to pretend everyone can just sell their shit and hop on a plane.
That's bullshit.
But I do wonder how many people have never explored the possibility because they've already decided they can't.
Is Digital Nomad Life Stressful?
Oh, for fuck's sake. YES. 😂
On a recent travel day, an airline weighed my carry-on luggage.
Something they'd NEVER done to me before.
TWENTY KILOGRAMS.
I panicked.
Next thing you know, I'm THAT woman on the airport floor, frantically rearranging her belongings between bags.
My checked bag? Also 20 kilograms.
Apparently, I've gotten rid of an entire household and still need 40 fucking kilograms of stuff to function.
And don't even get me started on the rental car insurance adventure.
Different companies. Different coverage options. Different explanations.
Red face. Information overload. Brain officially DONE.
But neither experience means I made a mistake becoming a digital nomad.
It means I'm navigating unfamiliar situations, learning what works, and figuring out what I might do differently next time.
The life I've manifested still comes with problems. They're just different problems.
And sometimes an annoying airport experience is just an annoying airport experience.
Not everything needs to become a profound fucking life lesson. 😂
Can You Really Manifest a Digital Nomad Life?
Well, I did.
But looking back, three things stand out.
1. I didn't have some perfect vision of my future.
My original motivation for working remotely during the pandemic was comfort and pain management.
I wanted my blankets and snacks.
But as my circumstances changed, so did the possibilities I could imagine for myself.
2. I wasn't already equipped to do what I'm doing now.
I didn't start with all the skills, confidence, knowledge, or resources I needed.
I developed them over years.
Through opportunities, experiences, mistakes, curiosity, and figuring shit out.
You don't necessarily need to know how to do everything before you start exploring something different.
3. I manifested something while my life was messy.
And THIS is the part I really want people to understand.
I wasn't always healthy.
I wasn't always happy.
And I certainly wasn't always confident.
In fact, during the pandemic, I was facilitating self-esteem workshops for women while still working on my own self-esteem.
And I told them that.
My workshops were always honest. I wasn't in those Zoom meetings pretending I'd mastered confidence and was there to hand out the answers.
I used to tell the women that if anyone claimed to have everything figured out, they were full of shit. 😂
We're all still learning. And there's always more to learn.
Meanwhile, I was navigating pain, addictive behaviours, uncertainty, and significant changes.
And yet, I was building a business. Developing skills. Recognizing opportunities. Making decisions. Taking risks. Learning what I wanted, what I did not want.
I didn't have to become a perfectly healed, confident, positive, high-vibe version of myself before I could start creating something different.
And I didn't need to have everything figured out before I could support someone else.
You can still be working on yourself while you're building something wonderful (or unknown) for yourself.
Manifesting Without the Bullshit
This is exactly why I created Aim & Align — Manifesting Without the BS.
Because I have HAD IT with the gimmicks.
Think positive thoughts 24/7.
Raise your vibration.
Be in this frequency.
Act as if you already have everything you want.
Follow 47 steps.
And whatever you do, don't have a negative thought or you'll apparently fuck up your entire future.
COME ON. 😂
I'm not interested in selling you the idea that your thoughts magically control everything that happens in your life.
I'm interested in what happens when you get curious, recognize possibilities, make choices, and participate in creating change.
That's what my 11 Aim & Align symbols help me put language to.
Not a formula I followed to get here. A language I created to help explain how I got here.
And I'm using that language to share my experiences so you can explore what it might mean for your own life.
So, Is Becoming a Digital Nomad Actually Possible for You?
Maybe!
And I think that's worth exploring.
Maybe you want to spend a month somewhere warm every winter.
Maybe you want to work remotely while exploring different countries.
Maybe you want more freedom in your schedule.
Or maybe you love having a permanent home and simply want to travel more.
You don't have to want my life.
But I do think you deserve to get curious about the one you want.
Sometimes the barriers are assumptions we've never questioned. Other times they're real financial, practical, or personal constraints that require time, resources, and support.
Both can be true.
You don't have to know HOW something is going to happen before you're allowed to wonder whether it's possible.
Okay, But HOW Did I Manifest My Digital Nomad Life?
Ahhhhh. Now we're getting to the good shit. 😂
Because there's a whole lot more behind how I got here.
I'm creating How I Manifested My Digital Nomad Life, a digital guide where I'll unpack my actual journey using the 11 symbols of Aim & Align.
The choices. The opportunities. The uncomfortable changes. The risks. The mistakes. And the things I learned along the way.
Plus questions to help you explore what's possible in your own circumstances.
Now, I've seen manifesting programs and courses advertised for everything from $65 to $6,500.
Mine?
Five fucking dollars. 😂
Not because my experiences have no value.
But because I believe wellness, self-development, and opportunities to explore your life should be more accessible.
And because I'm building something much bigger.
It's called Wellness Me Up.
I'm manifesting a wellness platform designed to make support more accessible and connect people with coaches and wellness practitioners around the world.
I've already started the podcast, having real conversations about the messy, beautiful business of being human.
And now I'm working toward bringing the bigger platform to life.
That takes participation.
It takes resources.
And yes, it takes money.
So when you grab one of my $5 guides, you're getting a look at how I've manifested changes in my life while also helping me bring another big, batshit-amazing idea into the world.
And I'm bringing you along to watch how I do that, too.
No magical promises. No guaranteed outcomes. No pretending I have everything figured out.
Just a woman on the internet who's manifested some pretty incredible changes, is still figuring shit out, and wants to show you how she's participating in what comes next.
How I Manifested My Digital Nomad Life — coming soon to The $5 Bin.
In the meantime, explore my free Meet the Symbols guide and get acquainted with the language behind Aim & Align.
Because manifesting isn't magic.
Participation is.
