Hi, I’m Elisabeth and I’m a digital nomad who travels around the world solo while working as a marketing and content manager for a company that is educating adults about environmental and humanitarian issues.

Where are you from?

When people ask me where I’m from these days I tend to get somewhat culturally confused, but I was born and brought up in Sweden. I then moved to England to escape the relentless Scandinavian winter (yes, I hear the irony!) and because London is like the whole world in micro-format.

What do you do for a living?

I currently work as Marketing & Content Manager at Global Nomadic, which is a career enhancement company matching young people with meaningful internship projects all over the world. We also try to work a little magic; influencing and educating young adults (and older ones too!) about environmental and humanitarian issues. It’s my version of saving the world. When I take a break, my personal world mostly revolves around food, yoga and making travel plans.

What if I wanted to do what you do? What skill sets would I require?

I actually spent most of my professional life prior to this job working in television, so becoming a digital marketer was quite a change! At the same time, I had a background in search optimisation and writing so that helped a lot.

It’s an industry that changes extremely quickly so a good tip is to always keep educating yourself, using the many free resources available online. Sometimes I feel there is too much information, which is definitely a challenge!

When I first started I spent countless hours reading blogs and tutorials from places like Moz, Hubspot, Social Media Examiner and the lot. There really are so many educational tools out there the only issue is finding the time!

How did you decide that you were going to be a digital nomad?

I’ve been nomading since 2012, which is when I started working at Global Nomadic. I had met my now business partner literally on the other side of the world a few years before when I was long-term backpacking and he was starting up the company. When we both found ourselves back in London, our paths crossed again and we started working together. I suddenly found myself with the freedom to live and work from anywhere so I decided to finally find some real sunshine in Thailand, which also allowed me to travel around and visit the many projects we work with.

What has been your best experience as a digital nomad so far?

This is a hard one, there are so many! Apart from being able to start my working day while still in my PJs, the best experiences in my digital nomad life are really the little things in everyday life, things that are easy to take for granted but which I try to be grateful for on a daily basis. For me that definitely includes not having to deal with snow, chasing sunsets across the world and the fact that no day need ever be the same.

I used to be quite a stressed-out person, but even though I probably work harder now than I ever have, I am much more relaxed and the only time I run now is along the beach for exercise. We spend so much of our time rushing to get to the next moment that sometimes we forget that life is made up of all those moments in between too.

What about the downsides of being a digital nomad?

The downside to not having a set schedule is that it’s sometimes hard to shut down your ‘work-mode’ and regardless of what you do, you need a break from it every now and then. And of course, when you are travelling it’s an eternal struggle to find a place with fast WiFi and a power outlet! I think these are the top two things every digital nomad struggles with!

Have you encountered any problems with safety while traveling?

I’m not sure if I’ve come across safety issues as a nomad specifically being a woman (I did when I was just backpacking) but unfortunately just travelling puts you at risk.

I was recently mugged in Cambodia, which was a horribly infuriating experience, particularly because I thought myself so world-wise, but a moment’s carelessness is all it takes.

I think being a solo woman travelling you do have to be more careful than men, but that is true even if you are not travelling, it’s an unfortunate aspect of the world we live in. I’ve never felt unsafe though, just a bit exasperated when trying to explain for the millionth time that yes, I am a woman, single and I travel alone and that’s ok.

Any tips for aspiring women digital nomads?

Be prepared to work very hard! Think about what aspects in life are most important to you and try to keep them in your new nomadic life. Some nomads travel relentlessly, but I prefer to stay longer in one place and build a little temporary home there. Then I move on and do the same thing in the next place. Having a pleasant place to wind down in at the end of the day is important to me so I try and incorporate that wherever I go. That and my Aeropress.

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