For our very first ‘5 questions with…’ we caught up with Thalassa, a.k.a The Travelling Freelancer.
After coming across Thalassa’s Instagram and seeing she was working remotely, in very beautiful locations, we had to reach out to her and discover more about her and her journey…so far.
Visit Thalssa’s website for insightful travel tales and tips.
1. When did you decide to turn your life to travel?
I always knew that someday I wanted to live abroad. However, I made the real decision at the end of last year/beginning this year. I was living in a beautiful house with the perfect boyfriend, had a good job, but I still wasn’t happy. I felt like I was living this perfect life, but ‘perfect’ for someone else, not for me. I wanted to break free from the city I was born and raised in! So I broke up my relationship and started freelancing, picking my clients with remote working possibilities.
2. What does travel give you that everyday life doesn’t?
For me personally, it gives me a certain calmness. Back home, I can stress about things that really don’t matter all that much, but when I travel, I seem to worry a lot less. In addition to that, I like how it teaches you so many things you simply don’t learn at school. It teaches you to be kind and open-minded, not judgmental, but it also learns me to stick up for myself and it allows me to follow my heart.
3. What is your best tip for someone wanting to pack in their 9-5 and turn their life to travel?
I changed my full-time office job for a part time waitress job, so that I was sure I made a bit of money, and had the time to start up my freelance business. After six months, the freelancing was going well enough to quit the waitress job altogether. I might have been able to freelance full-time from the start, but this way gave me some piece of mind. Also, the thing that allowed me to do this, was to organise my work in a way that would allow me to travel. All my clients are foreigners, so all our communication is online, and therefore it doesn’t matter to them whether I work from my home country or a tropical island.
4. What do you wish you knew at the start of your travels that you know now?
‘It’s really much easier and much less scary than you think at first.’
5. How do you build a social life outside of work when in a foreign country?
So far, I have found it incredibly easy. Maybe that’s because I’m a girl, but I think even for guys it’s just easier to meet people when you’re alone. I meet people in hostels, coworking places, or even just sitting alone on a terrace or in a park. Don’t be afraid of starting conversations and don’t be afraid of strangers… as my friend Niah Taylor says, strangers are just friends you haven’t met yet :).
Thalassa
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- 5 Questions with… The Travelling Freelancer - 22nd August 2016