My Journey to Nomad: Part 1

It was only 6 years ago that I was sitting in a cubicle in Manhattan Financial District, looking out the window at the ships passing by on the Hudson, and dreaming of one of those ships taking me far, far away. 

I was never cut out for the office. But I didn’t know how to escape. This was pre-covid and remote work still seemed reserved for the select few with non-traditional jobs. As someone who had gone to business school I thought an office job, and business casual, was the only option for me. I felt stuck in my own life. I coped, as most New Yorkers do, by binge drinking and partying my non-working hours away. I wasn’t healthy, or happy, and I definitely didn’t push up against the walls of the box I was in to see if I could make them budge. I didn’t even see the box. I felt it, but I didn’t know what it was. I didn’t realize it was a construct of my mind. I was a prisoner at will. 

At this point, I, like most good Americans, had barely travelled out of the states. I’d been to nearly all of the 50 States as a kid (thanks Dad!) and had made the usual trip to Niagra Falls, Canada and a few cruises to the Caribean, but I’d probably been to a total of 5 countries outside of the US. 

But I’d always had the wanderlust bug. I think I was born with it - pretty sure it’s in my blood. It’s the reason I moved from Indiana to NYC at the age of 30. And it’s the reason that at the age of 32 I decided to go to Europe solo. My first real solo trip because I’d just ended a long-term relationship, and none of my friends could take the time of work or afford to go with me. So, I made the decision to go it alone, to stay at hostels for the first time, and to visit a whopping 4 countries in just 14 days (like a good American) 

This trip changed my life. I didn’t know it at the time, but it planted a seed that bloomed into my life today. A life I could only dream of 6 years ago. Back then, I couldn’t even IMAGINE some aspects of the life I have now. It wasn’t even a figment of my imagination, and if it had been it would have felt so far out of reach.  The seed of my future started out small, but it sprouted some deep roots and it’s never stopped growing. 

On my trip to Europe I visited London, Paris, Barcelona and Dublin (again, like a good American) and I unexpectedly fell head over heels in love with Paris (see my French journals). 

Now this next part is still a mystery to me. About a year after I got back from my Europe trip, I started planning in earnest to move to France and complete an MBA program there. I don’t know when or how I got this idea, but I know the seed must have been planted during my trip to Paris. I was in a career rut, and a life rut in general, and I felt the most drastic and efficient way to make a career change and a life change would be to pursue an MBA in Europe. And it turned out, I was so right. 

Making that leap was one of the most difficult and exciting times of my life. I spent a year planning obsessively, researching the best MBA programs in Europe and specifically France, and then preparing my applications and studying for the GMAT. I worked two jobs in order to save as much as possible to spend a year unemployed while focusing on my studies. I stopped partying and became a hermit for 6 months to focus 100% on working, studying and applications. 

It was the first time I’d really focused on a goal that was so outside of my comfort zone, outside of my realm of knowledge. I’d always been driven, but this the biggest risk I’d ever taken.  I didn’t know anyone who had done an MBA in Europe, or even moved to Europe, and so I had no point of reference or mentor. Many people thought I was crazy for doing an MBA outside of the US (although some people thought it was exciting). I was in it alone. And I was obsessive. And I was relentless. And that relentless obsession is what got me to the starting point of the greatest chapter of my so far life, at 34 years old. 

I want to stop there to share the most important nugget I’ve gleaned from my experiences so far, that I hope will encourage someone out there who has questioned if it’s too late for them to start over.

It’s never too late to start fresh. It’s never to late to become a better version of you. It’s never too late to pursue the career, the relationships, the health, the passions, the life that you’ve dreamed of. Or, if you don’t know what it is you dream of, to go on a wild adventure in pursuit of a dream. 

My best life started at 34, and it’s just gotten better from there. And every time I question if I’m “too old” to do something, or if it’s “too late” to start, or if it’s “too big” of a goal,  I try anyways and always prove myself wrong. But more on that later. 

To be continued in My Journey to Nomad: Part 2.