When You Trade Comfort for Curiosity
What happens when a freelance writer gives in to wanderlust and leaps into a new life overseas?
When my friend Jen Adams first told me how she’d packed up her laptop and moved to Ecuador, I knew she was in for an adventure… but I never could have guessed how much that leap would change her life—and her writing—for the better. (Think romance… money… confidence!)
What I love about Jen’s story is how real it is. She didn’t move abroad chasing a fantasy. She simply followed her curiosity, trusted her instincts, and found a version of the writer’s life that was fuller, freer, and way more fun than she imagined.
Reading her experiences reminds me that sometimes the biggest growth comes from taking the wild, scary leap just for the fun of seeing where it lands you.
And also that paid writing is one of the best ways to support that leap.🪂
To the adventures writing can bring,
Mindy
There and Back Again
By Jen Adams
You can’t just walk into a writer’s life abroad. You have to leap ...
Now, some will say it’s a leap of faith in a new adventure. Others will insist you’ve thrown yourself off a cliff. But after three years freelancing in Ecuador, I’ve found there’s a lot to be said for jumping in with both feet.
In fact, relocating overseas turned out to be one of the best things I ever did for my career. It gave me space to grow my skills. It let me embrace my creative nature. And, it gave me more financial freedom than I’d had in a long time.
Growing by Going
I started my overseas life very hesitantly. Now, I laugh at how scared I was — certain all my clients would leave me and I’d ruin my career. Thank goodness my wanderlust won out!
My travels helped me grow as a writer — and, cheesy though it sounds, it made me a better person. At least my clients seemed to think so … the feedback they were giving me was that my writing was clearer and my perspective seemed sharper.
I credit it to breaking out of old patterns and getting more “brain space” by leaving behind the 24-hour news cycle and go-go-go American way. Ecuador was a lot more laid back, giving me time to think, reflect, and learn from my experiences.
And boy, was I having a lot of new experiences. In my first six months in Ecuador, I helped launch two new restaurants, investigated a murder with the police, and met the love of my life. I ate foods I’d never heard of before and met people from all over the globe … many of whom were fascinated that I was a writer and gave me great stories to share.
Tapping into the Creative Side
All the stimulation of a new environment opened up my creative side. I’d be walking around the city and get dozens of ideas for new headlines, promotions, or email copy. While I know it’s not true for everyone, being abroad made me feel positively on fire with new ideas.
Clients loved it! Plus, since I was drawing many of my ideas from a different culture and connecting it back to U.S. work, my proposals felt “fresh” and my clients felt I was helping them stand out in the marketplace.
Reaping the Rewards
All the freshness, enthusiasm, and space to actually do good writing turned my big risk of going abroad into something very financially rewarding. Plus, since Ecuador was much cheaper than my U.S. life, I got to pocket more of my earnings.
It sounds like a fairy tale dream. You move to some exotic locale and get rich … that’s the movie script version, right? But it was reality on the ground in Ecuador.
It’s a nice-but-cheap country in South America about the size of Colorado. I rented an apartment through a site online for $450 a month, all utilities included. Later, I moved to a brand-new place, 3-bed, two bath, with a view of downtown that only cost $350 (plus $50 for Internet service).
I could hit that number with a single project, making the rest of the month pure profit. And while I wasn’t exactly turning into a millionaire, I was definitely able to live rich. I got twice-weekly maid service ($20), ate most meals out, and took a lot of time off for fun, travel, and friends. It’s easily the most relaxed and most social I’ve ever been able to be while still building my savings account balance!
It seems like a small thing, but being able to relax about money and focus on writing for a few years really was a priceless gift. Plus, for anyone out there saying, “Oh, I could never … ” to the idea of an international adventure, I’ll just share this: Objections from my family and friends to my adventures died off once they saw I could pay my bills, afford to visit, and host them in style whenever they came down to see me.
By the time I decided to come back to the States, they were encouraging me to stay longer. And since my clients didn’t care where I did my work, why move? Well, my writer’s life was changing … and as the CEO of my own life, I wanted to spend a few years in the U.S. building on my momentum from overseas.
Will You Take the Leap?
Is moving overseas right for you? Maybe, maybe not. Everyone’s journey is different. But the best part of the writer’s life to me is that there truly is no one path to success and no failure along the way … only experiments, adventures, and the next chapter up ahead. You can go … come back … leave again … or never stop moving.
It’s all up to you. Test your limits with an extended vacation. Break out of old patterns and explore new situations. Make your own leap, and you might just be surprised at how much you love it.
Have you followed the desire to write and live abroad? If not yet, where would you like to go? I’d love to hear about it!