
I was still working as the Education Programs Coordinator at an environmental nonprofit. For the most part, I loved it. I’ll go into why I ended up leaving that job below.
I was also in a relationship that was about to end because I was leaving. That was tough, as we both still cared about each other, but neither of us wanted to do long distance.
And now, I’m writing this from Bansko, Bulgaria, a place I hadn’t even heard about back then.
So, I thought it might be fun to do a little recap of each month in the past year. This is honestly mostly for my purposes as I’m nostalgic AF and love reviewing the past (probably a little too much?).
But ya know, I’m also posting in the hopes that by sharing about my journey it might help others as well.
DECEMBER/JANUARY

I was finishing up at my job and quit mid-January, which gave me about a week to pack and prep to leave. Leaving was TOUGH.
It was a small environmental nonprofit, and to be honest, a really awesome job. I loved my coworkers, bosses, and volunteers. I really enjoyed the tasks that I did for the most part. I felt like I was making a difference and was part of a team. (Want to snag an environmental nonprofit job yourself? I wrote an article about how I landed mine!)
But I HATED living in the Bay Area. I was sick of the traffic, the pay wasn’t enough to allow me to move out of my dad’s place (and trust me, I’d looked A LOT), and I was bored of the California weather (I know, I know, I’m the worst).

And as much as I loved everything I got to do – by the end, I was burnt out. My brain felt like it was going to fall out of my head from trying to juggle so many different things at once. I loved the variety, but at the same time – it was a little too much variety.
I’d go from leading a field trip, to creating some graphics for our newsletter, to writing social media posts, to answering emails and chatting with my boss about an event I was planning next month, to a meeting about writing curriculum for our educational programs. There was just so much to do, not enough time to get it all done, and my brain was constantly spinning trying to keep everything in order.
I had also fallen deep in love with travel. Every chance I got, I was going out of town. I’d either go on a camping road trip with a friend, visit my boyfriend 2 hours away, or fly somewhere when I found cheap tickets. I used all 3 weeks of my vacation time, which is basically unheard of in the US lol.
And in the spare time I had, I was also working on this blog. I was trying to keep up with writing posts and starting to scratch the surface of SEO. So, the burnout was probably my fault, too – I definitely wasn’t giving myself enough downtime.

And luckily, I had a friend who also wanted OUT of the Bay Area as much as I did. We decided we would set off for Europe together; I heard about this thing called house sitting; we made a profile and booked our first sit within a couple weeks. Once we knew it was real, we bought one way plane tickets to London for $190 each (no one wants to go to London in January, lol). I found a job teaching English online, my plan to supplement my travels.
So then I just had to tell my job. I agonized about it for the next couple weeks. I tried to tell my boss about 358573 times but something kept happening that pulled her away just before I could spit out the words. I was finally able to tell her one day as she was leaving, and to my surprise, she was absolutely STOKED for me. We told the rest of the team and our volunteers later that week, and no one called me a selfish and horrible person, the worst case scenario scenes that my brain had played over and over.
So then, the fun began. And by fun, I mean packing!!!! This is a joke because it was way harder than it sounds and really no fun at all. Each time I move, I’m always so surprised by how much crap I’ve accumulated. I gave a LOT away and stuffed what was left into several boxes that I left in my mom’s garage.

I met my friend (thankful she was going with me, otherwise I would’ve been a total mess…) and we walked into the airport together. She was also leaving someone she was dating behind, so it was nice that we were in the same boat.

For her, the 3-month trip was a vacation, but for me, it was a ‘test run’ to see how whether or not I liked digital nomad life. To say that I was terrified is an understatement, as I didn’t really have a back up plan in the case that I hated it. And, even though it felt right, I was secretly freaking out that I’d made the wrong choice to leave my job to teach English online.

And luckily, after that, everything was pretty much perfect. Our hosts were so cool and kind, the dog we house sat for was adorable, the house was beautiful, and we just had a really nice, peaceful first week. We were both still in a bit of a funk, but having each other really helped.
FEBRUARY

We both loved Switzerland, (my wallet didn’t), and saw quite a bit of the country thanks to a promotion on train tickets that our hosts knew about (now I love booking private rooms because hosts always have the best hookups…).
Then it was off to Amsterdam to celebrate my friend’s birthday! Of course we had quite a bit of fun there (probably too much…) and stuffed ourselves with stroopwafels, one of my favorite European foods.



We had an AirBnb booked in Bergen for a week. Our AirBnb had really nice views even though it was the size of a shoebox. I started running again and it was fun charging up the hills. The views were amazing. We hiked Ulriken and Fløyen. We went on a fjord cruise which is probably still one of the most magical days of my life.

We were both pretty ready to leave Bergen at the end of that week, and headed to Stavanger in southern Norway for our second house sit with two pugs.

MARCH

That ended up being a really fun time. I met someone, we started dating, and then made friends with his friends and had so much fun.

I was really bummed when we had to leave and go to our next house sit in Berlin. I’d been to Berlin before and hadn’t liked it, but was willing to give it a second chance since we’d found the sit and my friend really wanted to go.

APRIL


That was just a really, really good month.
MAY

That was a very busy month, and quite a sleepless one – teaching hours in California are quite different from those in Europe, so I was having to wake up between 2 and 4AM in order to continue with it. Although I’d finish around 6-7AM, I find it really hard to fall back asleep after being up, so I wasn’t getting much sleep each night. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t able to do it the whole month. I think I ended up doing it for about 2 weeks.
It was nice to see friends again, and I stayed at my cousin’s house place in San Jose for a week while her boyfriend was out of town. That was really, really fun as we’re around the same age and have always been pretty close.

We did a mix of staying with my family and camping. We found a lot of free campsites all around California!
I also found my next house sit during that time – I was a little anxious as it was a pretty short turnaround – but I was heading to the UK!
JUNE

I ended up really really bonding with their cat, and was so, so sad to leave. She would constantly cuddle with me and was basically a dog in a cat’s body.
I’m not going to lie, though, I was pretty lonely during that time. There were definitely lots of “what have I done???” moments. Luckily teaching was keeping me busy, and I was working on my blog again, but I really missed having someone to have dinner with at the end of the day.
I kid you not, the cat became my best friend. I still think about her!
JULY

I was much better at packing for Europe in winter during my first three months of nomad life…
My time in Saltburn-by-the-Sea left me with a funny feeling. I had always thought that as long as I was somewhere beautiful, I didn’t need people so much. Well, I was totally wrong.
Saltburn-by-the-Sea WAS gorgeous, though. It’s a small seaside town, and although I was actually house sitting in the next town over Skelton-in-Cleveland, Saltburn was just a 40 minute walk or 15 minute bus ride away. Skelton was small and charming, and to get to Saltburn you could walk through these really pretty woods.

I was literally starved for human interaction during that time. I was house sitting for 4 cats and they were all sweet, but only one of them liked to cuddle, and very rarely at that. They were all pretty independent and often gone most of the day. I was really missing the cat I’d looked after in Welling that seemed to really enjoy my attention.
I would literally go to a cafe to work after finishing teaching and try and talk as much as I could with the owners. I reached out to anyone I’d ever said a single sentence to just to have someone to talk to LOL.

I was productive AF during my time in Saltburn, though! I worked A LOT on my blog, and teaching REALLY started to pick up then since the kids were out of school, giving me almost full time hours. I taught almost every single day since I didn’t have anything else to do, lol.
I also got to do some awesome day trips to surrounding towns like Staithes, Robin Hood’s Bay, and Whitby, and returned to York where I’d studied abroad 4 years prior. Those were certainly highlights!
However, I was really really happy to leave when that time came.
AUGUST


I ended up finding an awesome house sit right in the center of a really cool area in Hamburg, Sternschanze. The apartment itself was beautiful and on the top floor with a nice view, and I was house sitting for two cuddly cats that I ended up falling in love with.
SEPTEMBER


I found a local organic grocery store that I liked going to. I tried out working at different cafes.
It was the longest I’d stayed in one spot, so I basically just settled in and got used to having a ‘home’. I really loved it!
OCTOBER


I did more cool day trips after she left, and just really enjoyed my time there. I hosted a meetup for VIP Kid teachers (only one came, but it was still really fun to do!). I fell more in love with the cats I was house sitting for (although I did have to take one on an emergency vet visit – that was stressful!). I celebrated Halloween at my German friend’s friend’s house and dressed up like a pop star alien.
NOVEMBER

Thailand was totally different than anything I’ve ever experienced. It was beautiful, that’s for sure, and I loved all the fresh fruits and the FOOD. I only really had one bad meal there and it was totally my fault (I was craving a veggie burger and ordered one in a traditional Thai restaurant – hands down worst meal of my entire life, no joke).

But other than that, I didn’t really love my time in Thailand if I’m being 100% honest.
I learned that I do not really like hot and humid weather for long periods of time. I was also SUPER paranoid about dengue. Mosquitoes love me, and I hate wearing repellant, so instead I’d just cover up from head to toe when I went outside. This kinda sucked because it was pretty hot already, so I was just a giant sweatball most of the time.

We also booked a lot of things last minute which was a little stressful. So that’s totally our fault. But regardless, I just wasn’t my happiest self during that trip.

I also got a teeth cleaning for about 1/3 of the cost of what I would’ve paid in the US so I was stoked on that. I went to DentalBangkok.com and had a great experience, just FYI!
DECEMBER

But before getting on my plane to Germany, I had to show the airline my ticket from Hamburg to Bulgaria! Otherwise, I don’t think they would have let me on the plane considering I only had a few days left before I had to leave the Schengen area.
Hamburg had also begun to feel like a second home at that point, and it was nice to be somewhere familiar after Thailand which felt so UNfamiliar.

I flew to Sofia, spent one night there and then took the bus to Bansko. When I arrived I legitimately almost started to cry – it’s just so beautiful here! The Old Town is gorgeous, the whole town is gorgeous, and the view of the mountains is AMAZING. I still pinch myself that I get to live here.

Update: I ended up staying until my 90 days were almost up – until the beginning of March!

I hope you enjoyed this very lengthy recap – I was originally just planning to do bullet points of all the places I’d been, but then…I just started writing and felt I had to just word vomit my entire experience! It was pretty cathartic tbh. Kudos to you if you made it through.

MY YEAR @ A GLANCE
- Last few weeks of work in California
- 1 week Glasgow, Scotland (house sitting a dog)
- 1 week in Basel, Switzerland in an AirBnb
- Weekend in Amsterdam in an AirBnb
- Several days in Prague in an AirBnb
- 1 week in Bergen, Norway in an AirBnb
- 1 week in Stavanger, Norway (house sitting 2 dogs)
- 2.5 weeks in Hamburg, Germany (house sitting 2 cats)
- 10 days in Berlin, Germany (house sitting a dog & cat)
- 1.5 months in Hamburg, Germany – did 1 more house sit (10 days), AirBnbs, and stayed with friends
- 1 month at home in California (2 weeks at home, 2 weeks road tripping)
- 2 weeks near London, England (house sitting 1 cat)
- 1 month in Saltburn-by-the-Sea, England (house sitting 4 cats)
- 1 week in Chichester, England (house sitting 1 cat)
- 2 days in London, England (house sitting 2 cats)
- 3 months in Hamburg, Germany (house sitting 2 cats + 1 snake)
- 1 month traveling around Thailand (staying in guest houses & 1 week house sit in Bangkok with 2 cats)
- 2 weeks in Bansko, Bulgaria (in my very own apartment (!!!!); I’ll stay for the full 3 months I’m allowed)
What an exciting year you had! I can only imagine how tough it was to make the decision to go but I think it’s awesome that you did despite the tough days abroad! Love following your journey! 😁
Thanks so much, Vanessa! And yes, it was tough at the beginning, but so worth it now. 🙂
This is sooo inspiring, Kelsey! Thanks for the motivational boost for the rest of us! ❤️
Thank you so much! I’m glad you thought so. 🙂 Thank you for reading!
This is so awesome! I haven’t heard of house sitting before. Is there a certain website or app you use to find house sitting opportunities? I’d love to know more about it! 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
Yes, I use Trusted Housesitters! I also tried Mind My House because it has a lower yearly fee ($20 per year instead of Trusted Housesitters’ $119 per year) but had more luck with Trusted Housesitters. So, I didn’t renew my membership for Mind My House but did for TH. It’s worth it to me because I’ve saved so much using it!
Feel free to contact me via email or Instagram if you have any other questions 🙂
Your year sounds crazy and amazing. You’ve definitely left your comfort zone and it sounds like your rockin’ it.
I’m glad you think so! Yes, I sure did. But now it’s becoming comfortable again, haha. Funny how that works!
From horrible commuting to a life of adventure… what and amazing jump! Congrats on making the decision! Seems like it was the best thing you could have done. If your house sitting brings you to Croatia, reach out, I’m sure we have plenty of stories to share 🙂
Yes, totally! I hated that commute haha. And yes, it ultimately was even though it was quite difficult at the time. Aw I definitely will – Croatia is on my list!! I’ve been dying to go forever.
Congrats on your first year as a digital nomad! What a scary leap, but it sounds like it was well worth it!
Thank you! Yes, it definitely was 🙂