Meet Jamie.
Hi, I’m Jamie. I am 28 years old, german and recently started life as a digital nomad. Previously I worked in an advertising agency in Vienna as a Graphic Designer but the atmosphere of the field didn’t suit me. I love taking pictures and editing them, go for long walks, do yoga, eat healthily and also very unhealthy, am addicted to way too many tv shows and just try to figure out how to live a happy life.
What inspired/inspires you to travel?
I’m mostly inspired by my wish to see the world and change myself while doing it. Character-wise I am way more pessimistic and scared than I want to be. I’m insecure in a lot of moments and have let a lot of opportunities slip by me. Travelling helps me actively change those things. I am traveling to live in the moment and to not worry about the future, society or my own issues. I travel so I can feel empowered about my choices and my own life.
Where is your favorite destination to date?
I think it was the city of Jogjakarta ( also referred to as Yogyakarta) in Indonesia. All of Indonesia was pretty special to me because of the people who I met and the experiences that I had. But Jogjakarta has so much to offer even though it looks so ugly and raw. It is my favorite city so far for sure. For experiencing nature my favorite place to travel is the Low Tatras in Slovakia.
How do you prefer to travel? Solo or With a group? Why?
I have to admit that I really hate to travel in groups. Three people can already be too many. There are so many differences, needs, problems. Everything goes too slow for my taste. I’m sure there can be different outcomes with different people. But so far I enjoyed the most traveling with one person. When I went to Asia in 2015 I traveled with a stranger, we met online and decided to go on this trip together. That was the best experience I ever had in my life. We grew so close as friends that we got a tattoo together on our last night – in Jogjakarta btw 😉
Do you think there is a difference traveling as a woman?
Of course. I am traveling with my boyfriend at the moment and he can a lot of times not understand at all why I don’t want to go alone to certain places or why I have troubles with going for a run next to the street because every second car is honking at me. I am aware that a lot of insecurities that I have are coming from my own experiences and I’m trying to work on them. But for me, it is a fact that women traveling alone are not as free in certain areas as men are.
How do you plan your trips?
Ha, this is a good question. I love to just wing it. When I traveled Asia I had a very rough outline of places that I wanted to go to and then we just saw how we would get around. This kind of non-organized travel can also have some downsides (higher prices for last-minute bookings, no empty rooms in hostels, searching for everything longer) but it gave me so many adventures in the past that I’m still a huge fan. At the moment I am traveling way more organized because my boyfriend likes to take care of things way up ahead. That can be nice as well but I don’t like to live by a schedule. Maybe I’ll grow into it some more 😉
When is your next one?
Doing it right now. I have been in Romania last month, now in Bulgaria. Until Christmas, I plan to see Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia, and Montenegro.
Any advice you would like to give to your fellow travelers?
Pack everything that you feel you absolutely need. Then wait for two days and check your stuff again. Take out half of the clothes again and over think that moskitonet/knife/sandals/extra lens very carefully. You’ll have to carry it around and I guarantee you that after your trip you will not have used some of the things you thought you desperately needed 😉 Also for women travelers: Use the menstruation cups! 😉
Want to know more about Jamie?
She Went Wear 