Welcome!
Hey there, and welcome to The Nurse Abroad!
I’m Lindsay a travel nurse originally from the United States but currently living abroad in Central America. I started this blog as a way to foster community and share the stories of nurses traveling and living abroad.
I’m so happy that you’re here!
My Journey Into Travel Nursing
It’s funny, I got into nursing because I wanted to do global health work. Instead, I found myself working the night shift in a hospital and experiencing severe symptoms of burnout. Less than 2 years into my nursing career, I desperately needed a vacation and I decided to take a solo trip abroad.
That trip renewed a fire in me. I remembered my love for traveling, exploring the world, and learning new languages. I became determined that I would make a change in my life that would allow me to start traveling. Oh, and on that trip, I also met a guy I knew I wanted to spend more time with, because he was awesome!
I quit my staff nursing job and accepted my first assignment as a travel nurse. I started saving money and paying down debt. I sold my condo and simplified my life so that I was essentially living out of belongings that could fit into two suitcases. Ari and I got married, and I began thinking very seriously about picking my life up and moving abroad.
It was really really hard living apart from Ari and I was burnt out continuing to work as a nurse with a limited support system. My health problems were stacking up and almost every day I experienced anxiety, chest pain, and heart palpitations. I had almost no energy for basic tasks like cleaning or cooking for myself.
Finally, I reached a point where enough was enough. I decided to just do it. I quit my work and began the process of moving abroad.
Moving Abroad
The thing is, I didn’t feel ready to move or change my life so drastically. I still sometimes feel like I’m making it up as I go along. As a staff nurse, I felt secure and safe with my regular paycheck. Deciding to move abroad was like throwing myself off a cliff and into the unknown.
When I arrived here though, I immediately knew I had made the right choice. I barely was having heart palpitations or chest pain and I woke up feeling… happy. This was a totally new feeling for me. I immediately knew that even though I didn’t have the stability of a regular paycheck anymore, I had the strength and mental ability I needed to start making changes in my life that could lead to professional success.
I started tutoring English part-time online and freelancing doing content creation. Living abroad, I began to feel curious about how many other nurses were like me, living abroad and either working remotely or working in a healthcare facility.
These conversations inspired me to start The Nurse Abroad, a place where expat nurses can connect, share stories, and help each other find opportunities to live the life of our dreams!
The Nurse Abroad: Your Nurse Expat Hub!
The Nurse Expat is your hub for all things nursing and international travel. You’ve come to the right place if you are:
- A nurse living and working in a different country in any capacity
- Someone who transferred your nursing license to a different country and working overseas
- A digital nomad nurse with a love for international travel
- Working in telehealth
- A nurse coach or entrepreneur with location independence to work from anywhere
- A nurse working abroad in a health-care adjacent field
- Someone who changed careers completely and quit nursing for tech, real estate, marketing, or a different field
Or maybe you haven’t started your nurse expat journey yet and you came to this site to learn about how you can start working towards a lifelong goal. If you’re anything like me, you don’t want to wait until you’re 65 and retired to start going on adventures. All I can say is start.
This website will be full of resources for you, but here are some initial ideas to get you started:
- Increase your nursing income by travel nursing, finding a higher-paying job, or accepting a promotion
- Live below your means and focus on saving money and downsizing your lifestyle
- Find work you can do online from anywhere: tutoring, freelance writing, content creation, health coaching
- Start a business to supplement your income and have location independence
- Network, network, network with other nurses who have done what it is you are trying to do!
Every day, I’m speaking to nurses that have location-independent careers so I can learn as much as I can about different options for nurses who want to live and travel abroad. The thing is, nurses don’t gatekeep, we want to help other nurses succeed. It’s difficult for me to find a nurse who isn’t willing to tell me about their career and how they started traveling the world!
Are You Ready?
Are you ready to connect with other nurses like you who love traveling and have built global careers? To get digital nomad nurse tips sent to your inbox weekly so you can learn as much as possible about how to get started?
