Happy, Healthy, & Wealthy Therapists | Ep 18: The Traveling Therapist Model

Released: 03/13/2026

Show Notes:

In this conversation, Amanda and Annie discuss the journey of becoming a traveling therapist, the challenges and rewards of running a virtual practice while exploring the world, and the importance of overcoming limiting beliefs. Annie shares her personal experiences of transitioning to a digital nomad lifestyle, the financial considerations involved, and effective marketing strategies for virtual practices. They also touch on common misconceptions about living abroad and the support available within the digital nomad community.naging personal and professional content.

About Annie Krajewski:

Annie is a licensed psychologist who spent the past two years running her private practice from Morocco, Thailand, and Bali. As the founder of Digital Nomad Therapists, she helps therapists navigate the licensing, legal, and logistical questions that keep them stuck in one place so they can finally build the location-independent life they’ve been dreaming about.

3 Key Takeaways:

1. A location-independent private practice is possible—you do not need to stay tied to one office or one city when virtual work, intentional scheduling, and clear marketing can support a more flexible life.
2. Many of the fears about working abroad are bigger in our minds than in reality—from Wi-Fi to healthcare to affordability, international living can be far more workable and accessible than therapists assume.
3. You don’t have to follow the default model to be a good therapist—building a practice around travel, freedom, and your own values can still provide excellent care while letting your life matter too.

Connect with Annie:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/digitalnomadtherapist/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@digitalnomadtherapist
• Website: https://digitalnomadtherapist.com/

REGISTER FOR THE WEALTHY THERAPIST METHOD WEBINAR HERE!

Connect with Amanda:

• Follow on Instagram: @amandakbcoaching
• Check out the Amanda KB Coaching website

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Sponsors:

• This episode is sponsored by Alma – learn more here
• This episode is sponsored by Jane – use code: AMANDA2MO for a 2-month grace period

Resources & Links:

SEO for Therapists Membership

Therapy Intensives Academy

Happy, Healthy, & Wealthy Mastermind

Free Training: 3 Steps to Booking Your First Therapy Intensive

Free Guide: 3 Steps to Double Your Income

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Just a quick heads up, everything I share in this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It’s not legal advice, financial advice, or tax advice. Every practice and every state has its own rules. So if you’re wondering how something applies to your situation, make sure to check in with an attorney, accountant, or another qualified professional who can give you guidance based on your specific circumstances.

Transcript:

Amanda (00:02)
Well, hi Annie, I am so excited to have you on the show today.

Annie (00:07)
Yes, thank you! I’m so glad to be here.

Amanda (00:10)
I reached out to you because I was seeing some stuff on Instagram about your life as a traveling therapist. And so can you give a short little intro about who you are and kind of what you’re up to in business and life.

Annie (00:24)
Yes, okay, so I am originally from Washington state, but I have a private practice and I’m a licensed psychologist. But over the last two and a half years, I took my private practice abroad. So I’ve been living in Morocco, Thailand and Bali, while kind of running my US based private practice. And as I’ve done that, I

was getting a lot of questions from other therapists that I knew. And so was like, ⁓ like, I feel like not a lot of people know about this. I also like, this is like a new part of my life. Like why not start a second business? So I started Digital Nomad Therapist, which helps other therapists do what I did, which is transition or start their private practice that allows them to see US based clients while they’re, you know, they are in

able to travel the world or digital nomading. So yeah, it’s been so fun. I’ve really been enjoying it. Being able to not only like meet people and build a community, but also, you know, get to help other people do this too.

Amanda (01:36)
Yeah, I mean, that’s in theory, like one of the whole points that people start their private practice is they want more choice. They want more freedom. They want to do the things they want to do in life. And yet I think all of us at some point have experienced that struggle of like, but I feel like I have to do it in my apartment, in my home. Like I have to do it from this one place because anything else on top of that is just too complicated. like can’t take vacations. can’t

Annie (02:01)
Yes.

Amanda (02:03)
I can’t or don’t want to see clients while I’m traveling for vacation, but there’s this gap of like, what if you were kind of always on vacation in terms of traveling, seeing a place you really like, and then like seeing a client here or there. So what made you decide I want to travel more and basically take my business abroad?

Annie (02:11)
Yes.

Yes.

Yeah, so I mean, I didn’t really travel abroad until I was in grad school and I think my first trip was to Mexico and then I went to Italy and I was just like, my God, this is incredible. Like, traveling abroad is so fun. And I think I just like became quite obsessed with it. I’d like watch videos and like travel YouTube. Like I would like dream of the next trip and like, ⁓

Amanda (02:47)
Mm-hmm

Annie (02:52)
And so I just like quickly fell in love with it, but then I was also in grad school. so, but then one day I was watching this video about this digital nomad who was this like lawyer who kind of opened up her own kind of business and living from Mexico city. so she introduced this idea of it being a digital nomad. And I was like, my God, that’s exactly like, that sounds amazing. But then I was in.

my internship for my doctorate at the time. And I was like, I really wanted to go into private practice. And I was like, but there’s no way I can make this work. Like, I want to be a good therapist. And there’s I have to have a private practice that, you know, I go into the office five days a week or whatever. So I was just like, immediately, like, there’s no way I can make this work. And I was also the relationship I was in at the time.

Amanda (03:27)
Mm-hmm

Annie (03:42)
he was in like government contracting, so there was no way he’d be able to travel abroad. And so I was just like, for many reasons, I was like, this can’t work. But then I just like kept dreaming about traveling and I kept loving it. And I was, I then found actually Kim Tolson’s, traveling therapist, she, ⁓ her Facebook group. And I was like, ⁓ so as a therapist, I could make this work, but still like, I think I was in my head. Like, I’m like, there’s no way. And I’m in this relationship.

But then as soon as like February of 2022 or March of 2022, that was the first month I started my own private practice, but also it was the same month that the partner of the time broke up with me. And so I was like, well, like while I was like deep in grief, I just had this like moment where it was like, oh my God, I could travel abroad.

Amanda (04:33)
Ha

Annie (04:40)
I could take my private practice abroad. I don’t have any limitations. And of course I like still was scared about that and was like, so it took me like, I think a year and a half because I had started my private practice in person. So I was like, can I just like pivot and like switch to virtual? But I just didn’t feel like I was like secure enough to do that. So I waited and I eventually switched my private practice to virtual. moved all my belongings.

from Virginia to Washington state into my parents’ house. And like three weeks after that trip, I had gone, or after that move, I had gone on a, it was just supposed to be like a two week vacation. Like I didn’t feel mentally ready to go abroad yet, but I had had this vacation planned and I was like, this is so incredible. I don’t want to leave Morocco. So I extended my trip for one month and then met my husband like two days later and so then never left.

Amanda (05:31)
Mm-hmm

Amazing.

Annie (05:38)
So it’s

just been like, it was like something that was like there in the back of my mind and something I really wanted to do. But like for so many reasons, I was like, I can’t do this. But then finally was just like, okay, like I can’t keep being an in-person therapist in Virginia because that’s what other people want me to do. Like this isn’t right for me. And so I had to kind of, you know, work through that and.

you know, work through all the mindset stuff, which I’m sure you’re intimately aware of helping other therapists work through. It’s like a barrier in anything. ⁓ But anyways, it was, it’s been incredible and I haven’t looked back and now I’ve like given birth to my daughter in Thailand and like lived like in these amazing places and also have run, you know, this like a practice and one that I assumed I wouldn’t be able to, but I have. So yeah.

Amanda (06:07)
Yes.

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, think you hit the nail on the head in the sense of we often build the practice that we think our clients want, right? It’s like, well, they want in person and they want these times and these days and they want it like this. But again, like private practice, ultimately most of us started, of course, because we want to help clients, but like we want to do it on our terms. But there’s one of those barriers of like, but I love travel and what do I do if I have an in-person office and

Annie (06:32)
Ahem.

Yes.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Amanda (06:59)
Maybe my clients are actively saying they don’t want virtual therapy, they only want in person. So how do you navigate those conversations? How do you get essentially not even just the financial stability, but like the emotional courage to be like, well, I’m going to do it anyway. Because this is something I want and what I have seen as I’ve moved, I’ve gone in between, like I started primarily virtually, then I started offering some in person.

Annie (07:13)
Yeah.

Yes.

Amanda (07:26)
I kept changing offices because I was subletting from lots of different people and there was just a lot of chaos with that. And then eventually I was like, I’m just going back to all virtual. But then I started doing in-person intensives. Like there’s been so many changes I’ve made in my practice that it can be hard to keep track of all that. But for me, what has been a non-negotiable is like, I still want to have the things I want to have in my life. And travel is also a huge value and passion of mine. And there’s been times where

Annie (07:31)
Uh-huh.

Yeah.

Amanda (07:55)
I’ve traveled quite a bit. think I went on five or six international trips in 2025 alone. And yes, exactly. It was so fun. It got exhausting. So we’ll see about 2026. But even then, like what was nice, you and I were just talking before we started recording of like, if you’re anywhere basically east of the East Coast, you’re kind of looking at like an eight to 10 hour time difference. And so there were times actually it worked pretty well of like, I went abroad for

Annie (08:01)
my gosh, I love it.

Yeah, I could imagine that.

Yeah.

Amanda (08:24)
business retreat and you did the sessions in the morning and then I saw one or two clients in my afternoon because it was kind of like their evening or I forgot exactly how that time works their morning on the West Coast and I got to be doing a session in the afternoon. It’s like it really is a win-win to get a little bit of work travel done and that’s a tax write-off but then also like still maintaining some continuity of care for your clients. So there’s just so many ways that travel can be a part of a private practice if you

Annie (08:36)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

yeah.

Yes.

huh. Yeah.

Amanda (08:55)
can make it work logistically.

Annie (08:57)
Yes, I mean, and I think a lot of people, I mean, in general, think a lot of people have limiting beliefs, but especially since I’ve started digital nomad therapists, it’s like so many people like are have this idea that it needs to look one way when it could be so flexible. Like you don’t have to sell all your belongings and go travel full time. Like you’re saying like.

You could extend your trip, instead of maybe taking two weeks, you could take a month and seeing your clients during that time could help you financially be able to take a longer trip. Like it doesn’t have to be this like, or there was even a therapist who I was talking to who really wants to do this like culinary.

⁓ experience or culinary school for three months in Italy, but she was like, how can I still see clients? And I’m like, well, could you see them maybe on Saturday and Sunday, like have a smaller caseload, but you still make money. And she’s like, I didn’t even think about that. I’m like, you know, so like, feel like we have, like, I feel like as therapists, it’s so easy to like, think that our whole identity is being a therapist and like our life has to be about.

all about therapy and all about our clients, but it doesn’t have to be like, we should be able to explore and express different parts of ourselves. Like going and taking a culinary like Institute, whatever in Italy. I’m like, hello, why wouldn’t you do that? I know, but it’s like, feel like so many of us are limiting ourselves from these like incredible experiences because we’re like, it needs, we need to have nine to five hours.

Amanda (10:20)
Sounds great. Yeah.

Annie (10:31)
you know, when it’s like, no, like there’s so much, yeah, like private practice is, gives us so much freedom. Why not take advantage of it?

Amanda (10:41)
Yeah, I think it’s the like the pro and the con that I’m always reflecting on and talking with other therapists about. It’s like now that we are our own boss, like it is also our job to make sure we’re taken care of from the business perspective. And so back when I worked at an agency, like as much as I hated, I have to ask for my PTO this much time in advance and I have to wait before I actually book anything for it to be approved. Like at least there was a formal process and I was like,

Annie (10:54)
Yes.

Yes.

⁓ gosh.

Amanda (11:08)
you bet your ass

Annie (11:08)
Yeah.

Amanda (11:09)
that I’m taking my PTO. Like, I’m not letting that go. But in your practice, you’re your own boss, it can be so easy to not give yourself the stuff that you know you need, like the time off, because we equate that if I don’t see clients, I’m losing out on money thing. But again, you can see your clients while you travel. So it doesn’t have to be that you’re sacrificing one for the other.

Annie (11:11)
Yeah.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes, I think a lot of people think I’m rich, but I’m like, no, I literally just work so I can travel. And it’s like, makes it so much easier to like, like, you know, lot of people, think when they’re thinking about going on vacation, like you’re spending so much money because you’re staying in hotels, you’re eating out all the time. But like when you’re a traveling therapist, like you’re, you know, your accommodations are so much cheaper because you’re staying for like, you know, maybe longer term, like, you know, like a month at a time is.

Amanda (11:36)
Hahaha

Annie (12:03)
cheaper than staying for two weeks sometimes. And it’s like, I’m also making money. So it’s not like I’m like just, but anyway, so it like makes traveling so manageable and so affordable that I would not be able to do this if it wasn’t, if I wasn’t traveling and working at the same time.

Amanda (12:20)
Yeah. Yes.

Yeah, exactly. Can you talk a little bit about like how you think about budget of, know, okay, what are my home expenses? Because, you know, even if you’re at parents’ place or some other family’s place, you have your own place. Like, how do you manage thinking about home expenses versus travel expenses? And do you set aside extra money for it or like it truly does just all work and even out?

Annie (12:47)
So I ⁓ fly by the seat of my pants. So I’m not like a super financially sound person, per se. I don’t have a budget. generally, so I have made it to where I have the least amount of American expenses, essentially stationary expenses. Before, I…

Amanda (12:51)
huh.

Annie (13:13)
had a car payment, I had insurance, I had rent here. And so I sold my car, those different types of things to make it work longer term. Obviously, if you’re not wanting to make it longer term, you can’t get rid of everything. But essentially how I think about it is that I reduced as much cost as I could, reoccurring costs or those types of things. ⁓ So that all my expenses are essentially

like rent and in most countries that I travel to rent is so much cheaper than the United States like staying in like 10 minutes from this beautiful beach in Phuket Thailand for less than $900, you know, I really walk to the beach every day. I’m like in America that’d be like $4,000.

Amanda (14:04)
huh, yup.

Annie (14:06)
You know, and then, you know, the other expenses I ever like food and healthcare, like you don’t have to spend, you know, hundreds of dollars every month for a premium. Like I didn’t have a health, like I gave birth without health insurance and it was less than $6,000, which is like in America, that’s how much some people pay for health insurance for a baseline, not even their deductible. So, you know, so I think like there are expenses, but you can make so like.

Amanda (14:26)
Yeah. Yep. Yep.

Annie (14:37)
the expenses that I have in other countries are just so much less than in America. And with my business income, like I usually don’t have to have like, I don’t have to have a budget because what my business or like what my take home is, it’s just so comfortable when it comes to like living, you know, abroad. And so I don’t feel like I have the best answer for you, but I just think like, I think,

Like a lot of people are kind of afraid of like, well, what does that mean? Like, how does the money work? But one, when you’re virtual, as you probably know, like you just have so much less overhead for your business. But then, you know, when you’re living abroad, it’s kind of as you’re doubling up on that because you have your overhead for living is so much cheaper too. Just because America for some reason is so expensive. And obviously you could travel to countries that are also expensive.

Like if you go to Switzerland, you you’re probably going to be spending a lot of money because Switzerland is expensive, but you can also go to, you know, countries that are so affordable and much better quality of life.

Amanda (15:50)
Yeah, and I think that in and of itself is a great answer because you don’t have to have this well thought out and laid out and planned for budget. You can actually fly by the seat of your pants and make it work and it’s not actually stressful, if anything. It’s easier than most people think. And I think, again, that’s one of those blocks people have is like, if I’m going to do this, I have to plan and budget and do all these things. And it’s like, no, not really, because actually it’s

Annie (16:03)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Absolutely.

Yeah, yes. Yeah, like I had had like, I think I’ve talked to therapists where they’re like, I can’t do it because I don’t have like a big enough buffer. Yeah, I don’t have a big enough savings account. And I’m like, you don’t need one. I had like, you know, obviously have one because it’s good to have an emergency fund, you know, good financial advice. But, ⁓ like I had had

Amanda (16:18)
might just be quite affordable unless you go to Switzerland, that’s very different.

Mm-hmm.

Annie (16:42)
like an emergency fund that I never even used until I went on maternity leave. And that had nothing to do with traveling, you know? So I think it’s just like, I think people, because going abroad is so unknown, it like freaks us out. And so I think it’s easy for us to imagine the worst case scenario, but.

Living abroad is like living in America, the challenges that you face, but it’s less expensive. it’s like, know, things tend to work out when you’re in America. you know, so I think it’s just, yeah, there’s so many misconceptions and I get it because moving abroad, especially with American propaganda that we have about like foreign countries of being.

so much worse off than America. Like we think that it’s a disaster zone, but like in reality it’s so, it’s not like it’s a lot less scary than our anxiety convinces us that it is.

Amanda (17:38)
Yeah. Yeah. Part of what I like what you’re saying too is again, there’s no one way to make this work. Even I think when I hear digital nomad, I think of the people who do this full time. Like they just straight up sell all their possessions and move somewhere permanently. I just had one friend and her family, she moved to Spain. They’re like, yep, we, got our visas. We’re like all documented, like we’re great, but you don’t also have to go to that extreme to do it. And I think

Annie (17:57)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Amanda (18:08)
given like current political climate stuff. Like there are a lot of people who want to get out of the US right now. And you can do that without having to wait for all of the extremes of the budgeting and the selling stuff. can just be, can I go somewhere for two weeks and make sure that I’m taking my business with me? And can I extend for a month if I love it there? So it really can work.

Annie (18:15)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah,

it’s really can be flexible. you know, sometimes if you have to get a bit creative, but there’s usually something like some work around that you can find for your life. Like, I think a lot of people just don’t even try. ⁓ But if it’s really something you want to do, there’s a way around, like there’s a way to make it work.

Amanda (18:48)
Yeah. Yeah. And so an interesting question that I’ve been thinking about with this is I know even like US based therapists who are fully virtual or they’re virtual and they’re licensed maybe in like three or all the states. mean, I don’t know if you’re with SciPatch, but like we can see people in like 40 some states. Like how do you go about marketing yourself when you are someone who’s completely virtual and you know, the more that you’re traveling around, maybe you’re not building up.

like local networks or something like that. So like, how do you keep your practice full? What do you do?

Annie (19:20)
Yes.

Yeah, this is a great question. ⁓ Basically what I do is I have an amazing website. have great copy on my website and I really invest in SEO. ⁓ That is, I’ve never done in-person networking ever in my five years of having a private practice. Just because that’s

Amanda (19:41)
off.

Annie (19:45)
Like, I don’t know, I just had some vendetta against in-person networking. Like I felt like I couldn’t control it enough. I’m like, I can control my website, but I can’t control these networking. I don’t know. But yeah, so from the start of my practice, I invested in SEO. like 90 % of my caseload or like 90 % of my referrals come from SEO. And I would say the other 10 % is from like, I don’t know, random sources like Psychology Today or something. ⁓

Amanda (19:56)
100%.

Annie (20:13)
But so that is how I have done it. And, you know, I have been quite successful on it. And so that, and I did that before I went abroad. So, but it really served me abroad because, you know, I would get referrals in my sleep compared to having to like try and network with therapists in a different time zone. ⁓ so it just is a little bit more restricting to do more of that. And like, you can totally make it work. I’m sure people can.

get referrals from connecting to other therapists and they’re kind of where they’re licensed, but you don’t have to. ⁓ And so that is, and it’s been quite simple, like just kind of focusing on that. ⁓ And then I think also too, the other thing is like, because living expenses and because life is just a lot more manageable, you don’t have to see as many clients. you know, obviously you can charge a premium rate, but even then, you know, you don’t have to see, and it.

actually serves you to not see 30, 25, 30 clients a week. And so you need less people. Like you don’t need, you know, 10 referrals a month. And so I think even having less, you know, living expenses helps you. There just a lot more breathing room, I guess. So there’s not like, like I have a friend who’s in the DC. She owns a practice in DC.

And she has to maintain a certain level of clients. She has to get a certain level of like, amount of referrals because her overhead is just so expensive. And so, you know, I think like I, my referral, like it works for me, but ⁓ just thinking like that’s something I think people don’t think a lot about is like how many referrals you need for a virtual practice compared to like in person. But, ⁓

Amanda (21:42)
Yeah.

Annie (21:59)
The other point that I think is really important is I think there are a lot of therapists who want to do this and then they’re like, I just need to get like licensed in all these different states. But I, like, I went through this where I was licensed in Virginia, but then when I moved to Washington, I was like, get licensed in Washington. But honestly, I think trying to market to a ton of different states does not work. Like focus on one place and like invest your time and energy into that one place and you will be much better off than trying to like.

Amanda (22:08)
Hehehe.

Annie (22:29)
like spread it out, like not only SEO wise, but just, think ⁓ it becomes a lot of trying to learn how to market to different areas. Cause every area is different. Like in Washington, I was like, I just feel like Washington, there’s something different about it here. I’m like, I haven’t figured out how to network here, like get in the SEO here. But anyways, I think like,

Amanda (22:39)
Yeah.

Hehehehe

Annie (22:53)
So I just find my recommendation as always to just focus on one area like you don’t need. Well, and also side note, SidePact, I can’t use SidePact because SidePact requires you have restrictions on your physical location as the provider. So I can’t even use SidePact anyways, ⁓ but I don’t need it because I get enough SEO from Arlington, Virginia. So yes, yeah, that’s my, yeah.

kind of random, all over the place. ⁓

Amanda (23:24)
I

mean, it’s super helpful because I think those are all the common things that it sounds like we both hear from therapists and maybe have experienced ourselves. I also, very introverted, I don’t love the in-person networking. Hopping on podcasts is fun with people, but we’re doing it to chat. We’re not doing it to like, so you got any clients you can send me? So I never loved that aspect of networking. So I didn’t do it.

Annie (23:41)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah, exactly!

I ⁓

Amanda (23:52)
I took control of my website,

I took control of my SEO, and that is how I get clients from Oregon and Washington at this point. But I hear so many people who really do that exact thing of like, have to get licensed in so many states, or I have to go get the Florida telehealth registration. Like I have to reach all these states. And it’s like, no, like in literally any state, there are millions of people and you only need, depending on your fee and your financial needs, like.

Annie (23:58)
Mm-hmm.

No.

Amanda (24:20)
10 to 20, maybe. And so like, just to hone in on what is the marketing strategy and location that you really need to and having good copy. And then I think a lot of it is confidence too, and how we talk about ourselves as therapists and how we can help. Like if you’ve got those nailed down, like you don’t need to get all the licenses and registrations to work with all the people. Like it’s convenient. I am in SidePak. I opted into it I think last fall.

Annie (24:22)
Yeah.

Yeah

Amanda (24:49)
It’s convenient if my clients travel. I’m like, I’m going here for work or I’m going on vacation or going home from a school break and I’d still like to see you. That’s convenient. But I’m not trying to market to 43 states because again, I just don’t need to. Yeah.

Annie (25:02)
Yeah, that’s too much. Yeah. And I

also think I found like trying to manage time zones is a lot. And so like, couldn’t imagine having clients in 42 different states and like trying to like have the like mental labor of keeping that in track. Like it’s too much. Like one place is just so much easier for so many reasons. But I think, yeah, like the people like get them this scarcity mindset of like, I have to like,

Amanda (25:09)
Yes.

Mm-hmm. Yes.

Yes, yes.

Annie (25:30)
get all these things or like get all these states but it’s like no you just have to like you know get really good at one one city

Amanda (25:40)
Mm-hmm. Yes, exactly. Yeah. And so speaking of managing the time zone differences and that being, you know, just an additional layer of something to think about, what have been some of the struggles that you experience as you’re traveling while working? As I imagine like Wi-Fi or like privacy maybe at times, like what are some things that come up that you encourage people to think about?

Annie (25:50)
Mm-hmm.

Yes. ⁓

Yeah, that is a good one. I mean, I do think time zones is one. I mean, that is such a huge one because our work is a little bit restrictive because we can’t like, you know, see clients at 1 a.m. their time. Like that wouldn’t be like reasonable to ask of people. Like my only availability is 1 a.m. your time. But so I think that is a big one people have to think through because like for me, when I was in Morocco,

Amanda (26:19)
Sure.

Haha

Annie (26:35)
I was the first time I was like a little bit, since I did it impulsively, I was like afraid of changing my clients, like session times. So I ended up just keeping them the same, which was like evening time in DC, which meant it was like nighttime in, Morocco. I was seeing people to like 1am and I like, ultimately, like, I felt like it was worked for me because like I was in this new place. Like I got to spend the whole day like,

relaxing, surfing, like exploring a new beach, know, like living my best life. And then I would work at night and then go to bed, which is like after I’m done seeing clients, like I don’t really have energy anyways, like I just want to chill. So like it really works for me, but you, think when it comes to time zones, you have to think about like your energy level and like what works for you. So it’s like, if you are not an evening person, you know, maybe

You really have to think about your schedule and your client’s schedule. Like if you see kids, you probably, you know, have a little bit harder of a time. So anyway, so I think that is just like something like it like becomes like a little bit of like Tetris of like figuring out like yourself and also, you know, your clients. Like when I was in Thailand, the first time I would like woke up at like 3.40 AM to start seeing people at like 4 AM. But it was also, I was only in Thailand for like, you know, two or three months. So I knew it wasn’t long-term. So I think.

That’s just something people have to think through. I think the thing that I like people to know is that it is, ⁓ like, feel like it’s like there’s, you’re giving and taking in either situation. Like when I was in DC or even now, I’ve been in here in Washington state for a couple of months. Like I work during the day hours. And so once I get done with work, like the sun is set and it’s dark and I’m like, this is so fucking depressing.

Terrible and you know and so I think like but when I you know It’s like not you know It’s a little bit like of a struggle or like you know it can be hard to like work in the night But it was like I felt like my work-life balance was so much better When I was like able to actually take care of myself during the day rather than you know waiting until after work so it’s like it felt like my life was more of a priority so I

Like to say that it’s a struggle to stay up late sometimes or get up early, but there is a plus side too, rather than kind of working traditional nine to five hours. ⁓ Wi-Fi is definitely another one that I think before I became a nomad, I was so anxious about Wi-Fi because the only real Wi-Fi I had experienced before I became a nomad was like hotel Wi-Fi or like Airbnb Wi-Fi.

And what I didn’t realize is that hotel Wi-Fi and Airbnb Wi-Fi is trash. Like, like hotel Wi-Fi is a particular horrible connection that like isn’t typical. I just didn’t even know that. I was just like, my God, the Wi-Fi is so bad here. Cause I wasn’t getting like data plans or anything like, you know, when I was traveling. ⁓ so my only understanding of their Wi-Fi was the hotel. anyways, like,

Amanda (29:28)
Yeah. ⁓

Annie (29:51)
Airbnbs are usually typically better, but you have to like ask them beforehand. But what my experience of wifi in other countries and cell phone service in other countries is that America is like, has horrible internet connection. Like it’s so bad. Even like Morocco and Thailand just had like, ⁓ well, Morocco, not as much. Their cell phone service was a lot better than here, but like Thailand’s wifi is significantly better than the United States. And so.

I think that was something that I learned that I was like pleasantly surprised is that wifi is so much better in other countries and it’s not something you typically have to worry about. The only thing you really have to worry about is like the same thing as it would be in America is, know, everybody has a different wifi plan. So you’d need to make sure that the wifi plan and your Airbnb is going to be solid enough. But I honestly would just use like as a backup, I’d use my phone as a hotspot and

using the cell phone service like was like even better than the wifi. So, ⁓ that’s something I get people like are worried about, but it’s not something you typically have to worry about. Like you have to be prepared and because you’re using other people’s equipment, but that would be true of anyone moving around, ⁓ less so about like other countries and stuff. But, ⁓ yeah.

What are the other things? Like, I think a lot of, like, I think the other thing some people are really worried about is like getting clients, but I think we kind of, we already talked about that. ⁓ and then medical care, like I think a lot of people are scared about medical care, but once again, like American propaganda, medical care in other countries is so much better than America. Like I came back because my husband, like we were kind of, we, he came over on a K one visa. so.

⁓ we got married here and then we’ve been here until he got his green card and I’ve been trying to get a doctor’s appointment this whole time, but it’s like impossible. And I’m like, the medical system is disgusting here. Like in Thailand, you literally show up to this like world-class hospital and they get you into the doctor for like $50 and you get these like, you know, like great service and great care.

Amanda (31:49)
I got…

Hmm?

Hmm.

Annie (32:05)
You just show up. And even in Morocco, I feel like I got good care there as well anytime I needed to go to the doctor. And so I just think my biggest thing is I think we have so many fantasies about living abroad and it being worse in America. it’s just not. I think, yeah, the only time I really struggled as a nomad was when I was pregnant. But I think I was really homesick.

But I think that was because I was pregnant, not because I was necessarily living abroad. yeah, anyways. ⁓

Amanda (32:41)
Yeah, no, that totally makes sense. I always say like

for right now, my biggest barrier to like, if I do international trips, I’m there maybe no more than like two weeks because I have fur babies at home and I’m like, I would just miss them too much. yeah, I don’t think that’s yes. But yeah, if I didn’t have fur babies, if I didn’t have a partner who could also travel while I’m traveling, like I would be traveling much more frequently and staying places much longer. But yeah, again.

Annie (32:54)
Yes, yes, that is hard.

Yeah.

Amanda (33:10)
exactly like you said, is even two weeks of travel is still therapists being able to like put their life first, right? If they want to go to two weeks for Thailand, if they want to go wherever they can, right? So just making sure that you book your flights and look into your Airbnbs or wherever you stay, but you can make it work. It doesn’t have to be so complicated. And it sounds like there’s not actually as many barriers as people think there are.

Annie (33:32)
Yeah.

Yes.

Yes, absolutely.

Amanda (33:40)
Well, tell us because you support therapists in this way. So are there ways people can connect with you, follow you more for information about how you do it and ways that they can get started too?

Annie (33:51)
Yes, so I’m over on Instagram, the digital or just digital nomad therapist where I provide a lot of information. But I also have a YouTube, which is also digital nomad therapist where I also share a lot of information. ⁓ I am currently ⁓ launching a nomad practice accelerator, which is a eight week course helping therapist, you know.

transition or start their private practice so that it can be location independent and you can travel anywhere while also seeing your US clients. ⁓ And so that is launching in April. And I don’t know when you’re posting this, but if they’re interested, they can reach out about that. But I also will be running it in the future. So if people are interested, that’s something I’m offering. But other than that, like, you know, ⁓

saying hi on social media, definitely say hi. My DMs are always open and I love chatting with people. It’s like, a part of the reason I started the Digital Nomad Therapist was wanting a community, because traveling can be a little bit, not only isolating because you’re in another culture, but even professionally, I was like, I miss other therapists. So it’s been so fun to meet people and talk with them. So, yeah.

Like definitely reach out over there, but that’s where they can, people can find me if they’re interested in learning more.

Amanda (35:13)
Amazing. I know so many people who are interested in this. I will definitely send some people your way and I hope that your new program goes well.

Annie (35:18)
Yes.

Yeah, thank you. Yeah, I’m really excited about it. It’s like such a fun thing of like doing something new. Like I’m like, I know I’m a good therapist, but like venturing into like coaching is like, it’s really fun to do it something new, but it’s definitely like, it’s such a different way of being. But yeah, I’ve been really enjoying it.

Amanda (35:39)
Yes. Yes.

Awesome. Well, I just want to thank you again for coming on today and sharing all your stories and insights. And I will go ahead and link any of the information that you have in the show notes if people want to check that out there and make sure that they go ahead and give you a follow. So thanks again for your time today, Annie. I’m sure we will be in touch soon.

Annie (36:00)
Yes, thank you so much.