Hey, Gnomies!

Greetings from Asheville!

After 2.5 months in Colombia, a week in Texas for the Texas Eclipse festival, and a few days on the road seeing the Disco Biscuits, we're back in North Carolina.

It's all been a bit of a whirlwind the last few weeks as I was busy building my English teaching business while simultaneously having lots of students to teach. Sasha has been busy with his job at CashorTrade and writing a feature article Live and Invest Overseas.

We managed to sneak away to a cabin in the mountains above Medellin for my birthday. We created a YouTube video about it that you can find at the bottom of this email.

We also spent a couple of days in beautiful Jerico at Riverside Eco-living guesthouse built with digital nomads in mind. They have both private rooms and dorm beds and provide a big breakfast.

But the biggest selling point for me was the coworking space. The views were amazing. Nothing but mountains all around. My students enjoyed getting a glimpse of digital nomad life in this way.

They also offer yoga in the mornings and provide tours on the weekends. They even provide discounts for longer stays. Definitely check out Riverside if you find yourself in Jerico.

And now for the unfortunate event - Sasha's phone got stolen in Medellin. Right out of his pocket. We're both fine and it's not so bad compared to other ways foreigners get robbed in Colombia. It could've been a lot worse but it's still a headache nonetheless.

It was a not-so-gentle reminder to not get too comfortable in a place and always keep your valuables hidden when in a busy area known for pickpockets.

All in all, it was a great trip to Colombia and I still recommend it to other digital nomads and travelers.

We'll be spending the rest of spring and summer in the USA doing what we do best, going to concerts and music festivals with some general travels mixed in.

We're not wasting any time. Sasha is heading to Las Vegas this weekend to see Phish at the Sphere and I'm heading to Nashville to see STS9. Make sure you follow us on Instagram and Facebook to keep up with us in real-time.

Do you have any exciting travel plans coming up? Hit reply and tell me all about it! And keep an eye out for our next email where we'll reveal our travel plans for later this year.

Keep reading to see where we worked and our digital nomad tip of the month plus what's coming up!

​

​

​

Where we're working this month: Bogota, Colombia - Austin, TX - Nashville, TN - Asheville, NC

Digital Nomad Tip of the Month: Ready to give the digital nomad lifestyle a try but unsure where to even start? My friend and fellow digital nomad Kayla of Writing From Nowhere literally wrote the book on how to be a digital nomad.

And guess what? We're in it! She was kind enough to feature our story along with our advice for becoming a digital nomad. I just got my copy upon my return to Asheville and I'm really enjoying it so far. You can snag your copy right here.

​

What's Coming Up

As you may know, teaching English online is how we became digital nomads and it's still my main source of income.

The game has changed in the online English teaching world but it's still one of the top ways to earn an income while traveling and living abroad.

If you're ready to take control of your English teaching journey and unlock your full career potential, if you crave the freedom to dictate your schedule, teach what you love, and set your own rates, then join me for the upcoming free webinar, From Educator to Entrepreneur: Your Pathway to Thriving as an Online English Teacher.

It's happening this Wednesday, April 24th at 2:00 pm Eastern time/11:00 am Pacific.

During this 60-minute training, you will:

• Discover strategies for creating a successful online teaching business.
• Learn how to avoid common mistakes that may be holding you back.
• Engage in a live Q&A to get personalized insights and advice.
• Receive an exclusive invitation to join the Teacherpreneur Academy.​

The Teacherpreneur Academy is a program I created in collaboration with BridgeTEFL. It helps online English teachers build their independent English teaching business.

​Click here to register! Feel free to hit reply if you have any questions.

​

Well, that's it for this newsletter. Thanks for opening and reading it to the end! We appreciate it more than you know.

Feel free to write back! We love hearing from you :-D

Cheers,
Rachel (& Sasha) | gratefulgnomads.com

​

Resources for Digital Nomads:

Ready to start your location-independent lifestyle but overwhelmed by it all? Rachel can coach you through the prep and mindset to get you started on your journey. Get more info here.

Need help planning a trip? That's Sasha's superpower. Hit him up for more info here.

​Teacherpreneur Academy - Ready to take the leap into independence and build a robust English teaching portfolio? This program introduces the 3 ways to teach English online and culminates in the creation of your Preliminary Business Outline so you have the plan to start building your business. Take 10% off with the code grateful10.

​SafetyWing - Travel insurance for digital nomads. Make sure you're covered! Sign up for just $42 for 4 weeks.

​Teachable - Easily create and sell your online course.

​BridgeTEFL - Get certified to teach English as a Second Language (ESL) and continue your professional development as an ESL teacher.

​TrustedHousesitters - save money on accommodation by caring for someone's home and fur babies or find someone to take care of yours while you travel!

​Xero Shoes - the best shoes for travelers! They're lightweight and fit very nicely into your bag. They have lots of different styles. Click the link to check them out!

​

Some links may be affiliate links, earning us a commission if you purchase at no extra cost to you! We're super grateful for the support as it helps us keep the lights on ;)

In case you missed it, our latest blog posts and videos...

​

New Video - Eco-Cabin Birthday Trip in Medellin This is the Colibri Cabin up in the mountains above Medellin near Santa Elena. We enjoyed a few days in this cabin for Rachel's birthday. Complete with a hot tub and a view of the city, it's the perfect place for a quick getaway. Click here to watch it

New Video - Gnomad Pads: Istanbul The Turkish capital of Istanbul makes for a great gnomad base. The city is actually in Europe and Asia, which makes for a very interesting mix of cultures. We spent a few weeks there and found a great Gnomad Pad near the Galata Tower. It had plenty of workspace and super fast WiFi, so working remotely here was no problem. Check it out in this quick video tour and be sure to add Istanbul to your list of nomad destinations to visit. Click here to watch it!

Travel Hacking 101: How to Travel for Cheap (or Free!) This is our blog post all about travel hacking. If you’re wondering how to get free flight tickets, read on for a little crash course we like to call Travel Hacking 101. We’ve been travel hacking for years now and have scored tons of free flights (and even a free iPhone!) in the process. We’ll show you some of the best travel hacking credit cards and help you get started. Click here to read it

​