Nicole standing in the foreground of India's Taj Mahal

Nicole is a location independent entrepreneur based in London. Her blog Woman Seeks World covers everything you need to know about making your nomadic dreams happen, sharing her travels and lessons along the way. We’re thrilled to feature her as the first interviewee here on TraveLinkSites.com!

1. Hi Nicole! Thanks so much for speaking with us. We’ve been fans of your blog for a long time and get a lot out of it. For those people who don’t know about you or your blog could you give us a brief introduction?

Hey TraveLinkSites.com guys! Thanks for the kind words, it’s great to know you’ve got something from the blog – in many ways I feel like I’m still starting out, but it’s actually been a year since I first launched Woman Seeks World – where does the time go?! The site is basically all about following your travel dreams – whether that is becoming location independent, moving abroad or just travelling the world when you can around your job.

2. You first travelled to Europe from your home in Australia. Why did you initially decide to make the trip? 

I first visited London when I was 21 and fell in love – I’ve always loved huge cities, so London seemed like the place to be! 18 months later I decided to move over and haven’t looked back – I’ve been here for 6 years now (apart from spending 6 months living on the south UK coast) and it’s grown on me in so many ways. It’s also a great hub for European travel – I love being able to do weekends to Spain, Germany or France really easily and cheaply.

3. What were some of the initial trials and tribulations that you faced when you first arrived here? Are there any ongoing challenges that come with this particular lifestyle abroad?

It’s been a gradual process for me, so it’s never really felt like a massive change. You definitely grow as a person the more time you spend living abroad, and it’s crazy looking back at a very naive me when I first arrived – in retrospect I don’t think I really knew what I was doing, but I’m so thankful for the journey to where I am now!

4. When did you first get interested in location independence and start exploring it is a worthwhile pursuit? Who do you credit as inspiring figures in this regard?

It’s always been a goal in the back of my mind, but it’s only been in the last 18 months that I’ve gotten serious about making it happen. I definitely look up to people like Christine from Almost Fearless and Cody McKibben from Thrilling Heroics – people that are passionate about what they do, and are seeing the world their own way.

Nicole enjoying views of the Empire State Building, New York

5. What are your main motivations for becoming location independence? What travel and/or educational goals do you have that this lifestyle might help you achieve?

When I tell people about location independence, they automatically assume that you want to be a backpacker all your life, but for me this couldn’t be further from the truth – For me there’s two parts to it.

The first is having the freedom to live and travel whenever I want, and to be able to live well while I’m at it. I love great food, wine, music and nice hotels, so eventually I want to be fully able to support a nice lifestyle anywhere in the world, and to not have to worry about money coming in each month.

The second part is about doing something that you believe in and that gets you jumping out of bed in the morning. Im extremely passionate about entrepreneurism and I look forward to growing within my businesses and hopefully setting up some new ones in the future.

6. What have been some of the biggest, major highlights of the past years living and working in London? What places would you recommend people seeing? 

People say that when you’re bored of London, you’re bored of life, and I whole heartedly agree! I’ve had so many memorable days here – from summer gigs in Hyde Park, riding my bike around the West End, photographing street art in Shoreditch and lots and lots of cocktails and food! If you could only visit 3 places in London then make sure you get to Brick Lane for the quirky vibe, Soho for a bar crawl and walk along the Thames from Borough Market (stop for breakfast of course first!) to Waterloo – there’s so much to see and take in!

7. What things should people who want to move abroad, travel and have a similar experience to you know about doing this based on your experiences? What advice would you give them?

My number one piece of advice would be to make a plan and set some serious goals. Research what others have done and find out what you want from your new life. Make sure your goals have an endpoint and you can measure them, and start saving your pennies asap! Start a word document and add things that motivate you – whether that’s how much you have saved, places you want to visit, or blogs you like. Then, print it out and stick it to your wall so you see it every day. My desk is covered in inspirational quotes, lists and pictures and it keeps me motivated every single day. Lastly, never give up – if you have a set back or are feeling like you’re not where you want to be, then just keep going – we all have obstacles that test us and our goals, but you just have to power through it and keep your focus. Have faith that you will get there in the end, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise – if I can do it, so can you!

8. How can someone get started with location independence right away? What things should they be looking to explore/do?

I think the first step is to look into starting a niche website or blog – not only is this something that you can earn money from, but more importantly it helps you connect with like minded people and network – you never know what could happen!

Secondly, look into remote working, or try to find a job in the place you’d like to live. Depending on your career goals you may want to start a business or continue working where you are, so going part time may be an option if you are in a position to do so.

Becoming location independent doesn’t happen overnight, so just start to make small steps in the right direction and eventually you will arrive at your goal – this might be working from home one day a week, or quitting your job completely. Figure out what is realistic for you, and put a date on it. If you’re not accountable, you may never get there!

9. Any last words for people out there interested in living abroad, world travel and LIP?

Life is short – we spend so much time worrying what we ‘should’ do and trying to meet other’s expectations that we often put ourselves and our goals last. Find out what matters to you and then build the steps you need to make it happen. In a year from now you’ll be so happy you started today, so just go for it!

Thanks so much to Nicole for talking to us about all things location independent. Check out her fantastic travel blog at Woman Seeks World and be sure to follow her on Twitter.