How Travel Can Help You Find Friendship and Create Deeper Connections with Hypnotherapist Laurel Van Woerkom | EP 4

Get Your Free Guide: 7 Ways to Become a Digital Nomad
https://www.thedigitalnomadcoach.com/

Are you craving deeper connections while pursuing your dreams of location freedom?

Meet Laurel, a hypnotherapist and wellbeing coach who transformed her life from 80-hour corporate workweeks to running a thriving global therapy practice.

She reveals the hidden truths about building genuine connections while living a location-independent lifestyle, and how the digital nomad path might actually be the answer to modern loneliness - not its cause.

Chapters:
04:49 - How Travel communities help combat loneliness
11:21 - Laurels experience on Remote Year
21:56 -  Productive evenings, flexible client schedule

Discover practical strategies for creating community anywhere in the world, and learn how to structure your work life so every day feels like a blend of vacation and purpose - without sacrificing income or professional growth.

She breaks down exactly how to start earning in a location-independent field and what realistic first-year income expectations look like for those ready to make the leap.

Listen and learn how one simple mindset shift about work-life integration could transform your approach to both business and travel, making every destination feel like home while building a successful career on your own terms.

Connect with guest, Laurel: https://linktr.ee/lovelaurel

MORE FROM RYAN MELLON

Follow Ryan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedigitalnomadcoach/

Learn how to be a Digital Nomad: https://www.thedigitalnomadcoach.com/

Please Support the Show

• Share this episode with a friend or family member
• Give a Review on Spotify
• Give a Review on Apple

DISCLAIMER:
Listening to stories of beachside zoom calls, mountainside work views, and island-hopping entrepreneurs may cause severe wanderlust and an irresistible urge to turn your laptop into a passport to freedom. Side effects include daydreaming about tropical coworking spaces, working with Ryan to learn how you can start working and traveling and buying a one-way ticket to Bali. Get ready to start living your dream life today!

Chapters

• 4:49 How Travel communities help combat loneliness
• 11:21 Laurels experience on Remote Year
• 21:56 Productive evenings, flexible client schedule

Transcript

Ryan Mellon: [00:00:00] Are you feeling disconnected with the people in your life? Can becoming a digital nomad really help change that? Today, I sat down with Laurel, a hypnotherapist who's been living the digital nomad lifestyle for over five years. She's here to share her insights on how traveling and working remotely can be a potential cure for the loneliness epidemic.

You'll discover how to build meaningful Connections while traveling, learn about exciting nomad communities and get tips on balancing work and exploration in different time zones. Stick around until the end to hear Laurel's top travel experiences, including a magical community in Playa del Carmen and an unforgettable three week adventure in Patagonia.

You'll walk away inspired to shake up your routine and maybe even start your own nomadic journey.

​Ryan Mellon: [00:01:00] Hey guys, welcome to Digital Nomad Nation. Today we have Laurel. ~Uh, ~thanks for joining me today.

Laurel Van Woerkom: Hi. Hi, Ryan. Hi, everyone.

Ryan Mellon: So tell us,~ uh,~ where you're at today.

Laurel Van Woerkom: I'm currently in Medellin, Colombia.

Ryan Mellon: [00:02:00] Awesome. And so tell me why, why Medellin? ~Why, why did you pick that location?~

Laurel Van Woerkom: Yeah. So after five years of nomading and traveling around the world,~ um,~ I actually started to feel like it was time to find a home base on a bit more stability. And about a year ago, when I first started thinking about that, I was asking myself, like, where have I been? That really feels like somewhere that I could make a home.

And Medellin was the first place that came to mind. ~Uh, ~I love that it's close to nature. It's a decent sized city, but it's easy to get out of it. It's really lush. It's surrounded by mountains. ~Um, ~the people are very friendly, very welcoming, and there's also a good size expat nomad community here. So, ~uh, ~for me, you know, I work with,~ uh,~ English speakers.

And so it's nice for me to actually have a client pool here in person. So I don't have to do all of my work online.

Ryan Mellon: That's awesome. Yeah, I've been there before. It's,~ uh,~ the, uh, city of Eternal Spring, [00:03:00] as they call it. And the weather is just amazing all the time there. Cool views. ~Thanks. That's~ 

Laurel Van Woerkom: yeah, it's a really special place.

Ryan Mellon: It is. It is. And very inexpensive too. Overall.

Laurel Van Woerkom: Yes. Another another reason that I wanted to be here. That's a really good cost of living.

Ryan Mellon: ~Yeah, absolutely. Well, cool. ~Well, I saw a recent post that you had made on your Instagram about,~ uh,~ the loneliness epidemic and ~that, uh, well, we, ~I was reading article about it. ~Um, ~you know, one in four people or. are really feeling lonely,~ um,~ these days. And I wanted to hear your thoughts on that. And, and do you think that traveling and living this, this lifestyle, the digital nomad lifestyle, do you think that that helps as a cure for the loneliness epidemic?

What are your thoughts on that?

Laurel Van Woerkom: It's a great question. I actually love the way that you framed that. So, it's almost like 2 questions, right? 1st of all, let's dive into what is the loneliness epidemic. You know, it's crazy to me that the world is more [00:04:00] connected than it's ever been in history. Everything is so globalized. You know, we have these phones and this technology that allows us to stay in contact with people all over the world.

~Um, ~and so you would think that with that amount of connectivity that people would be more connected and less lonely than ever before, but there's other phenomena that are taking place as well. You know, like Western culture is very,~ um,~ self oriented. Right. And so we have this idea that we need to be successful.

We need to create a life for ourselves. We need to be independent. ~Um, ~and that has taken people away from their connections with their family, with their neighbors. I think COVID too also did a lot,~ um,~ to isolate people, you know, me think of the children who, uh, weren't going to school for several years during COVID and, you know, how they missed out on [00:05:00] these social interactions that helped them to develop healthy social skills.

And, you know, people don't even know their neighbors anymore. ~Um, ~so there's a lot of things that have happened,~ uh,~ as a society to make us more removed from each other. And while maybe we're, you know, communicating more online,~ uh,~ the depth of those connections is not what it used to be, right? Because we're only scraping the surface.

I think, too, there's a lot of divisiveness in the world right now, politically and socially. And people are no longer having conversations with people who have opposing viewpoints to them. ~Um, ~and so this is also driving people apart. Now you asked whether being a nomad,~ uh,~ improves that. And I would say that it greatly depends~ on how you're nomadic.~

I've talked to a lot of nomads who have kind of been doing the solo travel thing for a long time. You know, years, months, and a lot of them do say that they actually are very lonely [00:06:00] because they're meeting lots of people in different places, but they're short interactions, right? And you find that you continuously are having the same conversations all over again.

Where are you from? What are you doing here? What do you do for work? How long have you been traveling? You know, and so that can wear on people. ~Um, ~But what I think is really key in this nomad lifestyle to,~ uh,~ not being lonely is finding travel communities that you can actually become a part of. And that's something, you know, that I've been really lucky to do throughout the years that I've been traveling.

And I'm so grateful for communities like Remote Year and Wifi Tribe. ~Uh, ~you know, the Bonsko Nomad Festival, which I've gone to three years now. I'll ~Um, ~and you know, even just living in places that have big nomad populations has been a great way for me to meet like minded people that I can meet up with in different parts of the world.

Ryan Mellon: [00:07:00] Absolutely. Okay. So what are some of the ways that let's say you're in Medellin that it's easy to meet other nomads for you?

Laurel Van Woerkom: Yeah, so here,~ um,~ well, first of all, there's WhatsApp groups and Facebook groups. So I would say, you know, For anyone who's traveling, nomading, one of the first things that I do to look for places to meet people is I go onto Facebook, I see what groups are there, and I'll ask friends who've been there,~ um,~ you know, what are the WhatsApp groups that I should join to meet like minded people.

~Uh, ~so here those things are abundant. And then through those groups, I've found,~ um,~ other groups. For instance, there's a community house here called La Casa.~ Uh, ~and they host a lot of English speaking events,~ uh,~ bilingual events as well. ~Um, ~for, you know, foreigners, expats and Colombians alike. 

Ryan Mellon: Okay. 

Laurel Van Woerkom: I also look at, you know, co living and co working spaces,~ uh,~ and see what events they have going on.

So there's a lot of co [00:08:00] livings here, like Selena and Keen Living, who also are hosting events for outside groups. And I've found that, you know, the majority, maybe even all the people that I've met here have been through those types of groups and events.

Ryan Mellon: Okay. Yeah. And that's very, uh, good advice. I've found the Facebook groups and co working spaces. And even if you're not staying in a hostel, just going for a drink at the bar, that, you know, That usually a lot of hostels have, or a restaurant there. You can meet a lot of solo travelers,~ um,~ as well, like minded folks.

Uh, you ~did remote, uh, ~mention remote Year. So, have you done a remote gear? Could you tell us about that?

Laurel Van Woerkom: yes. So, ~um, ~that was my introduction to this lifestyle. Actually, I did a 12 month program with remote year and it was the full calendar year of 2019.

Ryan Mellon: Okay.

Laurel Van Woerkom: So we,~ uh,~ we're in a different month or a different,~ uh,~ country every [00:09:00] month for 12 months straight. And I actually ended up doing it because,~ uh,~ a woman that I was working for at the time, she signed up for remote air and asked if I wanted to come along.

Ryan Mellon: That's awesome. So how does that work? ~Um, ~it's a large group of folks that are traveling together and do you have to pay it all up front? ~Um, ~what does that look like?

Laurel Van Woerkom: Yeah. So remote year puts together travel itineraries for,~ um,~ people who are working remotely. And so you come with your own job. ~Um, ~but basically you pay a down payment.

Ryan Mellon: Okay.

Laurel Van Woerkom: To prove that you can afford to do the program or less. And then,~ um,~ for the entire year, you're traveling with the same group of people.

So my group started out with 42 people. Um, we did lose some people along the way. people opted to not continue. Um, but, you know, we had on average about 35 people in our group throughout the year. And there were, they call them [00:10:00] remote year citizens. So people who had already completed their remote year programs would come and join us in different places, sometimes for a month.

~Uh, ~some of them even ended up becoming part of our family and joining us for six months. 

~Um, ~yeah, and you pay month by month, and that includes a workspace, an apartment to live in, and a few activities. and access to a marketplace where you can purchase other activities that you want to opt into.

Ryan Mellon: Okay. Awesome. So are you guys living, do you have your own accommodation? Like it, is it your private apartment? Do you share with other people?

Laurel Van Woerkom: Yeah, so, ~um, ~in some places we had our own apartments, and in other places we were living with people in the group. I know, you know, it's been a little bit since I did remote year, and I know that they've changed some things since then, but during my time, they were even playing around with [00:11:00] an option to pay more for a solo accommodation if that's what you prefer.

Ryan Mellon: Okay.

Laurel Van Woerkom: So, I don't know what that looks like now, but,~ um,~ there was a housing survey that they would send out every month so that you could kind of weigh in on your preferences for the month ahead.

Ryan Mellon: Okay. So that was your start to being out and working as a digital nomad. So after that year,~ uh,~ what happened?

Laurel Van Woerkom: Yeah, so I call remote your my training wheels. Basically,~ uh,~ there's so much to consider when you first start living this lifestyle, even things like, you know, how do I get a local SIM card? ~Uh, ~or how do I find accommodation in a place? Or, you know, how do I even know, like, What emergency services are, you know, and Remote Year provides a team on the ground that can help you with all of those things.

And so, It helps you to kind of wrap your head around. These are all the things that I need to think about and take into consideration when I'm going to a new [00:12:00] place.~ Um, ~and so I was really grateful to have that year and the support that they offered during that year. But following remote year,~ uh,~ I had met someone in my remote year group.

And so we dated for almost the entire year, actually. Yes. The entire year of remote year.

Ryan Mellon: Thanks.

Laurel Van Woerkom: We continued to date for another year and a half after that. So, ~uh, ~our program ended in Cape Town, South Africa, and we decided to continue traveling through Africa after that. So, yeah, we hopped around to Mauritius and Zanzibar and Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Ethiopia.

~Um, ~and then continued,~ um,~ onto Turkey and made it to Israel right as the world was closing down,~ uh,~ because of the pandemic in 2020.

Ryan Mellon: Okay. Okay. So then, then after that, did you go back to home and where is home for

Laurel Van Woerkom: Yeah, so, ~um, ~for me, home is [00:13:00] Colorado. That's where all of my family is. Yeah. ~Um, ~but my partner who I was with at that time,~ uh,~ he is Israeli. 

And so we spent the first three months of COVID in Israel with his family. And then as soon as the airport opened there, we made our way back to Colorado.

Ryan Mellon: Okay. So I, I was there for a month visiting family.

Laurel Van Woerkom: ~Um, ~But I didn't really want to feel like I was locked in in the U. S.

~Um, ~so I found out that Mexico was open to Americans. Not much of the world was

Ryan Mellon: Yeah.

Laurel Van Woerkom: at that time. And so I ended up meeting up with some friends in Mexico and spending the majority of 20, the rest of 2020 and 2021 there.

Ryan Mellon: Awesome. I love Mexico. And I also was in Mexico and the Bahamas during COVID because they were one of the very few places to get away. You know, I slowed down my travel. So I wasn't staying in hostels anymore and moving around as much. [00:14:00] It was definitely much more,~ uh,~ In one place, but,~ uh,~ yeah, it was a tough time,~ um,~ for a lot of folks.

And so it's always curious to hear how,~ um,~ the nomads had taken,~ uh,~ COVID and, and what they did during COVID. So after COVID,~ uh,~ you've been traveling around, you mentioned Nomad Fest. ~Um, ~so tell us a little bit about the Nomad Fest.

Laurel Van Woerkom: Yeah, so Bansko Nomad Festival is a yearly festival that takes place in Bansko, Bulgaria. Bansko is a small ski town. ~Uh, ~it's a gorgeous place and,~ uh,~ basically You know, it's become a bit of a nomad hub. So the first nomads who kind of discovered Bansko,~ um,~ they recognized that there was definitely a need to bring some income into this small village in the summertime.

Uh, and so they created a coworking space and started, you know, advertising to bring [00:15:00] nomads in. And so the first Nomad Fest, I believe, was in 2020. It was quite a small one. I first went in 2021. And I think back then there were maybe 150 people who came. And since then it's grown to, this year, there were, I think, seven or eight hundred nomads who came to the festival.

Ryan Mellon: Wow, that's

Laurel Van Woerkom: Yeah, yeah. So now there's multiple coworking spaces in the town. Uh, there's always kind of a nomad community there. There's a lot to do. ~Um, ~there's always people planning events and get togethers and activities.~ Um, ~but the nomad festival is quite incredible because it attracts nomads from all over the world.

~Uh, ~they have, you know, over a hundred speakers. Um, over a hundred workshops and all sorts of other activities too. So, it's just a very inclusive place to come together and meet people. I've gone three times now and each time it's like a great reunion to see friends that I [00:16:00] already know, but also just, you know, An amazing place to meet new people.

Ryan Mellon: I love it. It's like the nomad family reunion, right?

Laurel Van Woerkom: Yeah,

Ryan Mellon: see a lot of old friends and then meet some new ones. Yeah, I'd

Laurel Van Woerkom: you been Ryan? 

Ryan Mellon: not. I was not,~ uh,~ did not even know it existed until recently, right before the last one. And I did have a chance. I was in Peru for a month. And,~ um, uh, ~once I realized, That it was happening.

I did have a chance to possibly pop over there right in time to do it. But because I am moving to Bali here in a couple of weeks for the winter,~ um,~ I just, it was just going to be too much for me to hop out there and come back and get ready to for my move. So, but I, I do want to get it. Get it on the books in the upcoming years.

I've seen a lot from the Instagram posts and several other friends that have been there and it looks like a great time and a great place to network and learn and grow from other nomads as well. Build [00:17:00] those relationships. Like you said, so one day.

Laurel Van Woerkom: One day. Yeah, maybe next year. And honestly, there's So many other nomad festivals popping up too. It seems like almost every country in Europe now is introducing their own nomad festivals. So I think we'll see a lot more opportunities for this going forward.

Ryan Mellon: yeah, absolutely. And so, ~um, ~when you're, you're working, of course, as you travel, and so what is it that you do specifically?

Laurel Van Woerkom: I'm a hypnotherapist and a well being coach. So I help people to navigate life transitions around money and relationships.

Ryan Mellon: okay,

Laurel Van Woerkom: A lot of my clients are choosing to pursue a new career or they're starting a business often for the first time,~ uh,~ or, you know, they're looking for help with romantic relationships and other social relationships as well,

Ryan Mellon: okay. Now, as far as your clientele [00:18:00] goes, are you working with them in person, remotely, both?

Laurel Van Woerkom: but yeah, so, you know, it's great that we live in an era where I can do this work remotely,~ um,~ being able to do video calls. That's all that I need in order to work with clients all over the world. ~Um, ~but I'm actually finding that a lot of people want to do this work face to face as well. And I think some of that has to do with like video fatigue,~ um,~ just being on video calls all the 

time.~ Uh, ~and going back to the loneliness epidemic too, I think people are really craving in person connection and yeah, events and opportunities.

Ryan Mellon: Okay. So would you say that it's a large part of your client's nomads? Or are they locals? Like when you're like, let's say you're a Medellin, what are the types of folks that you're working with generally speaking?

Laurel Van Woerkom: so I would say here in Medellin,~ um,~ most of my [00:19:00] clients are expats,~ um,~ who live here kind of longer term,~ um,~ but who are native English speakers or, you know, ~uh, ~at least fluent English speakers.

Ryan Mellon: Okay, fair enough. And if you are working with people remotely,~ um,~ from other parts of the globe, obviously you've got time change challenges. How do you manage that?

Laurel Van Woerkom: ~Uh, ~you know, it's like a very,~ um,~ low tech,~ uh,~ website, but World Time Buddy is kind of my best friend when it comes to time zones. It allows you to put in like, you know, I don't know, ten, maybe even more different time zones and look and see what time it is where. ~ ~so that keeps me sane. But,~ um,~ It, yeah, I do find it's challenging sometimes when I'm like in one place getting ready to move somewhere else and I'm scheduling a meeting with someone who's from somewhere completely different in the world.

Ryan Mellon: Absolutely. And so as far as your like daily work schedule goes, do, do you ever find [00:20:00] yourself needing to work super early mornings or late in the evenings to meet your client's schedules?

Laurel Van Woerkom: Yeah, so when I was on remote here, I was working as a project manager for a marketing and branding agency. And so my clients were all in the U. S. ~Um, ~you know, I worked with clients from the East Coast to the West Coast. So across four different time zones. And we were on, you know, five different continents in the course of that year.

And so I had to do it all. I had to work American hours, European, Asian, and then African hours as well. ~Uh, ~and it was quite challenging at times. You know, I remember when we were in Japan, I was working from midnight to 8 AM,

Ryan Mellon: Oh,

Laurel Van Woerkom: ~uh,~ and that became quite tough. That really took a toll on my mental health.~ Um, ~so what I realized, you know, over the years of traveling and living and working from different parts of the world was just how important it was for [00:21:00] me to figure out how to be able to set my own schedule.

So I've learned a lot about when I'm most productive. You know, I know that I'm most productive early in the morning. Like starting around. 8 a. m. 8 to 10 a. m. And then I'm also quite productive in the evenings from about like 5 to 8 p. m. So now that I actually have flexibility within my schedule, I create my schedule with that in mind.

Now, of course I'm working with some clients who are in different time zones, right? And we have to flex therapy hours to work with people's work hours too, right? People either wanna work, meet in the mornings or after work in the evenings. And so I know that. I can't hold good space for people after 8 p.

m.~ Um, ~but I will meet with clients up until 8 p. m. wherever I am in order [00:22:00] to create that opportunity. Same with, you know, the mornings, I really like to have a morning routine. I like to take two, two and a half hours in the morning to myself, get a workout in, do some meditation. ~Um, ~But I will meet with clients as early as 8am, you know, in order to make sure that I can work with clients.

For instance, I have a client in Bali, right? So 

my, yeah, my 8am is her evening.

Ryan Mellon: Yeah. And overall, have you found that you've been able to,~ uh,~ it hasn't been too big of a challenge for your clients. Have there been clients where you just have had to say, I, you know, we can't work together just because of the time chain, the, the availability,~ um,~ just doesn't work for you.

Laurel Van Woerkom: that hasn't happened to me yet. That hasn't been the case, no. And, you know, of course,~ um,~ I, as much as possible, I like to keep my weekends free, but I've also been known to open up a few weekend [00:23:00] slots for people as well in order to make it work.~ Uh, ~you know what I've really found, Ryan, is, so, my, my career for years and years living in the U.

S.,~ uh,~ it was like a 9 to 5 grind. Mm hmm. In an office, let's say 9 to 5. I was supposed to be there at 8 a. m. I often stayed until 9 p. m.~ Um, ~but I had no control over those hours, right? I and I was expected to be on call all the time in the evenings on the weekends and it created a lot of stress and anxiety for me.

And the way that I've been able to structure my life now as a nomad, I have so much more flexibility. You know, I can work in the morning and the evening and go have fun in the afternoon if I want.~ Um, ~and so having that, it kind of makes me feel like I'm always on vacation. 

~Um, ~like I have such a good balance in my life that it's not stressful.

You know, I don't mind flexing to meet my clients. Because I know that I [00:24:00] can make it up somewhere else. Whereas a lot of people, you know, living in the modern workplace, they don't necessarily have that flexibility.

Ryan Mellon: absolutely. ~Um, ~and one of the things you just said resonated with me about how you kind of feel like you're, you're on vacation most of the time. ~Um, ~I just had some friends flying from Germany. I had met them in Australia last week. And so for the first time, I took a whole week off, like was not working at all so that I could, you know, Play tour guide and show them all around my home state.

And, uh, I was the first time that I actually realized that I haven't taken like a week off of work and probably about five years, as long as I've been a nomad, just the fact that I didn't even realize that I haven't taken a week off in five years and it. And I'm loving the lifestyle that I'm living and I'm traveling all the time.

And I've been to 23 countries and 23 or 22 countries in 23 U S States in the [00:25:00] past five years. It just doesn't feel like I, I needed a week off, you know, because you do get to integrate work into, to your travel and to your life. So it feels like,~ um, ~It doesn't feel like that, that nine to five or that eight to nine grind that you were talking about.

~Um, ~when you're in your home country and you, you, you're working for somebody and,~ um,~ it, you don't feel like you need that, those down weeks as much. So that's a really good point.

Laurel Van Woerkom: Yeah. Yeah, I was thinking about this recently because I had someone come to visit me. And, you know, this was a friend from the U. S. who, Takes, you know, maybe one or two vacations a year. And that's always an interesting dynamic when, like you said, you just had friends come to visit you, you took a week off work, right?

And sometimes when people come to visit, I don't necessarily have that, uh, luxury to take the time [00:26:00] off. Right. And so they're like, great, let's go do things. Let's go see everything. Can you play tour guide? And it's like, yeah. But I, I can't actually. This is my life. People forget that we're not on vacation all the time.

Ryan Mellon: absolutely.

Laurel Van Woerkom: you know, it, it's like, it's just the beauty of knowing that if I want to go, you know, spend a week or a month in a different country, rather than getting stuck in the monotony of living in one place your whole life and always, you know, Seeing the same people every weekend, doing the same things every weekend.

Like every weekend kind of feels like a holiday or a 

vacation because you're in a different place, exploring new things, meeting new people.

Ryan Mellon: yeah. And then, if you get bored or burn out in one place, jump on a plane and start over. Do it again somewhere else, somewhere new you've never been. So, how do you navigate visas in general? Mhmm.

Laurel Van Woerkom: ~Um, ~you know, I think we're, we're [00:27:00] extremely lucky at least now to have a U S passport. ~Um, ~so the world is quite open to us more so than it is for people of other nationalities.~ Um, ~but for me, Really, until recently, I was kind of a fast traveler, so I wasn't really ever staying in places long enough to have to worry about visas.

~Um, ~you know, a lot of places in the world, You can stay there for three months as a U. S. citizen before you have to move on.~ Um, ~Mexico, you can stay for six months. Colombia, you can stay for three months at a time, or six months in total in a calendar year. 

Ryan Mellon: ~Okay.~ 

Laurel Van Woerkom: so, now that I'm looking to,~ uh,~ Move less, stay longer in places.

~Um, ~I'm taking that into consideration, looking at places where I actually have the option to stay longer. I've thought about doing the digital nomad visa. ~Um, ~but here in Columbia, I don't really think I need it unless I really decide that I want to spend all my time here, but. I don't think I'm quite [00:28:00] ready for that yet.

I think I'm looking for maybe two or three home bases that I can move between throughout the year, spending like four to six months in each place.

Ryan Mellon: I love that.

Laurel Van Woerkom: ~Um, ~yeah. And, you know, I just spent all of last year in Guatemala, actually. And there you can stay for up to three months before you have to make a visa run.

So, ~uh, ~I just made sure to leave and go on vacation every three months. And it actually worked out really well because I had a family reunion. I had a wedding,~ uh,~ you know, I had enough,~ uh,~ different events coming up, but it was a welcome break.

Ryan Mellon: And for those that are listening that don't know what a visa run is. So basically you are on a tourist visa,~ um,~ a visa upon arrival usually. And then when that gets close to running out, you leave the country and come back and basically it resets depending on the country, of course. ~Um, ~and that's what I've done, uh, the past five years.

I've never applied for a visa. I've always,~ uh,~ [00:29:00] well, I wouldn't say never like places like Vietnam and stuff like that. ~You need to apply ahead of time, but, um, generally I've been working off of the, the tourist visa, which is perfectly legal. As long as you're working remotely from your home country, not working in that country for, you know, The country that you're traveling in.~

~Um, ~but this year with me going to Bali and having more of a set place like you kind of slowing down, I'll be in six months this winter. I'm actually working through the, uh,~ uh,~ the digital nomad visa application process right now, which is, it's a lot of fun,~ um,~ going through,~ uh,~ their,~ um,~ Navigating their website.

So I'm actually going to make a how to video to put on YouTube for folks to help get them through it because I've been pulling my hair out about it, but,~ um,~ I think it's just got an improved. And so now I have to figure out a way to pay because it's not that straightforward,~ um,~ how to get them my money that I need to, to apply for this visa.

But yeah, so that'll be a video coming soon. And a lot of countries are, ~um. ~Coming out with the digital Nomad visas, I think there's like 55 countries now, so it's definitely a thing that's become more popular. And I like that. It's, it's something that's [00:30:00] flexible and easy for a lot of people to take advantage of because then you don't have to worry about,~ um,~ moving quickly, especially when you're working, moving around a lot can create extra stress,~ um,~ and maintaining your work.

So, so for someone who might be interested in getting started and doing the type of work that you do,~ um,~ what would be, could you tell me what could possibly be like a starter salary for some, someone who wants to do the type of work that you do? Mm

Laurel Van Woerkom: Yeah, yeah. So, ~um, ~as a hypnotherapist,

Ryan Mellon: ~hmm.~

Laurel Van Woerkom: I would say that you can probably expect to make between 40, 000 to 60, 000 in your first year.

Ryan Mellon: Okay.

Laurel Van Woerkom: And, you know, that's on the low end, like the potential earnings for a hypnotherapist are quite high, but when you're first starting out, it's going to take time to build your clientele base, you know, to promote your [00:31:00] services, to have enough clients who can then refer you on to other people.

So that first year is really about laying that foundation. But from that point on, you know, you can easily make six figures.

Ryan Mellon: Awesome. Awesome. I think that gives people an idea kind of where, you know, ~uh, ~where they can start. So I appreciate that. And,~ um,~ what, what, tell me about one of,~ um,~ your top five experiences,~ uh,~ travels. Is there anything that comes to mind? That's just a magical place or magical moment or experience that.

You know, really, when you think back, like, you're, you're super,~ uh,~ excited to have had that experience and just really makes this lifestyle, you know, ~uh, ~worth it.

Laurel Van Woerkom: There's so many.

Ryan Mellon: I know. I know. But there's gotta be one or two maybe that pop out and if not, no worries.

Laurel Van Woerkom: yeah, so I, I can share two that are very different. ~Um, ~I would say [00:32:00] one is, know, when you find a community,~ um,~ that Really feels like your community. So I think for a lot of people who choose to become digital nomads and live this lifestyle, you've likely always kind of felt like you didn't quite belong in the, you know, the real world, the normal world.

~Um, ~we tend to be people who we want to live unconventional lives. We want to,~ uh,~ do things a little different from the, like, very prescribed Life progression that most people live. Right. And so I think back to what it was like to be in Playa del Carmen in 2020 and 2021 and there were, you know, probably over 500.

Nomads their nomad list,~ uh,~ named playa as the top, like the number three destination in the world for digital nomads during that

Ryan Mellon: Okay.

Laurel Van Woerkom: So we were there,~ um,~ and there were people from all over the [00:33:00] world there, and we were planning events and get togethers and meetups. A lot of them outdoors because of the pandemic.

~Um, ~but I was meeting so many interesting people who came from different backgrounds, who had different interests. And it was really a time for me, uh, figuring out my career change to coaching. ~Um, ~you know, And I was on my own spiritual and self development journey at that time, too. And so, I was meeting a lot of other people who kind of helped mentor me down that path, and guide me down that path.

And being in Mexico, too, like, there, Is so much connection with nature and with the ancient traditions there. So, you know, I was doing like Tema skulls, which is like local sweat lodge,

~um, ~doing cacao ceremonies there. I was doing ayahuasca ceremonies there. So, [00:34:00] really having these opportunities to connect with the local culture,~ um,~ and have, you know, a very different approach to my own personal growth.~ Um, ~now, another experience that was like, completely different, just a really cool thing is, ~um. ~I did a three week trip to Patagonia,

so it was mostly in northern Patagonia. ~Um, ~but you know, this is far south in South America, Argentina, and Chile. And I love hiking and camping growing up in Colorado. It's kind of part of my DNA. 

And so I'd actually met a friend at Basnko Nomad Fest,~ uh,~ that year. This was in 2022. And we decided together, you know, within a week of knowing each other, okay, we're gonna buy plane tickets to Argentina and we're gonna spend three weeks. ~Uh, ~we're gonna do like the oh, circuit in, you know, we're gonna go to El, we're gonna hike and camp and backpack in one of the most [00:35:00] beautiful places in the world.

~Um, ~and it was an absolute blast. It was, you know, going back to what you were saying about taking time off work. I hardly take time off work. And so I couldn't remember the last time that I had taken three weeks off work.

Ryan Mellon: that's awesome.

Laurel Van Woerkom: and each day, you know, we would just be there and hang out and enjoy the simple pleasures of.

Being in nature and, you know, even the days when we weren't hiking and camping, I'd get a bottle of wine and sit in a beautiful garden, just relax and enjoy life.

Ryan Mellon: Things that you kind of often forget to do when you're, you know, working the nine to five, living at home and you know, you're, you're running errands and preparing for the week and the next day. And yeah,~ um,~ I think that's a, that's a good insight, you know, like every time I travel, I see so many sunsets when I travel, but when I'm at home, it's like Not even part of my day most days because I'm [00:36:00] working late and like, it's just not a thing, you know, but when you're on the road, a lot of times you're with new friends and,~ um,~ yeah, it's always a good sunset somewhere.

And, you know, people will go out with friends and, and watch the sunset. And sometimes it's just the simple things that we forget to do. And that. Once we're in a different environment, we get pushed into,~ um,~ those simple,~ uh,~ pleasures of, of what's around us every day. So I love that. ~So awesome. Awesome. So ~I really appreciate this conversation and it's been a great one and And I think the listeners,~ um,~ love to hear your story, and I've been, love to hear your story.

So, where can they find you if, if someone wants to,~ uh,~ find you online, or get in contact with you, what's the best place to find you?

Laurel Van Woerkom: Yeah. So I'm on Instagram at underscore love dot Laurel, L A U R E L.

Ryan Mellon: Okay,

Laurel Van Woerkom: you can also find me on my website, which is [00:37:00] livewellwithlaurel. com.

Ryan Mellon: okay. Awesome. 

Laurel Van Woerkom: Feel free to reach out, send me a message and let's connect.

Ryan Mellon: okay, absolutely. And I'll definitely put that in the show notes for people to access as well. So awesome. Well, thank you again so much for your time today and enjoy the, uh, city of eternal spring. I'm sure it's amazingly beautiful there today. ~Um, ~and thanks for taking the time.

Laurel Van Woerkom: Absolutely. Thank you, Ryan. Have a good one.

Ryan Mellon: You too.

[00:38:00]