🎙️ Ep 189 w/ Marie Walker - A Digital Nomad Reality Check: Marie’s Honest Story of Travel, Work & Burnout
In this week’s episode, I sit down with my longtime podcasting friend and returning guest, Marie Walker, to pull back the curtain on what digital nomad life actually looks like. This is not a highlight reel. This is the real, messy, energising and exhausting truth of building a remote business while bouncing between continents. Marie opens up about leaving the USA with a plan, the crash-and-burn moments that forced her to return home, and the unexpected personal growth that came from rebuilding twice.
We talk about the difference between backpacking and being a digital nomad, the pressure to stay productive while constantly uprooting your life, and the emotional toll of trying to create community in a new country every few months. Marie shares the honest lessons she’s learned from Europe, Southeast Asia, Australia and Korea, why she needed to end her 10-month trip early, and how burnout changed the way she approaches business, travel and lifestyle freedom.
If you’re dreaming of working remotely around the world or already living the nomad lifestyle, this conversation gives you the reality check most digital nomad influencers skip. It’s raw, funny, vulnerable and full of valuable perspective from someone who has lived the ups and downs.
Stick around to hear why Marie is now focused on rebuilding her foundations, where she’s heading next, and how she plans to approach digital nomad life differently moving forward. This episode is a must-listen for anyone considering taking their work on the road.
Marie Walker
Your Girl Media - https://yourgirlmedia.com/
Culture Cult Travel Show
Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/culture-cult-travel-show/id1603662928
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6Gfk2meDfzfmJIxybvoE6c
Want to travel with me to El Salvador?
Click this link to hear more - https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/winging-it-podcast/id1559489384?i=1000734952340
Click here to book - https://intrepid.wetravel.com/i/68fa168c8d157da799033142
❤️ Support the Show
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🕒 Timestamps
00:00 Intro
01:18 Marie joins the show
05:00 Digital nomad beginnings
10:12 Why she left the USA
15:44 Backpacking vs digital nomad life
22:00 Planning a long-term work-travel trip
26:14 The realities of burnout
30:42 Community, co-livings and connection
36:30 The loneliness factor
42:00 Digital nomads and overtourism
47:50 Dating while nomadic
55:00 What Marie would do differently
59:40 Lessons learned along the way
1:04:00 Closing thoughts
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Produced by Winging It Productions - https://www.wingingitproductions.com
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