Two years after working for big multinational companies, then 21-year-old Aileen Adalid from the Philippines decided to quit the corporate rat race to become a “digital nomad”. Today, she gets to travel the world while living a sustainable travel lifestyle and earning $5,000 per month through her online ventures.
In an interview with Business Insider, Adalid revealed that she quit her entry-level, $300-a-month job at Deutsche Bank in 2013 and used her $600 savings to venture out away from the confines of office buildings.
As a budding traveler, she took online freelance jobs and used her slightly higher earnings to visit places she had always wanted to see.
“My pay at this point was more than double of what I earned at my office job and I was able to control my time more for working as I started to travel around more,” she said.
In 2014, Adalid relocated to Belgium and started an online retail business with her friend through Amazon called Adalid Gear, a health and outdoor accessories company. The brand has successfully taken off in Western markets with sales reaching $70,000 a month.
"Is it safe to travel to Brussels?" I get this message a lot recently… and my answer will always be a resounding "YES". Belgium has become my 2nd home and I've been living here for almost 2 years now. Despite recent unfortunate events, it's still absolutely fine to visit and travel to this country. DON'T cancel your plans — COME. The city will welcome you as it always has in the past. As they say: "Life goes on." Besides, if we change our travel plans and lose our 'wanderlust' every time the terrorists strike, then they would have won through and through… and remember this: we shouldn't let them win. Just stay street smart like you always do when you travel, and it should be fine. The risks are still low. After all, Brussels' beauty is something that you shouldn't miss, so go and book that ticket! ***…Is it your 1st time to visit here? If so, why not consider a Brussels Walking Tour by Global Enterprises? I recently joined one of their tours and it has been amazing! Come read my blog to see why [link in bio]
A photo posted by Aileen Adalid (@i_am_aileen) on
May 3, 2016 at 4:04pm PDT
She also currently runs her widely followed I Am Aileen travel and lifestyle blog. She now ranks as one of the world’s top 50 travel bloggers. With her newfound influence, she gets to enjoy perks from companies and hotels who want her endorsement. She stated, however, that she does not accept everything she is offered for free because she prefers her blog to “remain authentic, personalized, and uncluttered”.
Recalling the amazing time that we spent in Innsbruck, Austria <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/72x72/1f495.png" alt="