When the pandemic hit, I felt stuck in my life. At the time, I was paying $850 a month to live in a small, crappy apartment with roommates.
I spent my evenings doing nothing but playing video games and eating Chipotle burritos. I started feeling upset and exhausted after work, which is when I started wondering about working abroad. In 2019, I moved to Seattle to work as a curriculum developer at a computer science school. Growing up, I had an average Colorado childhood - I played sports, hung out with friends, and went snowboarding. The city is home to both Army and Air Force bases so I had the chance to make friends with people from all over the US. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Austin Abeyta, a 32-year-old digital nomad who's one of the most popular "passport bros" on TikTok. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.