I Moved Out Of The US Without A Job and Survived. Here’s How I Did It:
Medium was instrumental to the process!
Roughly three years ago, I made the bold decision to move out of the US to South America as an expat.
My goal was to move to a low cost of living country that would allow me to figure out my life, what I wanted to do, and build something with minimal amount of financial pressure.
When I left the US, I didn’t have any job opportunities lined up to make money.
I only had a few thousands in savings, which I managed to lose because so many things went wrong along the journey, like getting deported to Jamaica and spending 3 and a half months feeling stuck on an island!
I still haven’t gathered the courage to tell this full story, yet. But long story short, by the time I arrived in Ecuador, I only had $35 in my bank account. What has happened from that point onwards has been a continuous unfolding of miracles.
I’m a living testimony that —
“When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it” — The Alchemist
Looking back, I don’t know how exactly I’ve managed to survive all of that and stay on track with building my ideal lifestyle
But not only have I survived! I’ve thrived!
When I left the US, all I had were :
- My laptop
- My dreams of making money from my laptop
To be honest, I wasn’t even entirely sure of where and how to start.
I picked a starting point — writing!
Subsequently, I took an expensive writing class to prepare myself. It was not worth it! Nonetheless, it was a confidence booster!
It made me believe that I could get paid to write.
But true confidence only came with practice — and Medium provided me the perfect platform to write, practice, gain exposure, build a portfolio and self belief.
If you don’t want to watch the video. No worries. I’ll summarize below:
Web Design, Copywriting & Consulting: This is the first gig that made me money while I was stranded in Jamaica. I created this opportunity when I discovered a friend from high school was starting a new online business. I approached her and pitched my services to her, she didn’t even know she needed it at that time. Subsequently, I became her website designer, a copywriter, and consultant who walked her through the process of getting her newly formed business off the ground. I leveraged skills I had and created an irresistible bundle offer.
Lesson:
If you’re looking for opportunities, look closer. Someone within your immediate network may be looking for services or skills you have.
Writing and Earning on Medium
I started writing consistently on Medium in 2021, and since then, I’ve watched my life change for the better.
It has been the perfect platform for me to establish myself as a writer, practice writing and build a portfolio to secure other writing gigs.
I’ve been able to earn money directly from the Medium Partner Program, although not too much, my earnings have gone towards rent and groceries, when I desperately needed it. Because I live in a low-cost country, even $30 — $50 can sometimes be enough for weekly groceries.
The most I’ve earned on this platform in a month has been about $800. I was overjoyed! Looking forward to more earnings like that in the future.
Lesson:
Medium is a great place to establish yourself as a writer, by practicing in public and sharing your work.
Freelancing/ Freelancing on Upwork
Upwork helped me make a few hundred dollars some months. But I’ll be honest, it was my least favorite way to look for opportunities to make money, and so I didn’t stick around for too long.
I didn’t enjoy buying points from Upwork, to apply for jobs I wasn’t sure I was going to get.
In my opinion:
Upwork is saturated with lots of low-paying jobs and people looking to exploit others.
But it’s still a good place to look if you’re really desperate for something.
Lesson:
Platforms such as Upwork can be a way to get your foot into the door when it comes to freelancing.
Writing opportunities that have come through Medium
I’ve attracted some job opportunities to myself just by writing on Medium.
People can find your work on Medium and in publications and reach out to you with job opportunities.
Diversifying my content was important to this process. ( You can watch my video above to learn more.
Lesson:
Writing on Medium can help you to create opportunities for yourself.
Tech Writing
I wrote all about my journey and how you can do it too, in the article below:
My E-Book: A Digital Nomad & Expat’s Complete Research Guide To Moving and Living Abroad
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