The Go Places Now Story: Taking Off, Living Abroad and Going Places

The Go Places Now story began with me saying that I deserved to do more than what I was doing: working 9-5 doing social media and marketing for an IT company, exhausting myself and being depressed.

Needing a change of scenery, I wanted to go abroad for a year to work and study. So after months of contemplation, I set off to do a work-study program in Spain. Little did I know that nothing would turn out as I planned. I ended up running away from my placement on the first day because I didn’t feel comfortable.

I fled to Seville, a beautiful city in the south of Spain and frantically found a place and a job in less than 72 hours. I taught English at a language centre for a few months while trying to master the Sevillian Spanish (that didn’t go well) and lived with two housemates - one spoke English and French, and the other only spoke Spanish. Needless today, my south-American-influenced Spanish was starting to get confused.

After a few months, I unexpectedly embarked on an adventure: I headed to Morocco for a one-month co-living retreat. I lived in a traditional Moroccan riad with a group of like-minded professionals from around the world. Together, we explored the medinas, coasts, mountains and deserts, learned new skills from each other, pushed our boundaries, de-mystified and re-mystified life. It’s a really cool experience that inspired my retreats.

Following that, I headed to Europe. To Paris, where I caught up with friends and on work; to Amsterdam where I met a colleague that I had never met in person, and reunited with a housemate who lived with me 12 years ago in Mexico; to Vienna where coffee is served the ‘proper’ way - with a glass of water; to Switzerland where I hiked in the rain (not recommended) and visited an enchanted cave; and to London where I met some of my favorite writers and had them show me around the city; and to Barcelona where I got pickpocketed for the second time in my life, had a stranger present me with a book he wrote, made friends, made enemies and learned the value of being true to yourself.

The last leg of my adventure was spent in Hong Kong, where I lived in a box while I overworked myself teaching English to kids. It was an intense, but great experience.

So much for just going away for a year to work and study, right?

Sometimes, life just wants you to go places. I want you to go places. I don’t mean you need to go on a 20+ city adventure like I did; I want you to push your boundaries and do things that make you feel alive.

Welcome to Go Places Now. I hope you’ll find the inspiration you need to go places, whatever that means to you!

Adventure on,

Kim