French Canadian Anthony Boudreau is living the nomadic dream💫

27-year-old French Canadian Anthony Boudreau created a big splash when he landed as a newbie into our (now open-to-the-world) Growmotely Community about two weeks ago. Right out of the starting blocks, he shared with us the 11 steps that he took in order to transition from being a location-dependent professional in Montreal, to being a location-independent digital nomad – currently residing in Belgrade, Serbia.

How did he make that transition? And why, then, did he decide to join our community? And – finally: what can we all learn from this vibrant and adventurous soul? Well – keep reading to find out.

Anthony finished his bachelor’s degree at the Université du Québec en Outaouais in Canada in 2018 – graduating with a degree in business – bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to enter the workforce.

“Is this life as an adult?” he thought as he settled into his daily routine as a Human Resources Consultant at a boutique consultancy firm in Montreal. Whereas he loved the company and his work there, his day required too much structure for his tastes, and he found himself wanting to travel more than what he was able to do with his allotted holiday days. 

When COVID hit, things changed. Most notably, he discovered the world of remote work. And let’s just say that – for him – it was love at first…experience. “Until you taste what remote work is like, you don’t know what you’re missing out on.”

Anthony found that his productivity soared, citing that he was able to fit what he needed 60 hours to do previously into 40 hours. His own work environment at home was distraction-free, and he was able to stay “in the zone” for longer periods of time. (And he no longer woke up at 5:30am to boot.)

His success with remote work then led him to think about where he was living, realizing that as things currently were, his body didn’t actually need to be in Montreal. He started wondering how far his money might go in other countries.

When it came to the point of asking his current employer for permission to remain 100% remote and re-locate, his employer said ‘no’ for a number of – understandable – reasons. But Anthony had a vision and was on a mission.

Here are the steps that Anthony took to turn his vision into reality:

1. He researched the digital nomad lifestyle and decided that he wanted to jump all in.
2. He shared with his close friends and family that he would be leaving. (His dad didn’t understand since he believed that Anthony was dropping his “successful career”.) 😊
3. He started brainstorming possibilities for income streams and searching for remote jobs – only looking for opportunities that would allow him to work remotely in other countries.
4. He then booked his one-way plane ticket to – and an Airbnb in – Zagreb, Croatia. 🥳
5. He looked into visa requirements in Europe (e.g. Schengen countries vs non-Schengen countries.)
6. He spoke to tax professionals – wanting to make sure that he stayed in the bounds of what was legal.
7. He sold all of his belongings – gradually. (Timing was key! ➡️ He still needed a bed up until the morning of his departure after all!) Facebook Marketplace proved to be the most efficient way to do this.
8. He equipped himself with everything he needed to work abroad. (e.g. lightweight portable monitor, keyboard, mouse, and laptop stand.)
9. He called the relevant insurance companies and cancelled the policies that would no longer be valid when he was abroad. He bought a global travel medical insurance (from SafetyWing) instead.
10. He made a budget! 🤑
11. He read books, meditated, doubled down on his yoga practice and journaled a lot. He needed A LOT more ‘mindful time’ to process all of it. 

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Anthony now is working for a remote-first company – called Omnipresent – as a Customer Success Manager and is nomading around Europe with his best friend. (Top tip from Anthony to pretty much eliminate loneliness on your nomadic journey: do it with someone with whom you are super close!)

Anthony chose to join our Growmotely Community recently because not only is he addicted to learning, but he also loves the idea of being part of an online community of like-minded individuals who are committed to remote work, learning and travel. He also – as evidenced from his ‘How to become a nomad’ list above – has added immediate value to our community, and in return is keen to learn from his fellow community members!

Here at Growmotely, we are building a springboard for people to create the life and lifestyle of their dreams. For some – like Rowland in Nigeria and Vanessa in Venezuela – that might mean working remotely from their home country. For others – like Anthony – that will mean designing a life of travel whilst all the while cultivating a fulfilling career.

We see the Future of Work as chock-full of people who design their lives with purpose – and who never feel alone whilst doing so…now that we have opened our Growmotely Community to the world.

We would love for you to join us – both on our platform and in our community – in creating this future… 💫

Written by: Vanessa Kettner (Growmotely’s Creative Writer and your Remote Work Cupid)
Dedicated to: Of course! ➡️ Anthony Boudreau. Merci d’avoir infusé tellement de bonne énergie dans notre communauté déja ! 🙏🏼