Meet Nicole McPherson, Editor of Woman Meets World and Location Independence Enthusiast

What is it about traveling that you’re so passionate about? I love observing new cultures and seeing things in real like that I’ve read about in magazines or seen on TV. Im a huge foodie as well so a lot of my travel pleasure comes from trying different foods from all around the world – my favourite place for food would have to be Bangkok – the street food there is to die for!

What made you decide to start travel blogging? I wanted a new hobby and one that could earn me a living in the future – naturally, this had to involve travel, so after some thinking I realised I had a lot of knowledge built up over the years that could be useful to other travellers or expats – thats when Woman Seeks World was born!

You focus a lot on location independence. What pushed you to make this transition and what are you doing now? It’s always been something that I’ve wanted, I just dont think I knew the exact words to describe it until i heard the term ‘location independent’ – Now i cant stop saying it! For me its all about the freedom – I have friends and family all over the world who i want to see regularly, and I want to explore as much of the world as I can in my life, so being able to work from anywhere in the world is a no brainer for me. At the moment Im based in London while I build both my online and offline businesses, but next year I’ll hopefully be moving around more as things start to grow. In 5 years time I hope to be splitting my time between the US, Europe and Australia.

Any tips for those who would like to become location independent themselves? Start now. It can take time to build a business that allows you the freedom to travel, so as soon as you can get started, do it! A lot of people ask me the best job for location independence, but it really depends on you – what are you interested in, what are your passions? Once you know these things you can start to brainstorm what you want to do. I personally think that having a niche website is a great way to earn income, and this allows you to work in a field that interests you, so you wont get bored and throw in the towel after a few months. Lastly, pick a date you want to be location independent and tell everyone as well as pin it above your mirror so you see it every day – once its on your calendar and the whole world knows about it you’ll feel more motivated to achieve your goal!

Favorite destination and why? Such a tough one! New York probably, but I also love London (obviously!), Melbourne and Paris. But the Big Apple gets my vote because every time I visit I find it more and more fascinating and never want to leave – I think it might be the only place in the world that makes me feel like that!

What is the funniest thing that has ever happened to you while traveling? The funniest things are probably the times that weren’t so funny at the time, but I can laugh about now! One that springs to mind is travelling through India where me and my boyfriend were stopped for photos nearly everywhere we went, and people wanted us to hold their babies and sign things for them – it was very strange, but we loved it!

I know one of your goals is to live on every continent. Any idea how you’re going to make this happen? It’s a big goal, but I think if I break it down into one city at a time it will feel a little easier – I’m pretty much at the beginning because although I’ve lived in Europe, there’s still other places I want to live in there! The plan at the moment is to live somewhere else in Europe within 2 years, and New York after that – after that, who knows!