To Stay or Go: Riding Out COVID-19 in Mexico

Today I am joined by a guest, Lacey McLaughlin.

The title of this recording was living in Mexico during the height of the coronavirus outbreak.

I thought it would be really interesting to have somebody else's perspective living in another country than here in the United States.

And so I went ahead and hopped on the call with Lacey and went ahead and recorded this interview that I wanted to share with you.

I think it's really neat to get somebody else's book on what was happening in the world when all of this was going crazy and none of us really knew what to expect.

So I hope you enjoyed the conversation.

And without further ado, here's the interview with Lacey.

Hey guys, I am joined today by a friend of mine, Lacey McLaughlin.

Lacey, welcome to the podcast.

SPEAKER_02: Thank you guys so much.

I'm happy to be here.

SPEAKER_03: Well, wonderful.

Well, I'm super thrilled to have you here today.

And I guess besides for being a friend of mine, would you mind explaining to everybody, introduce yourself?

SPEAKER_02: Hi, I'm Lacey McLaughlin, and I'm a writer and brand strategist.

Right now I'm located in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

I am originally from Florida.

I've basically lived all over Florida at this point, from the Panhandle to Central Florida and Miami.

And now this chapter of my life is taking place in Mexico.

SPEAKER_03: That's awesome.

Well, that that's actually the thing that for those listening is the thing that got me really interested and was like, you know what, I need to have Lacey on the podcast.

Was with everything going on in the world with the coronavirus and the craziness that we've all been going through, I was like, you know what?

It'd be really awesome to get somebody's perspective who's living in another country.

And so that's where I, you know, wanted to ask you, Lacey, is how have things been there in Mexico?

SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you know, Mexico was a little bit later than everyone else to start closing down.

I think the US was starting to go under lockdown, and we weren't yet.

You know, we were kind of watching how it was going down all over the world.

And I was living in Mexico City at the time last year.

I came to Mexico and I thought I was going to come for two months and do the, you know, remote work thing.

And then I ended up just I kept staying because I really loved it.

And yeah, I have a lot of friends from all over the world and that do the digital nomad or expatriate lifestyle.

And they a lot of people were leaving and going home because we just didn't know what was going to happen.

And being in another country that's not your own, especially more of a developing country, there was concern, I think, about resources and just instability and a lot of things.

And then, you know, also accessing healthcare as someone who's a foreigner.

So saw a lot of tourists and long-term travelers here leave.

But that was a hard call to make, I think, because I know my parents were like, okay, like now come back to Florida.

But I just felt Mexico was where I wanted to be, and I didn't want to feel displaced.

So I actually ended up coming to the beach, Playa del Carmen.

For me, I wanted to get out of the city and be more in nature.

And my my lease happened to be up on March 31st.

And I was supposed to do three months of traveling.

I had friends getting married in France and Boston, and I was just gonna do this three-month trip and like come back and find a new apartment.

But COVID had other plans.

So I again, you know, I thought I'd be in Playa del Carmen for maybe like two or three months, and that was in March, and I'm still here.

And now I feel like I'm actually getting to experience like the wonderful things Playa del Carmen and Quintana Roo has to offer.

And I'm a beach girl, grew up at the beach, and so I don't really have plans to leave Playa del Carmen at this point, but things are starting to open back up.

Tourism obviously has been hit really hard, but the beaches are now starting to reopen and the case numbers continue to go down.

I mean, we're not out of the woods yet, but it's a very calm, like it's it's a very chill place to be right now, and I'm really enjoying it.

SPEAKER_03: Well, that sounds really nice.

It sounds like a much better place to be than a lot of us uh here in the United States because calm and chill and relaxing is not how I would describe the majority of the United States over the past few months.

So I think you've had it pretty good.

SPEAKER_02: So I mean, if it's any indication, we never ran out of toilet paper here.

Everyone just bought exactly what they needed and didn't go overboard and we were fine.

So I was never without toilet paper.

Grocery stores stayed pretty stocked.

And I think there's just like a calmer approach to these things, especially here.

Mexico went through the H1N1 pandemic in 2009, and they were hit really hard, things had to close.

I think the culture here is just kind of, you know, you deal with things as they come.

You don't spend a lot of time worrying about what's gonna happen in the future because there's, you know, you just deal with it.

And people here, you know, family is really important, community is really important, and I've just seen people really take care of each other in a really beautiful way.

But that is to say, you know, people are suffering here economically, and a lot of people have died or gotten coronavirus, so I try to remember that as well.

That maybe it's chill and like relaxing for me, but that's definitely a privilege, and that's a privilege that like I have a responsibility to promote sustainable and conscious travel and thinking about how as a foreigner can come to another country and try to leave it a little bit better or do my part to leave it better than when I got here.

SPEAKER_03: That's awesome.

And and I tell you that that's really something to hear.

And I think I think a lot of people, you know, that's such a you know, a touristy area that people think of, just the beaches and people um, I think we tend to travel places and we don't really think about the people who live there on a daily basis, who grew up there, who have generations there.

And and so listening to you talk about the the culture and stuff, I have to imagine that that has to be one of the draws that has um had you staying there for so long, is that right?

The just the the people.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah.

Yeah.

I think culturally the people and the food.

SPEAKER_03: Yeah, so of course the the food, the food.

Now we we for for most people, and you know, we all want to know, does the food, is the food better than the American version?

SPEAKER_02: I think it depends what you like, because Mexican food is a lot different than you know, American food, which doesn't actually really have an identity.

But if you like spicy stuff, if you like tacos, like fresh salsa, I think I know the first time like they brought tacos to me, they brought like a tray of like all different kinds of freshly made salsas, you know, five different versions.

I was just in heaven.

So for me, that's great food.

It goes beyond tacos, but it's just so fresh, especially on the coast.

There's just such great fruit and juices, and you know, you can make it really healthy too if you want.

So that's just been a perk for me.

But I mean, I pretty much love all kinds of food.

So I think no matter what country I'm in, I'll probably find things that, you know, I'll probably find something about the food if it's different than American food, because it's just getting that authentic, you know, food that you can't really find.

I was living in Miami, and you know, there's not a lot of uh Mexican culture in Miami, so actually not a place to really find a lot of tacos.

You can find a lot of Cuban food.

Like I love I love Cuban food.

There's not like much to it, but I love Cuban food.

I love Cuban coffee, and that's all awesome.

But yeah, not a lot of tacos in Miami.

So I feel like I got my fill when I in the next one.

SPEAKER_03: I was gonna say you you've gotten your fair share now, so that's great.

SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and like you never get tired of them, they're just on every corner.

They're like there's so many variations, and now I've found a lot of like vegan and vegetarian tacos too that are like just as good.

SPEAKER_03: That's that's awesome.

Well, well, so I have to ask you.

So for for those listening who might be thinking to themselves, wow, like this is crazy.

This this girl just moves to to Mexico and she's living there and by herself and stuff, but this isn't really your first rodeo traveling abroad.

And um would love to uh kind of ask you how that all got started, because I know you've you've traveled many places, exotic places by yourself.

And um, so I would love to know what was it that that got that desire in you to start traveling.

SPEAKER_02: I think it started back in high school and middle school.

I was involved in a church youth group that did trips to South America.

I went to Africa when I was in high school.

And I just remember that experience being so young and realizing that people in different parts of the world have a completely different experience, completely different cultural norms than we do in the states.

And that in some ways, that was really shocking to me at a young age to be met with a culture so different than my own, but it was also really eye-opening.

And it kind of piqued my curiosity too, like, well, how if this is one place in the world, like what are other places like?

And how do people, you know, I think it came down to, I was really curious, especially at a young age, like I found a difference in um, you know, when it comes to family or when it comes to values, or when it comes to the way people spend their time in other countries that were so different than the culture that I grew up in, that I just really got the travel bug, like with this idea of like, what is how do other people enjoy life?

Like, how does, you know, like cultural norms, like, how does that impact quality of life?

And how can we learn from other cultures and like kind of borrow the way that they approach life into our own?

And I I remember at a young age Latin culture really appealed to me.

It was so warm and just inviting, and that was a little different from how I grew up.

I grew up in the South, so it's like you know, manners and you know, there's kind of like everyone's warm and friendly, but you know, you don't really like air out your dirty laundry, like you blend all the time.

And I just found Latin culture it was just so open and so real, and and and I just loved it.

And so, you know, I spent my 20s like going to college, I got a degree in journalism, and I always had this dream that I would travel more.

I thought I would, you know, I had dreams of being, you know, an international journalist and living abroad.

And then I think for most of us who are millennials, like when I graduated in 2008, and it just was like the whole economy was terrible.

It was like you're lucky to have a job.

I really felt it all around me.

And I think I put that those dreams on hold because you know, the the message was like, hey, you're just lucky to get a job right now and you know, then try to pay your bills now that you're an adult.

So then that turned into a journalism career that I actually really loved, and I didn't feel the pool so much to go abroad because I really wanted to be a journalist.

And I kind of thought, oh, this is like a stepping stone.

This is how I build my career.

And I worked in Mississippi, I worked in Daytona Beach News Journal.

And then the I realized like my 20s just kind of flew by, and I was about to turn 30, and I was like, oh my gosh, my 20s are almost over.

And I've done like basically zero traveling in my 20s.

I did a study abroad program in Prague, and that was it.

And I was like, oh my gosh, like this is not how I saw my life going.

So I booked a trip, a solo trip to Peru for my 30th birthday to do a five-day trek to Machu Picchu and spend two weeks in Peru.

And that trip like kicked off, like, you know, for me, the way like of living in which I would make travel probably like my top priority.

Like designing my life around it, my business around it, like however, whatever I had to do or my job at the time around it, you know, like whatever I had to do, I wanted to make travel more of a priority and make sure I was taking trips that really nourished my soul and like taught me something new about other cultures.

So for the past five years, oh, almost six years now, getting older, um, I I've really been fortunate to do a lot of the traveling that was on my bucket list.

And I'm so glad I did at that time because obviously now COVID has limited traveling, hopefully, you know, for the short term.

But I'm I'm glad I got out there when I could.

SPEAKER_03: Of course, of course.

Now, so I have to ask you, I mean, for the for the first big trip, you know, heading down to to take on such a massive task is a big climbing expedition like that.

What what was it that made that the trip that you wanted to do first?

SPEAKER_02: I had a connection with South America and I had spent some time in Bolivia and just really felt like Peru was somewhere I'd always wanted to go.

Just the ancient civilization and the history and the customs, you know, that really appealed to me.

I wanted to do something challenging.

I wanted to show myself that I could do something, you know, that was out of my comfort zone.

And if I could do that, you know, hopefully it would show me that I could open the doors to like other things in my life that felt intimidating or scary.

SPEAKER_03: Well, so now like during that that trip, is there any specific point during that trip or maybe one particular moment or maybe even the several that really stand out in your mind that were really those like moments that completely changed who you would be and and where your life would take you?

SPEAKER_02: Hmm.

You mean in that trip to Peru?

SPEAKER_03: Yeah.

Yes.

Yeah.

Like, I mean, I just I just can imagine that, you know, we talked about such a life-changing trip that that has to be, and I can imagine just the had to be both a mental and physical, you know, transformation that you had to have gone through.

And and I'm just thinking, is there anything like points that stand out during that time that really maybe it was like I don't know, maybe even some a point that was really like a low for you when you were like, I don't know if I can do it, or you know, stuff like that.

Is there anything like that that stands out?

SPEAKER_02: I was in not the best shape when I did it.

I mean, I I tried, but I um and I and I've run like half marathons, but I I weighed like probably 30 pounds more when I did that.

But so I actually struggled a little bit more than other people on the truck who are like from Colorado and have like done because there's no way to really hike in Florida.

I mean, I was putting like weights on my legs and trying to go up and down bridges, but didn't really, you know, do it.

It's not like the hardest trek in the world, but like it, it is, it is challenging.

And I think most people who do it are like, whoa, okay, this you have your moments, right?

But it is, you know, it's five days.

So the truck is Salcante.

There's the Inca Trail, and then there's Sal Cante, which is an alternative trail.

Um, Salcante does not fill up as quickly as the Inca Trail.

The Inca Trail like books out really far in advance.

So this is a great, wonderful alternative for someone who maybe decides to go last minute.

And it was this most beautiful.

I mean, I just can't even describe the landscape.

I'm so beautiful.

I think for me, the synchronicity of that trip was just incredible.

I I have not had so many like synchronicities and things align like as I had on that trip.

And you know, I'm reading The Alchemist right now again, and like, you know, the the book is like about discovering your like personal legend and like paying attention to omens and signs.

And um they talk about this thing called beginner's luck, like when you go in the direction of like your dreams, like sometimes the first step is like the most magical because it's like it's there to remind you, like that, you know, it's there to like bring it together for you, but it's not always like that.

And I don't think I've had a trip that like everything was as like just meant to be, and you know, I I won't like go on forever about it, I could, but just uh one example was there were two other women who were in my group and they were both on their own, they were solo travelers, we were around the same age, and then we found out that we were all there for birthdays, and so we became like best friends, and the one girl, her birthday was on the the 13th of October, mine was on the

12th, and then the other girl's birthday was on October 11th, and I okay I'm saying this, and it we were trekking that during that time.

That was like the so each day we had someone's birthday to celebrate, and it had each one of us it had been our dream to do it like on our birthday.

One of the girls from Australia, like from the time she was little.

So I get goosebumps just like that.

I met these women, and actually, when we became like lifelong friends, and everyone in that group just became such good friends.

Like we used to do reunion trips every year after, like just to get together somewhere.

And actually, one of the women like who shared like the birthday week, she I was going to her wedding in France this summer, and we were all gonna be there from the trek, and then COVID canceled it.

So those friendships have continued, have been some of the most deep friendships of my life.

That is what the spirit of like those friendships and the people in our group, it was just a magical group.

And I've done like group tours, I've done tracks since, like, I think trying to recreate that magic, and I haven't been able to.

I was just like, you know, in lightning strikes.

And I think for the challenging moments, just not know like I had a few moments where I really just didn't know if I could keep going.

Like one in particular, I just sat on a rock like crying because I was like, I just I don't know if I'm in good enough shape to do this.

Like the altitude was really getting to me.

It was just like a steep, steep climb.

And the guide, you know, came up to me and he's like, you can do so much more than you think you can.

And you know, having these friends on that, like that I just met, and they encouraged me the whole way, and seeing them like go, like keep going when it was really hard.

You know, I that's not a trek I probably could have done alone.

I don't even know if I could have done that.

If I had gotten like a bad group of people that like were not nice, I don't know if I could have done it.

Um, but it was really the spirit of the group, the encouragement and and being like feeling like you know, we were all part of something really big.

And then obviously, like when you're sitting there and you're struggling, like when you just look at like the landscape and realize you're in the middle of nowhere, no cell phone service, like far away from everything.

And you know, you're like, hmm, I'm really like living right now.

You know, I'm not sitting in an office desk, I'm really out here doing it.

And when you can push through those moments and get to the other side, it's really amazing.

And that trip actually ended like with there was a couple in our group from Colorado who we became really good friends with, and the guy proposed to the woman um at the top of Wanapicu, which is like the we went to when we got to Machu Picchu, there's another hike that you can do, believe it or not, if you haven't hiked enough.

SPEAKER_01: And it's really hard.

SPEAKER_02: You have to and you have to book that one in advance, but you can hike the top of Wanapichu.

It look, it's when you see those really cool pictures of Machu Picchu like from bel above, that's where that, that's probably where it's been taken.

Wanapicu, it looks over everything, it's incredible.

And they got engaged on the top of that.

So we had this like big celebration on the last day.

It was amazing.

Like I've not, you know, like I said, I've never had a trip like with that many synchronicities.

And yeah, it was just really beautiful.

SPEAKER_03: Wow, that's I mean, literally, as you as you keep talking, you're like, is this for real?

Like, I mean, you can't get any more like this magical, life-changing adventure.

That where you just you look at something like that and you just think how like every piece fit together in all of your lives to bring you all together at that one moment.

You know what I mean?

It was it's just one of those things that you know it was meant to be.

And that's just that's just awesome.

SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and like, you know, sometimes things just magically, it's like when you when you take a risk, when you go out of your comfort zone, because here I was, like, I had, you know, granted, I had never done a trip like that on my own.

I hadn't really traveled and like I hadn't gone out of the country like in seven years.

I, you know, didn't really speak Spanish that well.

And I was thinking, man, I really hope my birthday isn't like me alone, like somewhere, you know, in another country, like feeling lonely.

And it was like completely the opposite.

So to me, it really taught me the importance of like listening to your inner voice, to do the things that really call you, and and taking a chance, even if it's out of your comfort zone, because that's where on the other side of all of our hesitancy or resistance and our fears, like that's where we can find like the deeper parts of ourselves and like our real essence and the things that really bring us joy.

SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.

Absolutely.

And I think I think especially right right now, as as we've all been dealing with with this, with the coronavirus and all of that, you know, it just reiterates the fact that that tomorrow is never guaranteed.

And, you know, every one of us, we have the same amount of hours and minutes and every single day.

And it's all up to us of how we choose to use those.

And and like I said, and right now, when when you know that tomorrow is not guaranteed, you gotta do what you want to do today.

And and I just look at that and I look at that as the perfect example of just trusting, letting go, and just trusting and just going for it.

And um, I think that's just such a a perfect representation of that type of mindset.

SPEAKER_02: And I love travel because it teaches you everything you really need to learn about life.

You know, it's like real-time like learning.

It's very applicable, it makes you very adaptable, it makes you more courageous, makes you more open, gives you a better understanding of people who are different than you.

It helps you to trust the world.

And I think I'm I'm just really hoping to see like, you know, the the travel renaissance happen after COVID because we're gonna we're gonna need that in the world.

We're gonna need to bridge like deeper understandings of different cultures.

We're going to, we're gonna need to do that.

I think I found I was in lockdown for like two and a half months and took it very seriously.

Like it really did not leave my house.

And it I just felt more closed off.

I felt I was becoming more judgmental, and I thought this is not how we're supposed to be.

We close ourselves off from other people, we start, you know, having judgments and misunderstandings, and just it can feel really isolating.

So travel is an incredible way to make us all better citizens of the world, to broaden our frame of reference.

And but it does require the type of travel where you do push yourself out of your comfort zone.

Nothing wrong with going to a resort and relaxing.

In fact, like some trips, you know, are amazing just to do that.

But I think there's there's something to be said for you know, going off the beaten path of having dialogue with people maybe you wouldn't normally talk to and putting yourself out there when you travel.

And hopefully we'll see, yeah, a whole renaissance happen with people who thought, oh my gosh, I've been wanting to travel, I put it off, now I can't because of COVID.

And I hope that that means that, you know, when this is all over, those people will be reinforced and have motivation to make it happen.

SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.

And and I do.

I think I think that's truly going to happen.

I think I know with me in the travel industry, we're already seeing that that demand of, you know, people, people ready.

And, you know, it's just we've never experienced something quite like this.

And it just kind of puts you in a uh reality track of uh, you know, how important life is.

I want to keep us traveling because I know that trip kind of spurred something in you that that set forth many more travels.

And so I would love to know where else have you traveled?

SPEAKER_02: You know, a lot of my travel has been south in Latin America, I will say.

And that's my long-term goal is to make Mexico my base and then travel more.

But I've just kind of been getting re-established the last year.

So after that, um, I went to I've gone to Cuba, Ecuador.

I went to Cuba like right when it opened to like Americans.

That was when was that?

I don't even know.

I think that was 2012.

No, 2013, 2013.

SPEAKER_03: It was it was something.

SPEAKER_02: It was something that was cool.

That was really that was really great.

Yeah, Ecuador was amazing.

I did another solo trip in Ecuador and did like a biking tour like through the entire country.

It was incredible.

Linked to the volcanoes.

And Ecuador, Costa Rica is a very special place for me.

I spent six weeks there after I left my job to start my business to do like a reset, and that's really where I got into spirituality and like healthy living mind-body um connection.

Such an incredible place for healing, for nature, for like just getting back to the basics of life.

And then I went to Nepal and did the Ever Space Camp truck.

And then last summer I took off to Mexico, which I thought would be for a couple months.

And I but I was like between leases in my apartment and just realized like my whole business had really shifted to being online and living in Miami.

I started my copywriting business.

And I did like a year of just like I was on like a networking marathon, and it went to like every BI meeting, went to, I mean, I was like, yeah, it was a marathon of in-person networking.

And I realized like that year was actually really important for me to be able to have a remote business because right now, like I have clients from all over the world, but the majority of my clients are from Miami, and it's from that year of really like boots on the ground work.

So creating like a remote lifestyle, remote business or remote job, like it's gonna be different for everyone.

For me, I'm an I'm working on being like more of a funnel person and like being just really awesome at digital marketing, but I'm a relationship builder.

So for me, like the in-person relationships that I make, those are my best form of marketing.

And that was really the fuel I needed to spend a year really focused on building relationships because now I don't have to do as much work to get new clients.

I have like really nice steady stream of referrals, and they never really mind where I'm at.

They're like, oh, you're in Mexico, cool.

Like, you know, all of our work is done online anyway.

So yeah, so Mexico last year, and then, you know, I loved Mexico City.

What an incredible, oh, everyone should experience Mexico City once.

I just did not want to leave.

Um I found, I feel like I found my little like equivalent of like, you know, Greenwich Village in New York City.

Like I found just a community of artists and writers and this international community, art, culture, food, like everything just all the time going on.

It just was incredible.

And then, you know, now I'm in Guintanaroo, which is just the nature, the cenotees, like the whale sharks, the ocean.

I mean, it's just just such a beautiful place.

And I feel like right now, nature has become really healing for a lot of us.

It's something that I missed a lot in lockdown.

And it's, you know, I think it gets us back to simplicity and it gets us back into the like kind of like the rhythm and the patterns of the earth, just to like spend more time in it, because we've all had to like wrestle with stability and uncertainty.

And you know, the thing that is pretty certain is the patterns, like, you know, when the sun rises or when the sun sets, and like being in nature, you know, you always feel like things are gonna be okay.

Because like you look around, you just see like birds doing their thing, like the trees are fine, like you know, nature's like, hey, it's cool, we got this.

And you're like, okay, maybe, maybe I'm watching too much news, you know, like maybe the world isn't actually falling apart.

So I think if you're thinking about traveling, thinking about like going to a place that can, you know, a lot of people are like, should we travel, should we not?

But like if you are going to travel, maybe thinking about places like really rooted in nature could be a good first trip post-COVID.

SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.

I agree.

I agree.

Now, now one thing you were talking about, you know, your your work style and and working remotely.

And and obviously right now, that's probably going to be appealing to a lot of people.

You know, and so I think that's one thing that, you know, for for a lot of people right now, I know a lot of businesses have had their employees now working from home.

And and I've even seen the travel industry is really catching on to this trend as well.

Because I even know that, you know, some of the uh the big resorts in the in Mexico and stuff, they are actually offering packages for travelers to come and work remotely from the from the nice resorts.

They even have tutors for the children who are doing uh homeschooling.

And and so, you know, you can, you know, kind of uh make the best of out of a situation like that.

And um, I don't know, I think you, you, Lacey, you've just kind of taken that to a whole nother level and show it's out of the norm.

It's not what, you know, our our parents and grandparents grew up doing it with, you know, you you get a job and you you go to work, you work your eight to five, you know, Monday through Friday, and everything doesn't have to be like it used to be.

And, you know, and a lot of times there's new ways of doing things, better ways of doing things.

And I look at you and your lifestyle that you're able to be in an entire other country.

And like you said earlier, I mean, there's so much power involved in in traveling and getting to experience new cultures that it just it does something good for your soul.

And I look at that like, you know, you're able to do that with being able to work remotely.

That's so honestly, that's the same with with my travel business.

I mean, as long as I have a laptop and a smartphone, I mean, you can, you know, operate the entire business.

And um, so I don't know.

I just think, you know, especially like I said right now, you know, a lot of people who maybe had never considered it before are starting to think that, you know, this maybe isn't such a bad idea.

SPEAKER_02: Yeah.

And there's so many, like I think people get really hung up on like logistics, and I've never let that stop me.

You know, when I mean you just have to make some compromises, you have to make some tweaks, and like you have you have to get creative.

I have friends like with kids that are doing the nomad lifestyle.

Like they've made it work.

So like having kids can't really be an excuse.

You know, they have international schools everywhere.

And at one point I owned a house, like, and I rented out the house while I traveled for a while.

I mean, I've yeah, I've I've had to make some adjustments, and you know, especially in terms of like things that I own, like a lot of personal belongings, like my car.

I still have a car, it's in the US, I'm not using it.

I I need to like I'm trying to make a firm decision on that one.

But it's like there are these like logistical things.

And what I've learned is like we don't, it's not like the material things we need to be happy.

And you can pretty quickly like reroute yourself.

Airbnb has made it like so easy just to like find a place and feel like you have, you know, you have like a ready-made apartment that you can like rent for months at a time.

Also, like there's more of a communal aspect because people who travel a lot tend to, you know, just build community quickly wherever they are.

And I think I've seen that a lot of travelers came to Playa del Carmen to kind of write out the pandemic, and now there's this like really amazing community here because a lot of the expats and nomads like have just stayed for a while longer than they normally would have.

So there's a more kind of a community aspect.

But I I've just learned like we need so much less than we think we do to be happy.

I think sometimes we get worried about oh, I I'm established somewhere, I have a business, I have to, you know, go to the Chamber of Commerce meetings.

Like I I have a role to play here.

You can pause your life at any time.

And I promise you that those things are there when you get back.

If you want to travel for six months or a year, you're gonna change, but the places that you come from might not change.

That can be a little bit hard to wrestle with, but you can always jump back in to an old life that you've set up and that you've, you know, like where you have inroads.

Like it it's really quick that you could do it.

It's really easy.

So I think some people get, you know, don't want to leave for so long because they worry about the relationships they have, they worry about, you know, their role in the community or in in the business community or in-person networking or just all of those logistical things.

And there's a whole community of people who have this lifestyle that are incredibly successful.

Some of the most successful people I've met are digital nomads who have made location-independent businesses, and they have such freedom to travel and like live the way that they want.

So I think it's changing our definition of what success looks like.

SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.

I think that's so perfect.

So perfect.

Wow, you make me want to go traveling.

And and uh yes, yes.

Well, listen, is there anything else that we have not covered today that that you would love to share with everybody?

I mean, we've we've touched on a lot.

I know we could go very in-depth with with a lot of different things that you've you know experienced.

You know, would love to just ask you, is there anything else that you would definitely like to share?

SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think it's a good time to reflect on like our intentions for a lot of things, but travel especially.

You know, I think what I've learned is that anything in life can be used as like a way to like escape or tap out.

And I love that quote about like creating a life you don't need a vacation from.

And also asking yourself, like, if you do have the travel bug right now, like, are you just I mean, we all get cabin fever and a change of scenery can do wonders.

There's actually uh scientific studies that traveling like rewires your brain because when you're in a new environment, like if you're trying to break a habit, like say for smoking or something, the best thing you could do as you as you try to break that habit is to go on a trip because it it helps like you break old patterns by like shifting like the actual like neurological processes in your brain because your brain is being exposed to like new atmosphere and new environments,

and it just makes I don't, I can't, I'm not a scientist, so I can't explain it as eloquently as they did.

But there is like studies on that.

So the biggest changes and the biggest breakthroughs I've had have been during trips and traveling because I'm in a whole new different environment, and that's where your brain gets new ideas, that's where your brain starts processing differently.

So travel can be a real catalyst for change, or it can just be another button we press to tap out of our lives and to numb out.

And you know, I think looking at if you're really looking for a transformative travel experience, really start with looking at how you can connect more with the local culture, how you can, you know, how your money is being spent when you travel, how you can make sure that it's getting to the people who need it most and not just giant corporations.

And doing some things that challenge you, it might be out of your comfort zone, whether it's like trekking or, you know, I you know, for me, I'm gonna start scuba diving soon and getting my certification, and that honestly kind of scares me a little bit.

But I know that it's there's a real opportunity here to do that, you know.

It's like I don't some of the best diving in the world is is here.

So I might as well take advantage of that while I can.

So don't, you know, hold back.

Like I might realize that I hate diving, but it will be an experience where I get out of my comfort zone and I try something new.

So if you're if you're really looking for a transformative experience, look at how travel can shape you and how you can use it to learn more about yourself and others.

And only the last thing is I want to recommend a book for anyone that I live by, and it's by Rick Steves, who's a travel expert.

He wrote a book, Travel is a Political Act.

And it's more about like how you spend your time, your money, how you connect with like local cultures and how to make the world a better place.

So I I hands down recommend that book.

SPEAKER_03: Well, awesome.

Well, I will definitely be sure to um include the the title and author of that in the show notes that way for anybody who is interested.

If you didn't have time to jot it down, I mean, just check the show notes for to find that information.

So and then I'm also going to include all the contact information for Lacey, in case anybody's interested, following her on social media or getting in touch with her with um with her business.

So, Lacey, I want to thank you again so much for uh being willing to come on as a guest and um just uh really appreciate it.

SPEAKER_02: Thank you.

I like love gushing about the travel to anyone who will listen.

So this was like more, I feel like for my benefit than anyone else's.

So thanks for just letting me blab.

SPEAKER_03: Well, that's okay.

That's what this podcast is all about.

So we all love to travel.

We love love these transformational experiences.

And um, you know, right now the podcasting is is what we have right now to dream about traveling.

So you've done very well to inspire our wanderlust.

Great.

SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_03: Well, wonderful.

Thank you so much for everybody listening.

I hope you enjoyed.

And uh again, don't forget to check out the show notes for any links.

And uh, of course, keep uh living and enjoying life like it's meant to be.

Have an awesome day.

SPEAKER_00: And that's the lowdown on life and travel.

If you enjoyed today's episode, please leave a review.

And don't forget to subscribe for more.

Want to hear more from Devin Low?

Be sure to follow his travel agency, Better Days Travel, both on Facebook and Instagram at Better Days Travel.

Or subscribe to its weekly newsletter, the Hitch Inbox, each Sunday morning.

Just visit betterdaystravel.com.

That's betterdaystravel.com to sign up.

And until next time, just keep living and enjoying live like this meant to be.