Moving to Mexico and living as a digital nomad, with entrepreneur Hannah Dixon

In this episode of  the Adventure Calls podcast, Hannah Dixon takes us through her journey of becoming a digital nomad and online entrepreneur, to her life in Thailand, Italy and currently as an official permanent resident in Mexico. Discover her insights on obtaining residency and the resilience needed to thrive abroad.

Hannah Dixon is a Business Coach, Recruiter, and the creator of The Virtual Excellence Academy, a leading program and diverse global community that has honed the skills and confidence of over 30,000 virtual assistants. Committed to ethical hiring practices, she also provides VIP recruitment services. Hannah views freelancing and self-leadership as potent tools for social change, empowering anyone, anywhere, to unlock potential and create life-changing opportunities. She collaborates with NGOs and governments to ensure her training reaches those who need it most. As a 16-year digital nomad, she speaks internationally, demonstrating progressive business and lifestyle approaches, and powerfully compelling audiences to action.

Below are the key takeaways from this episode:

• Relocation to Mexico: Hannah and her wife moved to Mexico, where they successfully obtained residency and found a supportive community, emphasizing the crucial role of feeling safe and welcome as a queer couple.
• Why Hannah became an entrepreneur: As a seasoned digital nomad, Hannah went from jobbing to becoming a business founder of Digital Nomad Kit and the Virtual Excellence Academy, training aspiring virtual assistants and freelancers, and shared her extensive travel experiences across over 60 countries.

Find Hannah Dixon:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/digitalnomadkit/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dixonhannah/
Digital Nomad Kit: https://digitalnomadkit.com/

Rainbow Relocation Strategies

The Adventure Calls podcast is brought to you by Rainbow Relocation Strategies, the first and only LGBTQ+ centered company focused on creating your international relocation strategy for when you're ready to move abroad.

Website: www.rainbowrelo.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rainbowrelo

Your host, Jessica Drucker, can be found online at:

Jessicadrucker.com

Book: How To Move Abroad 

Guide: Adventure Calls Global Relocation Guide

The Adventure Calls podcast is a bi-weekly podcast that seeks to empower queer folks to move, live and thrive abroad with interviews with relocation experts, queer expats who have successfully relocated and other organizations that give a lens on the LGBTQ+ experience in the world.

Transcript

0:10

Hey, everyone. Welcome back to the Adventure Calls podcast, where we empower queer folks, our families, and allies to move, live, and thrive abroad. I'm Jess Drucker, your host and founder of Rainbow Relocation Strategies, where we do the day to day work of creating your international escape plan. Before we get to today's guest, I wanted to talk about why I'm so excited that she's here, and call, what I've been thinking about a lot. So, this Pride, I was thinking a lot about how, as queer folks, we are truly born nonconformists. We're born queer and after spending our youth, and sometimes our twenties, even our thirties, or more, trying to conform to society, those of us who do come out, we look at society's norms and we look them in the face and we say, this isn't us. We don't fit your narrative. We have to say those things to our parents, to our families, and to everyone we care abroad, both personally and professionally, to whatever extent we're willing and able to do so. We're nonconformists. This is what makes us such likely candidates for a life lived outside of the traditional Drucker, too. And in the case of Adventure Calls and my clients, that can be a permanent move abroad. That can be living as a digital nomad, or a van lifer, or a house sitter, or going up to live in a remote cabin somewhere in Northern Vermont or Northern Sweden. But really, as queer folks, we've already faced the majority and said, no, thank you. And then, we begin to live our lives truly not conforming to society's rules. And that's why I'm so excited about our next guest here on the Adventure Calls podcast. Today's guest, Hannah Dixon, is a pure nonconformist. She's been living this way for over 16 years. She's a queer digital nomad, now living with permanent residency in Mexico, and she's also an entrepreneur teaching folks how to become virtual assistants working from anywhere. Hannah's conversation provides so much value, we're splitting this up into to 1 and part 2 of the podcast today. So, first, in today's episode, part 1, you're getting Hannah's story. So, she's originally from the UK, she's a 16 year digital nomad currently based in Mexico, and she's recently obtained her Mexican residency. Before Mexico, she spent 2 years in Thailand, 2 in Italy, and she visited over 60 countries as a nomad. You'll hear how she came out, started Strategies, and became a digital nomad. And you'll hear the turning point when she decided to go from just barely getting by to mastering the art of working online with intention toward the goal of financial stability. Then, in part 2, next Tuesday, you're gonna meet Hannah, the entrepreneur. Hannah is the founder of Digital Nomadkit and the creator of the Virtual Excellence Academy, a leading program and diverse global community that has honed the skills and covenants of over 30, 000 virtual assistants. For now, we're gonna learn all about how Hannah ended up living in Mexico, for those of you who wonder what it would be like to take your international escape plan to Mexico. I hope you enjoy this episode. You're listening to Adventure Calls. Hannah, thank you so much for being on the Adventure Call podcast today. I'm super excited to talk to you, and I'm glad we actually met in person before this conversation. I could would consider you now an actual friend that I know. Can you please give us a little bit of backstory about sort of where you're from originally, where you're sitting right now, and just a little bit about how you got from 1 place to the other. Sure. Thank you so much for having me. It's been a long time moving, and it's great to connect with you, in person and here as well on this podcast. So my story, I grew up in London in the UK. You are from London? I'm from London. My mom's from the United States, so I happen to have both passports, which is handy. And, I grew up there. I started Strategies when I was 15, 16 already. It was actually, I was at school and it was the summer holidays coming up and my art teacher who I very much admired said to me, what are you gonna do moving summer? I said, I don't know. Get like a Saturday job or something. She's like, you have a passport. Right? I was like, oh, I don't. I could get 1. She said, you could go to Europe. You could do to, you know, like the train, thing around Europe. I was like, oh, that's an idea. So me and my friend went with, like, no money in our pockets. I ate a baguette for 2 weeks, like, nibbling little pieces off of it, and I ate the whole backpacking moving, and that was it. I was like, I wanna see the world, like that that's where it started for me. And so long story, real short is that Move been non stop traveling pretty much since I was 20 now, so that's 17 years, and I've just got residency in Mexico in the last 2 years. So that is a Move, I wouldn't say permanent, but semi permanent situation for me, which is odd, but cool. So I'm in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico right now, and lots of travels in between. But, this is where I found myself. For now, obviously. But I don't wanna commit forever. Okay. So digging into all that a little bit with your art teacher, did you did you have, like, a special relationship with them? Like, is that was that, like, a subject that you excelled in? Or how because those life changing moments are, like, so important and change the course of our lives. Yeah. So I went to a a Catholic school in a in a London suburb. It was 1 of the Jess schools around. There wasn't many great schools around there, and I wasn't necessarily a great student, but I did excel in art actually, and I don't know if it's because they had the extra attention from the teachers who saw something in me or because I had a natural ability. Who knows? But I exceeded and excelled in that area, and this teacher just kinda took me under her moving, and was very encouraging in in lots of ways, more than 1. I remember her. I had lots of skin conditions, you know, teenage acne, that kind of thing. She used to come in with, like, skin creams for me. I'm like, she was just went always went over the top above and beyond rather to, support me. So, yeah, her encouragement had a big impact on me, I feel. So yeah, and then, I left my home pretty young and I moved in with a partner at the time and, figured out my sexuality, all that stuff, all that fun stuff. And then, That's pretty young though. How old were you when you sort of like figured it out and were like, okay, this is this is real? Figured it out versus experimenting and trying to figure it out. That started probably around 13 and then actually coming out, I think around, yeah, 15, 16. 16 is when I cut my hair short. Really? So you've had your hair short as long as you've been a nomad for sure? Yeah. I've had my hair shorter during my life than I have longer. Wow. Yeah. That was the way you came out? Like, you were like, okay, I'm gay. I'm cutting my hair off? Actually, I didn't have a coming out. I always say my mom stole my coming out from me. I came home from school 1 day, and we Jess the Interviews, and it was like a big moving, and there was Jess, platform called Face Party. I'm not sure if you've ever heard of that. It's No. Terrible. I think it's like a 1 site now. It used to be like a Facebook type thing before Facebook, and I had pictures of me and my girlfriend in there. My mom found that. And I came home and she was like, Kelly's not your friend. She's your girlfriend. And then she's like, I don't care who you date as long as you tell me. So that was it was well received, but she was just angry that I didn't tell her that was the only thing. So I I feel like I had a pretty easy coming out in that sense. So she was cool with it? What that wasn't an issue? Yeah. She was cool with it. Yeah. So then you travel around Europe for 2 weeks, life changing in every way. And then, when so what happens? Do you go do you go to university? Or do you just, like, start Strategies then? No. I started going to university. I started an art foundation degree, which is like the 1 year before you do the whole degree. I don't know how it works in the States, but in the UK, a lot of the time you'll do the 1 year foundation. So I started that, and I just got into a relationship with a new person, and that was a very bad relationship. I kinda got isolated from my friends, my family. Adventure, that led to me dropping out of university. Mhmm. It was a very dangerous situation, like, I was locked in a house for quite a long time. Move. Very violent. And so I started traveling properly kind of as a result of that because I wasn't talking to my family or anything during this whole time, but it got to a point where I had to kinda disclose without disclosing everything, like, there's some stuff going on I need to get I need help. And I had this US passport, and I had 2 aunts in New York who I love dearly who don't have partners, don't have children, have all the time in the world for me, which is wonderful. And they were like, come here. So I went to New York and I got a job in Macy's. Wow. And, I arrived with a black eye and a broken heart. I left with a whole lot of confidence and a whole new lease of life. Like it was like the beginning of me finding myself. So that was that was a really great experience, and from there, I started Strategies. I stayed about 9 months, and from there, I just began traveling. I was like, I wanna do this. I wanna meet all the people. I wanna like I wanna find out different ways to to, different, you know, ideas about the world, and that's what it gave me. And I feel like for me, personally, traveling was a form of sort of reclaiming my independence as well, I think. And for a long time, you know, people say, you're traveling because you're running away from something. I'm like, yeah. Call, yeah, I was. But then I found myself running towards something as call, which was like a greater version of myself. So it's adapted over the years, but that's that's how it got started. Wow. And how convenient that you just also have this US passport and can work in the US too. It's not just like you fled there for a few weeks. Like, you could actually work and stay too. Totally. Yeah. It was very cool. Yeah. Oh, I'm I'm sorry that that happened to you, but I I suppose it's the catalyst to Yeah. To watch your life. Exactly. Okay. And so I did, like, a pretty fair amount of stalking before, talking to you today. So, like, not in, like, a really creepy way after what we just discussed. But, like, you know, I wanted to get to know, like, and and see a little bit about your journey, what I could find. I did notice that you have, like, a TEFL degree, which is teaching English as a foreign language degree. Is that something that you did? So when you started traveling in order to make money, I imagine you didn't have a ton of savings. You went from being a student to, like, working at Macy's. Probably didn't pack it away at Macy's, I'm guessing. Well, actually You did well. Alright. Okay. Fine. You were CEO. I I'm sorry. No. No. No. Okay. No. I was in the perfume department, and there's commissions there, and they they loved my British accent. So let's just say it wasn't wasn't moving too bad. That's true. That is an adventure. Unfair advantage, I'll say. Yeah. So then did you, like, teach around the world? Is that is that 1 way that you made money in in the beginning? I intended to, but that never actually happened. I ended up Strategies via work exchanges, so I was working at farms, bars, hostels. Actually, I think my favorite was I worked with husky dogs in Austria for about a year and then on and off over the years, in exchange for food and accommodation. So I was traveling at 1 point with absolutely no money, because the money dwindled pretty queer. But I did have a job briefly for a year in London. I went back to London for a year after, a little travel between Macy's and that, and I came back and I worked in fashion. And that was a job where I was like, I just like hoarded all the money I could for a year, realized it wasn't for me, got out, and then, carried on traveling. So, yeah, work exchanges, and I did a few humanitarian projects. I worked in India for a while, but money was not like a thing for Move, for quite a long time to actually I found myself in Italy 1 day, and I met up with some people I'd worked with in fashion in London years before in Milan. And they were going to some big fancy party and they were like, what are you gonna wear? And my clothes were like covered in cement and plaster and paint. And, I was like, yeah, I don't have any money to buy shoes or clothes. So I think it might be nice to make some money at some point. Yeah. Yeah. But it it's interesting, isn't it? I mean, I think part of it is youth, but there's this other part of it that I think comes with freedom, to be honest. But, like, there were years where I don't have any idea how much money I had. I don't know how it came in and how it went out. I know there wasn't a lot of it, but it didn't stress me out at all. It's just not something that was, like, it was there when I needed it. But there was a point where I realized, like, it would be nice to have more than I was, like, skating by. Like, if anything would happen, everything would fall apart, basically, which is actually part of my story. But, like, I realized, like, you know, it it would be nice to have a certain amount of money, you know Yes. To, like, feel comfortable. Is that when you so hold on. I'm gonna ask you, is that when you got serious and and maybe started forming some of the stuff you're working on? But I wanna go back to the fact that, I read in your bio that you have traveled to, plus at 60. Yeah. Yeah. Because that's just silly at that point. Where are some of the places that you traveled to that left sort of, like this happens to Move, you know, I'll just Jess, like, brushing my teeth and Call just, like, remember a cafe in Cambodia. Or, you know, like, these things just flash into my mind at all times. There's I'm actually like a psychopath in my mind, you know, because the the thoughts are just constantly coming. But what are some places that really left impressions on you from all those travels? First of all, I wanna say I totally resonate with that with that brushing the teeth thing. For me, it'll be like a smell or a taste or I just like hear a song and I'm like, I'm back in Thailand. And it's just such a nice feeling, but also it's bittersweet because I'm like, imagine if my life was there instead of here. That happens to me every day. Mhmm. So Thailand is 1 of those places that kind of, gave me some of the best memories, I guess. I lived there for 2 years in Bangkok. I think it was a combination of the people obviously always make a place, but the people I met. And then, what I really like about Bangkok is you've got this, like, wild, you know, busy, massive city with so much going on and like neon lights everywhere, and traffic, and smells, and you know, it's very overwhelming in that sense. But every time I'm there, I feel really at peace. And and I think it's because culturally, you know, a lot of people are Buddhist, so there's a level of like peacefulness that I feel people have in their soul that is felt, and, I feel safe there. And call, you can get a condo for like 5, $600 a month. That's like super nice. You've got a co working space, a pool, and you feel like you have this sanctuary above it all. Call. And so for me, it's just it's I go there every year for at least a month now, and it's like my time where I just, like, sit down, I get really good food delivery in every every, day like a nice subscription. I use the gym every day. I'd get in shape like that's my thing. Like I love going to Bangkok for that. So not only did it leave this impression on me, but it's become a place that I consider like a second home now and I do intend to retire there at some point. Okay. Sardinia in Italy. I lived there for a couple of years because I had a relationship there. Brought me to a very small town on a small island off of Sardinia. It's a very remote, but just the relaxed way of life and just being by the sea every day and just being in nature and the food, of course, the food. I know everybody says that about Italy, but it really was true. But it's true, obviously. Yeah. Is it a blue zone there? Is that part of, like, the blue zone area? Okay. Yes. So And I was in, like, the best health of my life there. And I was eating pasta every day. I'm vegan now, but I was eating meat then. I was eating cheese, pasta, bread, sweets, all the things, and I was the smallest I've been and I felt the best I've ever been and my skin was as clear as it I don't know what's in the food there, but it's good stuff. It's actually what's not in the food. Jess. That's more it, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, when when I lived in Germany too, I I ate bread and, like, just thick slabs of butter every day on Abroad and all that stuff. And I was Yep. Just, like, so fit. I never even thought about it. I felt great. Yep. Yeah. I'm also hearing you sort of talk about relationships, and I wanna ask a little bit about that. And III know this might seem silly, but I also wanna ask about it from the lens of, like, you having short hair. And here's what I mean. So so passing when you travel is real. Right? Like Right. And I'm not saying that, like, because you have short hair, like, you look queer, but and also people have no idea what queer people look like. I feel like in a lot of But I do look very queer. It's okay. Well, no. Yeah. I mean, it's not bad or good. It's great. Like, that's great. But I just mean, especially, you know, when you're traveling when you're traveling solo or when you're traveling with a partner, as you traveled around, especially when you were Move in, like, a heavy nomadic phase, how did your queerness factor into your experiences, your feelings of safety? Yeah. If you could speak to that a little bit. Yeah. I mean, I think for Move, personally, and this is coming from a very privileged position, I never had to worry about who I was, where I grew up, and I think I carried that with me Jess like a sense of confidence in who I am. And I think that also changes the experience you may have if you are queer looking. I'm using the queer e things, but you can't see me. But I I think just in some plus, just more of a sense of just being conscientious about my environment and who might be in it and how they might perceive Move. And only in some Relocation, that's the case, of course. I think over the years, I've become much more discerning about where I do go and given my money to places that actually care about people like Move, But when I was younger, I didn't care so much. I haven't had any difficult situations other than being misgendered sometimes when I'm not wearing makeup or things like that. I haven't felt unsafe, and I think that's a privilege to be able to say that. Yeah. I don't feel like it's impacted me much. It's just a case of, like, not necessarily like, if I've been with a partner, not holding hands in the street, not making you know, asking for a room with twin beds, that kind of moving, and kinda just knowing Yeah. You book you book that king. You can book a king bed all you want. When you show up to the hotel, they're giving you 2 twin beds. Right? Absolutely. Yeah. But then it's like, well, what do you do? Because I that was something that I always faced when I was traveling and in a relationship. It's like, but then what do you do? Do you just stay in those twin beds? Because if you're just on vacation for 2 weeks, it's 1 thing. Yeah. It's like, fine, whatever. We'll deal with it. Who cares? But this is your life. Like, you're a nomad. So every every night is a hotel. So do you go back and be like, you know what? Like, we did ask for for 1 bed. I have done that. Yeah. And actually, 1 of the places I had an issue with that was actually in the UK in Blackpool, randomly. And the man at the counter was very embarrassed and did give us, the room that we had requested. But, yeah, I I typically say something, and I haven't had any issue. They might look at you a little funny, but they still respect it. Yeah. And what about when you're, you know, when you're in sort of you end up in these small towns all the time when you're traveling more and you're on, like, a tour or something like that, do you ever do you ever hold back some of your story? Like, you know, people are like, like, if you're with your partner at the time or whatever, do you hold back from telling your full story? Or are you just, like, fully out as you go and just deal with the consequences? A bit of both. Yeah. To you just judge it by your gut feeling? Yeah. It depends. I I have a pretty good to. If I feel unsafe, I'm not even gonna engage with someone in the first place. My wife is definitely more just like this is who we are. But I think, for me, maybe it is the short hair. Maybe it is the way I look specifically compared to her. I'm a little bit more discerning at times, and I will hold back. If I'm on my own, I hold back sometimes. Like, I'll say, like, my husband's waiting for me. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I definitely Move done that before to, just from, like, a safety perspective. Because then, in so many countries, the minute you Relocation a man, the way that men will back off is crazy. It's like a meeting. Right? Totally. 100%. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. These are you know, those are same issues that I I face a lot of the time. Sometimes I'd be traveling. I would literally say my girlfriend. And in another language, girlfriend is girlfriend, whereas in English, it could be either 1, but, like, novia is novia. You know? Like, that's clear. Mhmm. And still, they would be like, don't you have a boyfriend? And it's like, no. I just told you that I have a but I never it it sometimes, it just didn't even click at all. Yeah. It's like, what does that mean? Yeah. It like, it wouldn't even click at all. Yeah. But I you know, it's good to hear you say these things. I mean, I pretty much can say the same. You know, I was only no like, fully nomadic for 4 years, but I never truly felt unsafe because of being queer at all. But, you know, I think that a lot of queer folks, like, will hold back or not go certain places or maybe not even consider traveling or moving to another country just for safety reasons. But Mhmm. I almost feel like, you know, especially in the US, like and I think in the UK a little bit to. But it's a political football that gets played with so much that you don't realize it in other places that it's it's actually not front of mind for a lot of people. Exactly. People aren't thinking about it, you know, and looking at you and thinking anything. They're just thinking, oh, look a foreigner. Right. Even in really religious countries, for the most part, you won't face it in the same way. And it's also true that you're looked at first as a foreigner. That's your that's your, like, classifying rank as foreigner. And then everything else about you, queerness and anything else comes second to that. Yep. Would you nowadays would you go to, like, Saudi Arabia or to countries that are definitely not friendly to LGBTQ people for the experience to know what it's like, or would you just not give them your money? For the most part, the latter. But if there was a specific reason to be there or, you know, an event or a work thing, then, yeah, I would go there, and I would be with an open mind and open heart and curious and respectful of however I'm supposed to present there, but I wouldn't choose to stay there very long. What I will say, though, just sorry, back to the queerness thing is I also, in the past, have grown my hair out a little bit longer when I was living in parts of Asia because I felt like it was easier. But over the years, I'm like, no, it's actually really good if people there see me like this because if there's 1 queer person who's living in hell there sees me, it makes them feel a little bit better, you know? So I feel like for me, the visibility aspect is actually important. And so over the years, I'm way less concerned about what people think of me because I'm like, I don't have to live here, and that's a privilege that I have. But if someone can see me and see that what's possible, that's that's really awesome for them. Yeah. I mean, I know what it's like for me to see lesbians in the wild. You know, just just seeing other queer people on the street, I'm like, yes. That's awesome. That I I really like that perspective. Okay. So, like, where did you meet your wife? We met in Lisbon in 2018 or 2019, 2018. I was speaking at a conference there. She was attending the conference. It was the night before the big talk. It was my first big talk. I was really scared. We had a conversation. She was like, oh, you're really, like, normal. I was like, yeah, of course I am. And then, we were both in relationships at the time, so nothing happened, but there was an instant attraction, that we did not act on, but we stayed friends. Went for a nasty breakup in Bangkok 2019, called her as a as a friend and was like, oh, I'm really sad. Blah blah blah, you know, whatever. And she was like, are you kidding? I'm like she's like, I just dumped my girlfriend today as well. I'm like, what? So then I was like, okay. I need, like, some time to heal, like, I Jess it's go away. The start of any good relationship. Yeah. Of course. In in some ways, it was because I was very honest with her about how I was feeling about this previous relationship. She knew my ex. They weren't necessarily friends, but they knew each other. And so she understood what I was going through and she gave me that space in that time and and I worked on my stuff and in comes Moving, and I found myself in Budapest which is where I wanted to go to get, EU residency post Brexit because I was like, didn't have access to EU anymore. I wasn't going to. It was about to go through. So I was like, if I get residency in Budapest, then I'll get access to EU again. So that's where I was gonna start my life again after that breakup, And, obviously, the news of the lockdown started moving, and my wife was studying in Austria in Claghenfurt. And she's like, why don't you just come here? Like, we already know each other. We're already friends. That's so gay. That's so gay. You just what did you to? Just move in right away? Pretty much. Yes. As you do. Okay. Because it was COVID, so you had to. Right? Of course. It wasn't because we're lesbians. It is. It is also because you're lesbians. It just happened to be that circumstance. But she picked me up in the middle of the night in the middle of Austria because it was the the last train actually from Hungary to Austria before they closed the borders. And so I got the last train into Austria. I think it was in Graz. I think she picked me up, but she drove, like, a few hours to come get me. Moved in, locked down together. Rest is history. Got married a year later. No way. That's crazy. Yeah. Congratulations. I just wanna say that my wife and I also met at a conference and Oh, you did? Yes, we did. And we also did not get together right away either. So we share that for sure in common. Interesting. Yes. I have a question though, before we do talk about your wife and stuff like that, I also wanna ask okay. But this is what I was asking before. So, like, Budapest, not LGBTQ friendly, but you were like, I'm gonna that's where I'm gonna get residency. May I ask why? And was that a concern for you about, like, that's the country? Like, why not pick Portugal where you can where it is more LGBT friendly or something? Like, what was the decision there with Budapest? And I'm not it's not criticism. It's just that this is something I talk about a lot with, like, clients and people in my my community. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. For sure. Hungary on a whole is not super LGBTQ friendly. However, I feel like any major city in Europe is gonna be, to a degree, more accepting. So there was no way I'm gonna live on the outskirts or outside of that. For me, Budapest is just such an awesome place. There are so many good people there, and I really enjoy this sort of juxtaposition of you've got this these old crumbling buildings of bullet holes in them, and then you've got these like new coffee shops and co working spaces and young people who wanna change the narrative of what it means to be Hungarian now. And so I like being a part of places like that. I like feeling like yeah. And and you get to be somebody there. You get to be part of the change. And for me, that's what Budapest represented at that time. That's cool. And, yeah, they did they do have their problems, but I also feel like their problems aren't like I'm gonna get killed. Their problems are things that I can help support or help be a part of the change. So I think for me, there's like varying degrees of, like, safety and what that really means because, you know, like I said, I'm not gonna get killed there. I might get still might say something to me in the street, but, like, I can handle that because I know that there's a lot of other people who celebrate me there too. To it's like it's kinda like I mean, it's so interesting. Okay. Yeah. No. Definitely. And and thanks for saying all that, and I exactly know what you mean about, like, being part of the change in somewhere like that. I totally get that. I I feel that so much. Mexico probably feels totally different to that. Mhmm. It's Puerto Vallarta, specifically. Yeah. Very gay, first of all, Puerto Vallarta. And then call Jess, like, just a totally different vibe than than all of that. Right? I I really think so. Okay. So you guys locked down in Austria. Is your wife Austrian? She's German. She was studying in Austria. She's in her master's there, wrapping that up. But you all speak in English. Right? Like, that's that's Yeah. Yeah. My German is. That that's enough. Okay, cool. And then you so you guys get married, and you you decide to moving keep do you travel together first before you move? Or you just or is it still COVID and so you've got to sort of pick another location? Yeah. It's still COVID. We're in Austria. Obviously, I had tried to get my residency in Budapest, but then things shifted over to Austria. I tried to get residency in Austria, and the immigration official that was on my case did not like me is the feeling that I got, and perhaps that she was homophobic. In fact, I've had more issues in Austria than I did in Hungary, so that's something to to as well that I've heard that. Austria only passed gay marriage, I think, in 2019. So that's, you know, pretty recent. So we were having issues, you know, it was a small small town that we were in. I had all the relevant paperwork. I had all the financials to show. I had everything I needed, and he was like, no, no, no. You need 5 years of this income, like, moving forward. I was like, that's not doesn't say that anywhere, But he sent me away, then I read the small print on Cumberbatch website, but 1 of the EU government websites about, you know, every EU state has to abide by the rules of, like, the immigration things. And Austria in small print said, like, it's basically in in so many words, it's up to the official that you work with, like, they have the final say. So I'm like, oh, he just really doesn't like me or he's homophobic or something. And then we got married, and it was actually someone else who was in there. I was like, you know, you 2 can get married, and we were thinking about it. Anyway, so we were like, alright, let's get married, and we didn't wanna do like a big a big wedding. We didn't wanna plan a big wedding. So this is actually perfect. Like a COVID wedding, we're not gonna have any guests. It's gonna be awesome. It's just gonna be us. It's only gonna be about us. And also, I'll get to stay here too. So we kinda like rolled that all into 1, and then at the end of that, they still didn't give me residency. Because that can happen. That's something that people don't understand. That can actually happen. Just because you're married doesn't mean you get residency. Yes. Although on paper, it should Move, but it was the same guy and he did not want to want to do that. And I got a letter in the mail saying with like a date that I had to leave because Brexit had now gone through and that was like past the point where I could Move done anything. Mhmm. So it was all a little rushed. And we had friends in Mexico, and Mexico kept its borders open, and I didn't wanna travel at that time, but I was like, I'm not going back to England. Like, that's not my home. So we flew to Mexico. We went to Guanajuato in the mountains, and that was the beginning of our Mexico story. You know, and and to to just how backwards Brexit is is so crazy because I was dating a German when I lived in London. And because she was German, I was able to apply for my e for my British residency Oh, wow. Because I was not even married, but I but I had a partner who was European pre Brexit. And so and then there you are, like, someone who pre Brexit was European, and you can't even get residency in Austria. I mean, it's just so Well, I'm married to. Yeah. We weren't even married. Yeah. Exactly. We weren't even married. Like, that's that's so crazy to me how that changed and how many how many people were affected by that and how many couples were affected by that. It's it's so crazy. Okay. So I would like to ask you about your your decision to get residency in Mexico and what that was like because I can definitely say that a lot of people listening think about Mexico as a place that's safe to relocate to as a queer person. It's close to the Plus, so like in terms of time zones and remote work and all that. So that's a a big interest, I think, to a lot of the audience listening. Yeah. So we weren't even aware that we could get residency there. We went on the 6 month tourists, you know, the visa on arrival, whatever you call it. And then we did a house sit up in the mountains, and we just got really chilled out there. We met a lot of great people, We were like, oh, like I'd never considered living in Mexico. In fact, I'd been here many times, but I'd never considered living here because it's not my favorite place in the world, but it's not bad place by any means. It's got everything we need. And I think that's what we kinda realized, like, it ticks all the boxes. Does it tick them really well? Not all the time, but it ticks them all. It's like and that's it's really rare to find and so we kinda just came to our senses and we're like, look, we're in the middle of a pandemic. Where else are we going? Where else are we going right now? And then from there, we flew to Kansas City. We had an interview, and the interviews just consisted of why do you wanna move to Mexico? We explained why we love Mexico. We wanna learn Spanish. We've made great friends there, blah blah blah, and he said, you're not gonna take jobs from Mexico? Because I said, no, I have my own business online. He said, great. You're in pre approval, then you arrive in Mexico, and within 30 days, you have to go to your call local INM office, which is like the immigration office to finalize it, and they give you a little card saying you're a resident. So Jess just go to a consulate, have an interview, fill in, Move sure you have your paperwork. They have financial requirements which I think they've just upped recently. It used to be pretty low. I think they have pretty high threshold now for that. When you say pretty high, that's relative. What do you what does that mean? Yeah. Like high compared to what I pay. Yeah. Something like that, I think. Consistently Move 6 months, all you need to have a set amount of cash in your account. I'm not sure what that is. I think it's around 70 maybe, 70, 000, but it was less than half that when we did it. So compared to that, it's a lot now. And then, they'll approve you or deny you, and then, yeah, you do the thing when you arrive within 30 days. And I would recommend maybe hiring someone if your Spanish isn't good to help you with that on the ground, because they do not speak English at those, immigration offices, and they don't take kindly to not making an effort. Got it. Now, can I ask you something? Well, first of all, really queer. Your residency is like semi permanent resident? Is it is it the 10 year residency? Is that what you got? No. It's a 4 year temporary residence call, which after the 4 years, you can apply for permanent residency. So I think, yeah, we have 2 years left or a year and a half left, and we'll get that because I'm like, what if there's another pandemic and we don't have somewhere to live together again? Yeah. It's gonna be really even if we don't end up living here forever, having permanent residency somewhere gives us as a, you know, dual nationality couple a place to be. Yeah. That's really that's really it though. It's because you're Yeah. Binational moving in a third country, you know, so that's that's really more complicated. Now, when you're talking about getting this residency, you're sounding more American to me. Are you using your American passport to move to Mexico? Jess, I am. Yeah. Yes, you are. You're sounding like you're going to a Kansas City, embassy or consulate now. Well Okay. So I specifically use my US passport as often as possible because I pay my taxes in the US as a US citizen. Yeah. We have to. And so, in order to claim the foreign earned income exclusion, I need to be able to track my travel. Oh, god. Being American is such a pain in the ass, isn't it? It is. Golly. Especially as an accidental American at a hospitalist. How unfortunate for you. Although, I mean, it worked in good. Right? I guess It comes with a lot of privileges. Yeah. Yeah. It It does. I I totally get that. And you can go you can spend longer times in the US if you should should want that in the future. Okay. Anyway, and so now so you're living in Mexico now, and you said you run your own business. So I would like to start asking you a little bit about what you do because so, you know, as when you're younger and you're, like, woofing or house sitting or whatever you're whatever you're doing in, like, in exchange for food, room and board, essentially. Like we said, like, money just came in and out, but it wasn't something that you thought about. Then you sort of realized, like, I can't even buy something nice to wear to this party. So how did you decide like, what was the process of forming your own company? And, like, can we kick off by just saying, like, what is it that you do now? Like, what do you run? And can you talk about that a little bit? And then how did you get there? Sure. I run a company called Digital Name My Kit where, we're training virtual assistants and freelancers. Jess essentially moving online in a self employed manner from anywhere, And we also run recruitment service connecting, clients who wanna work with these trained people. So that's, in a nutshell, what I do. Getting here wasn't necessarily something I planned or, like, had mapped out in any way. Where can people find you? Where do you wanna send people who who listen to this? At digital know my kit on Instagram's good, or my name, Hannah Dixon, Linkedin, or my website, digitalknowmykit. Digitalknowmykit, you'll find me. Just put that in. Alright. Thank you so much for listening to another episode of the Adventure Calls podcast. If you like what you heard, please open up your podcast app and give the show a rating and leave a review, so we can empower more and more people on their journey to move, live, and thrive abroad. This is an entirely queer created and queer owned podcast. I'm your host, Jess Drucker, founder of Rainbow Relocation, and the entire purpose of my company is to help you with the end to end relocation from figuring out where you should relocate, what your true why is for wanting to move abroad, and then call the way through to making sure that every item on your checklist gets ticked and you're living abroad within the next year. So, if you know someone who's LGBTQ or an ally and looking to move abroad, maybe to Mexico, maybe in general, send them the show. Help spread the word. Or even send them to my website, rainbowrelo.com. Thank you so much for listening and preparing, so that you can take action for when your adventure calls.