Wow, I don’t think I’ve updated this page since I wrote it back in 2007. That’s some serious website neglect, even for me. So here’s the brand new, fully updated ‘about me’ page. Starting… now:
I’m from Canada but haven’t lived there since 2001. I kind of got hooked on travelling after spending the summer of 2000 scrubbing toilets in Ireland and then taking a short trip around Europe. Since then, I’ve been dreaming of a life of travel and after graduating in 2001, I headed immediately to Australia on a one-way ticket.
Since then I’ve lived in London and Beijing and have travelled a bunch. I quit my job in London in 2007 and have been roaming around since then, looking for interesting things to get up to. Fortunately I’m able to fund my life of wandering through earnings from the internet, and that’s what this blog is about (with a bit of travel thrown in, of course).
My latest and greatest passion is volunteering and I have spent time in Bangladesh, Nicaragua, Indonesia and Haiti as a volunteer. The work is hard but hugely rewarding and the people I’ve met have been amazing. I could go on and on about volunteering but instead I’ll steer you to my ebook page. I wrote an ebook called The Underground Guide to Volunteering and, if you’re remotely interested in volunteering, pick it up because it will be helpful. I promise.
I love meeting up with people as I travel so if I’m going to be in your area, get in touch! You can reach me at kirsty at nerdynomad.com. Check out my Google+ and Facebook pages or follow me on Twitter.
Here are a few things that might be of interest if you’re a new reader:
- Earnings Reports – I write about my internet earnings so if you want to know how much or how little I rake in each month, start here.
- Pushing 20: A List of My Websites – A list of my websites with short descriptions. A good place to start if you want to know more about the types of sites I create and how I use them to earn online.
- 2009 Yearly Wrap Up – A summary of what I got up to in 2009 and what I want to do in 2010.
Kirsty,
Congratulations on your web earnings and good luck with this site. You have a lovely writing style; just the right balance of friendliness and humour.
I never used to see the point of blogs until I looked at them more closely. There’s certainly lots of rubbish out there, but every now and again you come across gems like yours, Working Nomad’s and others. It’s good to see you’re beginning to reap the rewards of all those hours you must have put in during the early stages.
hey Kirsty – Congratulations! I came across your posting on working nomad, which I only recently discovered per the story about extreme telecommuting on cnnfn.com. reading both your posts and the posts on Working Nomad has really gotten me jazzed to learn about putting up my own websites. I sure have a lot of different interests so hopefully content won’t be too much of a problem. As the Ancients said, a 1000 mile journey starts with one step.
Congrats and best of luck!
Steve
Thanks guys! Roy I’m glad you like my writing style… I pretty much just write how I speak so I’ve never known how it comes across. Cheers for the feedback.
Steve getting the ideas is half the battle. There’s a big learning curve but the whole process is really rewarding, even before you start earning money. It’s a bit cliche, but if you do it for the love of your topics and sharing your knowledge then the money will follow as you keep learning. Keep us posted on your projects.
hey Kristy,
its been a while since you update your blog. i hope everything is great on your end. please shoot me an email if you can, id like to talk to you about one of my great backpacking project. hope to hear from you soon!
harayz
http://moroadtrip.us
ni hau ma.
ahh my bad – i mistakenly saw the current post’s date. anyhoo, hope everything is well in china. take care!
harayz
http://moroadtrip.us
You are living my absolute biggest dream! My goal is to travel the world on my online income too. I’m getting closer. Just wanted to say great blog you have here and I just subscribed. Take care!
-Nate @thewaythatyouwander.com
Hey Kristy,
I admire the way you write ! I can sense the growth and learning experiences that you have witnessed being in the position to travel and write at the same time!
Blessing in abundance,
+Baker
Great stuff Kristy, I’m really impressed with your trip to Haiti that had to be a crazy experience.
I noticed you have ‘live in Buenos Aires’ on your 99 things list. It is someplace you definitely have to experience it! I am from upstate New York but have been living in Buenos Aires for the past 8 months trying to learn the language, meet the women and embrace the culture and it has been spectacular.
I have been recording all my adventures at http://www.tourist2townie.com/
If you would like, I would love to swap links!
Best of luck with your travels and I look forward to hearing from you soon,
Gareth
Hi Kirsty:
I was looking up a friend of mine with the same name and came across your web site. Good web site, you have lots of energy. I had a sense you were Canadian, keep it going.
I have a Retreat/condo I am marketing on Vancouver Island, British Columbia in a small area called Yellow Point. Take a look at my site; I am called Yellowpointretreat. The friend I was looking for does marketing I best keep searching. I would appreciate some international exposure.
All the Best,
Jackie
Hi Kristy,
I’m Andrew Dunkle and I currently serve as the senior editor of GoOverseas.com. We are contacting you with regard to your blog, which the editorial staff at GO! Overseas has selected as one of the top blogs related to travel. As recognition of your outstanding writing skills we are delighted to include your blog in a select list of websites. We select only the most exceptional blogs that meet our exacting standards and we hope you feel a sense of pride that you have been recognized for your efforts. You may view this list on our website here:
http://www.gooverseas.com/travel-blogs
On that page you will see an image badge that we have created specifically for travel blogs we feature. We welcome you to display this badge on your website to let your readers know that you have been recognized as an outstanding blogger. Note: If you have any trouble downloading that image, please just follow up with me and I will send it to you as an attachment.
Thank you for all the high quality content you have contributed to the global online community. We look forward to continuing to follow your many adventures.. If you have questions about GO! Overseas please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Warm regards,
Andrew Dunkle
Hi Kirsty,
My name is Akanke and I am an associate editor at Travelsquire.com, an online travel magazine dedicated to providing engaging original content pertaining to all things travel.
We’ve become really big fans of your site because you shed a new light on traveling. You travel with a purpose. Anyway, we wanted to feature your site on our blogroll, and we were hoping that after you took a look at our site, http://www.travelsquire.com, you would do the same for us.
Look forward to hearing from you and seeing what locations (and experiences) are in store!
Akanke
Hey Kristy,
It was nice to see your comment on my “Life as a Digital Nomad” post on http://www.vagablogging.net. I just discovered your blog and it’s great!
I’m actually trying to become a digital nomad myself. Until now, I’d alternate between working and traveling, depending on what my financial situation was. My goal is to build up a passive income so I can travel for longer periods.
Although I already have a college degree, I put myself back in school to learn web design. Still trying to decide on what’s the best way for me to make money online. Sell a product with e-commerce? Blog about a topic I’m passionate about, then earn money from affiliates?
I have a travel blog too, although I’m embarrassed to admit it’s Blogger. I’ve wanted to move it to WordPress, but I’m worried about losing the data and breaking the links. Here’s the URL: http://bluefox808.blogspot.com
Please keep writing! Look forward to your helpful articles.
Marcus
Hey Kirsty
I’ve been an RSS subscriber for a while now, so thought I’d leave a quick note to say hello. Don’t think I’m ever going to build up an online empire to rival yours, but your posts on making a living from blogging and site building are a fascinating insight into a new world for me.
Safe travels, keep writing…
Christian
Trying to get volunteers to this newly discovered waterfall that is about 3 times as high as the Eiffel Tower. They will work directly with their native team.We have just completed a 10 km trek along a narrow pristine uncut forest that passes 8 waterfalls as high as any of the USA. This will be open with all income to benefit and preserve this zone. It ends at the Yumbilla Waterfall that is almost 3 times as high as the Eiffel Tower, and just recently discovered. Each volunteer’s assessment is $30 per day to hire their village workers and less than $10 per day for all meals and room.
Our project is in Peru’s Dept. of Amazonas in the transition zone where the main trunk tributaries fall from the Andes Cloud Forest into the higher Amazon Basin. This zone if far more endangered and less studied than the lower rain-forest. Amazon Waterfalls Association is a 501 (C) (3) non profit organization with a project to protect at least three endangered species, the spectacle bear, the world’s most endangered monkey, the yellow tail wooly monkey, and the world’s most exotic bird that Birdlife Org. estimates that there are less than 1000 in the world and only in our zone. We recently planted 15,000 trees and have about 100,000 feeding trees and plants that will be ready to transplant in December, already in our nursery to reforest this zone to increase the food chain and thus these endangered species.
Hi Kirsty,
I’ve been following your blog for a while now and it’s been really inspiring. I really enjoy reading about your travels and how you run your websites. I’ve been looking around for how it all started or a way to contact you, but couldn’t find anything. What I am wondering in particular is how you handle visas, income taxes, etc. For example, if you work where you live, do you have to pay taxes there as well?
Best,
Sabrina
Hey! Just wanted to let you know that I’m heading to Haiti to work with Hands On (now All Hands) thanks to your inspiration! Thanks!
Ciao
Mike
Hi Kirsty,
Would be interested in hiring your services! Please email me if you are able to work on side projects. Thanks!
Kirsty -
Just want to drop you a line and let you know I’ve been enjoying NerdyNomad.com for some time. Following your entrepreneurial experiences and travel adventures has been very interesting and I’m always excited to read what you’ll post next.
Happy trails!
Rick
Hi Kirsty,
This is really cool, love your monthly balance sheet posts. Most people don’t even track their income & expenses as well as you do publicly! Glad I found your blog and will be checking out some of your other sites. I’ve linked here SamsPlayground.com/Links on my travel blog & if you’re ever back in Canada it would be nice to meet & chat the passive income dream, blogs, businesses and whatever else. I’m in Montreal for approx 1 year.
I have wanted for a long time to volunteer around the World but I luck funds to do that. I wonder how you manage to do that since traveling to different countries is very expensive.
You seem like a neat person. Which part of Canada are you from? I am originally from Cambridge, Ontario, but now living in D.C.
How was your Kenyan trip, I plan on volunteering there in a place called Masai Mara, I wish you had all your volunteer pics on the site.
awesome to read an honest, informative and inspiring article about the 21st century success story on the internet…the blogging business and multiple sites.hope everything goes well forever! Kudos!
Hey Kristy,
I really enjoyed checking out your blog and all your adventures. I just came back from a trip to Europe where I also cleaned toilets in Ireland at a hostel in Dublin. Amazing trip lol. Anyway, I’m really researching volunteering abroad on my next trip and appreciated the information you put out there. Thanks so much for sharing information for people like me! =)
Greetings
I am curious does your ebook contain relevant detailed information concerning families that want to volunteer internationally?
kind regards
Kent
Hey Kirsty,
Say hi sometime on email. Liked reading about your buying the Blightly site and so on. Cool to catch up sometime …
OM
Hi Kristy,
I’m amazed in your January earnings you’ve posted here: http://www.nerdynomad.com/2012/02/05/january-earnings-spending-report-2/ . Hope I can do that also. Best wishes for me! lol
Hello Kristy,
I came here via neverendingvoyage.com and found your story very inspiring. Interesting to see how you develop 20 websites and travel the world around.
You’re an inspiration Kirsty!
Always looking for blogs to model my site, The Life and Times of An American in Thailand, and your site is excellent. I’m surprised you can make so much from advertising but then again, I’m not really. You’ve got a great site packed with info and it’s always good to see others living the lives they want. Keep up the great work.
Thanks for sharing Kirsty. It’s great that you are helping serve others!