This blog was my pandemic baby, but it was a long time coming... 😌
The idea of starting a blog had been on my mind for years, but self doubt and imposter syndrome were both living rent free in my head.
I was constantly saying things to myself like:
💭 Is anybody even going to read my blog?
💭 It's 2020, are blogs even relevant anymore?
💭 Do I really wanna pay to create this blog when I don't even know if anybody is going to read it.
💭 Nobody gives af about what I have to say
But look at US now. The fact that you're reading this shows that it was all in my head and I just had to take that leap into the unknown.
So, let's get into it.
My name is Jash & I have a degree in mechanical engineering that is more wall decoration compared to something functional. In December of 2018 I finished my last final exam and had a semester left to do something fun before officially graduating in May of 2019.
A whole semester free? I didn't know what I was going to do, but I knew it wasn't going to work earlier than I needed to. I had just finished being in school my whole life so I was well overdue for a break.
Studying abroad was always a dream of mine, but engineering was already hard enough in English so I didn't need that added layer of difficulty. Plus, my scholarships were only good for four years so I couldn't risk falling behind.
I decided to take my free semester to volunteer abroad as an English teacher. Finding a destination was all about finding a program that matched my timeline. I had no dream city or country in mind. As long as it was outside of the United States I was happy.
That's how I landed in Turin, Italy. A city I literally had never heard of before in a country- scratch that- on a continent I'd never stepped foot on in my life.
My three months in Italy showed me that the lifestyle I'd dreamed about was possible. I could move to a new country and figure it out.
It was during this time that I started getting more active on social media. Prior to moving abroad, I was the type of person that posted a couple times a year... maybe.
Slowly, people started reaching out to me with questions about how I was living. Shit, random people were telling me to start a blog or YouTube channel, or something to tell my story and I still didn't think anybody would tune in. Look, imposter syndrome is real, okay? 😭
After three months abroad I knew I had to do it again. I'd applied to countless programs prior to leaving the States, but got rejected from all of them..... (Read more about those rejections here.)
Everyone rejected me..... except one.
Senegal, here I come 🇸🇳
I spent 5 months in Senegal and this is where my DMs really started to go crazy. I'd completely moved to two new countries within the space of a single year and people wanted to know HOW.
Now, I really had to make a decision. I could continuing sharing on my Instagram stories and responding to the DMs as they came in or I could do something bigger...
The next year, I decided to move to Gunsan, South Korea where I lived and taught English for a year. 2020 was the year that everybody really started contemplating well... everything.
I was one of those people.
So, in the midst of global chaos I did a thing... A couple things actually.
I bought my website domain and started building out what would evolve into this very website. To be completely honest, my website was pretty trash in the beginning, but you gotta start somewhere.
And that leads me to the next question...
Why "Joyriding With Jash" and what does that even mean?
First of all, alliteration. Am I right?
That was a factor, but in all seriousness the idea of a joyride fit my lifestyle to a T.
When you Google the definition of a joyride you'll find things like:
🚘 A ride for enjoyment
🚘 Riding with no particular goal other than the pleasure or thrill of doing so
🚘 Acting opportunistically
They may be referring to people that are stealing cars, but, aside from that part, all of that aligns with how I live my life.
I'm focused on enjoying the journey, not so much on the destination.
Shit, I don't even know the destination half the time.
Joyriders (i.e YOU) aren't afraid to take a leap of faith and trust their intuition. Whether that's moving to a new country, switching careers, or going on that Tinder date while on vacation, we do it.
Joyriders value experiences and connections. Joyriders are always looking for new things to try, learn, eat, drink, experience, etc.
Joyriders want to live life to the fullest today, not in retirement at 70 years old!
So, I took a leap of faith and launched this platform.
I didn't have to have it all figured out (and I still don't), but I started. 2020 was the year of putting myself out there and here we are years later. Still joyriding together and picking up more and more joyriders along the way.
So many of you have asked me questions about how I’m able to travel so much and what you have to do to travel and how you can live abroad and everything in between. I created this platform to provide answers.
All my advice, tips, and resources are created from real experience and I've made PLENTY of mistakes along the way so you don't have to. You can use the lessons I've learned to do things differently or make the same mistakes as me & come out with some great stories, lol. Either way I'm here for it 🙌🏾
I worked and traveled the world as an international teacher for three years before making the transition into working completely remotely being a digital nomad.
I loved teaching abroad and it showed me what was possible in regard to seeing the world without breaking the bank. I was able to live in 4 countries on 4 continents and that would not have been possible without teaching abroad.
Now, I work completely remote as a freelancer and entrepreneur while slow traveling the world. In 2022, I started my digital nomad journey in México and have since lived in Costa Rica and Canada.
I'm continuing to follow opportunities and focus on the journey.
I want to encourage YOU to get out of your comfort zone and take that leap too.
This is not a come watch me traveling page... It’s a come JOIN me traveling page. See the difference?
Go on that trip or move to another country or make that career change. I'm here to help and I'm rooting for you to make it happen 💪🏾
I'm joyriding through life & there's room in the car for you too! Shotgun?
Let me know in the comments what questions you want to see answered in the future... Help me help YOU!
And, as always, thank you for being here and joyriding with me 🙏🏾