Insight From a Pro

Hey Hey Hey!

Did you miss me? I know, I know there's been some major life changes but I'm back and I came with some awesome blogging content. Don't believe me? Keep Reading. 

I had the AMAZING opportunity to interview Nadeen White from The Sophisticated Life. She is my inspiration for balancing real world responsibilities and traveling the world. I've been following her for a while and it was an absolute honor to get the opportunity to communicate with her. Jealous? You should be! 

Check out the interview and fabulous photos! 

1. You have made an amazing career from travel and exploration. What would you say is your biggest accomplishment?

    Thank you. My full-time career is still Pediatric Hospital Medicine. However, I have enjoyed my side gig as a luxury travel, food and wine blogger. I think passion for what I do and a commitment to succeed are two things that have driven my success. 

2. With success comes a lot of challenges. What is/has been your biggest blogging or travel challenge thus far?

    Definitely the time factor. Blogging takes a lot of time. Besides writing there is photo editing and back end technical issues that come up. 

Nadeen in Cape Town South Africa

3. If there were two things you could tell someone who isn't sure they should take the leap and become a travel blogger, what are they?

    1) Make sure it is something they would love to do even if they were not getting paid.

   2) Try to connect with your core audience. Interacting with people on social media and    even through blog comments is important. 

4. What do you do when you get home sick?

     I usually don't stay away from home longer than 2 1/2 weeks. If I am home sick in another country I usually eat some American comfort food.

5. Where is your favorite place, that you've traveled thus far? 

     Impossible to pick only one but Thailand is definitely up there. I loved the people, the hospitality and the food. 

*Check out 10 reasons why she loves Thailand on her blog, trust me you won't regret it.*

Nadeen in Sedona, Arizona

6. From your experience which is more challenging, traveling independently or fitting your experiences into a blog?

   The good thing about not doing travel blogging as my full-time career is that most of the time I get to travel independently. I then write about the things I found most interesting or helpful for me readers.

7. Do you think you will ever settle in one place and plants familial roots? Why?

    Yes. I love having a home to come back to and I enjoy time spent with family and friends. 

Nadeen near Page, Arizona

Do you feel inspired and motivated? I know, me too! She is just a breath of fresh traveled air! Thanks Nadeen for making the time for my questions. Thailand is on my travel list and I can't wait to explore it! You continuously inspire and enlighten travel seekers near and far. You are #travelgoals! 

Thanks for stopping by and Traveling with May

Special Guest

As a traveler I believe it is very important to have a solid network and group of like-minded people around you. It can come in handy when abroad or planning to go abroad. 

Keeping this in mind, I was introduced to Nia Williams-Stiff on Facebook in the comments on a post about traveling. We became Facebook friends and have maintained contact since this time. 

I did not know it initially but Nia is pretty amazing! She not only travels but helps to plan travel as well. She sees both sides and she is a business woman and I just LOVE that! 

I asked if could chat with her for my blog and she was totally for it. Here's how it went...

Tell us a little about yourself and what your daily life is like?

My name is Nia Williams-Stiff. I was born and raised in Brooklyn NY, but I am currently living in North Carolina. I am an operating registered Nurse by day and a travel agent anywhere in between :). I typically plan travel trips at least once every 2 weeks so possibly 2-3 times a month. 

Why did you decide to start a travel agency/company?

I decided to start a travel agency/company because I was exposed to travel at an early age. I went to an after school program for under privilege kids. The program took the kids in high school to different states around the United States to exposed them to college. My mother worked for this program so I was able to travel along. I was amazed the senior trip for 1994 went to Africa! I didn’t go because I wasn’t a graduate at the time. Unfortunately the program ended before I graduated, but [with] all the things I experienced, I made a decision that I would like to continue to travel. So, once I got my life together I decided to travel and that’s when the idea came, why not help others do the same. 

With success comes a lot of challenges. What is/has been your biggest travel challenge thus far?

The biggest challenge has been to find the right group or set of people to continue to travel with my company. It’s getting better, but it is a slow process. I am learning what people may like [or] not like, and also the length of travel per trip. A lot of people have a hard time taking a trip for 14 days versus 7. This is just from my experience. I’m hoping when my company grows this can change as well. 

If there were two things you could tell someone who isn't sure they should take the leap and travel, what are they?

The two things I would tell someone is TRAVEL YOUR MONEY WILL RETURN, but YOUR TIME WON'T!!  Life is short. 

Don’t wast your time putting things off. If you want to travel just put your mind to it like anything else, and if you don’t know where find a travel agent and research. 

Sorry that was more than 2 things lol. 

Where is your favorite place that you've traveled thus far? Why?

This was a tough one, but for now I will say my favorite place so far is taking my family to South Africa. 

It really felt like home [and] the culture seemed so natural to us. I just can’t explain it. Oh and I don’t really care for animals mainly because of fear, but going on a safari changed my feeling for them. It was just BEAUTIFUL!! 

From your experience which is more challenging, traveling independently or traveling in a group?

Traveling with a group. I think for me it’s building the momentum up [for the trip] then it should get better. 

Do you think you will ever live abroad and plant familial roots? Why?

Oh, yes! I will live abroad with my whole family. That was one of the reasons I went to Africa. I was scoping it out to see if it was a consideration and it definitely is.

The reason being, to have my children really get the idea of what life is like in other places and not just rely on media to tell them. [I want to] broaden their horizons, and just help to mold ourselves into being better human beings. 

Isn't she amazing??? I knew you would agree! Nia definitely inspires me to keep traveling and be bold in my convictions to not have limits on one career. 

I hope you all enjoyed reading this and feel motivated to see the world! 

To anyone who is not sure they can do both Nia is proof that you can. You can totally check out her travel page on Facebook here 

Thanks for stopping by and traveling with May