Chatting with Shannon O’Donnell of A Little Adrift

21.07.2023 - 08:03 / roughguides.com

Shannon O’Donnell, the talented blogger behind “A Little Adrift”, has been travelling the world since 2008. Since taking the plunge to travel full time she’s generated a dedicated online following through her blog, which chronicles her experiences and motivates others to follow in her footsteps with invaluable advice and resources. Her “grassroots” travel style puts local communities and connections at the fore, and she’s been crowned by National Geographic as Traveller of the Year for her work in responsible tourism.

Q. How does your life before 2008 compare to the one you live now?

A: A decade has changed everything! When I first left for long-term travel, I was part of a minority of people able to work remotely. The term “digital nomad” did not yet exist and I was unsure of how I would balance working and exploring the world. Before I left to travel, I lived in Los Angeles and had only lightly travelled in Europe. More than a decade later and I am living in Barcelona and effectively able to balance work and travel.

More than just the physical location, however, was the mental transformations a decade of travel brought to my life. I had a limiting view of myself and what was possible before 2008. It had never occurred to me that life as an expat and traveller was possible for someone raised barely middle class in nowhere, Florida. On the road, however, I met people from every walk of life crafting a life on their terms – they empowered me to drastically reassess my self-limiting beliefs and instead look for opportunities to embrace a life outside the US that was led by my curiosity about the world and its many communities.

Learning about the wonderful social enterprise Maji Moto Cultural Camp in Kenya © majimotomaasaicamp.com

Q. You originally set out on a one-year around-the-world trip. When did you make the decision to turn travel into a long-term lifestyle choice?

A. At the end of my year-long trip, I headed home to Florida just in time for Thanksgiving. Over the holidays, I enjoyed reconnecting with my family, but I felt unmoored. It didn’t feel right to head back to LA because there were still so many places to explore. I told myself, “just six more months so I can backpack Central America.” And then six more, and six more until I admitted that my remote work was a true blessing, allowing me to work on the road. I figured I would follow this journey through until it no longer felt right.

That lasted about ten years, then I decided to settle long-term in Spain and continue exploring from a homebase. And I love this current cadence of travel just as much as I loved my decade of wandering the world. Ultimately, long-term travel isn’t for everyone, and it also often comes to a natural end as