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About Nina

Nina Out and About Profile Picture

About Nina

My name is Nina Clapperton. I’m a solo female expat who travels the world full-time!

I moved abroad alone at 16 to live in the gorgeous Atri, Italy (a town of maybe 500 people).

I sadly returned home to finish high school (pesky education laws!), but knew I wasn’t done making new countries my home.

In the last 10 years, I’ve lived in 12+ countries and more than 20 cities, including:

And I have no plans to stop adding to this list any time soon!

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Nina sitting in the Moroccan desert

Anyone Can Live Abroad

I truly believe that living abroad is a possibility for anyone and everyone.

You don’t need to be rich, you don’t need to have extensive experience in your field, and you don’t even need to speak the language of your host country fluently (I can barely handle English much less other languages!).

All you really need is a desire to live somewhere new, an openness to learning and adapting, and a willingness to step outside of your comfort zone.

If you have those things, then the world is your oyster!

Need help learning a new language? I recommend iTalki! I’ve tried ALL the apps, but iTalki is the only way I’ve managed to learn as much as living in the local country.

Nina smiling as she skydives in Taupo, New Zealand with a tandem instructor

Living Abroad Doesn’t Have to Be Expensive

When I moved to Europe for the first time, I had $3,000 to my name.

The next year when I moved to New Zealand, I had about $5,000 (yep, I made money while living and travelling in Europe for free!).

That’s all I had.

I didn’t spend years saving up. I didn’t have a high-powered job. I didn’t even have a plan to make more money while I was living as an expat.

But I did it – and you can too!

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Why I Blog

🌟 To teach people that you don’t have to wait for the “right” moment or to save up “enough” money to live your dreams

🌟 To prove that you don’t need to wait for others to live abroad or travel the world with you; you can do it solo!

🌟 To show that living an expat life is possible no matter who you are or where you come from

🌟 To help you understand that living abroad today is 10x better than waiting until retirement

🌟 To inspire 13 year old Nina, and everyone like her, realize that the 9-to-5 with the white picket fence isn’t the only version of a rich life you should aspire to

I truly hope this inspires you to take the leap and live your own amazing expat life!

Considering Moving Abroad? Take This Quiz!

My Expat Story

Nina living in Italy as a 16 year old in the Vatican

The Italy Chapter

In 2011, I moved abroad at 16 to study in Italy alone.

Before I moved, I was the quiet girl who didn’t speak to anyone in my high school (I was very lucky the first year at my drama school was all about mime and people assumed I was just really in character).

I used to put my hand up at the dinner table to speak amongst my loud siblings.

I always felt like I was a half-step out of sync with everyone around me.

Then I moved to Atri, a tiny town with about 500 people in the mountains of Italy.

I always tell people “it’s basically the Achilles heel on the boot” since no one – even Italians – have any idea where it is.

I don’t truly think my life began until I moved to Italy.

There I discovered my voice – and I haven’t stopped talking since!

I stayed in Italy for about 4 months, living in a hotel that only had WIFI in one stairwell. We had to take turns trying to send emails on different nights so our parents would know we were alive.

It was a time before international SIM cards were really a thing.

Disconnecting from “home” was exactly what I needed.

When I left Italy, I was a changed girl. And I’d never go back to being that shy, insecure version of me from before ever again.

2017 Nina

The Halifax Chapter

When I was picking universities, my mom told me I had to stay in Canada.

(I think, in large part, it was because I was out of my mind with anxiety and she wanted to ensure she could get to me if I wasn’t doing ok.)

She gave me the limit of a Porter flight from Toronto.

The furthest point it flew to was Halifax, Nova Scotia at the time. So that’s where I went!

Living in Halifax was an amazing period in my life.

The first year was full of the usual uni shenanigans, like drinking in the dorms and finding secret bars beneath dessert shops (yep, that’s true!).

I actually went for a business degree but switched to English and Creative Writing after three days.

I ended up studying Medieval Literature, Popular Literature, and Novel Writing.

This blog technically began as a project for one of my writing classes!

By second year, my undiagnosed anxiety and depression were showing in full force. When I got a concussion that left me alone with my thoughts for the better part of 4 months, I very nearly quit uni to return to Toronto.

I was deeply unhappy, so I turned to travel again – against the advisement of literally every person in my life.

I packed my bags, and headed to Ireland for the summer, with plans to move to Scotland in the fall.

The Glasgow Chapter

Glasgow was the darkest period of my life.

I actually can’t stomach writing about it, even now when I’ve healed from the trauma.

I thought studying abroad in Glasgow would be the transformative experience of Italy – a sort of second act if you will.

But it turned out to be more of a burning phoenix, rising from the ashes story instead.

I made 0 friends. I had 5 therapy sessions a week just to keep me afloat. I struggled to find a damn unwilted piece of lettuce in all of Scotland!

But I made it through. And by the end of the summer, I was back in Halifax renewed, recharged, and relentless.

Nina in front of viewpoint overlooking Dubrovnik

The Europe Chapter

After graduating with a double major and honours, I couldn’t get a job.

Not for lack of trying!

I applied to 198 jobs.

Even the pyramid scheme turned me down!

With no idea what to do, I decided I’d take the law school application test. I mean, both my parents are lawyers, so it seemed like an easy next step.

I did the test, got a great score, but needed to wait a year to apply to law school.

What’s a girl supposed to do in the meantime but move to Europe, right??

I saved up for two months working as a secretary at my dad’s law firm, asked all my family for advances on my birthday and Christmas money, and bought a flight to Europe.

In total, I amassed $3,000 CAD to move abroad for a year.

How I Lived for Free in Europe

I just told you that I had $3,000 CAD.

So how the heck could I afford to live in Europe for a year with no work visa?

Simple: I used Workaway.

Workaway is a website that connects volunteers with locals who need help around the world.

You can volunteer your time in exchange for food and accommodation.

So that’s exactly what I did!

It costs about $40 USD to sign up (you can even make a couples account for you and your partner or friend).

I worked a number of unique jobs in exchange for food and accommodation – at some I even got paid on top of this!

Some of my work included:

  • Puppysitting (and house sitting) in Switzerland
  • Teaching English in Prague
  • Helping around the house, walking dogs, and tutoring teenagers in Zwettl, Austria
  • Cleaning in Germany (this is the only bad Workaway experience I ever had)
  • Leading hikes, bartending, and teaching meditation at a yoga retreat in Spain (I ended up working on their online marketing, too, for extra cash)
  • Working on a horse ranch in a town so small it has no name in Croatia

I didn’t use it last time, but as I’m about to venture off on another year (or maybe years) country hopping and living abroad, I’m going to use Trusted Housesitters.

Now that I make 6-figures travel blogging and run an SEO company, I need time to work on my own business rather than volunteering for others.

Trusted Housesitters connects you with locals who need someone to mind their house (and usually a few animals) around the world.

In exchange for free accommodations (and sometimes car privileges), you take care of the plants and the pets while the owners are gone.

I’ll be doing this with my service dog as we get back to full-time nomadic living post-2020.

👉 Trusted Housesitters lets you travel the world staying in gorgeous houses for free!

What Ever Happened to Law School?

I ended up getting a full scholarship to law school.

But I didn’t take it.

People think that’s crazy, but I knew I needed to make a different choice.

I didn’t have Nina Out and About running back then, but even without knowing what I wanted to do with my life, I knew an office job in a law firm would never fit me.

I got the email announcement when I was living in Berlin.

I’d been to Starbucks that day, craving a chocolate chip cookie (did you know those are a North American thing, and they’re REALLY hard to find abroad??).

When I got back to my flat, I was happier to take a bite of that half-stale half-underbaked Starbucks cookie than I was with the news of a full ride to law school.

That was all the sign I needed to abandon that pursuit.

A few months later when I found a $200 flight to New Zealand, I booked my ticket and never looked back.

Save on flights with Skyscanner!

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The New Zealand Chapter

Moving to New Zealand on a Working Holiday Visa was the best thing I ever did.

It was the first time I ever needed a visa to live abroad.

With the Working Holiday Visa, I was able to live for 1-2 years in NZ and work a full-time job.

This meant I could afford an apartment, to explore Auckland fully, and to adventure throughout New Zealand for a year.

Some of my favourite experiences were:

Nina overlooking Kaikoura in New Zealand

Why I Left New Zealand

To this day, New Zealand is the best place I’ve ever travelled to or lived in.

My life goal is to move back and buy a farm – once I’m ready to clip my wings and land permanently.

So why did I leave?

I got into a Masters in Publishing program in Oxford, UK.

Looking back, I regret leaving.

But I really thought being an editor was what I wanted to do. So I went to the place that everyone said could make that happen.

The Oxford Chapter

I moved to Oxford in 2019 to do my Masters degree.

Although Glasgow hadn’t gone well, I did enjoy the way the UK classes ran.

They’re more encouraging of original thought instead of the bland lectures of North American schools.

And since I was young, I always said I wanted to move to London.

Part of that was definitely to get an EU passport (sadly, Brexit squashed that dream).

This felt like a part of the puzzle.

But the piece didn’t quite fit.

I met amazing friends and did graduate with honours. I even started a comedy travel podcast as part of my dissertation.

But then 2020 came and I was forced to move back to Canada.

nina hiking perth

Canada, the Reprise

In March 2020, I had to move back to Canada.

It was unexpected, and after years of not living in the True North, I wasn’t sure how to be back here.

In fact, if anyone has asked me pre-2020 what I thought about Canada, my cons list would far outweigh my pros.

After two years, my mind has changed and I appreciate that there’s more to Canada than the nightmare of living in Toronto.

I moved to Ottawa and decided to make a real go at this blogging thing (psst… it worked! I now make 6-figures annually from my travel blog!)

I got a dog.

I explored every corner of Ontario I could reach.

I’m ready to close this chapter now and open a new one somewhere else in the world.

Tips for Living in Canada

nina and theo tulips

Meet Theo Out and About

Theo came into my life in 2021.

I was jokingly sending my friend photos of dogs he should buy. And then I saw Theo – a little gold potato in an Amazon box on a breeder’s Kijiji ad.

I was hooked.

6 weeks later I brought him home with me.

Theo is a professionally trained service dog who helps me with my physical disabilities and my mental health. We’re getting ready to hit the road full-time in 2023, so get ready to see Theo out and about a lot more!

Join My Expat Community!

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