10 Questions to Anita Tee

Anita Tee is a published Nutritional Scientist, carrying a Master of Science in Personalized Nutrition and a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology, specialized in Genetic and Molecular Biology. She founded her online nutritional consultation company, Fact vs. Fitness, with the goal of providing science-based natural solutions for chronic health issues.

Due to the nature of her work, she has been able to pursue a nomadic lifestyle along with her husband, Ben. She believes that a nomadic lifestyle is the key to freedom and personal growth.

In our upcoming “Meet a Digital Nomad” event, Anita will be speaking about how to improve your energy, work productivity, body composition, and digestive health with the use of science-based nutrition and lifestyle hacks. We look forward to seeing you there.

Anita Tee

  • Age: 26

  • Years as a DN: 2

  • Profession: Nutritional Scientist & Personal Training Specialist

  • Nationality: Canadian

  • Stay in touch: Website, Twitter & Facebook

Why did you decide to begin a nomadic life and what does it mean to you?

I’ve traveled a lot my whole life, so embracing a nomadic lifestyle was never an official decision, it just sort of crept up on me.
To me, a nomadic lifestyle is the key to freedom and personal growth. I realize it isn’t for everyone, and many people find comfort in familiarity. But with my personality, I get easily bored and start to feel trapped after staying in one place for too long.
Every time I move, I get the equivalent feeling of falling in love again. The excitement of going on a “first date” with a new city, meeting interesting new people, and opening my mind to new outlooks and experiences.
By constantly removing familiar influence and environment, my mindset and point of view are continually shifting, allowing all biases to wash away and personal growth to become limitless. In this way, traveling has shaped my character and expanded my mind in so many ways that I don’t think could have been possible by staying in one place.

How do you earn an income now?

One of the great things about being a nutritionist is that, whether or not you work online, your income stream is diverse which keeps the job interesting.
My online income streams vary and include nutritional consultations, scientific research for everyone from small start-ups to huge corporations, blogging and copywriting for health companies and, more recently, I’ve been breaking into YouTube and the marketing world.

How many hours do you work a day on average?

It varies depending on the workload and number of clients knocking on my door. Because my own company is in a major growth phase right now, it’s a lot. Recently, it’s been around 12 hours per day on weekdays. However, before this and hopefully within the next few months, it will be closer to 6 hours per day. That’s the sweet spot for me.

 

What is your approximate travel budget for a year? Any tip to lower it down?

It’s hard to say because there’s two of us (my husband and I) and we don’t actively track our expenses. We are both very reasonable with our spending so it’s nothing excessive and I’m never worried. But it’s definitely less than I would spend living back home in Vancouver.
One thing that has helped a lot is, for long-term stays, I always negotiate the price for my Airbnb bookings. It almost always gets a great discount, especially if you’re flexible on dates.

What would you consider to be one of the best tools for becoming a Digital Nomad?

Being part of a coworking space has been the most amazing tool for networking. It has presented so many new opportunities and helped immensely to getting us to where we are today. It’s a great stream of knowledge, encouragement and opportunity – and just an all-around great place to meet amazing people and form life-long friends.

Do you have any advice for those starting a DN life?

Surround yourself with supportive people who are doing what you strive to do. It’s not an easy step to believe in yourself – I still am afraid a lot of times. But when you’re surrounded by people who have turned their dreams into reality and are affirming that it’s possible for you to do so, this can act as the biggest push to take action, and intelligent action for that matter.
Bravery isn’t being fearless, it’s doing things in spite of fear. That’s what takes real courage.

How long have you been traveling and where have you been? Do you have a favourite place in the world?

I left home when I was 17 years old to do a Eurotrip and have never fully returned. I’m 26 years old now so it’s been a lot of years of globe-trotting! To say where I’ve been exactly would fill up this whole page, but I can say that I’ve spent the longest periods of time in Southeast Asia, Europe and Australia.
My favourite place in the world to vacation is the Galapagos Islands, but the internet situation there makes it inefficient for working online.
Singapore and Bali are my two other favourites. I love both places for “long-term living”… keeping in mind my version of long-term is just a few months.

 

What is your travel frequency? How often do you change the place you stay and do you have a home base?

At some points it’s been every 2 weeks, but I’ve slowed down the pace as work has taken precedence over backpacking and partying. The longest I’ve stayed in one place was just under 6 months in Bali, but even then we moved homes 2 or 3 times.
I don’t have a set home base. My parents are almost as nomadic as I am, but I am always welcome back to whichever family home they’re currently living in, and for the last few years that’s been in Montreal. I’ve grown to know many people in that city and so it does feel like home when I return.

 

How do you manage long distance relationships with family and friends? Do you miss having an established home base and a wardrobe without a weight limit?

My family always encouraged me to travel, and my parents were gone a lot once I was old enough to take care of myself. I think by now I am used to it. To me, distance feels like an illusion, and is no match for the power of human connection.
It’s been over two years since I’ve seen my best friend, Dave. It seems like a long time, but I talk to him all the time and don’t feel the distance. The same goes for my parents and all of my friends across the world.
We live in the age of technology, so between Skype calls and online chatting I still feel very emotionally connected despite the physical distance.
As for the wardrobe… I’m always telling my husband how much I miss shopping. Our newly decided solution: make more money and take an extra suitcase.

 

Could you imagine keeping up the digital nomad lifestyle for the rest of your life?

I always say that I have no fear of committing to people, but I have a huge fear of committing to places. I fall in love with humans easily, but something about being tied down to one place is possibly my biggest fear.
For now, I can definitely say that I would love to keep up this lifestyle for the foreseeable future. However, I’ve learned that life plans can change drastically and quickly, so to predict what my mindset will be even six months from now is impossible, let alone the rest of my life!

 

Learn more about Anita and her lifestyle on her website.

If you want to join the event you can find more info on our Meetup group or Facebook event!