Reimagining the World as a Nomad
Nomad Profile
I came across Milo’s Substack Stories of Milo when reading her article Is It Okay for Travelers to Wear Traditional Clothing?, about the thin line between cultural celebration and appropriation. As someone who also loves to wear traditional dress when experiencing (new-to-me) cultures, I appreciate her thoughtful approach to the issue and have been a fan ever since.
You can follow along with Milo and her slow travel journey on both Instagram and YouTube. She also supports the nonprofit organization Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, specifically the Lebanon Urgent Relief program, which provides essential services to children and families facing deepening uncertainty amid the country’s deteriorating security conditions.
9 Fun Facts
First Name: Milene (or Milo, when I’m online!)
Age Range: 30s
Nationality: born and raised in France, but my parents are Portuguese immigrants
Nomadic Stance: Full-time
Last Corporate Job: Head of Business Development and Marketing
Current Job: Revenue Operations Consultant
Favorite Country: Taiwan
Next Stop: Brazil
What do you like best about the nomadic life? Building a routine in new places and discovering how my day-to-day life changes from one location to another - whether that’s Athens, Seoul, or Rio de Janeiro.
2 Questions
1) You left your home country at the age of 19. What lured you abroad at such an early age?
I had a complicated home life growing up, and I spent most of my student years studying and working to be away from home as much as possible.
In high school, I learned about Erasmus, a European student exchange program that offered scholarships to study abroad. It became my goal. I saved money from every student job I could find and focused on getting the grades I needed to earn a spot in the program.
In September 2013, I boarded a plane for the first time in my life. It was a one-way ticket to Athens, Greece, where I would spend a year as an exchange student.
That year changed everything. I learned English, met people from all over the world, and discovered a version of life that felt much bigger than the one I had known. By the end of the year, I knew I wanted to build a life that would allow me to keep exploring new places and meeting new people. Writing this now is giving me ideas for a post about the decisions that shaped the life I’m living today… Stay tuned!
2) Last year, you juggled traveling and writing a science fiction novel. How did your nomadic travels help you shape the worlds, characters, or ideas in your book?
My novel is set in a solarpunk world, and my travels played a huge role in imagining it.
For example, early last year, during my first-ever trip to China, I had just landed in Shenzhen (often called China’s Silicon Valley) and was waiting for my Didi taxi. I could see dozens of cars moving down the road, yet I couldn’t hear a single one of them… They were all electric!
It was my first impression of China, and more than arriving in a new country, it felt like I had traveled to the future.
I experienced something similar in Singapore, walking among skyscrapers wrapped in greenery and seeing how nature could be integrated into urban design.
I’ve also visited communities in Brazil and South Korea that built rainwater collection systems, community gardens, and local energy projects to improve daily life. Seeing what people can build all around the world showed me that there’s no single path to building a more sustainable future.
If you like this post, please leave a comment or share it with others. This will help more readers find my work. ❤️
Christened “Wander Woman” by National Geographic, Erin Michelson has traveled to 140 countries & all 7 continents. She is a professional speaker and author of the Nomad Life™ series of curated trips and travel guides, including the #1-ranked Explore the World with Nomads.
Curious to read more Nomad Profiles? Get the bonus edition to the guide—Meet 10 More Nomads: Bonus Interviews 11-20.
