About NomaReina
the longer version ↓

I spent seven years finding out what it was actually like. Now I'm writing it down, and making room for your story.

I write as Nana, a name I use to protect my privacy and the people in my stories. Everything else here is exactly true. I lived and taught in Thailand for five years, backpacked alone for nearly two, and have been to 42 countries. NomaReina is a publication about what happens after you arrive: the work, the money, the friendships, the loneliness, and whether a place actually fits the person living there. My stories live here. So do other people's.

How I got here → Read the notebook on Substack →
A lived-in travel moment in Krabi
Not every chapter started with a plan.
Limestone cliffs and turquoise water in Thailand
Thailand, where one year became five.
Sunset over Albania
And then there were more places to stay awhile.
The short version

I didn't set out to build a life around travel.

I was on a pre-med track and assumed the sensible version of my future was already mapped out. I burned out, went to Thailand, and found out there were more ways to build a life than the one I had been picturing. NomaReina grew from that curiosity. Not a belief that everyone should follow the same path, but a conviction that honest stories are more useful than highlight reels, and that nobody should have to make every mistake themselves.

42countries traveled
5years living and teaching in Thailand
2years of solo backpacking
7+years spent abroad overall
How it happened

Less reinvention. More following the next interesting thing.

There was no five-year plan. Clearly.
Before Thailand

I thought I knew what came next.

Medicine made sense on paper. I was less sure it made sense for the life I actually wanted.

The move

A friend's Facebook post changed the direction of my life.

I saw a friend teaching in Thailand and started looking into it. I planned to go for one year, teach, travel a little, and then come home and get back on track.

That is not what happened.

Five years later

The holiday version of Thailand became ordinary life.

I taught in Thailand, learned the routines of ordinary life, made friends, dealt with monsoons, errands, workdays, holidays, and all the unphotogenic parts that make somewhere feel like home.

After that

I kept moving, but differently.

I solo backpacked, worked remotely, spent longer stretches in places, and became much more interested in what happens after arrival: community, belonging, money, work, identity, and whether a place actually fits the person living there.

Now

That's what NomaReina is for.

Not a highlight reel. Not a warning label. A place for the fun, the weird, the useful, the uncomfortable, the ordinary, and the parts of travel that are harder to squeeze into a “10 things to do” list.

The more personal side lives on my Substack: the inner journal, the notes, and the stories that are too close to be a guide.

Why NomaReina exists

The photos are real. They just aren't the whole story.

I love travel. I am still optimistic about what it can open up. I also think it becomes more interesting when we stop pretending every place, move, friendship, job, or new beginning has to be either a dream or a disaster.

NomaReina lives in that middle ground: firsthand observations, useful details, and enough context for you to decide what something might mean for your own life.

“What was it actually like?” is usually the question I'm trying to answer.
What you'll find here

Travel is the setting. Life is usually the actual subject.

01

Travel stories

What happened, what surprised me, what I would do differently, and what never made it into the postcard version.

02

Living abroad

Moving, routines, cost, community, language, work, and the point when somewhere stops feeling new.

03

Work & movement

Teaching abroad, remote work, freelancing, and local jobs. What each one was actually like, what it paid for, and the honest tradeoffs.

04

Identity & belonging

How where you are changes how you are seen, how you see yourself, and whether a place feels like somewhere you can actually belong.

If you ask me where…

A few places I keep coming back to.

Very scientific rankings. Subject to change after my next flight.
For living, not just visiting

Thailand

The obvious answer, but also the honest one. Five years gave me enough time to love it, complain about it, get bored, get excited again, and understand how different living somewhere is from passing through.

the place that became ordinary
For remote work

Spain

Walkable cities, long evenings, strong everyday-life energy, and the kind of place where the routine can be as appealing as the itinerary.

stay awhile
For a shorter trip

Mexico

Enough regional difference, food, culture, and routes that a trip can feel full without needing to turn into a months-long expedition.

come hungry
Temple scene in Thailand Travel moment from the road
A few things that don't fit in the bio

Because “42 countries” tells you surprisingly little about a person.

01

I taught science in a Thai public school for five years, which means a lot of my memories abroad involve staff rooms, lesson plans, school holidays, and trying to figure out what was happening.

02

I speak English and Spanish, studied global health, and once expected medicine to be the center of my adult life.

03

I am much more interested in how a place feels on an ordinary Wednesday than whether it photographs well at sunset. I still like the sunset, though.

04

I don't believe travel automatically fixes your life. I do believe changing your surroundings can make it much easier to see your life from a different angle.

05

I write under the name Nana instead of my legal name. It's a privacy choice, not a marketing one. Everything I share about my own experience is real, and if I ever recommend or sell something, I'll always tell you plainly why.

So, where do you start?

Start with 30 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Moving Abroad.

It's free, it's the same questions I wish someone had handed me before Thailand, and it's the fastest way to find out if what I write about applies to where you are right now.

Get the free guide →Or start with the Journal