#019: Life As A Full-Time Seasonal Worker

In this episode, we talk with Nathalie Segelborg, a seasonal working nomad, about how seasonal jobs can be the key to traveling the world.

On the Show Today You’ll Learn:

• What is a full-time seasonal worker?
• How to get a job in a foreign country?
•  What is the season for seasonal jobs?
• What are the pros and cons of having this kind of lifestyle?
• Is there an age limit to start having this sort of life?

Links & Resources

Instagram: https://instagram.com/natgoneglobal
Website: https://natgoneglobal.com
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3VT04bEmKGAYUybBBBa5AQ
The Why We Travel Podcast website: https://whywetravel.net/

Visit our website at https://whywetravel.net/

Transcript

Claus Lauter: Hello and welcome to another episode of the Why We Travel Podcast. Now, a lot of travelers or to be travelers ask themselves how can they finance the traveling? So money budget is always an issue. And today on the show I have Natalie with me. She will tell us a little bit on how she is traveling as a full-time seasonal worker.

has been a seasonal working norm for about six years. She's a working class girl from Sweden who managed to make her dream a full-time travel. Reality. She has worked at Lyft in locations like RO Island in Australia, the IS Hotel in Sweden, Natalie Forton Islands in Norway. To name a few. She has decided to make Norway her new home for the time being.

And through her Instagram, she inspires people to chase their dreams and live their way, whatever their way may be. Hi Natalie, how are you doing? 

Nathalie Segelborg: Hey, , I'm very good. How are. I'm 

Claus Lauter: very well as well. Natalie, tell me a little bit about your travels, or maybe the first question that I always ask is, what's your first childhood memory on traveling?

Oh, wow. 

Nathalie Segelborg: it's probably when we went on a family vacation to one of the Canary Islands. I'm blonde. You can't tell, but I'm blonde originally, I got a really bad sunburn on my scalp, so my mom had to tie a t-shirt on my head, and I remember walking on the beach promenade, [00:02:00] feeling like I was a little pirate

That's probably one of the first memories, and then, okay. Yeah, it's, it stuck . 

Claus Lauter: Great story. So now later on in life, you got to travel back and you decided to travel as a, , seasonal work as a full-time, , digital Noma. What got you to this decision? 

Nathalie Segelborg: I had heard about people that worked abroad, but I didn't really know anyone in my friend's circle or anyone that did it.

And then I met a girl and she was going on a working holiday visa in Australia and we instantly connected and she asked me if I wanted to come with her, and I was like, oh, no. Like I had an apartment, I had a job at a bakery. I was climbing the ladder of how life was supposed to be.

Like I had the stepping stones. But is this really what I wanna do? And then I decided to go with her anyway, on a last minute decision. when we came to Australia, , we got a job in Tasmania. And it just kept going from there. She didn't end up enjoying it, this lifestyle, so she [00:03:00] went home after a few months.

, but I kept going and I stayed in Australia for two years and then when my time was up there, I knew I wanted to keep this going, and I realized that you could, like, you didn't have to. Go home and work nine to five and get a whole house and a white picket fence, and you could actually travel and work in different locations around the world.

wasn't just reserved for the rich travel influencers to say, 

Claus Lauter: okay, now being a traveler, or specifically being a digital Noma, you need to find , a field to make money. Some kind of job, some kind of income stream. What was your choice? 

Nathalie Segelborg: my first few jobs was as a waitress, and then they kind of trained me up to be a bartender.

So that kind of brought in the field a little bit. And one place I got the opportunity to be a trained barista as well. And I realized I really loved coffee and , it's an easy job to do all over the world because everyone drinks coffee and it's an easy job to get During my first year in [00:04:00] Australia, I started taking a few photos to keep my family updated at home and like what I was doing, and that's when I really fell in love with photography.

And that's grown to become kind of like a little. Side income now, and then we'll see where that can go in the end. so currently I'm working , at a cafe in Norway and I'm also taking a few photos for this company. And that's , my incomes right now. 

Claus Lauter: Okay. So you don't need to have a business plan layout, and you need to be a huge, , influencer before you get started.

, you go and then you take it as it comes. 

Nathalie Segelborg: What I understand. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You can just start from scratch. You can just do normal jobs. Yeah. 

Claus Lauter: Okay. For a lot of people it might be the biggest issue is obviously the first step to get out and then to arrive at a new place where things just work differently, people speak a different language, and so on and so forth.

Now you need to approach someone to give you a job. How did you do that? 

Nathalie Segelborg: , my first job, I hired an agency because, like you say, the first stepping stone is really the hardest because you've got no idea how to do [00:05:00] it. So I hired an agency and they helped me get my first job abroad, but that's the only time I've ever used an agency because while I was using them, I realized how easy it was for me to do it myself, it was very helpful and it was an amazing opportunity to get that first job.

But once you have that first job, you'll realize. Easy it is just search yourself, join Facebook groups, their website. There are even Instagram accounts now that will help you find jobs abroad. There wasn't at the time when I started, because it was six years ago, but now there's even more opportunities and it's so easy to just find jobs online, wherever you wanna go, pretty much.

And then just, , apply for a bunch of jobs, see what happens. The worst you can get is and know. 

Claus Lauter: Very true. how did you organize all the rest of your life, finding accommodation, bank accounts, everything that else that comes into this whole scenario? 

Nathalie Segelborg: So one of the things that is very, very handful when you do seasonal jobs is that your employer is usually used to having people come from all over the world.[00:06:00] 

So they're usually very helpful in having accommodation available or helping you find accommodation. So it's never been an issue. , most of the jobs I've had have supplied accommodation and the few that haven't have been very helpful in helping us find accommodation. And then the bank accounts as well.

It's quite easy to open up a bank account as long as you got the working permit. So once you can work in a country, it's pretty simple. And the banks that are. The areas where they have a lot of external workers usually offer kind of like a limited bank account for just a seasons, so you don't have to have it open for an entire year per se, or for the time being, which is very handy.

, so I've never had a problem with finding accommodation or having a bank account set up. I know there's a few that will allow money transfer to your own home country. But for me, it's always been more beneficial to open up a bank account in the country I'm at. So I've had a bank account in Australia and I've had a bank account [00:07:00] in Norway, and it's always more beneficial because usually they take a cut of your pay to transfer the money overseas.

Claus Lauter: Okay. And that's very helpful tips there. Now, as I said, seasonal worker, that might only work in certain areas at certain times of the year. What would your recommendation there, if somebody wants to do this, what do they need to look for? 

Nathalie Segelborg: you're right in that at certain areas, certain times, but so usually you have the summer seasons and then you have the winter seasons, and then you have a little bit of a free time in between where I usually just go traveling.

if you wanna work in Australia, it's the bottom half for summer. So that would be our winter in Europe. So between like October, November till April. And then the top half of Australia is better if you do it in summertime. So our summertime, their wintertime , so it would be like in May till October.

And in Europe as well. You have all the skiing destinations in the winter, and then you have all the summer destinations in the summer. Low futon [00:08:00] islands is a great opportunity for that. Everywhere. They have like bikes and lots of tourism, like the Greek islands, they're full of tourists. They usually need a lot of bartenders and a lot of bar gigs.

, all the tour boats need photographers. If that's your jam, Think about where the tourists go, like where is it busy during tourism season? That's usually where you'll find your seasonal jobs and then just enjoy the time in between and travel. 

Claus Lauter: Okay. I wanna pick up on this a little bit because obviously you not only going there to work and to make money, you also wanna enjoy the time there, and you're staying longer than the average tourist or holiday maker coming there.

What are the benefits of doing this kind of lifestyle? 

Nathalie Segelborg: , so the benefits is definitely slow travel, , because if you travel at a hectic pace, it can be pretty bad for the environment. It's bad for your wallet. It's bad in every sense, . But when you get to work in a place, you connect with the locals, they'll usually show you like the cool secret spots.

You'll be able to be a bit more picky with your hikes. So if you go in a place for a [00:09:00] week and it's bad weather, It's really unfortunate, but it does happen. But if you get months, then you can kind of wait around for that perfect day to come. And you also get to experience the slopes, like if you're in a skiing destination when you're off, it's usually when the tourists aren't there or when there aren't as many.

So you'll have the slopes to yourself. It's just a great community. Like you'll meet people from all over the world so even if you arrive solo like by yourself, there's a lot of people arriving solo. So you'll find friends and it'll be like a tight little family for a few months, and then you just move on.

Claus Lauter: Okay. , the term slow met, slow Noma comes to my Yeah, exactly. I like, I like this also much more than just rushing through. Now, beside of the benefits, there might be some downsides. Tell me about that. 

Nathalie Segelborg: With everything, there's a bit of a downside. There is. A little pressure, especially if you're not fully employed, you're just like a casual employee, so you'll grab the hours when you can.

I personally don't like accepting a job if they can't [00:10:00] guarantee me at least 75 or a hundred percent employment just because I wanna travel in between. I'll need to have saved a bit of money. if you only get hired on 25% or 50%, you might not be able to save any money. And you might have to feel like you're chasing the hours at work, which can be a bit stressful.

And then there's also like the missed special occasions and birthdays at home. Like I miss my brother's graduation from school, which was sad. , it's only happened to me once, but you can arrive somewhere and it doesn't meet your expectations. Like the job, it can be nothing they've told you.

I actually left that place less than a week after being there I'd done a few seasons by then, so I knew what I could expect. Usually the standard of living, it's pretty minimal. , but they put us in an old bank and it was interesting to say the least, but I was like, Nope.

If this is it, then , I'm just gonna leave. Thank you for the opportunity, but no, with everything in life, like pluss and minus, so ups and downs. 

Claus Lauter: No. Makes total sense. Now, when it comes to [00:11:00] your age, my age, is there any specific bracket where you say if you are over 30, 40, 50, that's not working anymore?

Or is that something that pretty much everyone can do? 

Nathalie Segelborg: , it is something that pretty much everyone can do. There is obviously a lot more younger people, in their early twenties to 25, 26. , I've noticed. When a lot of people coming to Norway this year is gonna be younger, when I started seasonal work, I was only twenties.

I was always among the youngest, but now I'm six years later, I'm not one of the youngest anymore . But I have worked with people that are over 40 and over 50 even. So this lifestyle is still available. Even if you're a bit older, it will be more beneficial because you probably have a lot.

Experience, but it can also be a bit, it can be a bit lonely. I think if you arrive somewhere and it's only a lot of, lot of young people. But usually they're pretty good at putting like the little older crew in a house together and the younger crew in a house together, but still mixing it up so it's not just [00:12:00] divided, but they're pretty good at, creating like little houses with good vibes.

So you don't feel alone. 

Claus Lauter: Okay. Do you think if this experience doing this for a few years and then coming back and maybe then continue with a in brackets and normal life will add to whatever you wanna do in life? 

Nathalie Segelborg: No, definitely. I believe that swapping jobs every now and then, like, because I normally stay two to six months and then I'll move on.

And by moving on, I always get taught new things like. A little bit different everywhere. And the coffee in Norway is not the same as the coffee in Australia with the coffee in Sweden. So I feel like the experiences you get is like a more broader variety. you don't only know that one thing.

Maybe you've been taught like 10 different ways of doing this thing because everyone does it a little bit different. So I think it will always be to your advantage no matter what you choose to do in life later on. And you can also prove to them, I've now settled, my hunger for experience. Now I'm looking for something steady, something normal, and I think that'll just be to [00:13:00] your 

Claus Lauter: benefit.

Good point there. Now, before we come to the end of our chat today, one gold nugget that you would give someone who has not done it yet and is planning to do so.

Nathalie Segelborg: , that's a hard one. You'll get to know yourself on a so much deeper level. Like you'll realize that you're so much capable than what you actually think you are. I think that's the best thing about it. Cuz when you do this, it's like, wow, I can work wherever I want to. How cool is that?

And the fact that you can travel the world full time without just like being a working class girl. You don't need to be rich. That was a big wow for me, , because , you see all these travel influencers and they pay thousands of dollars a night in a place where you live and work.

It's like, that's pretty cool. 

Claus Lauter: great tip, and I think that's a great motivation as well. So tell me where can people find more about you and what you do? 

Nathalie Segelborg: so they can find more about me on Instagram. That's probably where I'm the most active at Nats Con Global. , I've just started, , YouTube. I'm [00:14:00] gonna be posting the second video of that really soon, which is gonna be 10 tips on first time seasonal workers.

So if you're listening to this and you wanna get into seasonal work, check it out and you'll find some really, really cool tips. 

Claus Lauter: Cool. I will put the links in the show notes. Then you just one click away and I'm sure the video will be a huge help for people planning to go out in the world. Natalie, thanks so much.

I think there was a ton of information and there ton of content. That will help and hope to talk to you 

Nathalie Segelborg: Yeah. Thank you so much for having me.