Nomad Spotlight: Tara Jabbari
This week, we sat down with our friend, Tara Jabbari. Tara is a digital media consultant and producer who took the plunge into the location-independent lifestyle in early 2020, only to have her travel plans cut short due to the pandemic.
In our interview, Tara talks about what her travel plans are in the future and gave us a few recommendations on what we should all be watching right now. We also discussed her newest podcast called, Who was she?
Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do.
I am a digital media consultant and producer. I studied news production and worked as an editor and producer for non profits and their short documentaries in the US and New Zealand. Over the last few years, I've focused on marketing and worked on podcasts, film festivals, etc.. Basically, I work in any kind of digital media :)
How long have you been a nomad?
I finally took the leap to be a full time digital nomad in 2020, you can guess how that went! I heard about a travel program, Remote Year, a couple of years before and was interested but I wasn’t sure what to do with my stuff, how long I should go for, what happens next. No one I knew had done anything like this before. But after seeing how my work was done completely remotely, I decided to take the plunge, put everything in storage and head out. Then COVID hit and I was forced back to live with my mom, so it did not go as planned to say the least!
What inspired you to start living the location-independent lifestyle?
I always say, “the scariest place to be is in your comfort zone.” I had anxiety whenever it was approached to me that I found my place, my home. As I got older, friends were buying homes or settling down and I just kept thinking, “but is this it? There is still so much I want to do and see.” When I gave into social media, the first accounts I followed were travel and travel influencers. But maybe because of having seen every episode of Law & Order: SVU, I also didn’t want to put myself at unnecessary risk. Then I learned about travel programs that put you with a group and just felt safer with that option.
What has been your favorite thing about living this lifestyle?
There is so much uncertainty in life, most people, in my experience, just look for a home, job, family. Theoretically, this way, life goes linear but in reality, there are lots of bumps and curtails.
I think my favorite thing about this nomad lifestyle is that you are going full force into uncertainty. Before I got to travel and live with other nomads, friends and family asked me why I am doing this, what will happen to all my stuff, when will I be back, etc. They just couldn’t grasp that I have no idea where I am going.
You have a fab podcast. Tell us more about it!
Thank you, I have been working on a biographical podcast for over a year. It is called Who was she? Podcast. I am so happy to share it with you now that it is finally live!
The first season is about the life of Lidia Zamenhof. Lidia traveled to three continents to teach the universal language Esperanto in efforts to bring people together. She had such a strong character, inspired people and despite several attempts to save her, she died in a concentration camp during World War II.
What show should we all be watching right now?
I am a huge film, tv and book nerd. I started a podcast in 2015 purely for fun called Discussing Divas, where my friends and I talk about our favorite tv shows and I share fun trivia I found out.
Depending on your preference, there are tons of great content out there. When lockdown first hit, I just wanted comedies. I watched really old tv shows like I Love Lucy and The Bob Newhart Show. I also rewatched all of 24, 30 Rock, Don’t Trust the B- in Apt 23, the list goes on and on.
Then there are dramas, and don’t neglect foreign shows. Korean show, Crash Landing on You is a family favorite, Gran Hotel, High Seas are some Spanish shows I watched and a friend from Remote Year got me hooked on German show, Dark.
Now is a time for series, not so much films. I had to quarantine in NYC and my friend and I ended up watching a bunch of our favorite films as kids/tweens, like Titanic, Out of Sight, even Troy. Revisiting your childhood, teen favorites, you can never go wrong :)
On my list still, and I am ashamed to say I haven’t been able to watch it yet is Better Call Saul, the follow up to one of the best shows ever, Breaking Bad. Now that the show has finished, I can fully binge watch it and I hope to finally do that in 2021!
What are your travel plans post-covid?
I theorize that there will be more deals and discounts for travel while being a bit more of a longer process. I hope to take advantage of being able to travel and to live for at least a month in new places, especially since all my things are still in storage. Countries like Japan, Italy, Iceland have been working on deals to get tourism up again and they are notoriously expensive so I want to be able to go visit safely but also get the discounted advantages.
What’s your life motto?
“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.”
Finally, what’s some advice you have for other nomads?
Find the support system you need and go with the flow.
How to get in touch with Tara
You can connect with Tara on Twitter, LinkedIn, Youtube and her website.
You can also find her Podcast, Who was she? on Spotify, Amazon and on Apple Podcasts.