Welcome to my life 🙂
My name is N’Dea (pronounced “India”) and I am a Jersey girl, traveler, who loves exploring new places. I started traveling when I was really young, less than a year old, because my mom had the travel bug during my childhood. Every year, she would take my brother and I on a vacation to a different destination, and we would have the chance to explore on our own or as a family. As a child, these trips were sacred, yet exciting times, and have largely shaped my outlook on traveling and experiencing new cultures. Not only did I have the chance to eat all the pizza and other snacks all trip long, but I would also be free in a new place and meet so many people who were living different lives than I was in my suburban South Jersey neighborhood.
After high school school, I went to college to study Biomedical Engineering, and although my major and university did not allow for me to take a semester or year in a fancy study abroad program, traveling was still on my mind. In between semesters, and during breaks, I would work my part time jobs as a retail associate and server at a nursing home so I could save enough cash for college rent and traveling. It was then that I started travel hacking so I could make my few dollars stretch as far as possible. I scoured the internet, mainly Youtube, for inspiration and tips, and I was able to travel to a new destination every year with my “college kid money”, either through school programs, travel deals, or youtube travel hacks.
Although I had a constant thirst for travel, I couldn’t figure out how to make it a job, so I continued with my studies in biomedical engineering, eventually earning a PhD in the same field. The pandemic struck the U.S. during my second year of graduate school, and it was during this time that I decided to start posting online as a social media content creator. I shared my journey as a biomedical engineer, especially my struggles in the field, but after a while I became burnt out with my work and wanted something more. I quickly transitioned to sharing my life, but especially my travels, and what my life was like outside of engineering. At the time, I didn’t know anyone was making money from social media, but I did it because I loved having a creative outlet outside of my stuffy engineering job.
Eventually, I started making money online and quickly realized that this “internet thing” could be a real career for me. I started setting monetary goals for myself, took my content schedule and posting seriously, and even pitched myself to brands to increase my income. After a few months of hitting my goals, I decided to go all in. I told my graduate advisor that I was leaving engineering (after finishing my PhD), found an apartment in LA, and I moved across the country to pursue content creation full time.
As a now full-time travel content creator, influencer, and model, I now live a life I truly love. I no longer fight myself to get out of bed, nor do I hate myself for sitting at a desk all day for the sake of money. I make my own schedule, choose who/when/where I work, and I have freedom of choice over my life.
I’ve redesigned this website to accommodate for these drastic changes, but I believe this is for the better. Here, you can find where I’ve been, my personal experiences in those destinations, and honest reviews of what it was like. I hope you enjoy this new stage of my life, just as much as I am, and become inspired to take some trips of your own.
I will be posting here periodically, but you can always find me on Instagram, Tiktok, Pintrest, or Youtube, and slaying the game in every location I’m exploring. I may not be a working engineer anymore, but I am still a BME (biomedical engineering) Kween that is now traveling the world and I hope you join me on this journey!