Jade D’sa | #BetterThanEqual

1. Tell people about yourself

I’m Jade, a food and travel enthusiast from Goa. I moved to Mumbai close to a decade ago to pursue further education and it was there where I got my first taste of adventure as well as cuisines from around the world. My blog started out as a hobby to balance the monotony of a fresher-level job in a city where I knew no one, and turned out to be the reason I quit a successful career in advertising 5 years later. I took to writing about food and travel full-time on my platform called ‘That Goan Girl’ and today run a marketing agency of my own. I’m fortunate to be living the ‘dream’ for many – that of working from anywhere while travelling and eating!

2. What kind of a traveler are you?

I’m a slow traveler. If everyone says that you can see a particular place in 3 days, I’ll stay there for 2 weeks. I love to experience a place beyond it’s “must-see-sights” and “must-try foods.” Because once that’s done, that’s when you experience a regular day in a new place – you notice the traits of the people, make conversation with a shopkeeper like a normal resident, listen to the music and language of the place – and feel at home and that is what inspires me. I like offbeat travel with a little bit of luxury for balance.

3. Looking at your voyage stories people often think it’s quite fancy and easy to pack the bag and start a journey, what are your thoughts on it?

What people don’t see is that travel for me is more work and less pleasure…. not that I’m complaining. I love it! People don’t see the deadlines I need to tackle, the clients I lose out on getting because I’m not office-based, the times I worked all night yet woke up the next morning to catch the sunset for these very people to see and so much more that happens behind the scenes. So it definitely pisses me off when people call me ‘lucky’ to be living the life I am or call it easy. But if it was, everyone would be doing it, right?

4. “” Being girl, it’s not safe to travel solo””. What are your thoughts on this?

I haven’t traveled solo yet, because I love having a like-minded person along. But I can see why the safety aspect of travel for a solo woman is a challenge, especially in our country. It is a genuine concern for sure. There are many many places that are totally safe – like Pondicherry, Manali, Mumbai, for example. I think that if a girl really wishes to travel solo, the options are endless. But some places are unsafe and its a fact – and in such places its best to travel with companions or be receptive to your intuitions.

5. How do you fund your travels?

I run my own digital marketing agency and handle end-to-end marketing for a bunch of brands on a retainer basis as well as one-time project basis. I also run my own food and travel blog and occasionally have paid collaborations that help me travel longer and/or better.

6. What is your greatest personal achievement?

Reaching a point where I am earning more from a digital nomad lifestyle than a full time job in a leading ad agency – that was a goal I wanted to achieve.

7. Your message / travel tips to all the women out there on this Women’s’ day?

If you put your mind to something and work hard, you can achieve it. Whether or not you want to travel full time or during vacation, solo or with friends/family, prioritize it and make it happen.  It’s India and people ALWAYS have their opinions on what you should and shouldn’t be doing. You can never please everyone, so just live and travel for yourself.

8. How can people connect with you?

You can email me on thatgoangirl@gmail.com or follow me on ThatGoanGirl on Facebook and Instagram. On Twitter, I’m at @ ImGoanCrazy

Team Travel Affairs wishes you a very Happy Women’s Day !