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A woman from North Huntingdon has found that she can be at home anywhere in the world, even thousands of miles away from the hills and rivers of western Pennsylvania.
For the past five years, Kayla Illig has been based in her husband’s native Netherlands, moving from her previous home to Groningen in the northern Netherlands, not far from Germany.
“Living abroad gives you a perspective that you would never get at home. It’s different,” said Ifrig, 30, who graduated from Norwin in 2011.
Eirig is the daughter of Lori and Bruce Eirig. She travels and works as a freelancer, traveling around the world for the past seven years.
She spent time in Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Peru, and across the Atlantic in Greece and Portugal.
She has spent time in more than 30 countries, including North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Balkans.
“The quality of the trip is much more important than the quantity,” Illig says.
Along the way, she came to characterize Dutch, Spanish, and French as “traveler-fluent” enough to get her point across.
Last month, she was in Portugal before returning to Groningen. It is the birthplace of her husband, Bert-Jan Schildhaus. They married in 2019 and Ilig maintains dual citizenship.
While abroad, she was able to successfully combine her two passions, writing and traveling, into a career.
“I’ve been doing some (writing) work as a freelancer. My clients are my ‘meat and potatoes,'” Illig said.
Although she is thousands of miles away from her U.S. customers, “it’s just like anyone else who works remotely.”
Based on her experiences as a remote worker as well as from home, she wrote How to Become a Digital Nomad: Build a Successful Career While Traveling the World, published in January. The book is described on her website as a “practical guide and insightful exploration of this unique lifestyle.”
Illig said he has found someone to interview people who have been digital nomads every decade since the 1980s. In some cases, there are now second-generation nomads.
Her blog, Writing from Nowhere, offers tips on becoming a digital nomad, from how to create a Pinterest account to the right type of backpack to carry your belongings to how to work and travel. As she mixes in lifestyle discussions, she will also offer to lend her expertise in building websites, content, and marketing.
“It’s much more achievable than people think. People who speak English as a native language and hold a U.S. passport are already incredibly privileged and have many opportunities to travel and work abroad.” said Eirig.
Ilig’s life as a digital nomad began when Italy created a special visa category for digital nomads in February. According to Arletti Partiners, which provides services to Italian industrial associations, this includes hiring skilled workers using technological tools that allow them to work remotely, regardless of whether the employer is Italian or not. It also includes non-European Union nationals who carry out work.
love of writing
She began honing the writing skills she used to make a living while traveling when she took a writing class at Norwin University taught by Brian Fleckenstein. She graduated from Norwin in 2011, and she said she found it more fun than work.
“Kayla was one of those students who always made sure to stay ahead of them,” Fleckenstein said. “She soaked it all up. Nothing makes an English teacher happier than when her students discover a passion for writing. Kayla is able to pursue her passions of travel, journalism, and writing. That’s really great.”
She earned a degree in journalism with a major in public relations from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She tried her hand at becoming a newspaper reporter, and she briefly worked for the Indiana Gazette.
But she wanted to see life beyond the borders of the Keystone State. She worked for the American Red Cross in Seattle and wrote disaster preparedness correspondence and presented programs for schools in Washington state.
I then moved to Chicago and worked as a graphic designer for an architecture firm. She said she realized that a grueling 9-to-5 job and working her weekends wasn’t what she wanted to do.
“After two years of working a standard 9-to-5 job, I didn’t want my job to dictate so much of my life for the next 40 years,” Eilig said.
So she booked a one-way ticket to Cozumel, Mexico, and worked online to earn money while living in a hostel. She spent six months traveling through Latin America and South America, visiting Panama and Peru. It was in Guatemala that she met her husband, an English teacher. They work together on business.
“The great thing about today is that people can become entrepreneurs and follow their passion,” Fleckenstein said.
Ichlig, whose legal last name is Schildhuis Ichlig, said she and her husband have not decided how long they will continue this lifestyle.
“At some point, I’ll get tired of traveling full-time and want a long-term home, a herb garden, and other luxuries of permanent living, but not now. I’ll keep moving until it’s no longer fun,” Ihilig said. .
long trek
Ilig and her husband recently completed a 150-mile hike on the Camino de Santiago in Portugal. A pilgrimage along the Atlantic coast of northwestern Portugal, from Porto to Santiago de Compestela. It is part of the Her network of trails said to lead to the ruins of St. Her James.
The 150-mile trip gave them time to test out most of their equipment and figure out what they’ll need to take with them when they set out on a four-month trip along the Via Francigena Trail this summer. Ta. The pilgrimage begins in Canterbury, England, crosses the English Channel to France, travels south through the Swiss Alps to Italy, and ends in Rome. Illig said the couple will be staying in churches and monasteries that are open to visitors, but will also be camping frequently and will also bring a tent with them.
But Illig said he plans to return home for four weeks starting in mid-May before crossing the Alps. She plans to take long uphill walks around Markview Manor and run up the steps of Norwin Knights Stadium, as if practicing for the upcoming football season.
And after a long pilgrimage, they are thinking of traveling the Silk Road, the ancient travel route from the Middle East to China, once traversed by the famous explorer Marco Polo. Africa may also be on the list.
Her mother, Lori Illig, said she kept in touch through text messages, phone calls and the audio and video calling service FaceTime while she was overseas. They also travel to visit her, most recently meeting in Portugal.
Lori Ifrig said she’s not surprised by her daughter’s wanderlust. It was something she had when she was little.
“She’s a very adventurous person,” Lori Illig said.
Kayla Eilig said she looks forward to seeing her family in North Huntington and her sister Julia Gray of Greensburg all year long. Still, she thinks she will be staying abroad for a long time.
“I feel like we’re just getting started,” she added.
Joe Napsha is a TribLive reporter covering the Irwin, North Huntingdon and Norwin school districts. He also writes about business issues. He grew up on Neville Island and has worked for the tribe since the early 1980s. Please contact us at jnapsha@triblive.com.
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