Tenacious Travellers is an interview series with the fascinating people I have met around the world. My life is better because of them and I want to help you get to know them too. The world is big, but having friends in every country makes it all feel like home.
I met Julia Kuhn at a blogging retreat in Bali and was immediately intrigued by her positive attitude and very cool job: Julia is a travelling speech therapist! How cool is that??
She also writes a blog for travelling healthcare professionals – The Traveling Traveler – and even though I’m not a speech therapist, I love reading it because her passion for her work shines through in her writing and inspires me to work hard for what’s important.
Read on to find out more about Julia and what it’s like to be a travelling speech therapist!
Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do
My name is Julia and I’m a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) who works with adults that have acquired language, cognitive, and swallowing disorders. I primarily work with patients who have had brain injuries, strokes, and neurogenic disorders.
In 2010, I became a travelling SLP, which means I work temporary (13-week) assignments across the US and travel from job to job. I have worked all over the US, from East Coast to West Coast, and now I’m in Hawaii. In between assignments I have travelled both the country and world for extended amounts of time. My passions include hiking, photography, blogging, coffee, and of course, travel!
In 2014, I struggled to find and connect with other travelling therapists who could relate to my lifestyle. So, I formed a Facebook Group dedicated to travelling therapists, which has now grown to 7.5k members! I also created a blog – The Traveling Traveler – to supplement the group with resources. I started a business based on my blog, which provides resources and education to travelling therapists.
What inspired you to become a speech therapist?
When I was 15, I began working at a nursing home to earn money to go on a trip to California (I’ve always had a love for travel!) I worked in the dietary and activities departments. The work was really fulfilling and I decided to pursue a career in the medical field.
I researched the different professions in the nursing home, and found speech pathology. Speech pathology really appealed to me because it was a way to help people communicate and improve their quality of life. I also saw it as a way to be flexible with work/life balance. The SLP I worked with was an independent contractor who worked as needed across a couple of facilities. She had a lot of flexibility and control over her schedule. Even as a teenager, I knew that I valued having flexibility and independence at work.
What are some challenges you had to overcome when starting your blog?
There are so many, I don’t know where to begin. I guess the biggest challenge was making the transition from blogging as a hobby to blogging as a business. When I started blogging, it was to share my story with friends and family. When I began blogging professionally, I realized that I had a lot to learn to go from a hobby to a pro.
Everything that I know now to run my blog, I had to learn. I took online courses, subscribed to newsletters, and went to a blogging retreat in Bali (which is where I had the pleasure of meeting and working with Grace!) I learned about copywriting, SEO, backlinks, design, coding, social media, etc. Learning to blog professionally was definitely a learning curve, but it’s been fun and exciting.
What do you enjoy most about blogging?
I love that I can make a positive impact on people’s lives. Similar to why I went into speech pathology, I want to be be able to influence and help others.
I also love the creativity and freedom that blogging gives me. As a blogger, I’m able to express myself through writing and photography. I am also able to work from anywhere, which is a very freeing experience!
You’ve travelled quite a bit. What are some of your favourite places?
In the United States, I love Hawaii and Yosemite! I could spend all day hiking in the mountains of Yosemite, or lying on the beaches of Hawaii!
Internationally, I love Barcelona, it is such a vibrant city filled with culture and life! Walking through the city, you feel like you’re a part of something special!
What’s something most people don’t know about you but you wish they did?
I grew up in a very small town (around 1,000 people), for which travelling abroad or living a nomadic lifestyle was not the norm. I broke down a lot of barriers to leave home and travel the way that I have. If I can do it, you can do it!
You’re living in Hawaii now (wow!) – tell us what a typical day in your life is like.
Hawaii is paradise, but that comes at a price. Hawaii is a super expensive place to live, so living here definitely takes a lot of work and sacrifice. If I’m working at the hospital, I generally work from 8:30-5. If I’m blogging I tend to work similar hours. Some days, I take a sunset walk or run by the beach, other days I go home and work on the blog more.
On a day off, I might go to the beach or take a hike. The rest of the week I’m usually doing something either SLP- or blog-related.
What’s the first thing you think about when you wake up?
Drinking coffee! I’m a coffee addict and can’t think about anything before I get that first sip in me!
[Editor’s note: SAME]
Where do you find everyday inspiration?
Anywhere! I try to keep a pen and paper with me because I like to write down ideas when I get inspired. I’m a fairly introverted person, and I actually find a lot of inspiration when I’m able to sit and relax quietly at home.
Where are you travelling next?
In September I’m doing a whirlwind trip of the US mainland. I’m happy to be attending a travel healthcare conference in Las Vegas and a travel blogger conference in Austin, TX. I’m so excited for the conferences! I will be speaking at the travel healthcare conference, and the bloggers conference will be my FIRST travel blogger conference! Yay! In between the two conferences, I will be visiting family on the East Coast.
What accomplishment are you most proud of?
I’m proud of the patients that I’ve helped the most. For instance, the patients who either couldn’t swallow or could not produce a word at the beginning of our treatment, who I helped to advance to more functional levels. Also, I’m proud of the Facebook community that I run. This has been a huge accomplishment because it has become such a wonderful resource to the travelling therapist community.
Have you ever made a huge mistake? How did you recover from it?
I’ve made lots of mistakes. Most recently, I paid for something that I thought would be funded 100% by sponsors and now realize that I’ll likely have to pay several thousand dollars out of pocket. This was a lesson to me to not pay for something before I had it funded and to think more rationally with funds. In the meanwhile, I’m working to recover funds by selling products that I have affiliate partnerships for; including MedBridge Education.
If you could know the exact day you will die, would you want to know?
Absolutely not! I work with a lot of patients at their end of life and have learned to appreciate every day, because you never know what will be your last. That’s probably part of the reason why I’m so passionate to live life, explore, and adventure through the world!
What would you say to someone who is thinking about becoming a travel therapist?
I would ask them what is their Why. Travelling for work is hard and it’s definitely not glamorous. I would ask why they wanted to travel and see if they have realistic goals and expectations for travel. After that, I would recommend connecting with a mentor and doing research into travelling as a speech therapist.
Do you have any advice for aspiring bloggers?
Focus on building a following and trust with your readers. Get to know your followers, what they want, what they are looking for, and how you can help them. Answer their questions and engage with them online. Write blogs about topics that can help your readers. Create a blog that makes a difference in somebody’s life and can help them in some way. Don’t focus on making money in the beginning, work on building your brand.
What is your favourite thing about your life right now?
Living in paradise (literally – Hawaii is breathtakingly beautiful), while chasing my dreams. I feel like I’m on the brink of something great with my blog and I can’t wait to see where it takes me next!
Big thanks to Julia for sharing her insights and advice! If you want more information about travelling as a healthcare professional or just want some career motivation and travel advice, I recommend checking out The Traveling Traveler for a good dose of energy and inspiration!
