There’s a new class of workers taking advantage of the best-of-both worlds: holding down a fully remote U.S. job, while still being able to travel the world. It’s a dream that’s enticed many Americans already looking to ditch the U.S. for greener pastures—and one Gen Zer has found a new home in a sprawling urban city nestled by the scenic Andes mountains.
Leeah Derenoncourt is a 24-year-old digital nomad born in the U.S. currently working out of Chile’s capital, Santiago, but she was jet-setting long before relocating to South America. Her parents’ jobs in international public health took her around the world from Haiti, Tanzania, Zambia, and the Philippines, eventually settling back in Maryland when she was 10 years old. Her childhood planted the seed for even more adventures later in life: After receiving her bachelor’s degree in public relations from Emerson College in December 2022, she packed her bags and headed for the airport.
“When I first graduated college, I was bopping around a little bit. I spent a month in Colombia, just because I was like, ‘Where can I go [that’s] not that expensive?’ I went there, and I loved the culture,” Derenoncourt tells Fortune. “It was a great place to start the living abroad journey.”
Derenoncourt started her career by freelancing as a publicist for a Gen Z-focused PR company in the U.S., later working at SafetyWing, a health insurance company for remote workers. But throughout this digital nomad journey, she’s maintained her residency in the U.S., allowing her to travel internationally while working for American companies. She wound up living in Medellín on Colombia’s digital nomad visa for one year, landing a job at a fully remote U.S. communications company. But Derenoncourt was ready for a new journey, so she moved to Chile, settling in a studio apartment with her partner. She’s been living there for a few months so far, and thanks to its lower cost-of-living, is able to save up for future adventure: graduate school.
Having lived the digital nomad life for several years now, the Gen Zer admits it has its perks—but also its downsides. However, she says she believes every person should get the travel bug out of their system when they’re young.
“I strongly believe that people in their early 20s should travel. And I am very aware that sometimes the only way you can is if you’re working and traveling at the same time,” Derenoncourt says. “But just be very intentional about what you’re doing, where you’re going.”
The perks of the digital nomad lifestyle: ‘work to live’ lifestyle and cheaper rent
One of the most obvious benefits of stepping outside of the U.S. is also getting away from the grindset—and Americans have long been craving a slice of the slow life. Despite having little full-time work experience back home, and technically holding down a U.S. job, Derenoncourt still feels the difference in work-life balance.
“People work very hard, but there is this sense of ‘you work to live’ type of thing,” she says. “Versus I feel like when I’m in the U.S., I would log off from work, and then I would go talk to my friends, and they’d be like, ‘Oh, so how was work?’ and I was like, ‘Don’t talk about it.’”
People spend their time off the clock differently there, too. Derenoncourt says there’s a bigger culture of community abroad: She and her friends would gather in parks and go out together all the time. Unlike other digital nomads—who she says can flit quickly from country to country—the 24-year-old prefers to stay rooted and builds local connections in her city.
“Digital nomads, especially [in] the tech world, can think of other countries [as] their playground. They’re like, ‘Look at my U.S. dollar, it goes so far,’” Derenoncourt explains, adding she feels some guilt in earning more than most locals. But she reasons she’s very young, makes a modest U.S. salary, connects with her community, and is dating someone from the area. “Seeing that, I feel less guilt. But I do think a lot of people who are digital nomads don’t think about that. They just go, ‘Wow, this is so great for me.’”
That being said, Chile’s lower cost-of-living is a major perk; it’s even enabled her to save up for graduate school. In Colombia, her studio apartment rent was only $650, and even then Derenoncourt admits she was overcharged—a far cry from the $1,836 she’d have to cough up for a similar place in D.C. If she stayed behind in the U.S., she says she’d probably be forced to live with several roommates. The Gen Zer says Chile is still more expensive than Colombia, but it’s affordable enough to set aside more than a thousand dollars each month.
Saving enough on cost-of-living to eventually pursue a master’s degree
While Derenoncourt enjoys her current job in communications, she one day hopes to return to school and pursue a master’s in arts and cultural management. But instead of heading back to the U.S. to pay sky-high tuition costs, she’s opting to eventually study at a European university. The education is more affordable, and she can make her money stretch further. So far, she’s been saving $1,200 a month for her next degree.
“I’ve been saving for a couple years now,” Derenoncourt says. “I could save for this amount of time, and I wouldn’t be able to pay a fraction of what that master’s would cost in the U.S.”
On top of that, Chile’s lower cost-of-living has enabled the Gen Zer to save up four months worth of expenses. She also sets aside $100 a month for a “flight fund” in case there’s an emergency back in the U.S. and needs to get home quickly. As she maps out her next adventure, Derenoncourt shows how working abroad isn’t just a phase—it’s a path to freedom, growth, and new horizons.
