There comes a point in life when you start asking yourself bigger questions.

Am I happy?

Is this really how I want the next chapter of my life to look?

Have I left it too late to do something different?

For a long time, those questions sat quietly in the background for me. Like a lot of people, I had routines, responsibilities, and a life that made sense on paper. At the same time, another part of me wanted something more. Not more in a flashy or dramatic way, just more freedom, more variety, and more of a sense that I was properly living rather than simply carrying on.

So in January 2025, I made a big change.

At 54 years old, I left the UK and moved to South America.

Even now, writing that still feels slightly surreal.

This article is a more personal look at what that first year has really been like, what I’ve loved, what I’ve found hard, and why I honestly believe it is never too late to make a major change in your life. It is based on the story I shared in Episode 1 of my YouTube series.

Why I Became a Digital Nomad at 54

The decision did not come from one dramatic moment, but there were a couple of big things happening in my life that pushed me to stop and think.

Not long before I left the UK, I had been made redundant. That kind of experience can knock your confidence at any age, but I think it hits differently in your 50s. At that stage of life, it is easy to start wondering whether you should just play it safe and look for the next sensible option.

Around the same time, Vanesa had flown back to Bolivia, where she is originally from, and I knew I wanted to be with her too.

That left me standing at a genuine crossroads.

Redundancy brought uncertainty, but it also created space. Instead of rushing straight back into the same kind of life, I had a chance to ask myself what I actually wanted next. Once I was honest with myself, the answer became clearer.

I did not want to simply rebuild the old version of my life.

What I wanted was more freedom. I wanted to work remotely, travel, and create a lifestyle that felt more aligned with who I am now, not just who I had been for years before.

Midlife has a way of making you look at time differently too. You start to realise how easy it is to keep delaying things. You tell yourself you will make a change next year, when work settles down, when money feels better, when confidence arrives, or when life somehow lines itself up neatly.

The problem is that life rarely does that.

At some point, you either keep waiting or you decide to move.

For me, redundancy and wanting to be with Vanesa became the push I needed to look at life more honestly. I knew there would be challenges. I knew it would not all go smoothly. What I also knew was that I did not want to spend the next few years wondering what would have happened if I had just been brave enough to try.

From the UK to South America

Although the title says South America, the reality is that most of my first year has been based in Bolivia, especially around Santa Cruz de la Sierra.

That has really been the heart of this experience.

We also spent four months living in Tefé, a small town in the Amazon region of Brazil, between July and November 2025. That was a completely different experience and one I will talk about properly another time because it deserves its own space.

When I look back over the year as a whole, though, Bolivia has been the place that has shaped this chapter the most.

This is where daily life became real. It stopped being an idea or an adventure in the abstract and started becoming actual life. That is a very different thing.

A move like this is exciting, of course, but it is only once the everyday routines kick in that you really start to understand what your new life feels like.

That is where the real learning begins.

What I’ve Loved About Living in Bolivia

A lot of this experience has genuinely been positive.

The weather has been one of the obvious things I’ve enjoyed, even if the heat and humidity took some getting used to at first. Waking up to warmth and light most days does change your mood and energy in ways that are hard to ignore.

Another thing I’ve really appreciated is the slower pace of life. There is less of that constant sense of urgency that many of us carry around without even noticing. Day to day, life often feels less rushed and less pressured.

Then there is the wildlife, which still feels slightly surreal to me.

A few minutes from where we live, there is a lake with capybaras and caiman. Parrots regularly fly overhead. Recently, we even had a toucan fly over us. As someone who started this journey from the UK, that is not something I ever imagined would become part of normal life.

Even now, moments like that still catch me off guard.

The place we live has helped a lot too. We are in a condominium just outside Santa Cruz, and it feels secure, settled, and calm. On some days, it genuinely feels a bit like living in a holiday resort, which still makes me laugh when I say it out loud.

That sense of safety and comfort matters more than people often realise when they talk about moving abroad.

Affordability has also made a real difference. Everyday life feels less financially pressured in a lot of ways, and that changes more than you might expect. When the day-to-day cost of living feels more manageable, it creates more breathing room, more headspace, and more chance to think clearly about how you want to spend your time.

The Hardest Part Has Been Missing Family

As positive as much of this has been, I want to be honest about the harder side too.

Without question, the most difficult part has been missing my family, especially my daughter Molly and my son Haydn.

They are both adults and getting on with their own lives, and I am incredibly proud of them. Even so, being far away is not easy.

FaceTime and WhatsApp do help, and I am grateful for that. Technology makes distance feel more manageable than it once did. Still, it is not the same as being there in person.

Nothing really replaces being able to give someone a cuddle.

Being nearby matters in a way that a screen simply cannot fully replace. There is comfort in knowing you can be there if someone needs you, or if you need them.

I do not think people talk about that side of big life changes enough. So much of the conversation around moving abroad focuses on freedom, sunshine, travel, and doing something different. All of those things can be true. At the same time, you can love the life you are building and still deeply miss the people you love back home.

Both things can exist together.

That has probably been one of the biggest emotional lessons for me this year.

The Practical Challenges Are Very Real Too

There have also been plenty of day-to-day challenges.

Language has been a big one. My Spanish is still very much a work in progress, and I have relied a lot on Vanesa, especially when it comes to translation and paperwork. She has helped me massively, and I’m very grateful for that.

Then there is the bureaucracy.

Anyone who has dealt with visas, official paperwork, or systems in another country will probably know the sort of thing I mean. I now have a two-year visa, which I am really pleased about, but the process itself was far from simple.

There was a lot of queueing.

There was a lot of photocopying.

There was a lot of notarising.

And more than once, the whole process tested my patience by sending me from one place to another for yet another piece of paper I had not even known I needed.

Those parts do not usually make it into the polished version of life abroad. They are not glamorous. They are not exciting. They are not especially social media friendly either.

Even so, they are part of the reality.

A big move later in life is not about everything being perfect. In many ways, it is about deciding that even with the uncertainty, inconvenience, and uncomfortable moments, you still want to give yourself the chance to live differently.

Starting Again in Your 50s Is Not Ridiculous

One of the biggest things this year has taught me is that starting again later in life is not something to be embarrassed about.

It is not ridiculous.

It is not selfish.

Nor is it a sign that you should have had everything sorted by now.

If anything, I think it shows that life is still unfolding. There is still room to grow, to explore, to challenge yourself, and to make changes that feel meaningful.

Why So Many People Feel It’s Too Late

A lot of people reach their 50s carrying doubts that they do not always say out loud. They wonder whether they have missed their chance to do something bold or different. Many start to believe it is too late to start over, too late to try something new, or too late to step outside the version of themselves that other people have come to expect.

I understand that way of thinking.

At the same time, there is something powerful about getting to this stage of life and realising you do not need permission.

What you do need is honesty with yourself, along with enough courage to take the first step.

That does not mean fear disappears overnight. It does not mean life suddenly falls into place. It does not mean you transform into a completely different person overnight either.

What can change, though, is your willingness to stop assuming your life is already fully written.

That has been a big part of this journey for me.

Was It Worth It?

A year in, was it worth it?

Yes. Absolutely yes.

That does not mean every part has been easy. At times, this life has challenged me, stretched me, frustrated me, and made me miss home in ways I did not fully expect.

Even so, it has given me an experience I am genuinely grateful for.

This chapter has shown me a different way of living. More importantly, it has reminded me that change is still possible. It has also helped me see that the next chapter of life does not have to look like the last one.

Perhaps most importantly, the whole experience has reminded me that there is still more life to live.

Watch the Video Version

If you’d like to hear me talk about this in a more personal way, I’ve also shared this story on YouTube in Episode 1 of the series:

I Became a Digital Nomad at 54 Years Old, From UK to South America

Final Thoughts

Becoming a digital nomad in my 50s has not been about chasing some perfect lifestyle.

For me, it has been about giving myself permission to live differently.

It has been about trying something that felt meaningful, even though it came with uncertainty.

It has also been about learning that you can feel excited and scared, grateful and homesick, settled and still adjusting, all at the same time.

If there is one thing I would say to anyone thinking about making a change later in life, it is this.

Do not write yourself off too early.

Do not assume your chance has gone.

Do not believe that wanting something different makes you unrealistic.

Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is admit that you want more from life, then take one step towards it.

That is what I did.

And despite the challenges, I am very glad I did.