This story is a part of CNBC Make It’s Millennial Money sequence, which particulars how individuals all over the world earn, spend and save their cash.
Roughly 10 years in the past, Kaitlin Wichmann’s life appeared nice on paper: The Kansas native had simply graduated from faculty, was dwelling in Los Angeles, had a full-time advertising and marketing job and loved lovely ocean views whereas working from her workplace in Santa Monica.
But she wasn’t glad.
“Every day going into my job, parking in the same spot, going to the same desk, staring at the same wall — I was just like, ‘There has to be more to life than this,'” Wichmann, now 31, tells CNBC Make It.
It was a wakeup name that she was prepared to ditch LA, and the U.S. for that matter, to turn out to be her personal boss and journey the world.
Kaitlin Wichmann moved from the U.S. to Lisbon, Portugal, in 2021 and works as a freelance digital marketer.
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Now, Wichmann’s days are very totally different: She lives Lisbon, Portugal, and is a freelance digital marketer serving to American and Portuguese purchasers with their internet marketing. She units her personal schedule (about 20 hours per week) and sometimes works alongside pals at co-working areas.
Wichmann earns about $7,000 USD in a typical month, although her revenue can range from $2,400 to $12,000 in a month. She says she earns extra freelancing at this time than she did working for an company in LA.
She spends her free time enjoying tennis and padel (which is analogous to tennis and squash), taking Portuguese classes, going to the seashore and touring.
“I definitely feel happier and more at peace here,” Wichmann says.
Here’s how she made the leap.
Leaving the U.S.
Wichmann’s curiosity in dwelling overseas began when she was youthful. She grew up in Manhattan, Kansas, along with her mother and father and three siblings, and her household usually hosted worldwide trade college students. When Wichmann turned 18, she traveled abroad for the primary time and stayed with former trade college students in Europe.
She moved to LA for faculty and began her profession there, till she realized she did not need to work a 9-to-5 job in any respect.
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“When you’re just working that much, it just wasn’t enjoyable for me,” she says. “And I realized if I wanted to take a jump and leave a full-time job, I wouldn’t be able to do that in Los Angeles.”
Wichmann began taking freelance advertising and marketing work whereas working full-time at an company till she ultimately had sufficient purchasers to make a modest dwelling.
Kaitlin Wichmann works about 20 hours per week as a freelance digital marketer for a number of U.S. and Portuguese purchasers.
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With her personal consumer ebook, she traded LA for digital nomad life and prioritized locations with decrease prices of dwelling. She first moved to Bali, Indonesia, in 2019; then went on to Chiang Mai, Thailand; spent a few weeks in Vietnam; after which one other two months in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
She moved again to the U.S. and stayed in Kansas City through the Covid-19 pandemic, however by 2021 was prepared to preserve issues shifting once more.
Wichmann was researching locations she wished to reside extra long-term when she remembered a earlier journey to Madeira, an island off the coast of Portugal. She determined Lisbon checked off the containers of what she wished in a new dwelling: good climate, proximity to a seashore, a massive worldwide neighborhood and a walkable metropolis that centered wholesome exercise.
Moving to Portugal
Kaitlin Wichmann give up her job in LA in 2019 to journey the world as a digital nomad. She hung out in Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Argentina earlier than touchdown in Portugal.
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Wichmann accomplished the applying for her D7 passive revenue visa remotely beneath strict Covid tips: She submitted her fingerprints, opened a Portuguese checking account with 10,000 euros (about $11,600), bought a tax quantity and signed a lease on an condo.
The visa allowed her 4 months to get began in Portugal, and as soon as she arrived, she utilized for residency for a two-year keep. Wichmann renewed her visa in 2023, giving her one other three years of residency. (Portugal launched a separate D8 visa for digital nomads in October 2022.)
Wichmann’s housing preparations have run the gamut in Lisbon: First, she stayed in a co-living area, then she subleased short-term rooms in several residences earlier than she discovered an condo of her personal. She signed a three-year lease.
Kaitlin Wichmann says taking Portuguese classes was essential to adjusting to her new dwelling in Lisbon.
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The largest tradition shock was studying the native language. “I immediately took classes at a university to learn Portuguese,” Wichmann says, then began taking personal classes and now works one-on-one with a instructor. She books packs of 5 60-minute classes for about $71, or 5 30-minute classes for $50 as wanted.
“I feel like that’s what’s really helped me improve and what’s made me a lot more confident in my speaking skills,” she says.
How she spends her cash
Here’s how Wichmann spent her cash in June 2025.
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- Rent and utilities: $1,296 for a one-bedroom condo
- Discretionary: $1,133 on journey, procuring and leisure
- Food: $500
- Subscriptions and memberships: $207 for ClassPass, tennis classes, Squarespace, OpenAI, Netflix and Google Cloud
- Student loans: $190
- Transportation: $116 for buses, trains, rideshares and parking
- Phone: $15
Wichmann says she selected the neighborhood she lives in as a result of it is walkable and never too removed from the downtown space of Lisbon, which has loads of eating places, cafes and different actions.
She usually makes use of public transit and buys a month-to-month limitless cross for 30 euros, or about $35, however opted to go a la carte in June since she was away touring.
Kaitlin Wichmann usually pays herself $3,000 a month to cowl her primary dwelling bills.
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Wichmann hung out in England in June visiting her boyfriend, Henry Breheny, 31, whom she met in faculty in LA. They commerce off visiting each other each month or so and in addition journey all over the world collectively.
Most of Wichmann’s June discretionary spending went towards her England journey, in addition to reserving future journey and treating herself to a pool cabana to have fun her birthday. She usually pays about $34 monthly for about 10 hours of time at co-working areas, however in June booked herself a three-day cross at a new place for just below $100.
As a freelancer with unpredictable revenue, Wichmann goals to pay herself $3,000 a month, sufficient to cowl her primary bills, earlier than dedicating the remaining to her pupil mortgage funds, financial savings and investments. She has a six-month emergency fund and over $200,000 in retirement and different funding accounts.
Kaitlin Wichmann likes her neighborhood as a result of she will be able to simply stroll and use public transit in every single place.
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Staying energetic in Lisbon
Wichmann is intentional along with her work schedule so she has ample time and vitality to enrich her private life.
“A lot of people are like, ‘Wow, you have so much free time!’ But I really fill those other hours with passion projects,” she says.
She’s just lately taken up tennis once more after enjoying it when she was youthful, and dedicates a portion of her funds to spending on gear, classes and a membership membership. Wichmann additionally performs padel for further exercise and social time.
Kaitlin Wichmann says she enjoys Lisbon partially as a result of most individuals reside an energetic way of life. In her free time she performs tennis, padel and goes to the seashore.
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Wichmann says getting concerned in leisure sports activities has been a large enhance to her social life. She’s made pals by Meetup, Facebook teams and totally different sports activities golf equipment.
“Everyone that I’ve met here is very healthy, very outdoorsy,” Wichmann says. “People just want to live a very active and fulfilled life, and I find that very inspiring.”
Looking forward
If there’s one factor Wichmann misses in regards to the comforts of dwelling within the U.S., “it’s how quickly you can get anything that you want delivered to your doorstep,” she says.
But it is a small adjustment she’s glad to make. Ultimately, she sees herself in Portugal for the long-term.
Over 714,000 foreigners made up 7% of Portugal’s inhabitants in 2021.
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(*20*) Wichmann says. But for now, “I don’t see myself moving anywhere else, at least outside of Portugal. I just really like it here.”
She says her monetary targets are modest: She needs to give you the chance to pay her payments and possibly sooner or later purchase a home in Portugal along with her boyfriend.
As for her profession, Wichmann sees her job as a means to dwelling a extra fulfilling life. “When I was living in Los Angeles, pretty much my life revolved around work,” she says. Now, “my life revolves around my life with work scattered in.”
“I want to show people that there’s a way of working that isn’t a traditional 9-to-5,” she says, “and to inspire people that they can live life to the fullest.”
Kaitlin Wichmann says she plans to keep in Portugal long-term and hopes to purchase a home there sooner or later.
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Conversions from euros to U.S. {dollars} have been accomplished utilizing the OANDA conversion fee of 1 euro to 1.17 USD on June 30, 2025. All quantities are rounded to the closest greenback.
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