Life at Language I/O: Making the Most of our “Work From Anywhere” Policy

I’m currently at my cute little corner cafe with a cafe con leche and a croissant, my laptop, notebook, and headphones, preparing for some client calls I have this week. Later today I have tango class and then I meet my Spanish tutor for dinner around 9pm. 

Had you told me a year ago, back when I was working at a law firm and wondering “what am I going to do with my life?” that this is where I’d be and this is the life I’d be living, I would have thought it was a dream–an impossible goal I’d never truly be able to attain.

Yet today here I am in Buenos Aires. 

My passion for travel started at a fairly young age. I always knew I wanted to see the world past my small-town cornfields. I was fortunate enough to study abroad in Barcelona and that opened my eyes to so many beautiful experiences the world has to offer, and I craved more. But life happens; I had to grow up. I graduated, got a job, worked the 9-5 for a few years only dreaming of a week or two of vacation every year. I was coming to terms with this being my life, and the idea of living in some far-off land became just that: an idea. But then, as we all know too well, 2020 happened. 

Cliffs notes: I got laid off, tried a new career path, didn’t enjoy it, did more soul searching and remembered how inspired I was to travel the world. 

In April 2021, I started at Language I/O. I double majored in International Business and Spanish, so the prospect of building a customer success team in the language translation space really excited me. With this being my third SaaS company, I thought I knew all the ins and outs and what to expect. But I was astonished by our global team where my boss is Italian, my teammate is from India, and my new friend on the development team from Guatemala. We shared recipes, food experiences, travel stories and photos. My wanderlust grew and grew, and then a few short weeks after starting at Language I/O, I found a Spanish tutor who happens to live in Buenos Aires – a city I’ve long dreamed of visiting since seeing Evita when I was a little girl. We started regular lessons, during which my Spanish was slowly improving but my desire to get away was accelerating.

And then I found myself in the perfect storm of timing. I was living in Las Vegas and my lease was ending. Language I/O happens to have a Work From Anywhere policy, and I thought hey- maybe I’ll see just how far “anywhere” can be. I have no kids, pets, house, just about anything to my name. So like anyone else in this position, I sold everything that didn’t fit in my car and I moved everything that did back home to Illinois. Now, living with my parents temporarily wasn’t quite the grandeur I was looking for, but it gave me the freedom to make Buenos Aires happen. And not just Buenos Aires–any city, anywhere. I was going to become a Digital Nomad. And I did. I am.  

My journey began on January 9th. I lifted my definitely-over-the-weight-limit suitcase into the car and headed on my way. My first stop was Costa Rica. I was able to spend almost an entire month working during the day, walking the beach at sunset, spending my lunch breaks by the pool, and exploring the jungle on the weekends while also making my coworkers extremely jealous. But more importantly, they were extremely supportive. As I made my way to Buenos Aires, that feeling was only amplified. Sure, time zones can be a little tricky and there may be some street noise in my background now – but everyone wants to know what I’m doing and how the city is, and my team offers so much flexibility when I need it.

I plan on staying here for at least three months, but the beauty of this life is that I don’t have to have a plan for what comes after that. I don’t need a permanent address for extended periods of time or a schedule set in stone. And all of this is true because Language I/O wants me to thrive: they want me to enjoy everything life has to offer outside of work, just as much as they want me to thrive in my career. We often talk about how we have customers all over the world, and by supporting me in making my dream of living abroad come true, Language I/O also allows me to serve our clients–literally all over the world.

Ellen Kuhn

Customer Success Manager

Ellen is a customer success all-star and SaaS startup pro. With a passion for building strong relationships between clients and companies, Ellen makes sure Language I/O users are getting the most out of their customer experience.

An avid traveler, Ellen is embracing the Digital Nomad lifestyle and currently residing in Buenos Aires.