Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Stephanie Ngo. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Stephanie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I’m Stephanie Ngo aka Steph Eats n Travels, a Vietnamese-American polyglot born and raised in the Bay Area, and my favorite things in the world are food and travel! I first learned about digital nomadism when I was a teenager and became enamored with the idea of living and working from anywhere in the world with an Internet connection. I am about double that age now, and after having graduated from university and working in the tech industry for the past 7 years, I realized what I should really be doing with my life is pursuing my original dream of digital nomadism! I started my YouTube channel Steph Eats n Travels in 2020, starting with a focus on Bay Area food reviews then broadening my scope to international travel vlogs. I plan to move out of the Bay Area in 2024 to focus on travel, real estate investing, and content creation. I’ve traveled here and there throughout my life, though 2022 is when I kicked up my travels in high gear. I embarked on a 3-month Eurotrip (7 countries) in the fall of 2022, and spent a week in Mexico in December of that same year. In 2023 I traveled to Singapore, Vietnam, Japan (twice in one year!), and Mexico. I already have a few international flights booked to Europe and Asia for 2024, and I hope to do an Africa tour in 2025! So if you love food, travel, and human cultures, definitely subscribe to my channel!
In my spare time, I enjoy investing, reading personal development books, swimming, yoga, learning foreign languages, video games, music festivals, and going out on the town with my friends!
Stephanie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
I’d like to share my personal and raw story of my upbringing, how I discovered my passions in life, and how I unexpectedly took the plunge to become a content creator. This is going to require a lot of back story so keep on reading!
Growing up, I didn’t think of myself as a creative person. I don’t have the “right-brain” for artistic abilities like drawing or painting. I am more “left-brained”; analytical, logical, and great at math. I grew up in a traditional Vietnamese household that emphasized conformity over innovation, which meant attempts at creativity and expressiveness were met with condemnation. I unfortunately grew up in an environment that taught me to obey the rules, to follow others, and to not think for myself.
It’s during the teenage years when kids begin to ponder what problems they want to solve and how they want to make an impact on the world. It was during my teenage years when I was surfing the Internet and came across articles about digital nomadism, a lifestyle in which a person can work remotely anywhere in the world as long as they have Internet connection. I was immediately intrigued! I didn’t get to travel to exciting destinations as I was growing up, and my family is not keen on traveling to countries that are too outside of their comfort zone. Because I grew up with such restrictions, I became enthralled at the possibility that I could live such a freeing life. Although I love being Vietnamese and promoting the best parts of my culture, I became fascinated by cultures different from my own; learning about other cultures broadens the mind and understanding of humanity. If my family wasn’t going to help foster a love of travel and curiosity for other cultures, I had to do it myself. And so, digital nomadism became my overarching dream in life. The dream of running my own business from anywhere in the world, traveling to all parts of the globe, and documenting the amazing humans I would meet along the way.
And with most dreams, it was not a straight shot there. First, I “had” to graduate from college, as dictated by my parents due to their conventional beliefs. Academics were highly praised in my household, and I was fortunate to excel at school, particularly in math, sciences, and foreign language (fun fact, I am fluent in Japanese!). I earned A’s all throughout my academic career, had a 4.0 GPA, was in the Honors Society, was on the Dean’s List every quarter in university, and the cherry on top was receiving Departmental Citation (an award granted to 2 students in each major by department vote) upon graduation.
Yet despite my academic success, I came to understand the shortcomings of the American education system. Although I attended a UC (University of California) which is a name-brand university, I did not learn anything of value. The American school system taught me to regurgitate materials from textbooks, similar to how my parents tried to make me regurgitate conventional values set upon by them. I felt the American education system and my parents had failed at not only preparing me for adult life, but for preparing me for a life I actually wanted to live. And so, I begrudgingly obtained Bachelor degrees in clinical nutrition and Japanese language. My original career path was to become a registered dietitian (double majoring in Japanese was for fun). It was after graduation that I realized I didn’t truly want to be a registered dietician. I didn’t want to take on a dietetic internship (which the intern has to pay for) and I didn’t want to take the exam to become a registered dietitian.
I wanted to start living my LIFE.
I moved back home to the Bay Area and quickly secured a data analyst role in the tech industry, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Throughout my professional career, I remained in tech and worked my way up to operations manager, project manager, and now program manager. My lucrative salaries have allowed me to save and invest in my future, which I am incredibly thankful for.
A number of years have passed since college graduation. Working in the tech industry has allowed me financial stability and the ability to work on unprecedented projects with talented people. And yet, I was just a cog in the machine, making someone else’s dream come true. I had been taking PTO here and there to travel, but I hadn’t been working towards my original goal of digital nomadism.
March 2020 was an undeniable turning point for me. Due to the global pandemic, I got laid off from a company that I had dedicated 2.5 years of my life towards. To put that into perspective, that was 10% of my life up to that point. I dedicated 10% of my lifespan towards a company that ultimately got rid of me. While I understand the circumstances, I realized that I must value myself first. No employer will ever do that for me.
Getting laid off in 2020 was what compelled me to start a YouTube channel, with no prior video editing or vlogging experience. The idea of starting a blog was something I had thought about for many years prior, but I was relentlessly bullied throughout my life and had little-to-no self-worth, and my lingering anxiety served as justification for not having started sooner.
With my newfound free time, I started my YouTube channel Steph Eats n Travels to foster my self-worth and showcase my passions to the world. I started my channel with a focus on food, a universal connector. Steph Eats n Travels began as a tribute to the Bay Area food scene and restaurant reviews. Many of my followers follow me for Vietnamese food recommendations, both in the Bay Area and in Vietnam. My followers love to learn more about Vietnamese culture from me, and I am proud to have become an icon in the Vietnamese food & culture community. 🇻🇳
I became known as a Bay Area foodie, yet travel is my true passion in life. I transitioned my channel into the broader travel niche while still keeping foodie elements intact. Today, I mostly post travel vlogs, travel guides, food guides, airport lounge reviews, hotel reviews, credit card hacking. I would also love to launch my own products one day!
I no longer care about thriving in corporate America. While working in the tech industry provided me financial success, I now prioritize intangible things that are more valuable than money. I yearn to pursue independent projects, to have ultimate freedom in my schedule, to catch flights whenever I desire, to dine at Michelin and hole-in-the-wall restaurants around the world, to meet humans around the world, and most importantly, to love myself and to be HAPPY.
I am thankful I started my creative journey; it has opened doors for me I never thought were obtainable for me and has allowed me to be a positive role model to my community. I’ve learned that I don’t have to obey the rules or follow others; I can make my own choices and live life on my own terms.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
On a personal level, I want to become a digital nomad and experience the ultimate freedom of living and working from as many countries as possible, having multiple streams of passive income, learning about the beautiful cultures across the globe, and providing valuable content to my viewers. For my subscribers, I hope to inspire them to travel as often as possible and live their best, most fulfilling lives. I don’t want them to just watch my vlogs and share with their friends; I hope they get out there and experience life through their own eyes and not through a YouTube video.
Traveling is the core of my creativity. In my opinion, traveling is what makes life worth living. The world is far larger than your hometown, your home country, and you. Life is what you make of it, so make it an outstanding one!
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Without a doubt, it’s getting to meet the PEOPLE in my online and offline communities. I am so touched when my followers, new and old, comment on my videos and tell me how much my content helps them in their personal lives. I am honored when I get recognized in public and am able to have quick chats or take selfies with my fans. I am also humbled to have gotten to personally meet local mayors, entrepreneurs, and fellow content creators in my community. A content creator is nothing without their following, and the creator ought to show loyalty and gratitude back to their fans. I never would have known any of these people if I hadn’t started my content creation business, and that is why the community building aspect is what I am most thankful for. Humanity has and always will thrive on community, and I’m blessed to have built (and still building) a powerful community around me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/stepheatsntravels
- Instagram: instagram.com/steph.eatsntravels
- Youtube: youtube.com/c/stepheatsntravels
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=kWESZ_iuigsuBBHB25Di7Q
- Other: [email protected]