The Summer of Fred: Slowing Down & Opening Up 🎉

Some big changes, a little reflection, and a few new ways we’re growing Midlife Nomads together in the Summer of Fred. Come see what’s new — and what’s coming next.

Jul 02, 2025

✈️ Welcome to Midlife Nomads, your weekly hit of real talk, smart ideas, and helpful tools for building a location-independent life through remote work, travel, and business.

I guess Fred hitched a free ride to Scotland recently. Cheeky bugger.

Hey friends,

It’s a brand new week (or at least it feels like one, thanks to Tuesday’s national holiday here in Canadaland), and I’ve got some exciting updates to share… but first, a little personal context.

If you’re on some of my other socials, you might’ve seen a recent post about Fred. He’s a small brain aneurysm, and apparently my new travel buddy. Not one I ever would have asked for, but he’s along for the ride nonetheless.

Fred’s been making his presence known through some pretty brutal headaches these past months. The good news is that he’s very small and is going to stay that way, we hope.

And so my new job (because I needed another one!) is basically just not pissing off Fred. He’s a temperamental wee thing, and I’ve been learning more about what he does and doesn’t like.

Health-wise, things are stable, and I’m doing well. There’s not much to do but monitor, work on getting healthier, and wait for the next appointments without doing anything stupid like horseback riding or head-banging.

I’ve been forced to slow down. Not in a burnout way (been there, got the t-shirt) but in a get-serious-about-what-matters kind of way. I’ve been rethinking how I spend my time, what I say yes to, and where I want to focus my energy.

And so, I’ve dubbed this the Summer of Fred, because apparently nothing says “rethink your pace and priorities” like a surprise neurological guest.

It’s difficult stuff for a person who (as I suspect so many of you have also experienced) has been conditioned since birth to equate personal worth with productivity. I catch myself thinking, “Okay, but what did you actually DO — what did you ACCOMPLISH this morning?”

And I have to remind myself that doing everything all the time is not an accomplishment. Over, and over, and over again.

Taking the time to cook a healthy meal instead of grabbing fast food on the go… that’s doing something useful. Making time for walks so you don’t become a piece of furniture… also useful.

Working to keep your blood pressure from popping off… listen, I know these are the right things to do, but still have to work at convincing myself that reading, painting, and napping are not wasteful; they’re exactly what I need to do to support the rest of what I want to be able do (and for a very long time, please).

This recalibration has led to some shifts in how I want to show up here, too. More connection. More intention. More of the kind of community that helps us build lives with meaning, not just being busy.

So first up: going forward, comments on public posts are open to all subscribers! 🎉

You asked for more community, more interaction, and a space to share, and I couldn’t agree more. Whether you’re just starting to explore a location-independent life or already out there living it, your voice matters.

To support that, we launched the Midlife Nomads - Work From Anywhere group recently and starting this week, the comments section on our Substack articles is open to all subscribers.

Coming from a journalism background (and especially as a woman who worked tech journalism for a time), I’m still scarred from the comments section of yore. I’ve dealt with threats, harassment, and way too many comments about my appearance that had nothing to do with my work.

So when I started Midlife Nomads, I was gun-shy on the comments section. I chose to keep things focused and safe, and needed this to be a calm corner of the Internet where thoughtful content could thrive.

But something beautiful has happened over the past year: this community has grown.

You’ve shown up with curiosity, kindness, and great questions. You’ve asked for ways to share your own stories, to learn from others, and to build a more connected journey — together.

So YES! Join the conversation. Ask questions, share tips, or just say hey. This space is better with you in it.

And if you’re a full subscriber, don’t worry; you’re still getting the good stuff.

Opening comments helps everyone, but full subscribers are the backbone of this project. I want to make sure you get real value in being part of the Midlife Nomads crew. As a paid subscriber, you’ll now get:

🔐 Full access to our growing Substack archives
🎁 Discounts on useful mini-courses and digital resources as we build our Midlife Nomads Academy
🧰 Monthly drop of tools and templates from my own remote work systems
📘 A free copy of Estonian e-Residency, my latest book (you’ll find your 100% coupon code at the end here, ICYMI). Full subscribers can get a free print copy, too; just email me your full name and mailing address and I’ll pop it in the mail.

And one last thing… the podcast is coming.

That’s right, I’ll be dusting off that “Podcast” tab soon. I’m lining up guests to share real, honest stories about nomad life, remote work, reinvention, and the messy, beautiful path to living differently.

If you’ve got a story others could learn from, hit reply. I’d love to talk.

✌🏻 Miranda

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