Meet Digital Nomad Kimberly Defors, Branding and Digital Marketing Specialist

Kimberly Defors, an Outsite member and digital nomad, is a creative storyteller with a passion for travel and exploration. She enjoys slow travel, immersing herself in new cultures, and forming meaningful connections along the way.

The Essentials

• Hometown: Sonoma County, California
• Born in: 1995
• Lifestyle: Digital Nomad
• Employer: Digital Marketing Agency
• Industry: Branding and Digital Marketing

Tell us about yourself and what you do:

I'm a creative and storyteller at heart, working in the branding and digital marketing space alongside the most epic team of women! We take pride in providing white-glove services to scale our client's D2C e-commerce brands (many of them female-founded). Personally, I spearhead our skincare, beauty, and wellness department while nurturing client relationships, and project managing within. I especially love diving into product packaging, R&D, education strategy, and visual asset production.

What inspired you to start solo traveling?

I started working remotely in 2018, however, I didn't start traveling while working until recently. Last spring I lived in Nashville, but was craving a switch-up. There wasn't a city I felt excited about moving to next, so I figured I might find that answer by traveling. I've always enjoyed traveling, having gone on shorter trips to Europe and even Namibia, Africa in the past. I deeply admired the women I knew, or who I followed on TikTok who solo traveled, and I decided that solo traveling would be my #1 goal for the year! Thankfully, I had a good understanding of how to motivate myself while working remotely, but I did a lot of research about how to find good wifi, etc while traveling. My first trip was 3 months in Sayulita, Mexico followed by a few months in Peru and then my first Outsite location in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico for a month. I initially thought I might travel for a year and then settle down, but it feels like I'm just getting started! I especially enjoy 'slow traveling' which is essentially spending longer periods of time in each place, in order to get to know the people and the culture on a deeper level and be able to form somewhat of a routine for myself.

What’s your favorite Outsite location?

So far I have been to the Outsite in San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico in Baja California which I absolutely loved. The houses felt like the perfect blend of privacy with shared areas so you could meet people if you wanted to, but do your own thing too. It was the perfect location to be able to walk to see the sunrise and sunset daily at the beach, and go on fun trips on the weekends to areas like Todos Santos and La Paz. January was peak whale watching season, and I'm not exaggerating when I say that we saw whales breaching and jumping manta rays from the beach every single day. Everyone I met staying at Outsite was incredibly welcoming, down-to-earth, fun, and dynamic. Not to mention the community manager Pau was the bessst. Our coworking space Coffee LAB was basically on-site. It had amazing coffee and food, and the staff there felt like family too. Plus I was pleasantly surprised with how fast and stable the wifi was after experiencing the opposite in other parts of Mexico. During my stay, I met a bunch of people who had recently stayed at (and loved) the Outsite locations in Oaxaca, Tulum, Ericera, Lisbon, and Morocco —so those are all up next on my list!

Where was your most recent trip, and what’s next?

I recently just left Outsite in San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico (I was so sad to leave :( ) and I'm deciding between going to the Outsite in Oaxaca, Mexico, or to Ericera in Portugal next!

What are your top travel essentials?

I haven't quite mastered the whole minimalist travel thing yet —but I'm trying! My non-negotiables involve my laptop, of course, and my skincare collection including my favorite tinted La Roche Posay mineral SPF. I love bringing silk pillowcases and silk pajamas because they feel super luxe but take up minimal space in my luggage. Fun fact: I backpacked the Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu with my skincare and wore silk pajamas every night. I always bring tester-size perfumes from Twisted Lily or Henry Rose since they're super small. I always have a bikini and a sarong on hand, because knowing me, I'm bound to end up somewhere beachy. And lastly, a hand-held luggage scale and air tags have been so important so my checked bag never gets lost (a few close calls though!).

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