In 1995, a young girl left her birthplace of Kingston and a priceless life experience with her grandparents in St. Ann, Jamaica to join her family in the United States. That young girl was Me.
Hey there -
It’s Jackie from JET Setting with Jackie!
A little about me – The American story began in Wilmington, Delaware where I attended elementary through high school. I began my college education in Pennsylvania and graduated with a B.S. in Organizational Management and MBA in Business Management in Delaware. Growing up I was active in the church choir, dabbled in dance classes, an academic focused student and state ranked athlete. I made use of all the opportunities available to me. From that young age, I knew my goal in life was to get a good education, have a great career and return to live life in Jamaica. Over the years in an effort to make that life a reality, I made plans, set goals, and executed those goals.
At the start of 2021, I became a fully remote employee. During that time, I made several trips to Jamaica. It was then that I decided it was time; time for me to become the International Digital Nomad I always wanted to be. I packed up what I could and in July of 2021 I headed to Jamaica to begin my journey.
Almost a year and a half later I was able to complete my Returning Resident process to reclaim my life as a Jamaican resident. Transitioning to living in Jamaica as an adult definitely took some Real Life adjustments, but the overall benefits of being here far outweighed the inconveniences. I was loving the sense of Peace that I was feeling; the freshness of the foods I was enjoying and the great feeling of being home.
After sharing my experience and answering the questions of my family and friends, in February of 2023, I decided to share my journey by creating a YouTube Channel, JET Setting With Jackie. This channel gave me the ability to share my experience with a wider audience. I have documented and shared my journey of looking for a place to live, to opening a bank account, to securing a mortgage, among several other Living in Jamaica topics. That has led me to many others like myself who are looking to return home to Jamaica. Many have reached out, asked for assistance and are looking for the steps to take to come back HOME. I am in the position to assist others in making their dream of returning home to Jamaica a reality.
With my new found life as a digital nomad always on the go, a full time work schedule, a growing business and a new one launched in 2023; life was hectic to put it mildly. Add some additional family stressors and life stressors and I was in full burnout mode. I had to take a long step away from work, revisit therapy and learn some much needed lessons about myself and about life. During my 6 month hiatus I was able to transform myself through therapy, fitness, a trip of a lifetime, Eat.Pray.Self-Love Journey to Asia, and creating what is now my newest project the From Surviving to Thriving Podcast.
From Surviving to Thriving Podcast is a safe space where we explore how each of our life experiences impacts our daily lives and decisions. Have you ever felt like you’re always pouring into others while your own cup remains empty? Do you question why you choose the partners you do? Have you felt the pressure of being the token representative in your workplace? Has your inner child been crying out for help while you were too busy to notice? If any of this resonates with you, you’ll find a space here not just to learn and grow, but to know that you are NOT alone.
