TOLEDO, Ohio — Sergio Sala was born in Mexico and started traveling as a kid. Since then, he’s loved seeing the world.
“It’s one of my passions,” Sala said.
Sala, 34, works in web design, a job that doesn’t need him in the office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. As long as he has an internet connection, he can work anywhere in the world. And a few years ago, that’s exactly what he started doing.
The self-proclaimed "digital nomad" has traveled to over 40 countries and hundreds of cities.
“The world is huge but it’s still not enough because there are 193 countries,” Sala said,
He’s not just spending a night in a hotel on his visits. He tries to spend at least a month in each country meeting people, enjoying food and taking in the culture.
“I was in a Chinese monk temple," Sala said of one adventure. "I spent a whole month there and shaved my head and tried to become a monk. That was amazing.”
After a while, Sala began recording his travels and posting them to YouTube, where he quickly developed a following and currently has more than 14,000 subscribers.
Eventually, he decided he needed a home base and settled on Toledo.
“My mom moved here … I got to appreciate the city," Sala said. "There’s so much potential in Toledo and this is why I’m here right now.”
Sala’s mom and stepfather feel the same way.
“We are very glad that he chose Toledo as a home,” Sala's stepfather, Jose Espinosa, said.
But sometimes it can be hard to be away from their son for long periods.
“As parents, we feel, ‘oh boy, he wants to go all over the world,” Espinosa said.
But when they’re all together, there’s no better place than Toledo.
“Toledo is amazing," Sala's mother, Maricarmen Espinosa, said. "The metroparks, the museum … Oh god, I love Toledo.”
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