The Freedom Series: Masha Eretnova on Loss, Reinvention, and Living Without Borders
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Words by Masha Eretnova | Edited by Tania from Slower Travels
“What inspired me to move was freedom. The ‘why not’? Curiosity. Maybe a hint of craziness.”
Breaking Away to Begin Again
For Masha Eretnova, the journey didn’t start with a passport stamp. It began in 2013, in an industrial Russian town, just after university graduation. Her parents had mapped out a future for her—but the thought of staying put felt suffocating. It wasn’t wanderlust that pushed her forward. It was the fear of getting stuck.
That year, she moved to Saint Petersburg, Russia’s cultural capital. It was her first step toward something undefined. “Since then, I haven’t stayed in one place or found a home yet,” she says. “I do not regret one second.”
Saint Petersburg was a creative reset. Masha stepped into her own ideas, tried new hobbies, and loosened ties that no longer fit. Some people drifted away as her world expanded. Still, the move set her on a course of self-direction that’s continued ever since.
A Business in Sochi, a Life in Motion
After five years in Saint Petersburg, she pivoted again—this time to Sochi, a resort city on the Black Sea. There, she left her role as a Chief Marketing Officer and launched a small lead-generation agency working with e-commerce and online schools.
It was successful, fast-paced, and relentless. Business meetings. Flights to Moscow. Wellness events. Transformational training. A life that looked accomplished on the outside but was unravelling quietly behind the scenes.
“My personal life was a total mess.”
Masha lived with a sea view, but barely had time to look at it. Then, a friend invited her to Bali for two months. She almost didn’t go. But the timing was uncanny. She accepted.
One week later, the pandemic hit—and Masha never went back.
Reinvention in Bali
When her business dissolved, Masha was forced to rebuild. With encouragement and hands-on support from her partner, she began exploring the world of blogging. He introduced her to the ropes, led by example, and patiently supported her through that first year as she grew her blog.
She also returned to her early training in psychology and became a certified sex therapist. Between blogging, art, and new forms of education, she began carving out a new direction. “It was a reinvention,” she says. “Through creativity, learning, and the search for a new identity.”
That invitation to Bali—meant to be a short stay—became a turning point. It didn’t solve everything. But it gave her the space to let things fall apart and come back together in different ways.
“Time is our most precious resource. Use it wisely, and cut the loose ends to let the fresh sprouts grow stronger.”
Life Now: Between Buenos Aires and Northern Thailand
In 2025, Masha’s base is Buenos Aires, though she plans to split her time between there and Chiang Mai in 2026. Her lifestyle today blends remote work, quiet cafés, local markets, and evenings of live music and festivals.
“I don’t live the Instagrammable digital nomad life—and spoiler alert, pretty much no really functioning adults do.”
She works as a writer and Pinterest manager for other bloggers, while also maintaining her own projects. Her clients are kind, her schedule flexible, and her priorities clear. In November 2024, while in Vietnam, she messaged her clients to say the weather was perfect for the Ha Giang loop. Could she go offline for a few days? Their reply: “Yes. Send pics.”
In Buenos Aires, she fills her weekends with market strolls, spontaneous adventures, and long conversations over tea. The richness of life here, she says, is not in the things but in the rhythm.
And she’s not doing it alone. Masha now shares this life with a partner who “looks in the same direction.” That, she says, is one of the most beautiful things of all.
What She's Lost, and What She's Still Learning
Not everything about this lifestyle has been easy. The deepest cost has been friendship. In Bali, Masha met someone she describes as her “bestest bestie”—and the heartbreak of knowing she may never live close to them again still stings.
She also wrestles with the challenge of creating as an artist without a consistent home base. Setting up studios in every city is nearly impossible. Larger creative works have taken a back seat for now.
“Being a citizen of the world doesn’t mean all your friends have the same lifestyle.”
There are also bureaucratic and emotional complexities to travelling as a Russian passport holder. From harsh encounters at immigration to painful moments in markets where her nationality becomes a target—she carries that weight with grace, but it’s heavy.
And then there’s what she calls the “sunk cost fallacy.” Knowing when to leave a place, a project, a chapter—even when you’ve invested everything. It’s something she learned the hard way during her final year in Bali. It taught her the difference between persistence and permission—to let go.
Does She Feel Pressure to Settle?
Not really. Her family had always encouraged her to leave the country. Though one relative cut ties and hasn’t spoken to her in five years, the rest are supportive—or at least quiet.
“If someone feels like I am not living my life as I should, but I don’t see them paying my bills—I do not care.”
It’s not indifference. It’s clarity. Masha welcomes feedback from people she trusts. She’s open to learning, changing. But her choices aren’t up for debate from the sidelines.
Redefining Freedom
For Masha, freedom is layered. It’s not about detaching from responsibility—it’s about choosing the right ones.
“Freedom is choosing your responsibility.” — Toni Morrison
It’s about not being held back by debt, illness, bureaucracy, or mindset. It’s about knowing where your energy is going—and making sure that’s aligned with where you want to be.
It’s also about experience. Real-world, real-flavour, real-people kind of experience. Sushi in a tiny shop in Fukuoka. A fruit market in Medellín. Dental care in Kuala Lumpur. Wine in Mendoza.
“To see, taste, and experience the real world. That’s freedom too.”
Her Advice: Be Honest About What You Want
Masha doesn’t sugarcoat the process of change. Her first advice? Make sure it’s something you actually want. Not everyone does. And that’s okay.
If you do want it, get clear on what you need: money, a remote job, time off, courage. Stop romanticising the escape and start building a plan. And above all, stop expecting it to be effortless.
“The real work still gets the needle moving in the real world.”
She’s also vocal about the responsibility digital nomads have—not just to themselves, but to the communities they travel through. To spend ethically. To engage respectfully. To learn languages. To make international friends. To integrate.
It’s not about being perfect. It’s about paying attention.
What She’s Still Figuring Out
Home, for one. The concept, the location, the feeling. Where does she belong? What happens when her parents get older? Will she regret not going back?
She’s also figuring out how to save, retire, work, and explore without burning out. Some days, she jokes about cloning herself. Other days, she simply pauses.
There’s no final answer yet. But Masha doesn’t need one to keep going.
Follow Masha’s Story
📍 Instagram: @mashkazavr
📝 Website: sheisanimmigrant.com
💚 The Freedom Series: Life On The Other Side of Should is a storytelling project from Slower Travels, featuring honest reflections from people living life by their own rules.
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