Episode 18

Leaving It All Behind: Valerie Russell on Starting a Business Abroad

Published on: 17th September, 2025

Valerie Russell spent a decade in criminal justice. She worked as a corrections officer, a narcotics investigator, even on the 9/11 Human Recovery Project. But one day, she realized she wanted something entirely different. She sold everything, moved to Guatemala with just a backpack, and built a thriving travel agency from scratch.

"I got rid of everything that I owned, basically sold it all on a weekend, my pajamas through Facebook marketplace. And I packed up and came just with a backpack."

Hear Valerie talk about:

  • The book that inspired her to walk away from law enforcement to start a new life abroad
  • What it was like to arrive in Guatemala alone, not knowing anyone
  • How she grew Due South Travels into a successful business without advertising
  • Why she feels like she lives in paradise
  • The importance of resilience, community, and creativity in building a life abroad

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About the Podcast

Tell Me What It's Like
Everyday people, uncommon experiences
What’s it like to set a world record? To invent a new product? To survive an extremely rare illness?

On Tell Me What It’s Like, host Stacy Raine sits down with people who’ve lived through powerful and uncommon experiences. Each conversation explores how it happened, why it matters, and what it truly felt like to live through it.

About your host

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Stacy Raine

I was 16 when I conducted my first interview. I was a nervous high school kid assigned to interview a WWII veteran. It was an incredibly emotional conversation, and an experience I still think about to this day. I didn’t know it then, but that moment would shape everything that followed.

As a nonprofit communicator and podcast producer, I’ve spent my career thinking about the stories we all have to share. Tell Me What It’s Like unearths the backstory to the small and large moments that changed everything.

One of my biggest beliefs is that sharing stories connects us – as long as we're willing to listen.