Faking it – How to Get a Digital Nomad Lifestyle

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For the next five months I need to be in my home city in England. Three of my favourite pals are getting wed so I need to be close by to celebrate the shit out of their love (I proper love love). There’s just one problem with this semi-forced return to England: I sort of struggle to ditch my digital nomad lifestyle to be at home for prolonged periods of time.

I miss the freedom that comes with nomad living in a foreign country. I crave the excitement of living and working in a city that isn’t mine. And, my FOMO levels are off the chart whenever Instagram shows me that my travel pals are out gallivanting around the world while I’m at home. Despite the fact that Sheffield isn’t exactly one of the world’s leading digital nomad hubs, I’ve been busy developing a hack for this little problem of mine. I’m recreating my nomad living ways without ever leaving my home city. Here’s how…

Tinder

No huge surprises that Tinder features heavily in my plan (it features heavily in all of my plans). It dawned on me the other day that I’ve never actually been on a date in my home city. My two long-term boyfriends were from Essex, and the vast majority of my single time has been spent in Latin America. So, I thought it was time to change that and start smashing Tinder just as I would if I was living my digital nomad lifestyle overseas. To make my experience even more authentic, I’ve chosen to only date people that originate from different countries to me. One of my favourite things about dating while I travel is finding out how people from other countries and cultures go about romancing potential lovers. It’s fun and educational and is my number one hobby, so why not keep at it in England, huh?

Since I’ve been back in England I’ve dated two people. The first was an Italian guy who’s been living in Sheffield for a couple of years. Thankfully his Italian accent hadn’t been diluted by the thick Yorkshire tones of my fellow city-folk, and when he said my name it made me feel all funny. This dude had lived all over Europe, spoke three languages, and had endless interesting stories about his travels. All was well until he began trying way too hard to convince me to go home with him. After my hundredth no he wandered off in a sulk and I never heard from him again. Dickhead.

My next date went much better. It was with a super beautiful Canadian man who’s here in Sheffield to do a masters in physiotherapy (hellooooooo free massages). This babe and I have the same outlook on travel, life, and love, and our first date was the tits. The second was pretty peng, too, so I have fairly high hopes for the third.

What makes the situation with the Canadian even more authentic to my digital nomad dating experience is that he’s leaving England in three months. As you might have already read in this previous blog, I love temporary relationships so I’m rather excited at the thought of a summer fling with an expiry date. See, I just can’t imagine dating anyone who isn’t likely to up and leave to another part of the world at short notice. Flight risks only, please.

Getting Around

And by getting around I don’t mean in a way that’s related to Tinder. I mean, trying not to stay still for too long. One of the best things about being nomadic is the lack of a permanent place of residence (clue’s in the title, duh). There always needs to be an escape on the horizon, otherwise it’s all too easy to start feeling like a caged animal. To make it easier to adjust to my england-based life, I’ve been mixing it up as much as possible. In fact, in the six weeks since I left my beloved Colombia, I’ve slept in 11 different beds in three different countries. That’s even more than I’d usually manage as a digital nomad, so perhaps I’m overcompensating a little. But I’m like a shark: if I stop moving, I die (probably).

During the months I’m spending in England, I’m trying to squeeze in as many mini adventures as possible. I recently read that treating your weekends like holidays is proven to make you happier, so I have my credit card and suitcase on hand at all times.

Werk, Werk, Werk

Although you wouldn’t think it if you know me in real life, being a digital nomad actually requires you to do some work. Sad, but true. When I’m away I swan around with my laptop working in chic cafes and cute al fresco bars with my little digital nomad community in tow. But I don’t know any nomad freelance folk in Sheffield so suddenly my work life has become isolated, uninspiring, and sort of boring. Working alone every day makes me want to work even less than I usually want to work, and my productivity levels are shocking. So, in an effort to actually make some money this summer, I’ve decided to invest in a co-working space in Sheffield.

As I write this I’m on day one of my new hot-desking life and I think it’s going pretty well. It’s 11 am and I’ve probably only spent around an hour mindlessly scrolling social media this morning, which feels like a victory for this very lazy girl.

I’m also trying to maintain my international work lifestyle by starting projects with amigos in different countries. Being a nomad usually requires battling time zones and language barriers, so I’m keeping that up while I’m home (I’ve no idea why, it’s actually a huge pain in the arse).

Here are Some Other Ways I Live a Digital Nomad Lifestyle

  • Being overly friendly with strangers – if a mutual friend introduces us and we click, you will have a hard time shaking me off.
  • Practicing Spanish – even while I’m in England I’m keeping up my pathetic efforts to learn Spanish. DuoLingo is my BFF. It told me I’ve learned 3,874 words so far, which I think is a huge overestimation but I’m going with it.
  • Behaving like I’m on holiday – eating out more than my bank balance says I should, drinking most days of the week, and wearing cut off denim shorts whenever the weather allows. Yes, sirs, I am on perma-holiday.

Until I can escape England again I will be continuing on with my new digital nomad lifestyle. Why not quit your job, sell your house, and join me! Or not, I’ll probably need to crash at your house/borrow money off you at some point soon.

Are you a digital nomad? What do you love most about your digital nomad lifestyle?

Wanna read more ramblings about being a digital nomad?

Here’s how much money I make

This is how to avoid working hard

Let me tell you why I’m a shit digital nomad

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