How To Build Community & Connection As A Digital Nomad

Table Of Contents

• Introducing Myself & The Lovely Nomads Who Helped Me
• Reviews Of Travel Communities
• Top Colive Spots
• Online Digital Nomad Groups
• Add’l Tips On Making & Keeping Friends While Traveling

A Bit About Myself / Introduction

So About This Article…

I got a lot of help from a large group of nomadic friends. As you scroll through you’ll see I highlighted each of them throughout this article.

A List Of The Beautiful People Who Helped Me Write This

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Nomad Highlight – Highlighting the nomads that helped me write this

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Travel Communities

WiFi Tribe

• Overall Score – 4.5/5
• Description
  • Wifi Tribe is a Travel community that caters to working professionals. They boast that they have members from 62 nationalities. They also have a pretty extensive application process, to ensure it’s fun and safe for everyone involved. Ranika has done a couple trips with Wifi Tribe, and would be happy to answer any questions you all have.
• Age Ranges
  • Most of their members are between the ages of 25-35
• Price
  • Annual Membership of $500 + $1,200 – $2,800 per stay + $300 security deposit
    • There does appear to be some discounts with bundling pricing / becoming a regular user of the service. Check those out here
  • What the price includes
    • Accommodation
    • Water, electricity, and any other bills
    • Basic cleaning
    • WiFi
    • Internet backups
    • Space to work within our accommodations

• Process To Sign Up
  • There is a 4 step process to be part of the group
    • Submit An Application
    • A Video Interview
    • Completion Of A MBTI Personality Test
    • Then Decision Time
• Level Of Support
  • They have hosts at each location to resolve any issues with accommodations or WiFi. However, they make it clear that those hosts are not concierges or travel agents.
• Flexibility Of Schedule / Locations You Can Pick
  • At the time of writing this they had 1 – 7 locations available every month to pick from. They have locations pretty widely spread
    • Central & South America
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • Even Namibia!
  • It’s pretty flexible as you’re able to choose between 4, 6 or 8 week packages
• Organized Activities
  • Activities are organized when you arrive with the other members at your Chapter (the place you stay), and they do not make these activities mandatory. The costs for these activities aren’t included in your pricing either.

Remote Year

• Overall Score – 4/5
• Description – Remote Year is probably the biggest name in Travel Communities, they have a huge list of destinations. However the pricing is a bit more expensive and it doesn’t appear as though their application process is as strict as some of the other options.
• Age Ranges
  • The site claims 21 – 77 Year Olds. I’ve read the average age is 30, however, I’ve heard it tends to be a bit younger of a crowd.
• Price
  • They have 3 different membership levels that go from $228 – $1,188 a year – see pricing breakdown below. In addition to this you pay for the location(s) you want to go to, from a week to a year the price goes from ~$2,500 – $32,000.
    • What’s included?
      • Co-working spaces
      • Accommodation
      • 5 Curated, Local Experiences Per City
      • Transportation to and from airports
      • On site staff
      • Development workshops

• Process To Sign Up
  • Pick a membership package, speak with a program placement coordinator, then pick your destination.
• Level Of Support
  • Upon signing up you get a dedicated advisor, who helps you with onboarding, selecting the right trip, tips for general nomad advice. They also have on-site staff at the locations as well.
• Flexibility Of Schedule / Locations You Can Pick
  • They have 80+ destinations all around the world, and have packages that go from one location for one week to 12 locations spanning over a year!
• Organized Activities
  • They have 5 local experiences per city
  • Remote Year boasts 1 -2 digital meetups, local meetups & global adventures per month. In addition to this, they have 4 National festivals a year.

Hackers Paradise

• Overall Score – 3.75/5
• Description
  • Overall, hackers paradise positions itself as a more flexible option with even options for just the programs without housing. However, the list of destinations isn’t nearly as robust as some of the other folks.
• Age Ranges
  • They claim 18 – 60 on their website. I couldn’t find anymore conclusive data on ages but it looks like 30 is the average age for this program as well.
• Price
  • Not bad pricing, with the ability to share rooms & save some money that way

• Process To Sign Up
  • Application & Video Interview to ensure you’re a good fit
• Level Of Support
  • Full Time On Trip team to help you out while you’re there, along with a fairly robust onboarding process
    • You’ll receive a Checklist & trip guide after signing up
    • 3 weeks before your trip you’ll recieve an invitation to the Slack channel
    • 10 Days before your trip starts you can join a live webinar
    • An orientation session upon arrival
• Flexibility Of Schedule / Locations You Can Pick
  • They do have locations around the world. However, their selection wasn’t as impressive as Remote Year, with only 8 locations outlined on the site at the time of writing this.
  • They also have a program only membership, where you can pick your own housing and have more freedom that way.
• Organized Activities
  • They have weekly personal / professional & local events going on that are optional.

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Nomad Highlight – Highlighting the nomads that helped me write this

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Travel Communities – Honorable Mentions

This is a list of other travel communities I’ve heard good things about. If you’ve had any experience with them, reach out to me on Instagram. I’d love to hear about your experience and if you recommend them.

Wild Wifi

Wifi Artists

Noma Collective

Sojrn

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Nomad Highlight – Highlighting the nomads that helped me write this

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Co-Lives

Colives offer the community elements of a hostel with co-working spaces & fast, reliable wifi. Of all the ways to build community, this is my favorite.

Selina Colive

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• Overall Score – 4.5/5
• Description
  • The first Co-live I stayed in was with Selina, and while I went around Mexico, I stayed mostly at Selinas. Check out my guides to Playa Del Carmen, or Mexico City.
  • Selina’s are actually where I met Yash & Cody
• Price
  • These aren’t the cheapest places in the world, however they do offer lots of different options from suites all the way to shared dorms. The prices vary pretty wildly based on where you’re at.
• Number & Variety Of Locations
  • They have a pretty extensive network of locations, with a big focus on latin America. They also have spots in North America & Europe.
• Community Elements / Facilities
  • They have Whatsapp groups at each of their locations. They had daily events, with yoga facilities, theaters & travel agents at each of the locations I stayed at.

CoWork Surf

• Overall Score – 4/5
• Description
  • I’m not a surfer, but this concept looks super cool, and I’ve had it recommended. It’s essentially like AirBnB but for Digital Nomads where the houses are all Co-live spots with dorms and private rooms available in places all over the world, close to the beach. And they mention the wifi download speed on most of the listings, which is huge! If you want to learn more about wifi speeds, check out this article.

• Price
  • The prices varied pretty widely from what I saw. I found a couple spots for as low as $30 USD a night for a shared dorm room, and the prices went up to $400 for private spots in the Canary islands
• Number & Variety Of Locations
  • Pretty wide variety of spots available, and it looks like new places are added fairly regularly. From Morocco and Senegal to Norway & Ecuador.
• Community Elements / Facilities
  • It looks like there’s not as many planned events and the level of facilities from one location to the next may vary pretty widely.

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Nomad Highlight – Highlighting the nomads that helped me write this

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Colive Honorable Mentions

Curiocity – A South African based company. I stayed at these guys spots in Johannesburg & Cape Town and they were pretty damn good and affordable. Read my digital nomad guide to Cape Town here.

Neighbourgood – Some pretty killer looking colive spots in Cape Town I’ve heard a lot of good things about them.

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Nomad Highlight – Highlighting the nomads that helped me write this

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Online Digital Nomad Groups

These are online groups meant to help digital nomads meet other nomads from around the world

NomadList

• Description
  • I personally use this site. It’s pretty bad ass and it’s a big part of my research process when I’m going to a new place. It has a lot of functionality, and a slack channel with a bunch of different channels from relationship advice to channels devoted to islands in the Carribean.
• Price
  • $99 one time fee, pretty killer deal
• Add’l Functionality / Cool Stuff
  • Slack Channel (pretty killer tool for researching new spots)
  • Tinder like feature for dating / making friends (not the greatest)
  • Ability to follow / get notified about friends travels
  • High-level guides to cities (nothing like the in-depth journalism you’ll find in my guides, but it’s still pretty cool 😉 )
  • Up & Coming Digital Nomad Spots – They have a section dedicated to showing up and coming digital nomad hotspots
  • Digital Nomad Meetups – I actually went to one of these with Yash, it was a killer time!

Nomad Base

• Description
  • These guys claim to the be the first travel club for digital nomads. I don’t personally use them, but after the recommendations I’ve gotten, I may check them out! They seem to have a bigger focus on larger, international events as well as career development.
• Price
  • $87 per quarter or $290 per year
• Add’l Functionality / Cool Stuff
  • A Nomad academy complete with tools & tactics to be a successful digital nomad
  • Live skillshare programs
  • Private Mastermind sessions
  • Chapters in a number of more major digital nomad hotspots – not sure exactly what these chapters are about, but seems like a cool idea

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Nomad Highlight – Highlighting the nomads that helped me write this

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Add’l Tips On Making & Keeping Friends While Traveling

Tip #1 – Pick The Right City

Anne made the point that finding a city with a pre-existing infrastructure & digital nomad community makes your life way easier, and I couldn’t agree more!

Here Are Some of The Best Cities for Digital Nomads

• Medellin, Colombia – I’m likely going to be living here for 2023, so if you come, hit me up on Instagram
• Lisbon, Portugal – I’ve heard from a number of friends that this spot is incredible. Hit up Ranika if you want to know more about it, as she just left Portugal.
• Chiang Mai, Thailand – I haven’t been to northern Thailand yet…😱 but I’ve heard lot’s of great things about Chiang Mai and can’t wait to go.
• Bali – Do I really need to explain this one?
• Cape Town, South Africa – Is a great city with a pretty big community. Read my digital nomad guide to Cape Town here.
• Mexico City, Mexico – Is a great city, I agree with Yash that “The city feels like a Latin NYC to me with its gigantic size, endless array of restaurants, bars, events and even some massive, beautiful parks right in the heart of the city”. Check out my digital nomad guide for Mexico City here.
• Playa Del Carmen, Mexico – I know, I know two Mexican cities on the list, but I’m telling you this place is killer! This spot is my favorite spot for community, and I’m not the only one Kira, and Shea prefer this spot as well. Check out my digital nomad guide for Playa Del Carmen here.

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Nomad Highlight – Highlighting the nomads that helped me write this

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Tip #2 – Apps Can Help

In addition to the apps and sites mentioned in the online nomad groups section There are some great apps for making friends all over the world. Nausheen W/ Global Gazers recommends Bumble BFF.

Ranika recommends Nomadago – which is an app designed to help you plan and invite friends to trips you have coming up.

My Thoughts On Dating Apps While Traveling

Bumble BFF looks great, and I’ll probably use it next time I’m traveling solo. In the past I nearly exclusively used dating apps to find people to hang out with in the countries I went to. I met incredible people, and spent my time with someone who lives in the country, who taught me the language and showed me around, there are a lot of benefits to it. However, I would be careful being overly reliant on these apps. You can find yourself more preoccupied with finding dates than seeing the country.

I thought Bailey had a great quote about being honest with yourself about the types of connections you want traveling

“There’s a difference between sexual connection and emotional connection. Once you learn you have deep connection with people without it having to lead to anything sexual, you can build much stronger connections with people. At the same time, be clear and honest when it comes to the sexual connections (whether you want it or not).”

For those interested in learning more about dating while traveling check out my blogs here.

Tip #3 – Other Solo Travelers Are Looking For Friends Just Like You

This was probably the biggest recurring piece of advice from my friends. Everyone (okay most people) traveling are looking for friends, and in the words of Bailey W/ B Adventuras “If it’s weird of awkward, just Irish goodbye and you’ll never see them again.“

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Nomad Highlight – Highlighting the nomads that helped me write this

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Tip #4 – Facebook / Whatsapp Groups

For me this can be hit or miss. I’ve been part of Facebook & Whatsapp groups that were incredible for making friends & staying connected. Other groups were overran with spam, so not all are created equal

I was told about this website mexnomads that will show you whatsapp groups from all over the world. However, I’ve never been able to make it past the email verification. It’s a great idea! If you get it to work let me know.

That being said, there are two ways to approach finding groups

• Look for expat / traveler groups by searching on Facebook and even Google for City Name + expats, nomads, digital nomads etc.
• If you don’t run into language barrier issues then look for groups that you’d be interested in anyway and join those. For example, Yash has met a bunch of people in Latin America through finding dance groups. While Kira has made a bunch of friends from Volleyball groups, language meetups and vegan events.

Nausheen (see her highlight just below) mentioned a great FB group named Host a Sister exclusively for women-identifying travelers.

Nomad Highlight – Highlighting the nomads that helped me write this

Tip #5 – Get Contact Details Of The People You Meet

This was another piece of advice I got from nearly everyone.

When You Meet Someone Cool Get Their Contact Info

Personally I would recommend adding them on the social media platform you’re most active on so you see them more regularly and mutually stay top of mind.

I remember when I was 20 years old and hitchiking across the United States. I was staying at a vacant office in Washington DC with a group of protestors I had met when I arrived. One of the dudes in the group wasn’t a protestor, but simply looking for a safe place to sleep. He rode his bicycle from Austin Texas to Washington DC in order to talk to The Senate about the humanitarian issues in Haiti.

That night there was torrential down pouring, and he lead us all outside to run in the rain. We danced around while he bellowed the words “You Can’t Take Yourself To Seriously If You Want To Be Free”. He was an incredible dude, but I didn’t even think about getting his contact information. This is one of dozens of awesome people I’ve met that I may never see again because I didn’t heed this advice.

Tip #6 – Stay At Hostels / Colives

This was another piece of advice that nearly everyone shared. If you’re scared of Hostels, I would work to get over that because they’re awesome. I’ve met a good portion of the people featured in this article in Hostels.

As Anton mentioned All hostels are not created equal so do some research on Hostel World, Booking.com or even Google, even ask around in any groups your part of and find the right one for you!

Tip #7 – Stay In Touch With The People You Care About

This is for both old friends and new ones, as well as family members of course.

I think Ranika had a great strategy for this.

I have a couple hours set aside in a week to send voice notes to friends bc it’s not easy to catch up with time zones etc but I do think of them and want to be in as touch as possible. Sometimes I don’t receive them back in a timely manner so I’ll send it again. I really don’t mind being annoying as I’ve been bad at getting back to people. 

To Wrap It Up

There are a million ways to make friends and create community while traveling. You’ll find that usually your fear, anxiety or laziness is what’s standing in front of you and connecting to people in the area.

You can do it! That being said, it’s normal to feel lonely, that’s part of solo travel, and for me, a level of loneliness from time to time is good for introspection and getting in touch with where I’m at internally.

I’ll leave you with a parting piece of advice from Bailey

“Not everyone in this world is meant to be your friend. It’s okay not to like everyone, don’t try too hard to make it work. Sometimes it’s better to be a little sad and alone than spent too much energy on people who aren’t going to add anything to your life. If you meet someone and it isn’t going well, just move on.”

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