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aziz_92
Community Member

Anyone here a "digitalnomad"? (travel/work at the same time )

Just curious if there are any fellow digital-nomads here. Would be cool to connect and share experiences. Although I've met a lot of people who work and travel, I've never met anyone who does so from Upwork. 

95 REPLIES 95


Aziz U wrote:


Hmmm...DN forums? Mind sharing which ones? Didn't know there were forums for DNs (not sure if you are allowed to share links here)

 

And yea. I agree, vetting is really important. 


You can start at Reddit: r/digitalnomad
You'll get more ideas for other forums there. 🙂

________________________
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aziz_92
Community Member

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So I've been in Yelapa,  Jalisco for the past few days.  Amazing place, good food.


Aziz U wrote:

So I've been in Yelapa,  Jalisco for the past few days.  Amazing place, good food.


Aziz, thanks for the update - I've been wondering how you're doing! Yelapa is lovely, but aren't you on lockdown yet? Everything was normal in Sayulita right up until last Tuesday, then the whole town practically emptied out overnight. Bars and restaurants are all shut now. I decided to go to relatives in Canada and wait this out. What are your plans now?

I've been in Yelapa for the past few weeks before lockdown but now I am in PV. It doesn't feel like a lockdown here really.  I was in Bucerias yesterday and yea that place was completely shutdown (similar to how you mentioned the situation was in Sayulita)

 

Glad to know you are doing OK. I don't have any plans to go back to Canada soon tbh. But we'll see I guess. I don't think there are any more flights going back anyways. I am going to stick it out here in PV until this situation fizzles out (hopefully soon).

petra_r
Community Member


Aziz U wrote:

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IMG_5908 2.JPG

 

So I've been in Yelapa,  Jalisco for the past few days.  Amazing place, good food.


Amazing photos! Please tell me they weren't taken by a phone....

 

I have always wanted to go to Mexico, but have never been.

aziz_92
Community Member

haha unfortuantely, yea, this was taken by an iPhone. But thank you 🙂

 

And you should check out Mexico, it's my favorite country by far... Food, amazing people, good weather (for the most part) and relatively inexpensive, especially nowadays with Mexican Peso dropping. But yea, of course, wait til this whole virus thigy fizzles out. 

petra_r
Community Member


Aziz U wrote:

haha unfortuantely, yea, this was taken by an iPhone. But thank you 🙂


Grmph.... that said, my camera didn't cost much more than my iPhone. (the Canon doesn't make phonecalls though, and we won't mention the cost of lenses.....)

5417cea1
Community Member

Hey there,  I have am relatively new to this site, having only hired a few freelancers in the past few months.  Dug around the forum and help sections, but not finding the answers I seek, so I hope it is okay if I ask you?  )

 

When I searched for jewelry designers, it only showed me the USA offering.  So far all of my Upwork freelancers have been from other countries, since that is where the savings benefit was found.

 

Any idea why the search box will not let me see global freelancers?

 

Thank you kindly for your thoughtful attention to this request.

Respectfully, mark

AveryO
Community Manager
Community Manager

Hi Mark, 

You should be able to toggle this option when searching for freelancers for your project. 

 

Screen Shot 2020-03-31 at 11.57.45 AM.png


~ Avery
Upwork
aziz_92
Community Member

Still in Mexico City. Getting the itch to move again as the world opens up hopefully. I'll be in Carribean / South America. If anyone will be or is in these countries and wants to meet up, please reach out.

 

1- Jamaica

2- Trinidad / Tobago

2- Colombia

3- Chile

4- Peru

5- Argentina

6- Brazil

I have no idea when I'll leave as it depends on when this pandemic is overwith but planning and researching places i want to visit helps me cope with this isolation that we are all in.

 

Also, if anyone's been to central/south america and has a suggestion of a place to visit, please do let me know.

 

Photo below of Mexico City (Parque Mexico) from my run tonight.

IMG_4543.JPG

 

Hey Aziz - Good to hear that you're still on the move (but a bit worried about you). Are you sure that it's a good idea to be planning to visit South America, especially Peru or Brazil? How are things in CDMX? 

Yea, i'm not moving until I see governments relax their qurantine policies; just planning...kinda restless though haha.

 

CDMX is still on lockdown...and it sort of feels like a completely different city, but day by day i. see more people out on the streets. 

aziz_92
Community Member

Hmm, looks like spain is opening up in July to foreigners. So is greece. 

https://www.dw.com/en/spain-to-reopen-to-foreign-tourists-from-july/a-53557976

 

I think latin america is only going to get worse from here. 

aziz_92
Community Member

So last Friday, I decided to book a last minute impulsive flight to Puerto Escondido, Oxaca. It's one of the only small beach towns that's open at the moment. Some photos:

 

b8c9146a-fa77-42f4-8064-9482dff80a48.JPGIMG_6034.jpgIMG_6077.jpgIMG_4598.jpg

petra_r
Community Member


Aziz U wrote:

So last Friday, I decided to book a last minute impulsive flight to Puerto Escondido, Oxaca. It's one of the only small beach towns that's open at the moment. Some photos:

 

b8c9146a-fa77-42f4-8064-9482dff80a48.JPGIMG_6034.jpgIMG_6077.jpgIMG_4598.jpg


OK, so I'm officially jealous!

It's right in the middle of earthquake season, though! There was a bad one just the other day. Be careful out there.

yea didnt' realize that. woke up with the entire room shaking. turned out to be a 7.6!


Aziz U wrote:

yea didnt' realize that. woke up with the entire room shaking. turned out to be a 7.6!


Yikes! Are those your accommodations in the top photo? You might want to move off of the beach, at least - there could be tsunamis as well.


Christine A wrote:

Aziz U wrote:

yea didnt' realize that. woke up with the entire room shaking. turned out to be a 7.6!


Yikes! Are those your accommodations in the top photo? You might want to move off of the beach, at least - there could be tsunamis as well.


Petra just got somewhat less jealous

I would not be able to get a wink of sleep there.

I went to Phuket for a break in 2004 (I live in Bangkok). To cut a long story short, the room on the right with a truck in front of it was the room that my wife and I stayed in. Needless to say, we had quite an awakening that morning and are both extremely lucky to get to tell the tale. We were literally trapped underwater at one point. 

hotel.jpg

I've no idea who took the photo, but it wasn't me. I only found it a few months ago on the internet by chance and it made the memories come flooding back (again).

No more beach front accomodation for me, unless it's high up in a tall building. 


Jamie F wrote:


I went to Phuket for a break in 2004 (I live in Bangkok). To cut a long story short, the room on the right with a truck in front of it was the room that my wife and I stayed in. Needless to say, we had quite an awakening that morning and are both extremely lucky to get to tell the tale. We were literally trapped underwater at one point. 


Wow! I've only ever been in a small earthquake, and that was scary enough!

 


Christine A wrote:

Jamie F wrote:


I went to Phuket for a break in 2004 (I live in Bangkok). To cut a long story short, the room on the right with a truck in front of it was the room that my wife and I stayed in. Needless to say, we had quite an awakening that morning and are both extremely lucky to get to tell the tale. We were literally trapped underwater at one point. 


Wow! I've only ever been in a small earthquake, and that was scary enough!

 


We get them frequently here, as I'm not that far from the main faultline that runs along the "spine" of Italy and that caused the massive earthquake in L'Aquila in 2009.


They're mostly "mild" but there was one that scared me. First the cats came in and curled up. Then a noise started which sounded like a giant lion deep below the building. Then things started shaking.

 

Wasn't so funny.

I lived in Anchorage, Alaska for several years. Occasionally, I would wake up in the middle of the night for no reason -- just come wide awake. I was an excellent sleeper in those days, so it was puzzling. After a few years, it finally happened one day during an afternoon nap when I wasn't as deeply asleep, and I realized it was an earth tremor. That solved the mystery.

One afternoon I happened to be in a home furnishings store, in the china and crystal department, when an earthquake occurred. It was strong enough to make a few empty bookcases fall over on the floor above (and to make every piece of glass and porcelain in the place tremble). Part of my brain knew what was happening and what I should do (move to a doorway for shelter) but the part of my brain that had control of my body completely froze. I could no more have picked up my feet than a tree could have walked across the park. It was the oddest thing I'd ever experienced. A couple of aftershocks later, when I was driving my car, were more alarming.

The next year I was doing fieldwork in the Aleutians. Four of us were lounging on the tundra on the south end of Unalaska Island one afternoon, waiting for our helicopter pickup to ferry us back to Dutch Harbor. For a few seconds, the earth under us kind of rolled. It was a familiar feeling but out of place -- it was very like the sensation of gentle waves rolling under your kayak. It was strong enough that we would've lost our footing if we'd been standing or walking. 

 

Earthquakes sound terrifying and I wonder how I would be if I were in one. I always saw all the northerners in Florida go insane when a hurricane was coming and I was always 🤷‍:female_sign:and just went about my  day. Never did anything in preparation except get hurricane glass so I could watch a hurricane from my living room.

 

I wonder if it's the same for people in earthquake towns where foreigners come around and freak out and they are like 'oh, right it's earthquake season.'

florydev
Community Member


Jennifer M wrote:

Earthquakes sound terrifying and I wonder how I would be if I were in one. I always saw all the northerners in Florida go insane when a hurricane was coming and I was always 🤷‍:female_sign:and just went about my  day. Never did anything in preparation except get hurricane glass so I could watch a hurricane from my living room.

 

I wonder if it's the same for people in earthquake towns where foreigners come around and freak out and they are like 'oh, right it's earthquake season.'


Where I live it's tornados.  I remember my dad talking to a guy from California and he was super freaked out about the idea of tornados so my dad asked him about earthquakes and he was all 🤷‍:female_sign:.

 

I have only seen a tornado once (it was actually two at the same time) and it was in Denver, CO.  It can happen, it's best to be safe when it does, but the odds of it affecting you are pretty small.  I was in an earthquake in LA once and it was rare because someone was actually killed when, if I remember correctly, a wall that they were working on fell on them.  I mostly slept through it but it definitely shook me awake.  I went to work at Target and the store was closed because there was crap all off the shelves but other than that it was no big deal.

petra_r
Community Member

I've never seen a tornado, but we get waterspouts (It's kinda like a tornado over water) and they're spectacular to watch

 

 

 

I've been in tornadoes twice, by which I mean the place where I was sleeping was within 100 yards of something that got destroyed. Once was in North Dakota, sleeping in a two-person tent. The storm woke me in the middle of the night and even though it was terrifying, my tent seams were holding and I was dry. The alternative was to bail out and run for the farmhouse 50-60 yards away, and spend the rest of the night on the floor with no bedding (or soaking wet if I took it with me). (Archaeology field team was headquartered on a farm, we used the house for kitchen & lab and slept about the place in tents.) Crew chief had identical tent to mine, pitched about 50 yards from me, learned the next morning he bailed out when his tent poles got corkscrewed.

 

Second time was in the middle of Atlanta. Dreamed the railroad tracks were in my backyard, freight trains roaring by outside the window. Woke up and realized the noise was real. The next morning, the neighborhood had many 100-year old trees down including one less than 1/4 mile away.

 

I have a hurricane story too, from 2018. The moral of that one is, next time I'm leaving.

UxbpgCM

 

I finally get to contribute here! This is a pic from my deck in Maine :))))))))))

I've already eaten so much seafood....soooo much.

petra_r
Community Member


Jennifer M wrote:

UxbpgCM

 

I finally get to contribute here! This is a pic from my deck in Maine :))))))))))

I've already eaten so much seafood....soooo much.


Oooooohhhhh. Maine! Lobster! So much lobster. I would live on Lobster.

aziz_92
Community Member

So um yea, it's been a while since i updated this thread. But I haven't stopped exploring, just been too busy to post here. I went to the state of Hidalgo, near Mexico City recently. Full of mountains n lakes n rivers. Cabins, horses, etc. Kind of reminded me of Banff, Canada. Which is weird, because I (and i think most people) know Mexico for it's pristine beaches, surfing and sunshine. Didn't expect it.

 

Tried the famous "Pastes" from this state (photo attachec). About Pastes, from wiki: 

 

The paste has its roots in the Cornish pasty introduced by miners and builders from Cornwall, United Kingdom who were contracted in the towns of Mineral del Monte (Real del Monte) and Pachuca in Hidalgo starting in 1824

 

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aziz_92
Community Member

Been a while since i posted here. I'm back home in Ottawa after a year in Mexico. Here's some photos of various places i visited since my last post:

Mayan Ruins in YucatanMayan Ruins in YucatanVineyards of QueretaroVineyards of QueretaroPlaya Tortugas, CancunPlaya Tortugas, CancunHome, OttawaHome, OttawaMore CancunMore Cancun

aziz_92
Community Member

So yea, I've been in Banff, Alberta for the past 3 weeks, snowboarding and freezing my ass off in the -40°C weather. Quite a change from the playas and sunshine in Mexico.

Screen Shot 2021-02-14 at 6.03.15 PM.pngScreen Shot 2021-02-14 at 6.03.08 PM.pngScreen Shot 2021-02-14 at 6.02.54 PM.pngScreen Shot 2021-02-14 at 6.03.02 PM.png

 

Aziz, this oldl lady for one really enjoys your travels and gorgeous photographs.  Keep them coming! Here are some pictures of where I live, although I didn't take them.Our neighbors.Our neighbors.My favorite restaurant in Biloxi.My favorite restaurant in Biloxi.Beach May 2014.jpg

Thanks Mary! Your place looks great, would love to visit! 

growmyretail
Community Member

I used to be a digital nomad for 9 years. 
49 countries, 2344 cities in total. After living in the USA, Silicon Valley sold my first business and then moved to Asia, heading back to the EU where I met my wife in London and then years later we moved back together to her home country, Taiwan. 
Before I met her, I already had in my mind to quit this lifestyle but I just had no catalyst.

 

looking back to being probably one of the highest users on Airbnb at some point, having discounts on literally half of the hotels on the planet and seeing so many cultures and people. I do not regret it at all. I never missed my actual home, Belgium

But then you look again and you realize that airports were your toilets, places where nothing more than your bedroom and I felt little to no difference when I went to Tokyo, going to Las Vegas.

 

I felt not excited anymore when my friend from Canada told me she was in Barcelona and I was in Paris when she texted me, and I flew that day to Barcelona to have dinner with her just to fly back the next day to Paris.
It's normal for me that one of my clients called me to ask where I was, just to send a private jet to fly me over to their private office to handle whatever M&A deal or buyout that was on the table.

Being tired of people that asked me where I was from, what I do ( my job is.. and was always one those jobs that most people won't grasp. For the record, my activities on UW do not reflect what I truly do.)
And why, how etc etc. Kinda fed up and I turned from being social to secluded and private. 
Realizing how many relationships come and go on such a fast pace that it was just not worth my time anymore.

 

How you start strong on this journey, but end up taking zero photos of any place, or selfies or basically mot use social media at all anymore.

It was a great time. Glad I did it, but I am not going to do it anymore.

Thanks for sharing your experience. And I agree, it does get boring after a while. People are the same everywhere, sunsets and beaches differ only a little. And after the while, the novelty factors wears off. 

It's true that you can get burned-out if you stay "on the road" for too long; it's not for everyone. Pre-COVID, I was travelling for about 1/3 to 1/2 of the year, with a home base in the UK for the rest of the time - I find that this works for me. And after a year of not going anywhere, I'm itching to get out again. Not everybody wants to get married and settle down; I certainly know plenty of married people who are bored with their lifestyle.

 

But for now, I'm "staycationing" close to home. This is me watching the sunset in North Devon the other night (only 60 miles from my front door), and kayaking with a friend on Tuesday. 

 

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Yep, couldn't have said it better myself. I get bored easily. No matter what I do. So I'm going to get bored, better be while sippin' pina coladas on a playa in the carribean than in the cold dark depressing canadian winter!

 

And whoa, that looks like a lot of fun! Do you have any plans to come back to Mexico anytime soon?

nayab-s
Community Member

Hey man,

 

I don't know about digital, but "nomad" is pretty much it. That's why I freelance. I haven't worked a job my life and have been only traveling city to city. 

 

Now my next plan is to create a setup I have to look for an hour and then just leave the cities. Now I may be a loser in all of this forums' post, but this post... look at my crown everybody! 😛 

kinector
Community Member


Nayab S wrote:

Hey man,

 

I don't know about digital, but "nomad" is pretty much it. That's why I freelance. I haven't worked a job my life and have been only traveling city to city. 


"Nomad" ... 🤔 Well, I'm freelancing because I'm quite mad. As mad as a mad scientist can be. 🤪

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