Digital nomads in the Canary Islands - Who? Why? Where? How?

Digital nomads in the Canary Islands - Who? Why? Where? How?

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hi there - welcome back today we're  going to talk about digital nomads   a hot topic at the moment in the Canary Islands .  Before i start let's do a few disclaimers for the   forum warriors out there. There's been a  lot of negativity in the various forums   and also of course positive comments about digital  nomads so all i'm trying to do here is to show you   a different perspective and to introduce you  to some of these people personally or by video   so that you can make your own mind up and  maybe learn a little bit about them along   the way. I found it interesting talking to these  people, I hope you do too. Of course if you do   please give me a thumbs up and don't forget  to subscribe and likewise if you don't, please   feel free to switch off and always feel free to  leave me a comment below. I will always respond  

whether it's negative or positive. All i'm doing  here is trying to share some information with you.   I chose a random selection of people from the  various forums on which I asked the question   of who would be willing to do an interview. Before  i met these people I had no idea who they were.   I didn't know their ages, I didn't know what they  did and I didn't know which countries they came   from. There's quite a lot of misconceptions  about digital nomads or remote workers   things like - they're backpackers, they're just  hippies with a laptop, they're party animals,   cheapskates, surf bums - and that's just a few  of the things that I've seen and heard recently.  

So let's start by clearing up a few of these  misconceptions. Maybe a good place to start is   with a definition of what a digital nomad actually  is - this definition is taken from wikipedia so digital nomads are not backpackers they are  professional people who have either chosen to (as   they are self-employed) or being allowed to (if  they work for someone else) to work remotely in a   different country - digital nomads have salaries  or are self-employed and like everyone else pay   their taxes in the relevant country - digital  nomads are not kids - typically from the people   that I've interviewed, they tend to be in the age  group 25 to 35 - of course some are younger and   some are older - and like everyone else that  is allowed to arrive in the Canary Islands   by the Canary Islands government, they need to  take a PCR test - according to a recent article   in the Italian newspaper the 'Corriera della  Sera' these tech savvy newcomers are an asset   to the local economy - digital nomads tend to stay  for a reasonable amount of time often three months   sometimes up to six months or maybe even more  - some are even applying for Spanish residency   to allow them to stay permanently - the  same article in the 'Corriera della Sera'   says that digital nomads are not  party animals and I quote..... digital nomads contribute substantially to  the local economy here - they pay for hotels,   they rent villas, they hire cars, they eat out,  & obviously they do their shopping locally,   and they pay for activities - many of them  are learning to surf, for example - typically   they are contributing to the local economy  here between 900 euros and 1700 euros a month   depending on whether they're in shared  accommodation or in a privately rented   villa - a large part of this obviously goes  straight into the local economy - in another   recent article actually written by one of  our nomads Lea Masseguin, massage writing   for the French newspaper 'La Liberation'  and again I quote the article here.... it's also worth noting that the Canary Islands  government is actively encouraging digital nomads   and has invested substantial amounts of money   to encourage this growth - on February 22nd of  this year the Canary Islands government launched   an action plan aimed at attracting these remote  workers to what it considers to be the 'best   office in the world' - I have to agree  - the objective is to attract 30 000   of these remote workers or digital nomads  in the next five years by investing half a   million euros - according to minister of tourism  this will enrich the Canarian tourism sector   and make it possible to rejuvenate the destination  - I include the link to this full article and the   other articles quoted in the description below  the video - digital nomads are not here to party -   they're here to work like everyone - they have  deadlines to meet, bosses to satisfy, and an   income to earn - so let's move on and meet some  of these people - I hope you enjoy it as much as I   enjoyed meeting these people - this is Chloe ?can  I ask you what you do here? so I work remotely   for a beauty brand based in the uk normally -  and I'm in marketing - ?so what made you decide   to come to Fuertentura? - it was the only place  that was open so actually my very first lockdown   I spent in the UK, it was quite lonely, I live  by myself and really really desperate to get   out as soon as possible and it was starting  to look like there might be a second lockdown   in the UK and I was checking BBC news every single  day, checking the travel corridors to see where   i would be allowed to maybe go out, and at  the time I was only thinking of going for   a weekend or to work remotely for a week - I  wasn't thinking longer term and one day - 28th of   October the BBC announced that 8pm that they  opened the borders of Crete and the Canary Islands   and I just literally went on British Airways &  momento to check flights and booked it within   like 15 minutes - I arrived here three days after  booking my flight - 31st of October - wow - and   actually that's when they also announced the  lockdown in the UK - sI i've worked remotely   before, I know it's not a problem for me,  but it gets really lonely if you live alone,   so yeah I was just desperate to see people and  just the sunshine - ?so what's the typical day   like here for you what do you do? - the dream  - life so we wake up we've had a few times some   sunrise yoga meditation sessions we have  coffee all together as housemates and then   all run to bedrooms to start working do my regular  day of work lunch in the sun sometimes here with   my housemates - the evening what's great is that  we have a lot longer days here - they can go from   going running on the dunes by the sea - meeting  with friends - going into restaurants - you know   most (well all of us) haven't been able to go  to the restaurants and out in bars or anything   during lockdown, so we appreciate it so much  more - and I recently started trying to learn   surfing - it's honestly - i can't tell you the  feeling of being in the ocean 30 minutes after   you had your last conference call- in front of the  most beautiful sunset with other surfers - it's   just yeah so lucky to be here - ?would you say  there was a disadvantage to working remotely out   here? - that is a very good question - i can't  think of anything right now no - ?what would   you say to someone who was stuck at home like you,  who was thinking about maybe setting up their own   business or seeing if they could work remotely  what would your advice be? - absolutely do it,   stop thinking about it, get on the plane  - but i mean the work-life balance here is   so different and it's incredible ?do you think  you're going to find it hard when you go back   to the uk and you have to work in an office?um  i originally came here for one week thinking   more than five months ago now - i love that and obviously being here you rethinking  the way you work the way you live your   work-life balance you're thinking why have i  been working from an office all these years   um and actually because everybody is having the  same discussion it's honestly the number one   topic at the dinner table every single evening -  they're not going back - how can we make this work   long term? we all i think - we all like our jobs  we don't want to change career or anything like   that - but how can we compromise and be able to do  this at least part time ?and do you think you've   found a solution? and so that's what pushed me  to uh ask my boss if i could relocate to Spain   and i'm very lucky they said yes - oh my gosh - so  i'll be moving to Spain without even going back to   the uk, because i'm getting all my stuff shipped  here ?i wanted to know was there anyone that has   been talking about another country that might be  a suitable place instead of just Fuerteventura?   it just happened because it was the  only place that was open to be perfectly   honest - the image i had of the Canary Islands  was all-inclusive resorts - i'm living a totally   different experience right now - yeah um so it  wasn't that it was never really on my list -we've   built such an incredible super tight community  here that actually i don't want to leave - i   get actually really emotional talking about  it because it's i think it's such a beautiful   tight group of friends, ?such a nice happy  stance isn't it as a result of out of bad all   this good is happening? absolutely and 100% the  result of the pandemic actually because we would   have never ended up in this situation that's  completely extraordinary and there was even   i think a sort of natural pre-selection which  meant that we were bound to get along because   everybody who came here was (you have to be active  to come to this island because everyone i mean you   do you surf you hike you cycle it's a sporty  island) um so for sure you get along, you have   to like traveling you have to have this get up and  go attitude and not being scared of jumping on the   flight because that's what every single person  who came here just before lockdown did, because   you had a window of three days to get your flights  - well at least the people that i meet everybody   is single because to be able to again jump on the  flight like this and escape you wouldn't do that   with a family or you know it's more difficult  with partners so naturally you end up with this   tight group of people who all share the same  common denominators - yeah exactly um and we   all arrived at the same time so it's like a big  Erasmus 2.0 - uh and it's amazing ?do you find any  

disadvantage with living with a lot of housemates?  i can't imagine going back to living by myself now   it's amazing i mean you have breakfast lunch and  dinner with friends - that sounds like a fantastic   life - i get really excited talking about it Let's meet two more nomads - Gianmario an Italian   living in London and Eduardo a South American  living in Italy ?so you're an Italian living   in England & you're a South American living in  Italy? yeah that's right ?and you both ended up   in Fuerteventura? yes yeah - i was wanting to go  somewhere because in Italy it was getting really   tough living because it was like waking up at  eight, working till six, and then everything was   like closed - i couldn't go workout because all  the bars closed everything closed at six yeah so   that's why i wanted to go somewhere else where i  can have like my freedom and to have just normal   life - i read his post (Gianmario's) on Facebook  about traveling yeah and do like smart working   somewhere else - so you didn't know each other  yeah so i was quite frustrated of lockdown in UK   i stayed the first wave in London so probably  the first wave arrived around early March   and then since day one of lockdown i stayed in the  house okay so then the the first wave and then the   summer in Italy and then again locked down in  London and i was like oh gosh i'm not gonna stay   here for another another wave because i knew how  tough it was based on the first experience - yeah   and then i stayed in Italy and 2020 finished and  then the start of 2021 i said i'm gonna put down   a list of three bullet points and the first one  was to work remotely from a hot place where Covid   restrictions were quite lighter so then i put  this post on Facebook and i put the person the   viaggidiscovery (Viaggiventurenelmondo.it) is  one of the most famous uh travellers blog in   Italy on Facebook yeah a lot of travellers  and they're organising trips right - yeah   like i want to go here - who want to come with  me - and i put this post and i actually selected   three destinations - so the first one was Canary  Islands in general and then second one Portugal   and then the third one Dubai - the decision was  quite easy because Portugal went straight away   in January went straight away locked down again -  so closed - Dubai different time zone compared to   UK - Ed and i met two days before departing - we  organised everything on zoom yeah so we check like   the itinerary the calls everything yes we did  um very nice excel spreadsheet with all these   expenses that we were going through - we obviously  wanted to travel with the budget - it's not like   you know a trip that you go for a week or  two weeks and then this amazing like ?can i   ask you what your budget was? yes of course,  it was like around 1500 (per person - yeah)   and obviously we were budgeting for  food, accommodation, entertainment like   entertainment ,excursions, also the ca r we could  consider fuel & PCR also was in our budget - PCR   of course Covid PCR ?and how how have you managed  with your budget? is it on on target? yeah it was   so targeted - so good yeah - we track - well  spotted everything 100 percent ?can you have   a good life within that budget? absolutely yes  yeah actually funny enough we arrived here for   two weeks - like our objective was to stay  in Canary Islands two weeks - one way flight   so without return - and then the third day we  were already discussing okay let's stay more   ?when did you arrive? 23rd of January we  started from gran canaria actually oh you did it   yeah so we arrived to Gran Canaria and we  stayed there for almost one month, one month   and a half around yeah and then we decided  to come here to Fuerte ?why did you decide   to come here? to change yeah ?and how does it  compare? it's like more relaxing less people   yeah i'd say i think landscape is much different - probably is more wild here   and yes and then this is important for I  think in Corralejo especially the ratio   of digital nomads compared to the population  is much higher than Las Palmas which is the   main city of Gran Canaria ?so have you met lots  of other digital nomads while you've been here?   not many not much ?but do you go out to lot or?  during working days not much - talking a little   bit about Fuerteventura we actually you know we  started Ed and I travelling and then we met other   guys in Las Palmas, digital nomads, so we rented  this villa - we are six of us, we are all digital   nomads and we are probably from five different  countries - French, Sweden, Italy, UK and Ecuador yeah yeah we all do different  jobs which is quite interesting  ?can i ask how it works, living with other people  - do you have like a cleaning rota or a cooking   rota? you don't have really like a routine for  example it's like somebody has an idea like let's   cook and have dinner together so we go to the  shopping market and we buy the food and we prepare   something - i'd say technology really supports us  - so as you can imagine if we have dinner together   we want to split the the costs and we use a  really nice app - there's an app that you put the   expenses that you do in the day and the app just  calculates, calculates all the balances ?what are   your jobs by the way? i'm a business consultant  - it's a project about like Smart Roads - it's   it's a pilot - so i am a Civil Structural  Engineer and i work for an Australian company   that is as a satellite office in London - my  current project is at the moment - i'm working   on HS2 it's the fastest train line in Europe that  connects London to Birmingham i'm working also on   development that is funded by Cambridge  University and is for senior living so it's for   senior people ?people like us? ?and how does that work, working remotely?  it's great - the first thing that we ask   is for internet speed - every every time that we  move around - how is internet connection? - even   more like having a pool or bedrooms or kitchen  first question yeah internet connection - in   Las Palmas i found better connection than what  i have in London ?how did you find the villa?   Air BnB - yes 4 bed villa and we we share a couple  of rooms per week and we do rotation - the pricing   we're talking about 15 from 15 to 20 euros a  night - and we look where we are right - it's   really incredible yeah - ?and you've got the beach  just down? there yeah yeah exactly so ?and you can   walk into Corralejo from here? yeh you can ? can i  ask about the HS2 just because it's so interesting   and so current - when Covid is over, do  they expect you to be back in an office?   that's really interesting that, i think that's  where we should direct our conversation - what's   happening right now is that the business making  money as long as there is workload we can handle   it - so the technology is supporting us and  we are productive - so now the discussion is   the business towards the employees  - are you happy to work abroad,   remotely? - not essentially abroad because  there are obviously families and stuff and so on   and the and the easy answer is yes we want to be  flexible but what about the double taxation? what   about legal requirements? yes another important  one - social, team building - i am not getting to   meet my colleagues, so that perspective, like the  social perspective is is very hot topic - we are   trying to organise online socials but it's not  the same - you can have a beer pint or two but   it's not like a pub ?what about the taxation side  of it? i just spoke yesterday with HMRC yeah and   from the UK perspective is not an issue the issue  comes when Spain finds out that you've been here   for time - more than six months and they ask  you well, you stayed a little quite a lot   you - starting to pay taxes ?do you think there's  a disadvantage to being a digital nomad other than   the social aspect that you talked about from  work?.......(long pause) mmmm I don;t see any.. that's a good answer okay ..so the answer of  a 25 years old guy it's no, i don't see any   disadvantages ?and can i ask how old you are? i'm  31 ?what do you see in terms of the age group of   the typical digital nomads that you've met here?  yeah so the the typical age probably is 25 to 35.   ?what's the most, the major nationality  - is there one that stands out? French   i think ........also Italian yeah ? have you got  an idea of where you might go next? Morocco - for  

the next step we are living here until the 27th  of April, the next step - we start from Africa   and then we realise Africa, the south um east  side of Africa so Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda - we   are open to the world ?can i ask you about  Covid and how you feel - do you feel safe here?   yeah you feel safe yeah - i see like people - like  there's people here is really taking care, like   wearing masks, washing their hands every time,  so yeah - obviously i still wear my mask and   everything, but here i feel safe - because  my mental health was quite affected - i was   almost on the limit to be depressed when i  was back home and like the fact that i was   working every day and then everything was closed  afterwards - my daily routine it was horrible and   the only way to solve this this issue was to  speak loud to my company and they supported me  so we've been talking to these two guys for quite  a while now we've just met some more have their   housemates who all live together in this amazing  villa ?would you like to introduce yourselves?   and tell us what you do yeah i'm Lea, I'm from  france from paris and i am a journalist ?did you   arrive here at the same time as these guys? yeah  same time, at the end of January in Gran Canaria   and then i left and now i'm here since two weeks  ?and do you like it? yeah i like it - very nice,   different from Gran Canaria, but it's nice yeah  ?and i believe you're from Sweden is that right?   yes ?and do you find there's any disadvantages  with being a digital nomad? not at all - I don't   - i'm a freelancer like ?so you literally can live  and work everywhere? exactly ?as long as you've   got wi-fi and send you articles in? yeah yeah -  here there are like numbers of villas - i think   probably eighty percent of those they're are all  digital nomads - ?yeah because there's something   worth pointing out - if you guys weren't here,  these villas would be empty? - exactly big villas   would be empty ?yeah i mean your contribution  to the economy is probably quite substantial   because there's a hell of a lot of you now? .. and now let's meet Simonetta a lawyer and   linguist from Palermo in Italy - and this  is her lovely apartment right by the beach here - we are at the beautiful Bristol Beach area  - this is Simonetta another digital nomad and she   lives here - which is pretty amazing ?so Simonetta  tell me what brought you here? if i had to say the   first thing that brought me here it's surfing  ?all right you're a surfer? i started surfing   this summer and then i kept surfing during the  lockdown in Sicily and then a friend of mine   told me that he was coming here and he's also  digital nomad, so i said okay why not - i mean,   so i packed my stuff and i booked a flight and i  just went here - ?and when did you come? i arrived   on the 6th of February ?and you're staying until?  just until - who knows - not too many plans - just   a one-way ticket and i'm we probably stay until  june maybe and maybe spend some time in other   islands - i haven't decided yet - i'm originally  a lawyer but i set up a legal translation firm   seven years ago with a good friend of mine, a  colleague - so we basically do legal translations   in any language there, and we have people working  with us - we set up a network of lawyer/linguists   everywhere in the world ?so you can do that  anywhere wherever you are? anywhere - all   our linguists they live everywhere some  of them are in Canada some in Mexico some   Europe some in Indonesia - everywhere ?so can i  ask what a typical day would be like for you -   a working day? well working day okay - a working  day would be like waking up be around 8 , 8 30   and then i get breakfast to start the day  and then meeting online my project monitors   just to organise the day - and then you know just  coordinating the whole stuff -talking to clients,   sending some emails, revising some documents - and  then i usually have a break, quite a long break,   and so i stop between 12 30 until three 3 or 3 30  it's quite long so normally i try to do surfing or   you know go for a walk or running or meeting  friends - enjoying the amazing place where i'm   staying - and then i come back at 3 or 3 30 home  or sometimes i work in some bars or some places   where ?so like co-working? because well also like  in some you know little bars that you have on   the beach - it really depends if i really need to  concentrate, i really need to you know maybe edit   a document, i need to be home just to be, you know  more focused - while if i just need to coordinate   and send emails and easier stuff and a beach bar  ?any beach bar as long as it's got internet ?so   what would you say was the disadvantage of being  a digital nomad? there are not so many but i think   the the the main disadvantage is just that you  move so fast or you move to so many places that   in the end it if you really want to set up  a community of people or friends, it's kind   of difficult - so i have friends and people  everywhere in the world ?and what would make   you move from here to somewhere else? first time i  did it one of the first places was Argentina and i   was really passionate about tango so that's why  i went there - wow - so it all comes to hobbies,   passion or you know just friends being  somewhere, so in nice weather as well - i   would love to go back to Central America, right  now it's it's not possible because of Covid or   Portugal as well - good weather, beach, surfing,  nice people, nice food ?what about the cost of   living - is there one place that you found  that's much cheaper than anywhere else?   well Argentina was okay, i mean it was not as  expensive as Milan or London or other cities in   Europe - i would say here it's quite it's quite  cheap - but in general i would say that Spain   is quite cheap - ? could I ask you what your rough  monthly outgoings would be here in Fuerteventura?   uh it's about, i would say €1500 - like cost  like between housing, car renting, you know,   renting a board if you wanna go surfing  ?you're renting a very nice place?   of course ?by the beach with 2 bedrooms? of  course - you could always do it with less yeah there are a lot of surfing houses, but i i  wanted to stay by myself yeah yeah space ?people   have different ideas - we've met some other  known nomads that live in these huge houses   by the beach with five bedrooms and they all  just live together, cook together, eat together   and obviously their outgoings are much less? i  could consider that but first of all i need to   find and meet people that i you know feel  comfortable ?I can introduce you to some? ?what would be your top tip for a digital  nomad thinking of coming to Fuerteventura   or anywhere really? yeah anywhere i  would say that being a digital nomad   you have to be very very uh strict with yourself  yeah absolutely yeah ?you can look at the   blue sky, the blue sea - hard to sit at your desk? yeah i can is that i would say that this time  i would have never expected to reach this kind   of you know way of living so i'm very very  happy and i feel very lucky to be able to do   it - it was not just you know being lucky i  worked a lot - if i have to go back and see   and look at my life when i was working in Milan -  just no comparison at all - i would never go back   never - sorry if they're one of my you know about  ex bosses looking at this video - i loved you,   i loved working with you, but i just prefer this  ?so can you ask - how does the safety element of   being here in the midst of a pandemic - how do  you feel about that here? of course i'm wearing   the masks when i'm going out but then the fact  that all people come here take a test just before   coming - there's a lot reduced risk - so my fears  are well you know just slowly reducing, reducing,   reducing - and then now of course, i try to pay  attention, but i feel much more relaxed - when   people call me from Italy, my family, my  friends - i say of course that i'm sure that   there will be someone like with the virus - i  don't feel the same risk as back in Europe .... and now let's meet Giacomo the housemate of  Chloe who we met at the beginning of this video   we're here with Giacomo in his beautiful villa  just by the beach in Corralejo and we're going to   have a little guided tour to make jealous - show  you what it's all about being a digital nomad - so   we are four or five digital nomads at the moment  and i was here last year i was locked down   here for five months here with my startup team  and so then in December you know in January i   said why should i stay in Italy at the moment  - let's fly back - that's what i've done - i'm   going to stay for a few months ?are you sharing  it with people that you didn't know before?   uh no exactly we didn't know these people - they  were - i came through through networking apps,   i got connected to people, i started living in  another place with two and then we got this place   and then we moved here and then we find other  people and three by five up & down all connected   to the same fibre & so its superfast - we can  take calls & all do video calls at the same and this is this is a trend in the area -  house owners understood that now it's not   tourists anymore - it's digital remote  workers - so now they need to adapt  ?i saw you studied at stanford? i did some years  yeah i did business training at stanford - and now   it's super exciting because we're launching my new  networking platform, meaning that we connect you   to people that you should meet and we tell you  why, from a professional point of view - we do   it within communities and communities are alumni  networks our researchers any anything, any network   any linkedin group - it's basically is going  to use our platform it's a new linkedin that's   what we're talking about ?what's the app called  - 'lounjee' lounjee, and we created a community,   a group, where we can create any unlimited type  of groups it's like you know, like a slack type   of thing - so it's for a group, but really  focus on matching people, using geolocation,   their professional goals and suggesting  people - and we just launched it five days   ago - it's growing and it's very good  engagement - so we're actually gonna   hire a person full time to actually develop that  because potentially it's massive - because there   is a need to connect when you're a nomad, to other  people locally ?so how long have you been a nomad?   uh not much i would say a  year - ?so since the pandemic? ?so it was because of the pandemic? it was already  in my plan to be to be spending the winter here -   i know Fuerteventura since 2014, for surfing, and  i said in the future as soon as my biotech company   doesn't need me anymore, my presence, i would  just move here for the winter - and it happened   actually last year, without without me pushing  - i was here and i found myself locked ?so what   do you find the best thing about being here ? i  would say the fact that i can do something that   i like which is surfing, the weather, and i have  to say that all the people that that i met and we   keep meeting are super interesting communities of  digital nomads - we have a photographer the house,   different backgrounds, people from consulting  companies, successful entrepreneurs and there   is such a big melting pot - i call it kind of  the Erasmus 2.0 you know the Erasmus program   right? but this is more when you work, it's the  same feeling - you are moving to a new place   that you don't know people - it's like  Erasmus - there is this dimension of   you know, being part of a community, which is the  Erasmus - in this case it's the digital nomads   which is business - and then you help each other  - you're going through the same problems - they've   had the same challenges - opening a bank account,  or getting the phone, or getting the fibre ready,   you know - so it's a kind of uh the same feeling  but 20 years later ?yeah it's amazing - and what   is the mixed of nationalities - what's  the majority of people ? in our group   we have quite a bit of Italian, yeah but then  we have Dutch, Germans, French, Belgium - age   group i would say between 25 to 45. ?how did  you come across the idea? it just randomly   happened like a few days, a couple weeks ago,  because we have this platform for communities   and we say you know what let's try to for  the digital numbers community - many people   posting on whatsapp or on slack saying 'hey i'm  a graphic designer' this is what they need - they   just need lounjee - and so we said you know  what - let's start, let's do it - we started   and the feedback is very good and it's the highest  engaged group ever that we have ever had - in five   days like people chatting connecting, people met,  new people met ?people from here? people from here   start using the platform to actually connect -  now there is something that actually fits - fits   the needs ?and where are people being digital  nomads on the island is it mainly in Corralejo?   i think also, i've seen also people in the  south, yeah but it's mostly i would say mostly   here - here is more the sport - the surfing is  mostly the top - the north shore uh and then and   i guess also because of this younger population  in here, and so digital nomads naturally   are around this part of the island - but  there are other people who are down south   or in the middle of nowhere living in fincas  - i know some fincas or people like artists or   even entrepreneurs like completely isolated from  the world, and they're living in their own finca   in the middle of the island ?do you feel safe in  terms of Covid here? oh yeah yeah yeah - i mean   we we are careful , yeah safer than anywhere else  i would say ?so what would a typical day be? you   might go to surf early and then you come back,  you start working - that's my co-working space,   then you know just a breakfast, you chat with your  flatmates, and then we start working - sometimes   we work, we move maybe to a bar to work  a bit and just to change the environment,   or we stay outside at the pool - yeah until 5 or 6  and then after that, either we go surfing or we go   playing beach volley at the Riu hotel and then we  do activities like together - so that's why it's   like, it feels like Erasmus - really it's very  social, because we are like isolated yeah and we   get together and so we organised hiking - we went  for to the canyon down in the south we went to   Sotavento - it's a very social  - within the Covid restriction   ?do you find that you are more productive  working this way, than being in your   office in Paris for example? oh 100% - it's  because in this environment you feel more   comfortable, you're actually more productive, uh  you may be working a bit less, but more intense,   and everyone's super concentrated - so  we just work - if we have calls to take,   we move - so it's very productive, but then at the  same time at 5 o'clock at 6 o'clock we say yeah   okay let's go and play beach volley ?so your  working environment is very much here - you're   not using co-working spaces - because there's  lots of those being advertised all over the place i guess for for those people who  are living in a small apartment yeah   they might go to the co-working -  ?maybe with not so good wi-fi? - yes   correct - here we have good wi-fi - you  have seen the house - i mean there are   other people who are coming here to co-work  with us ?so you are charging them rent? ?so what would your top tip be for a digital nomad  who was thinking of changing their life and coming   to Fuerteventura what would your tip be? uh  take a one fly ticket ?just do it? a one way   ticket - life is super super easy and whenever  - we we just talked even yesterday - about the   fact that everyone is super happy, everyone  is super happy ?you look really happy?   yeh, the dimension - we have  the good people around - smart,   interesting - we do activities - we can whenever  we want - we could go back - it's not that   we're locked here - ?and you will go back at some  stage? yeah yeah, but the idea would be to start   thinking about 'oh let's get this house' for  example rent it lock it for six months for the   winter yeah and we come back all of us we might  see each other again yeah - in the same place   and maybe we just travel - so we're planning to  go to Sardinia this summer and to maybe do some   co-working there and get a house - the same people  - there's this global dimension of connecting   people that are super interesting - so tips wise i  think life is is easy yeah - it's much easier ? nd   would you say it was more economical? oh than  Paris - 100% yeah - it's you divide it by   three the cost of living ?so what would you say  your monthly living expenses were for example?   let's say you know between the apartment and  basic food, i would say you are around €700 -   €800 - cost of food is quite cheap ?do you go out  quite a lot? um maybe once a week we go for dinner   with a few people - ?whatever you are allowed  at the time - this week it's four - last week   it was six? or even doing some movie nights here  or dinner here ?do you think all the nomads are   working in some way or another with each  other? the majority are working for a company,   so that means that you know they're working  alone, however okay however what's happening   is that you start collaboration - and now i  might maybe have some investors coming from   the digital nomads community - so  it's like when you connect people yeah   things happen yeah - and and it's so exciting to  see also collaborations sparking professionally   between the people - not just hey let's go surfing  together - oh let's uh let's launch this little   project together ?is there anything negative  that you would say about your new lifestyle?   um well yes maybe is the the fact that i miss my  my friends in Paris - so the only thing missing   for me is more the cultural part but then you're  like you you have a trade-off ?and you have that   in Paris? and you have that in Paris - so the a  lot of people now are thinking about this idea of   spending the winter here and the rest the spring  - and the summer you spend in the city - ?yeah   basically what we do? your your enthusiasm is  very infectious - yeah i think anyone hearing   it people will probably decide to put their pens  down and fly away - straight away actually....

here we are interviewing Silvia another digital  nomad living overlooking the beautiful bay of   Corralejo which i think you can see even  though it's slightly dark and now let's   meet Silvia Imperadore a former corporate  lawyer and founder of The Coaching Island,   a well-being and transition coach so here we are  interviewing Silvia another digital nomad living   overlooking the beautiful bay of Corralejo which  i think you can see even though it's slightly dark   and we're going to ask Silvia a little bit about  her experiences and why she became a digital nomad   so maybe we should start with that question  ..?why did you become a digital nomad Silvia?   i've always been a digital nomad even when  i was in corporate when i was in charity   and i was an employee because that is my nature  this is my spirit - a few years ago i decided to   become an entrepreneur and i set up my coaching  practice and very soon i realised that for me   freedom and flexibility were super important, and  i wanted to spend time also traveling - so then i   created this online coaching practice  that allows me to be anywhere in the world  - so as long as i have my laptop with me and a  good wi-fi connection - i chose Corralejo because   i really wanted to to be by the sea - and in  London i was missing that like sense of being   close to like water ?well you couldn't  get much nearer to it here - it's outside   your window? and now I have found like the  perfect place for me - it's a village but   is like a proper town with shops and and bars and  restaurants and also the beautiful beach - i have   my own space here - it's quiet and it's peaceful  and this is what i need for my - yeah ?for your   work? - so i'm a well-being coach - i support  managers and leaders around stress management,   resilience, work-life balance, and self-care -  they believe that it's possible, they start to   see that everything is possible, that you should  really follow your dreams ?what about a social   life - have you found many friends? through  the Facebook groups and other digital nomads   and the slack group ?what kind of age groups have  you found that the typical digital nomads are? uh   probably around 30-35 - there are people that are  much younger and much much younger - very clever   and smart people - i think my age is kind of not  um very common ?so you're a little bit older?   i'm older uh but i it's funny because i started to  be a digital nomad in the beginning of my career   ?and what advice would you give to somebody who  was sort of looking for a change of career or   looking to do something different and was  thinking about becoming a digital nomad?   i would say to be clear on on what is really  non-negotiable for them, because sometimes people,   you know they dream about being you know, being  on the beach, on kind of a holiday life - but   that is not what the digital nomad does - because  actually as i told you - you also have to be very   focused - otherwise it's very easy to kind of  like get distracted - ?self-discipline has been   something that i think everyone that we've talked  to has said is an important element and of course   good wi-fi? my first question is always 'how  is the wi-fi - is it strong wi-fi - do you   have fibre optics?' because especially with video  calls you have to have it strong - ?yeah i think   because there's no tourists here at the moment  - i think digital nomads are the only people   who are paying the rents - so i think people are  looking at putting in fibre optics or the best   internet solution they can? ?do you think you need  to speak the language of the place that you go or   do you just pick it up as you go along ? i don't  think, so i don't, i think uh you know especially   like if you speak english it helps ?and  do you plan for the future - do you decide   i'm going to do this for so many months - that i'm  going to go there or do you just see what happens?   and for the moment to be honest - i live for the  moment - i practice mindfulness and i also teach   my clients to do that - i kind of go with  the flow, so for example i've been here since   February the 6th and i've just extended  my my staying until probably May  ?do you feel safe in terms of Covid here? yes i  do, i do - i don't go out like partying or like   in the night or i don't go to bars at night  - i hang out with people, maybe like-minded   people - i can maybe go for dinner or like a  chat and do maybe some activities outdoor - go   hiking - there's plenty of space, plenty of places  ?you can eat outside, you can drink outside,   you don't need to go inside? exactly, exactly -  this is what i like - we we kind of respect you   know the the rules - so because of course also  here there are rules to respect and exactly ?and   they change all the time? they change  everything so you have to kind of   keep track yeah keep track and and and be kind of  conscious yeah ?so um do you find it a reasonably   cheap place to live here in terms of you know  outgoings? i've noticed that for example um   renting a car is okay, eating out because going  out and having fish and like a fish dinner was   um convenient, uh but but it's um it's it's  it's not bad at all - like i think in general   Spain and and here, for what i know, because i  it's for me it's like a new experience, but i   think it's it's good also in terms of renting -  it's good place to to be ?okay so i've heard all   these words bandied around by the people i've been  talking to - so co-working, digital nomad, smart   working - what do they all mean? yeah i think  there are so many expressions and terms now - and   for example i've noticed in my country, they call  it smart working - and when you say that in the   UK they don't really understand - they talk about  remote working - a digital nomad is someone that   works like in different countries and with a good  wi-fi and online mainly - so it is remote from   the office and because the office is you, yeah is  your - you're carrying your computer and this is   the office - like as long as you have like also a  place to put your computer, a table, at the bar or   in your flat - it's working not in the office - digital because of course it works online,   using technology and nomad because it's not in the  same place all the time ?do you find that a lot of   people here just work out of the bars like below  you there's the Uga-Uga bar, which calls itself a   co-working space? well from what i've seen i've  seen is like people sometimes they they want to   have a balance so maybe they they do some hours  at home, and then they maybe in the afternoon they   come here - like it's kind of maybe also having  like a bit more people maybe yeah more sociable   and also for a change - because maybe they  share apartment with others or maybe they feel   lonely - ?bar owners in general are quite flexible  about that - they don't mind somebody going there   with a laptop and just ordering a coffee? yeah  now i've noticed that there are also some um   new working spaces there are brand new places  - they are now becoming like a proper hubs for   for that - so they offer all the facilities  - they offer like a space, they have strong   wi-fi - ?you could rent a cheap apartment share it  with a load of people and then go out and work?...   ?thank you very much that's been very  informative i've very much enjoyed meeting   you? - and me too ?thank you very much Silvia? ...... so thank you for watching and don't   forget to subscribe - see you again soon  so if any of you nomads out there have got   any tips and tricks about being a nomad  please put them in the comments below.

2021-04-09 05:33

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