by nchmy | 2025-07-01 13:45:09+00:00
I was very deliberately never a "digital nomad". But a decade ago I left a soul-sucking career and traveled in a camper van that I built out.

For a few years I was mostly just a hermit, spending time in nature, reading, writing, taking care of myself, talking to whoever I met. But not forming lasting connections or putting down roots.

Eventually I started reintegrating with society, mostly focusing on talking to homeless men and others on the margins. My plan was to drive to Patagonia and do photo journalism about important issues and people doing something about it. I stopped in central America 7ish years ago due to a combination of fatigue, it becoming far more difficult to just roam and park in public lands, and, most of all, due to seeing just an immense amount of unnecessary suffering.

I tried to help various non profit orgs, but found them ALL to be some combination of inept or corrupt. So, decided to stay, learn more about everything, and form my own project.

For a couple years I roamed around the region, living in communities of extreme poverty that I was introduced to. After covid started, I've been rooted in a couple towns here, but remain mostly a hermit while I work on building my vision for a sort of digital educational platform to help people better help themselves and each other. But I became fluent in Spanish years ago and talk to everyone - from peasant farmers, to "professionals", to wealthy people.

6 months ago I started coaching youth soccer because the guy being paid by the town was a complete fucking loser and I couldn't bear to see the kids just following aimlessly in his footsteps. Another local guy, who I admire a lot, also started volunteering around the same time and between the two of us, the two teams reached the regional semifinals for the first time in 20+ years. The loser got fired a few months ago (though it was for family political reasons, not for being worthless for 6 years). I'm also planning to start introducing kids to computer programming, as the town got a computer lab donated recently. Waiting for internet to get installed, as I'll have to offload most of the effort to existing courses, tools etc - plus they'll need internet to install packages etc. I also help with organizing dog sterilization campaigns.

I don't feel "integrated" into town, and don't necessarily even want to be while I remain in this sort of limbo while I develop my project. But it is nice to be interacting with people, making a difference, etc. Surely some goodwill will help me as well, especially when corrupt people who I've interacted with previously almost certainly will try to slander me when I "go public".

Through my travels, I've come across A LOT of digital nomads and similar types - non-digital nomads, wanderlusters, retirees, expats etc. I generally try to avoid them all as I find them all to be enormously out of touch with the world and, more importantly, themselves. They rarely know or even try to learn Spanish. They just exist in an alternate reality of hedonism, all while often espousing "community" - if you can pay to be part of the cool kids club. I'd much rather spend time talking to (or helping) a peasant.

The saddest person I met was maybe 8 or 9 years ago in western Canada. He was maybe late 40s and had been travelling the world since early 20s. Had been everywhere. Had no family and felt too old to even try. Worse, he had no real friends - even the acquaintances he had made along the way disappeared because he didn't have anything like Facebook and lost his notebook with emails and phone numbers in it. And, I suppose, worst of all is that there was no purpose or meaning to his life.

Even in my earliest years of pure wandering, when I had no tangible goal, I had the explicit goal of discovering what a meaningful life was both in the abstract and for me personally. And when I found that for myself, was more than happy to "sacrifice" the arbitrary goal of Patagonia.

The real test for my maturation etc will be when I finally launch my project and likely be met with indifference, tribulations, and probably worse. Will I still be content? Will I double down to do what I need to to "succeed"? Will I compromise on anything? Should I compromise? Etc

All I know is that I live in what could be considered poverty, even by local standards, but am happy, healthy, fulfilled, tranquil, and sleep well. I don't think you could pay me any amount to go work on anything else, let alone just some "job". Even if I received an immense salary, I'd just do it for a few months and come back to this.

To anyone who finds any of this interesting, or is considering something like quitting their job to travel (digital nomad or otherwise), I'll just say that wherever you go, there you are. You have to learn to be content on your own. Moreover the secret to life is to get involved with the sorrows of the world, with joy.

I'm happy to answer questions if anyone has any