Living abroad and being nomadic has many perks. The nomadic lifestyle also comes with a few downsides, and one of them is loneliness. If you feel a bit lonely and would like to finally join a digital nomad community, here’s how to build your Internet tribe online and offline.
Moving to a new place is exciting – but how do you actually make friends as a digital nomad? That’s exactly what we will discuss in this blog post.
Before we start, there’s one thing to keep in mind when moving to a new destination – is it digital nomad friendly? And more importantly, is there a digital nomad community there? If there is – it’s going to make your life easy!
For example, destinations like Chiang Mai (Thailand) or Canggu (Bali) are full of digital nomads, and therefore, it’s super easy to make friends there. These destinations also offer coliving accommodation which means you could live with other digital nomads.
Benefits of Joining the Digital Nomad Community
There are several benefits of joining an online community of like-minded people. Here are some main ones that are worth mentioning:
- Networking – Digital nomads community is all about networking! Getting to know people who also work online while traveling is a great opportunity to share your personal and business experiences with one another. You can share your travel experiences, the best countries for digital nomads but also productivity apps or your favorite software for project management. Feedback, advice, or help with a project can help both of you to get to know each other better but also to collaborate with some elements of your business. Read more about conferences and networking events.
- Help – Living in a new city may be challenging and you can feel overwhelmed in the beginning. By joining a community of people who’ve lived there or still living there, you can ask for helpful tips on local accommodation, places to eat, great cafes or co-working spaces to work from and also visas or documentation you need for starting your life in the foreign country. Fellow digital nomads will be happy to share their general knowledge about the city and working life, so you don’t make the same mistakes as they did when they moved over and started their business.
- No more loneliness – traveling can get lonely sometimes, and that’s why it’s great to be surrounded by people who support and get you! Join the digital nomad community to start co-working with others whether that’s online or meeting up in a cafe. This way you can increase your productivity and you will always have a person or people to talk to.Â
How to Join the Digital Nomad Community?
Are you moving to a new city in a country you’ve never been to and you are not sure how to connect and find a community in the new environment? Are you location independent and want to expand your online community of like-minded digital nomads?
Keep on reading!
There are many communities out there, and the more you join, the better for you.
Websites, Facebook groups, or even apps are the main sources of information and community for digital nomads.
You can find both global nomad groups to join, but also digital nomad communities in specific locations. So let’s say you are moving to Hoi An in Vietnam, you can search on Facebook for digital nomads in Hoi An or expats in Hoi An and join the group like ‘Hoi An Digital Nomads’ with a few hundred members.
If you choose another popular digital nomad’s destination like Chiang Mai, join FB group ‘Chiang Mai Digital Nomads’ which has tens of thousands of members or ‘Chiang Mai Expats’ group. Obviously, the more members in a group, the more you’ll find people to connect with.Â
Every time I move to a new location, I make a quick search on Facebook and I join a few groups. It’s the best way to find out more about what’s going on, what and when are the meetups, and what kind of events you can find in the area.
You can target expats, digital nomads, or entrepreneurship words.
6 Online Digital Nomad Communities Great for Networking
- Nomad List is one of the largest online communities of digital nomads. This global platform is an amazing tool when looking for the best places to move into with their fun filters! Although, it is also a huge community of like-minded people with whom you can keep in touch and share experiences through tens of Slack channels on various topics. Membership costs $99/year and you get access to useful information!
- Digital Nomad Community is a global social network that offers digital nomad forums, courses, location-independent business blueprints, jobs and many more! Become a member of this community with lifetime access for $57 and grow your network.
- Global Digital Nomad Network – Free Facebook group for digital nomads who want to connect with fellow remote workers. You can find useful insights on the best locations, the newest marketing hacks, potential business collaborations and personal stories of traveling entrepreneurs. Powered by Nomad Cruise and Homebase.
- Digital Nomads Hub – Facebook community for digital nomads to exchange hints and tips while working remotely. Over 20000 members equal a lot of new friends and knowledge!
- Digital Nomads Around the World – Another Facebook group showing how it is like to live the digital nomad lifestyle and be part of a community of like-minded people. Sharing experiences and knowledge is the key for this group.
- Nomad Life 101 – This is our unique Facebook group for digital nomad beginners and aspiring entrepreneurs who are ready to get started as digital nomads.
Bonus Tip to Make Digital Nomad Friends Faster
Coworking and Co-living spaces are the ideal places to meet fellow digital nomads and to network the heck out of the place! Having an offline community is also very important.
We already spend so much time in front of our dear laptops so having an offline social life is great.
If you also feel like you could do with some good holiday vibes, check out these digital nomad retreats that are organized all over the world.
Final Thoughts On The Best Digital Nomad Communities
Feeling like you belong to the digital nomad community will be of great help so that you don’t feel homesick, and that you can make digital nomad friends abroad.
Searching for more digital nomad inspiration? Read one of the following blog posts:
