The Truth About Being A Digital Nomad and Dealing With Loneliness

Instagram will have you believe that digital nomads spend their days hanging out in beach huts and donkey farms but it’s not all rainbows and butterflies. 

A couple of months ago, I was in my apartment doing a “rush” project for a client. I was super excited about the project because we were aiming for a five figure launch. 

But very quickly it became super stressful.

I had less than a week to deliver the work and write up 3 launch email sequences. The stress and the pressure of doing a good job made it soooo overwhelming and at the time I had no one to turn to for support.

After the project was over I went to the Boss Babe community to ask them for advice. And it went like this… 

It was the most vulnerable post I’ve ever written and I wasn’t expecting anyone to comment.

I had 71 comments from people sharing their stories from all walks of life. 

I was shocked that so many people could relate to me. What I had to say struck a chord in a community of ambitious women. And this is when everything changed for me. 

One lady mentioned that she felt the community vibe in Bali but many of her friends have had similar problems because when you make friends they are only there for a couple of months and then they are gone again. That sucks right?

But she said that she had heard good things about Porto in Portugal, Puerto Rico, and Costa Rica…which got me thinking. 

So I opened up my mind about the possibility of traveling to Lisbon, Porto, and other places around the world.

But there was one problem.

I didn’t have anyone to travel with and I was apprehensive about traveling alone. I knew that I wanted to travel with like-minded people but I didn’t know HOW to find people to travel with. 

One day I was scrolling through my Facebook feed and I came across a post: A 3 week trip from Lisbon to Marseille with 9 other digital nomads. Say whaaat? How was this even possible? This was everything I was looking for and I felt like the universe was listening to me. 

So on a melancholic whim, I booked the trip. I didn’t know anyone going. I didn’t know how it would work but I knew that it was right.

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I guess you could say that it was soul alignment. I’d thought about Lisbon a lot and it was in my peripheral and this felt like synchronicity.

My loneliness had gotten really bad up to that point. I’d go to a dance class, meet up with a friend for coffee once a week but it wasn’t enough. I was dealing with the passing of my dad and I felt like I didn’t have anyone to turn to or grieve too. 

My mental health was suffering. I felt like my soul was dying because I was that lonely. I had no reason to stay in the UK and every reason to travel, meet new people, and explore other cultures and communities. 

I didn’t want to go through the winter soaking in sadness and self-pity. I wanted to THRIVE and know that I was making the most out of life.

Fast forward to a month shy later: I’m sitting on my sofa reflecting on the trip and my heart is bursting with love and gratitude. I had the best time ever traveling around Europe. I made life-long friends and I feel like this is the beginning of a new adventure. 

Not only did we stay in the most beautiful houses in the mountains. (At one point we had the view of Africa from the house – f’real!)

But the talks were real and the laughs were hard. 

If you’re dealing with loneliness as a digital nomad and you’re looking to connect and travel with other like-minded people, check out the trips with the Nomad Escapes. It’ll open more doors, pathways, opportunities, friendships than you can ever imagine.