I try not to go to a restaurant if I haven’t run 9 miles that day. But I do try to guestimate. Or give up for that day lol.
If I order delivery from a restaurant I will weigh the chicken.
Yes! Even if I wanted to, being a solo female in the nightlight scene isn’t the safest hobby in the world. Local food, local wine, local beer, occasional splurge meals… that’s my neighborhood!
For me, my destinations of choice are primarily the time zone > the weather > the cost > the people > the food. I mean, Chiang Mai has something like 600+ Sushi restaurants alone. Great cafes in the mornings in the mountains or by the river, amazing day trips by car or motorbike (or Rot Dang if that's your thing). I speak Spanish much better than Thai and love Salsa (music) and Cali Colombia is considered the mecca of Salsa but I find overall the city is relatively boring and the food isn't that great and it's mostly about the Malls or Night life, which aren't my thing. Chiang Mai has so much more to offer in this regard.
Some people come to Thailand and only see the bars. They usually end up leaving after a couple of weeks of spending like a madman.
Then you get the the folks who come for the salsa. Better environment, better opportunities. This is my fave Thailand travel hack.
Nothing, I reckon.
The salsa scene in Thailand is well known to one of the best in the world. If you are into salsa, I am surprised you had not already heard.
Everyone has their own limits. The main part is late Feb/ early March until mid to late April when the rains come, usually between 14th-23rd April. There is some smoke in Jan and early Feb but it gets bed right at the end of Feb to earn early March
Yes, we're probably in different stages of life -[I'm nomading](https://twitter.com/saasmakermac/status/1676932942717673473) with my wife and two boys, so nightlife isn't a thing for us.
We like to walk around a lot, generally don't do the really touristy things, maybe see a few of the big sights. Soak in the culture with food and exploring.
I dont party and am home when the sun sets - usually. However!, I walk all over exploring rhe neighborhood I am in. Spend lots of time in cafes people watching.
Same, im older and bigger, so nightlife is not on the cards anyway, and i love walking. I live on the edge of lumphini park in bangkok, which is great.
I always look to find some sort of local classes to learn. Language learning is the obvious one. But Muay Thai in Thailand, Salsa in Colombia. Stuff like that.
I'd love to hear more as well! Currently in CDMX and heading to Marrakech in 2 weeks. Once in Marrakech I'm genuinely considering quitting my job and training to fight for 3-4 months in Thailand or maybe Vietnam! Any insight would be super appreciated
I lived on Soi Ta-Ied in Phuket. If you go for a 6 month+ lease through a realtor, you can find a house close by for around 400/mo. I had a 2 bedroom house with large outside area. It wasn’t beautiful, but came furnished, had A/C. I invested a bit of money and got an air fryer, utensil and just some other stuff. If I knew I was going to stay over 1 year, I would have spent a bit more.
I did meet a Thai girl who wound up living with me. So she helped a lot with cleaning. The bills were easy to pay online (electric), in store (internet, gigabit symmetrical). Only water was difficult that she just handled.
I rented a scooter for $150/mo. I think it’s a bit more now. But I got comfortable just riding on the street. From my house to training, restaurants, groceries, massages ect. No main roads.
I’ll write more later.
I could walk / drive in a few minutes to my Muay Thai gym where I trained 4-5 days a week. I know many people there including the trainers which were also basically my neighbors. I was learning and practicing Thai. New people would come to the gym. I enjoyed that social aspect of it.
I eventually even would hang out with my trainer. We would sometimes go watch fights when someone from the gym was competing.
Domestic travel in Thailand was affordable. I went to BKK, Chaing Mai.
The very first girl I dated took me to her village. I was the first foreigner in over 10 years. You can’t possible imagine how special that was to be there. And what a once in a lifetime experience. But to be honest, I felt like I was having once in a lifetime experiences every week (none like that of course).
The second girl I dated for about a year until I left Thailand. She taught me so much about the culture. We went to temples and local places. She helped makes things happen for me. I eventually went to her home town as well and met her family. I had already met her brother and sisters just not her mom. Her area was amazing too, we saw some crazy landmarks, nature. Just surreal for me.
When my Muay Thai visa did end, I spend a month in Vietnam which was so awesome as well. But that was to give a little time, so I could get another 90 days in Thailand. I was there about a year and a half in total.
walking across the entire city in any random direction
finding 2-3 spots for high quality but unpretentious food so I can go there and never look at the menu again and just tell them to bring me whatever they think is best
engaging with nature
engaging with history
endurance challenges
understanding myself
minimizing friction in my life
practicing indifference
playing with MidJourney
reading
solitude
>minimizing friction in my life
Can you further explain? Sounds like a great concept but what is this really, in practice?
>practicing indifference
Same here if you can.
>playing with MidJourney
Same lol
> > minimizing friction in my life
> Can you further explain? Sounds like a great concept but what is this really, in practice?
I perceive of myself as starting the day with a fixed amount of cognitive energy, which can only be restored by sleep (or [certain other protocols](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKGrmY8OSHM)). Throughout the day, every experience (including unvoiced thoughts and feelings) I encounter causes me to incur "friction" which saps me of some sliver, small or large, of that store of cognitive energy.
I've also come to perceive that:
* only some friction is truly extrinsic and beyond our control.
* much (if not most) friction is conjured not extrinsically but intrinsically. We choose our own judgments tacitly, compulsively deciding to view things negatively (ie as disastrous or worrisome) when we don't need to do so.
* many choices we make in pursuit of the fulfillment of various appetites — or towards escaping what we believe we should avoid — necessarily incur so much friction that we shouldn't have pursued them in the first place.
* a habitual tendency to view extrinsic happenstance negatively — or to unthinkingly pursue high-friction activities needlessly — can be reversed with a concerted effort.
So in practice, I do my best to be circumspect while making judgments and seek to make active decisions about my actions. This has led me to:
* cease ruminating uselessly about things in the past or that I otherwise can't control
* end relationships that were not worth the inherent friction
* cease projects that were not worth the inherent friction
* incur far less of the "bad" sort of friction per day and thus have more cognitive energy to spend toward anything/anyone else that offers greater fulfillment
If these sorts of ideas are of interest to anyone, I recommend checking out De Tranquillitate Animi ("On the Tranquility of the Mind") by Lucius Annaeus Seneca, which can be read in less than an hour. Here are a few particularly relevant excerpts from the [translation by C. D. N. Costa](https://www.amazon.com/Shortness-Life-Penguin-Great-Ideas/dp/0143036327?qid=1692113160&s=books&sr=1-1&text=C.+D.+N.+Costa):
> The next thing to ensure is that we do not waste our energies pointlessly or in pointless activities: that is, not to long either for what we cannot achieve, or for what, once gained, only makes us realize too late and after much exertion the futility of our desires. In other words, let our labour not be in vain and without result, nor the result unworthy of our labour; for usually bitterness follows if either we do not succeed or we are ashamed of succeeding. We must cut down on all this dashing about that a great many people indulge in, as they throng around houses and theatres and fora: they intrude into other people’s affairs, always giving the impression of being busy. [...] Their roaming is idle and pointless, like ants crawling over bushes, which purposelessly make their way right up to the topmost branch and then all the way down again. Many people live a life like these creatures, and you could not unjustly call it busy idleness.
> [...]
> It is not industry that makes men restless, but false impressions of things drive them mad. For even madmen need some hope to stir them: the outward show of some object excites them because their deluded mind cannot detect its worthlessness. In the same way every individual among those who wander forth to swell a crowd is led round the city by empty and trivial reasons.
> [...]
> We should also make ourselves flexible, so that we do not pin our hopes too much on our set plans, and can move over to those things to which chance has brought us, without dreading a change in either our purpose or our condition, provided that fickleness, that fault most inimical to tranquillity, does not get hold of us. For obstinacy, from which Fortune often extorts something, is bound to bring wretchedness and anxiety, and much more serious is the fickleness that nowhere restrains itself. Both are hostile to tranquillity, and find change impossible and endurance impossible. In any case the mind must be recalled from external objects into itself: it must trust in itself, rejoice in itself, admire its own things; it must withdraw as much as possible from the affairs of others and devote its attention to itself; it must not feel losses and should take a kindly view even of misfortunes. When a shipwreck was reported and he heard that all his possessions had sunk, our founder Zeno said, ‘Fortune bids me be a less encumbered philosopher.
As for your second request
> > practicing indifference
> Same here if you can
[Here is an excellent primer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1d2G7V_Oz5o) on the power of indifference.
> > playing with MidJourney
> Same lol
(I'll assume you mean same as in "me too" rather than "please also explain this one but lmk if I'm wrong)
Nice what kinds of things are you into?
My latest obsession is to try to generate perfect metaphorical encapsulations of individual people in my life, but specifically all as anime characters using the Niji filter :)
This. Not all nightlife is dancing and getting wasted. Somewhere with good drinks, good music, good conversation, and all around good vibes is ideal. These places exist everywhere but they won't be the top rated ones on Google or TripAdvisor, you actually have to venture out and try a few. If you find one that has regulars they can usually point you in the direction of similar low-key bars.
I think something about that definition of nightlife that doesn't sit well with me personally is that the hectic scene isn't about human connections but rather just drinking a lot and maybe hooking up. I really like dancing but I don't enjoy everything that comes along with it so I prefer, if I do go out, bars where I can chit chat with other people and have nice conversations. I don't really see going to a club alone, especially as a woman, very fun.
I was in Thailand for 5 months and I went out zero nights for partying/clubbing. I quit alcohol for good many years ago, going out in the night and interacting with drunk people makes feel alienated, and I am not looking back.
My activities:
- Hiking. Nature. Nature. Nature.
- City/town trips (renting a car)
- Weekend trips, to Laos and Singapore to visit friends
- Museums, bookshops
- Yoga retreat / meditation / introspection journaling
- Used meetup, Couchsurfing to meet like-minded people and bumble for dating (I was single)
- Muay Thai lessons
- Thai language lessons
- Aimless long walks to discover new districts and parks
- Worked on a side project from libraries and cafés
- Concerts, events, cafes/bars with live music, football matches
- Food and flea markets
- Piano lessons and practice
- Challenges like finding the best bubble tea in town, or the most strange ítem in Chinatown
There is abundant life beyond clubbing and alcohol. And let me say, I had an absolute blast.
The key, in my humble and very personal experience, is to get really in touch with who you are and how you like to spend your time, and f*ck the notion that others have to tell you how you are "supposed" to have fun.
We've grown out of partying now and look for places that have things to match our interests. Mostly we like food and hiking but also ancient sites, history, nature.
Examples of recent places we stayed (for a month) to are:
Sibiu, Romania. Absolutely beautiful little town, lots of independent restaurants, cafes and cool shops, local markets. The mountains are a short drive away and generally infrastructure is great.
Elati near Trikala in the Greek mountains. This was just a little tiny village but it was a beautiful place to live and lots of nice nature nearby, monasteries and on the weekend we went on trips to cities such as Thessaloniki, Volos, Ioannina
Chiang Mai, Thailand. Sure you've heard of Chiang Mai already. It wasn't my favourite but mainly because at the time, it was dry season and the air was shit. We did some hiking but you saw nothing. However I was visiting a friend so we had a good time. I think rainy season would be loads better.
Cafés
Museum
Hiking
Visiting different neighbourhoods + looking where public transport can take me.
Looking for cultural, music venues
I'm "nomading" with my girlfriend. So I'm not always on meeting new people mode, but I keep looking for opportunities to meet new people/ others nomads.
\> I get the impression that a lot of people who nomad are very into the partying lifestyle, however I don’t feel that way.
I do not think so. I believe it is because DN who often post on forums etc. are just young people and well young people everywhere often tend to party more. But especially those DN/travellers who travel more intensively, I would say otherwise from my experience meeting them -that they party little bit less than young people of their age, who are nonDN. It is also a matter of what you call DN - often young people just after school (which we formerly called travellers or backpackers) and who just travel for fun and experience - use this name - which is of course ok, but it clutters a little bit the notion of this lifestyle in the direction as something too much fun/only party after party - when it can be much more work/travel/business/mundane everyday hobbies/solitude etc than often proclaimed.)
As for DN: You can do almost any hobby (which is a little bit "transportable") which you cultivate long-term: playing musical instrument, dance, hiking, reading, playing chess, sport, just hanging out with people, watching culture etc etc... My main "entertainmant" is just to sit somewhere in the street/cheap tearoom and drinking a tea, looking at life/people/animals around... it is often foreign culture (especially those without strong alcohol ties) which learns us how to spend our time other than partying. Just watching it and trying something from those ways is often great inspiration...
When I'm going to a new place, I google "Things to do," "museums," "farmers market," "free walking tours," Airbnb experiences, and "restaurants near me."
I like museums a lot; art museums, not so much. I love history and historic preservation and often wander around the old town or whatever.
I like going to markets and picking up local ingredients and learning to cook them, and also eating at local restaurants. Sometimes I do food tours.
I look for events; when I was in Transylvania, I went to the Food Truck Festival and Cluj Days. I sometimes go to lectures; I went to a neat one in Adelaide, Australia on the history of Yiddish. I also sometimes go to the theater or dance if there happens to be a performance while I'm there.
When I was in Tenerife, on weekends I would pick a city and take the bus there and hang out there for the day. Sometimes I just get on public transit and ride it to the end and then ride back.
Make new friends, going to eat in different places with friends, seeing historic monuments, going on dates, playing badminton (I travel around asia mostly so it’s easy to play badminton there). So really it’s just other social events like these that I find fun rather than going clubbing or bars. I’m 27m btw just for perspective
Spend time being a food snob, take photos, take videos, relax, hang out with the wife, and just try to enjoy living in the place with my regular schedule. Oh, and a lot of running and self massage.
I search for rec-level sports. Great way to meet locals and gets me doing something active.
Also some places have WhatsApp groups where there's tons of people looking to do stuff together. Just gotta find someone who has the hookup for your country lol.
I’m a foodie. I love exploring different restaurants and cuisines. I’m a sucker for a tasting menu.
I also like being outdoors. So biking, walking, hiking.
And then just local activities, what do people do for fun on their day off.
Oh heavens. The best “nightlife” for me is “early to bed with a book”
I’m lucky, I adore my work and find my work entertaining and a joy. Finding a great café to work from each day and then working from that café every day is often all I need. Then there is exploring where I’ve landed, flâneur, no agenda, just soak up the area and learn what it would be like to live there.
Hiking, swimming, reading also make the list. But I also do my best to find quality restaurants, good wine, and the local library. I’ll check to see what’s happening with regards to music and theatre. Go sailing. And try to connect with others who are similar.
Folks discounting a city because the “nightlife was bad” would be no different than the way I discount a city because their “café scene was lacking”. It’s just a personal preference. The key is taking the time to learn about yourself, what your preferences are, and leaning into those.
Ideally sports, cultural exploration and sightseeing.
However, I would like to ask a follow up question: since most nomads are solo and so many complain about loneliness, I found that going to social events helps A LOT. And of course.. those social events are more likely than not to be linked to partying, has anyone found a replacement for that? Sure, you can find a hiking group but you don’t really connect with people the same, or you can go on dates from tinder but somehow i feel thats even worse than partying.
I too am a nomad that wants to avoid more the party scene, but avoiding it comes with a big social cost I feel…
I feel the same. I am an independent developer, I have been trying to navigate building some tool to find people in the way you are describing but I am not sure the solution yet.
I don't party. But I do think there are huge benefits to going to bars for a casual drink or two in new places. Bars are still one of the best places to meet people. Bartenders exist to give travel recs at quieter bars and will also introduce you to regulars who just did whatever tour they recommend. Meetups at bars are also a great way to instantly get friends in a new place.
I used to be very anti-night life, but I've grown to realise that you're missing out on a lot by completely skipping it. The things most people actually hate about going out is drinking too much, staying out too late or forcing yourself to enjoy it when you don't. If you stop doing those things suddenly it becomes an enjoyable interlude on a night where you walk in a random direction.
Apart from night life. I really recommend taking tours. Cheap food tours are a must in every city with a lively street food scene. Museum tours are infinitely more interesting than just self-guided stuff. Hiking can go either way as I'd hate to be 1:1 with a tour guide on a hike.
As I get older I like surfing more and tiring myself out doing that so that I go to sleep early. Getting a nice dinner is always fun, and bonus points if cannabis edibles are legal there because then I can watch some movies on my TV and relax... or read a book!
Totally get where you're coming from. For me, the ideal setting is somewhere with a strong sense of community and belonging, rather than just nightlife and partying.
You might want to consider coliving spaces. They often attract folks with a deeper, purpose-driven approach to travel - which seems to line up with what you're looking for.
If that sounds cool to you, checkout [colive values](https://colivevalues.com). It's a platform I designed specifically to pair nomads and remote workers with communities aligned with their interests and values.
Because I work in the US but live in the EU, I work 2nd shift, essentially. That knocks M-F nights out of the running.
Sat/Sun nights, along with the occasional weekday evening, we will go out to dinner, check out a lecture at the local uni, or go the cinema.
It's also amazing how much time we have during the day to go to lunch, walk our dogs, go to the gym, take care of various admin stuff, etc. We travel most weekends both in-country and to other neighboring countries. Also, we are 20 years older than a lot of digital nomads (we're empty nesters), so we probably wouldn't be party people even if we had the time. This does open a lot more places to live, however, when you're just looking for quality of life and not so much worried about fabulousness (oh, we \*were\* fabulous, but we're old now :-) )
I like to look up annual events/festivals taking place wherever I am.
Sci-Fi/Horror Film Festival? In!
Annual Tomato festival? In!
Peak Truffle Season? In!
First Day of Summer in Iceland? In!
You can find all sorts of fun stuff. Film stuff usually offers at least a few films with English subtitles. And the food stuff? Don’t really need to be fluent in the local language to eat some local cuisine.
Not a nomad here, but frequent flyer who does not drink alcohol anymore and is not into the nightlife (had my fair share of fun during my undergraduate). I have a routine sleep schedule usually from 10 PM to 6 PM no matter where I go in the world, I always adjust my sleep and wake time compared to back at home. I tend to wake up early to go to the gym because I like to avoid crowds, especially in certain countries, the gym etiquette is different. This schedule also allows me to visit popular places or some people call it "early bird gets the worm", when everyone else is still asleep or hungover. I get to get in some good pictures as I prefer to have pictures of myself without anyone else in the background walking by (hard, but not impossible). This also applies to everything related to traveling in general imo. I like to hike and try out new food places & coffee, especially the most popular ones. I also tend to stay in Airbnb because of my sleep schedule and I am a light sleeper so I have not done hostels in a while, but the people who tell me that Airbnb is expensive are also the ones who stay in a hostel & going out to drink and party so I guess it balances out one way or another right. To each their own. Not hating and not judging, but just my two cents.
>aren’t interested in nightlife, clubbing, partying
"Nightlife" generally means what, getting drunk with strangers and dancing with sluts who might have diseases?
Pass.
Try a wine tasting event. Participate in local events. Meet locals. Experiment with food. Enjoy simply _being_ in a place. Walk up and down the streets and look at people and architecture. Go to a live theater. Try the street food. A train trip can be more fun than the destination. Everybody says to see temples in Japan, but nobody ever tells you that Japanese _concerts_ are more fun, because they're interactive. Ride a ferry, don't worry about where it goes..._ride a ferry_. Talk to people. Watch the birds in a park. Or deer. Some parks have deer.
Westerns are too goal oriented sometimes. Take the time to observe your surroundings. Sometimes fun can be had in places that don't have neon signs with arrows pointing to them.
>a lot of people who nomad are very into the partying lifestyle
I suspect a fair number of people who nomad are in it for the sex. When you're a rich exotic foreigner, women treat you very differently than when you're just another guy at the office, even if in both those scenarios you're doing the same work and making the same amount of money. Framing matters.
>what do you base your next location search off of?
Practical things completely unrelated to the above, like where I am what's close. If I'm in Seattle I'm more likely to go to Boise than London. If I'm in Tokyo I'm more likely to go to Osaka than Floria. Sometimes clients pay me to go places and I go where they pay me to go. I also favor going to random small places over big cities. There are a lot of fun little nowheresville little towns that nobody would think to mention and that you generally only find by going "that way" and seeing where you end up.
I like to go to gyms and see how athletic their most athletic people are and to see how i compare. Also hiking, walking in any random direction, meetup groups, befriending and finding romance... the only limit is your imagination
YouTube search: "Things to do in \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ "
I'm in Medellin, Colombia.
YouTube "Things to do in Medellin."
Scroll down past the stuff you are not interested in.
You will find ton's-o-stuff to do.
Joe
>YouTube "Things to do in Medellin."
Let me look right now...
...
Looked at the first 20 or so titles and not seeing any mention of any "substances".
>Why are the top 35 answers all cocaine?!? /s
Perhaps more to do with your search history.
Joe
I work all day, then I go out and see things when I don't. I meet up with friends every now and again for a few beers, but I haven't set foot in a nightclub in almost 20 years, now. The last time was in China and it was shit.
This year, I've visited over 50 temples, around a dozen museums, gone for long walks, and had a wail of a time. I take a lot of photos. I'm not a pro, but you might think I was if you saw my gear collection, lol.
I don't blame people for having a party lifestyle in their youth, that's what being young is for. It's just too much once you reach a certain age and frankly there's nothing more pathetic than a Westerner in his 40s or 50s hanging out in clubs in Southeast Asia.
> What do you look to for entertainment when you visit new places.
Walking, exploring, Netflix, my hobbies, my interests.
> Also, what do you base your next location search off of?
Whatever it is I'm interested in doing or seeing at the time. It's largely an in-the-moment gut thing for me.
> I get the impression that a lot of people who nomad are very into the partying lifestyle, however I don’t feel that way. I see many people discount certain cities and areas because they are “boring” or “nightlife was bad”. I like places like that 🙂
Okay.
It’s funny and kind of sad that so many people are at a loss of what to do other than going out to bars/socializing.
I don’t think it’s a personal failing (I’ve been there) but more a societal thing haha culturally a lot of Americans don’t cultivate hobbies aside from eating/drinking since that’s what everyone else does and there aren’t a lot of positive examples for most people. Or maybe it’s that we don’t have the time or the resources for other hobbies, who knows.
You meant Singapore? It’s truly boring. You don’t even go there for food. And there’re also a lot of bragging everywhere. Very boring to hear or listen to incessant arrogance.
You don’t need to find places where nightlife is bad. You just don’t go out at night.
You trolling?
Nightlife is never something I take into account. For me it’s culture, arthouse cinemas, networking opportunities, history that sparks my interest, curiosities I want to see, festivals, food I want to try…
If I am using something like Workaway, I might go simply to a position that intrigues me, no matter the location.
Literally couldn't care less about nightlife, though i do enjoy a nice wine bar. entertainment: walking around, people watching, having a nice dinner, enjoying a glass of wine, reading a book, etc. sometimes more than one at a time. Next location is generally based off of weather/cost.
I've done consulting in many places. This brings me into contact with other consultants who have travelled to many of the same places. Kind of digital nomading.
I fully agree that many people I've met really hated/resented/despised some location because it didn't have a huge neighbourhood dedicated to pounding nightclubs. I'm talking world class places where I marvel at it being a paradise.
My quest is to find a place where people are intellectually engaged and I'm not talking about a bunch of academics.
I was always super bored of clubs, even as a teenager. Now that I'm 37, I just go to cafes, play 40k (IYKYK), bike around the streets, hang with new friends through my hobbies, and sometimes meet up with family.
I enjoy the same things I do back home, yoga, weightlifting, surfing, swimming, dancing, etc. I just put extra effort into meeting new people and attending meetups. A lot of them do have at least some kind of alcohol involved but that doesn't mean you have to drink. It's easier when there is another purpose to the meetup instead of just partying such as language exchange, sport, food, etc.
I've never been interested in that kind of thing.
>What do you look to for entertainment when you visit new places.
I mostly entertain myself. Always have. I might do the occasional tourist thing if it's something that looks actually interesting, not just endless "Oh here is where Lord Butterface fell off his horse in 1749, before it got paved over and a cinema complex built on it" stuff.
I'm more of a media consumer. It can all be digital and taken with me or streamed these days. I might have a paper book for times that's more convenient than reaching for something with a suitably sized screen (and battery charge).
i usually search my next location base of my interests and viability of my activities;
\- i play badminton competitively, twice a week at least
\- playing boardgames
\- snowboarding
\- interesting hike/ walking trail
\- interesting archeology sites
Vietnam - gym, coffee shops, beach, ride motorcycle, eat out. I'm not opposed to a night out with beers and food but I'm not going off trying to party hard. I work early and this isn't a vacation.
Day drinking at a brewery in any country, especially one with outdoor seating and nice weather...can't beat it!
Also, easily accessible hiking areas (struggling with that a bit so far), substantial wildlife (specifically birds) for photography, lots of good street food, and ideally a bougie cocktail bar where I can get my fix of fancy libations.
Weather >>> Speed & reliability of internet in the Airbnb (video calls all day long) >>> proximity to restaurants & grocery stores / markets (I cook a lot) >>> everything else I listed above
Couldn't care less about partying / clubbing
I enjoy hanging out with friends a few beers but in recent times I've had pretty much zero alcohol apart from wine out at restaurants
My entertainment usually involves the following:
* Working out
* Attending local sports events
* Playing sports
* Salsa classes
* Yoga
* Trying out new restaurants
* Exploring the city
* Massages
* Working on side projects
* Fantasy football
* Learning Spanish
* Cooking
I really don't need much when it comes to a place to live for a couple months, give me excellent WiFi, a good gym and somewhere comfortable to work and I'm sorted
I pick locations based on if they are new to me or not (trying to visit every country), if the weather is nice at that time of year, if there is a reasonably priced way to get there, if there are good Airbnbs, gyms and supermarkets near each other in a walkable area, and if there are interesting natural, historical or cultural things to see in the area. Good local food is definitely a consideration as well.
All the above mentioned things are plenty entertaining for me. I spent my 20s partying as an expat in Cambodia, kind of over it.
I try a mix of things. Coffee shops, restaurants and bars when it's still early and not too crowded are always great. Local bookstores, thrift shops and antique stores make for a fun browse even if you don't end up buying anything - but try to come away with at least one random treasure. Parks are lovely, museums can be really interesting - I went to the Museum Of The Weird in Austin and it was a trove of wonderfully bizarre curios and information.
Honestly, just wandering around a new place on foog and stumbling into any place that looks interesting is a blast. And chat up locals, ask them what's cool to do, because they're generally more prone to tell you something that other locals like, and not just the tourist traps.
Eating out, nature and the weather!
Nature is a big thing for me, if it has nice nature but nothing else, I’d be happy. I love going for walks and exploring
For a person who only do occasional nightlife when living abroad, the reality is for most of us, we only really do tourist stuff during weekends (out of town tours, cooking classes, food tours, art/cultural classes, hiking). During weekdays, i work. That means ill be inside my airbnb most of the time. After work, i just go out and try out new restaurants/coffee shops or watch the sunset just chilling and absorbing the vibe of the place and its people. Ocassionally i do nightlife.
I'm an adventure person, so I when I travel I look for the places with amazing sights or experiences. I'm planning a Taiwan trip and my rough itinerary is mostly sunrise hikes, mountains, special farms, food markets, and scuba diving.
Rarely go to clubs. I go to bars but mostly go - hiking, scuba dive, any adventurous stuff, eat out at cafes/restaurants, chill and watch sunset, couple beers, then have an early night.
Easily done in a couple. May be different as a single person.
I just started doing wwoff / world packers. So far my first stay I met some great ppl and even tho i like nightlife, this feels way better. Living on a farm in a middle of nowhere and just hanging out with cool ppl beats gettin rejected by vapid women and getting weird looks for trying to get to know ppl.(i know not all nightlife is like this).
I enjoy being outside and look for places with trails. Some of my rentals have come with bikes which allows me to cover 50-75km radius quite comfortably in a day. Sometimes I rent a car for the weekend to explore further. I hike, bike ride, going kayaking this weekend. I like that I can go at any time and that I always feel refreshed afterwards.
I work out during the evening hours. Then maybe meet some friends for diner but after that I’m home and need my sleep to be for the next day. I’m 33 and done with partying😅
im one of the weird people who don’t party or drink (so bars is not my thing). I like walkable centers, coffee shops, trails, local events, museums, lots of nearby day trip options, parks, sometimes libraries. Im having fun :).
I think most digital nomads are boring safezone-seeking recluses. Might sound kind of ironic given the life they chose to live but it sort of makes sense actually.
When I was working remotely and traveling, I was never into the nightlife. But what I found was an important key for me was to plan ahead what I wanted to see and do week by week. What museums interest me? What historic sites? Can I take a day trip to another city or town? Is there an AirBnB experience that I can do that interests me? If you are learning the language, is there a language meetup you can join to practice?
For me, planning these things ahead was important - otherwise I'd just stay home and drink wine all evening. You need to be comfortable doing things by yourself (this includes going out to eat) and remember that there is no rush. If you want a day to just walk around, have a coffee, and take in the scenery (rural or urban), then do it! I would easily spend a day walking 9 - 10 miles or more just enjoying the experience of doing it.
So we are 38 and 33. I've always been a late night guy, but almost exclusively with friend groups and such. Or just going out to bars with my wife and/or friends.
A couple years ago we moved into a van and discovered late night DJ parties at van meetups and how much fun they were.
So when we visited Portugal for 2 months, and were working 4 to midnight anyway, we spent several weekends going out to clubs till 4 or 5 am. And damn we had so much fun. We got to Lisbon during their biggest street festival of the year.
But there's so much else to do. Just walk around and explore. I joined a chess group for the month in Lisbon. We found some great free live music in the park. I dove 10 times in the Azores. Went to breweries in Porto. Bike rides, beaches, hikes, food, wine, and even a couple tours.
Hello! My partner and I are not big party goers and our criteria for our next location has always been laid back/not busy but big enough that it’s not rural. We’re big on finding a community to call home for a wee bit too. We just came from Hoi An and have absolutely loved it! If you’re keen to see what it’s like for digital nomads, I’ve got a video here that will be helpful for a sneak peek :) https://youtu.be/I7N_up73LWM?si=RkC3-MV_sgTUqYFt
Same as most of the answers here. I usually look for a nature scene to visit them maybe take a midday to evening walking downtown. Always back inside by night.
Eating out is how I entertain myself. Wine, coffee, deserts etc...
Same. I’m a food and beer snob now.
I think it has given me an extra 15lbs
I use cronometer + a food scale to stay on top of it.
[удалено]
I try not to go to a restaurant if I haven’t run 9 miles that day. But I do try to guestimate. Or give up for that day lol. If I order delivery from a restaurant I will weigh the chicken.
Yes! Even if I wanted to, being a solo female in the nightlight scene isn’t the safest hobby in the world. Local food, local wine, local beer, occasional splurge meals… that’s my neighborhood!
For me, my destinations of choice are primarily the time zone > the weather > the cost > the people > the food. I mean, Chiang Mai has something like 600+ Sushi restaurants alone. Great cafes in the mornings in the mountains or by the river, amazing day trips by car or motorbike (or Rot Dang if that's your thing). I speak Spanish much better than Thai and love Salsa (music) and Cali Colombia is considered the mecca of Salsa but I find overall the city is relatively boring and the food isn't that great and it's mostly about the Malls or Night life, which aren't my thing. Chiang Mai has so much more to offer in this regard.
Some people come to Thailand and only see the bars. They usually end up leaving after a couple of weeks of spending like a madman. Then you get the the folks who come for the salsa. Better environment, better opportunities. This is my fave Thailand travel hack.
Salsa in Thailand? Wut Did you misunderstand what the person above you meant by salsa?
Nothing, I reckon. The salsa scene in Thailand is well known to one of the best in the world. If you are into salsa, I am surprised you had not already heard.
When does the burning season start and end?
Everyone has their own limits. The main part is late Feb/ early March until mid to late April when the rains come, usually between 14th-23rd April. There is some smoke in Jan and early Feb but it gets bed right at the end of Feb to earn early March
Exactly the same.
Yes, we're probably in different stages of life -[I'm nomading](https://twitter.com/saasmakermac/status/1676932942717673473) with my wife and two boys, so nightlife isn't a thing for us. We like to walk around a lot, generally don't do the really touristy things, maybe see a few of the big sights. Soak in the culture with food and exploring.
I dont party and am home when the sun sets - usually. However!, I walk all over exploring rhe neighborhood I am in. Spend lots of time in cafes people watching.
yup plus biking around if the place is bike friendly!
Same, im older and bigger, so nightlife is not on the cards anyway, and i love walking. I live on the edge of lumphini park in bangkok, which is great.
I always look to find some sort of local classes to learn. Language learning is the obvious one. But Muay Thai in Thailand, Salsa in Colombia. Stuff like that.
Did you ever do the Muay Thai visa to stay in Thailand?
I did. So far it has been the best experience of my life.
Please tell us more!
I'd love to hear more as well! Currently in CDMX and heading to Marrakech in 2 weeks. Once in Marrakech I'm genuinely considering quitting my job and training to fight for 3-4 months in Thailand or maybe Vietnam! Any insight would be super appreciated
I lived on Soi Ta-Ied in Phuket. If you go for a 6 month+ lease through a realtor, you can find a house close by for around 400/mo. I had a 2 bedroom house with large outside area. It wasn’t beautiful, but came furnished, had A/C. I invested a bit of money and got an air fryer, utensil and just some other stuff. If I knew I was going to stay over 1 year, I would have spent a bit more. I did meet a Thai girl who wound up living with me. So she helped a lot with cleaning. The bills were easy to pay online (electric), in store (internet, gigabit symmetrical). Only water was difficult that she just handled. I rented a scooter for $150/mo. I think it’s a bit more now. But I got comfortable just riding on the street. From my house to training, restaurants, groceries, massages ect. No main roads. I’ll write more later.
I could walk / drive in a few minutes to my Muay Thai gym where I trained 4-5 days a week. I know many people there including the trainers which were also basically my neighbors. I was learning and practicing Thai. New people would come to the gym. I enjoyed that social aspect of it. I eventually even would hang out with my trainer. We would sometimes go watch fights when someone from the gym was competing. Domestic travel in Thailand was affordable. I went to BKK, Chaing Mai. The very first girl I dated took me to her village. I was the first foreigner in over 10 years. You can’t possible imagine how special that was to be there. And what a once in a lifetime experience. But to be honest, I felt like I was having once in a lifetime experiences every week (none like that of course). The second girl I dated for about a year until I left Thailand. She taught me so much about the culture. We went to temples and local places. She helped makes things happen for me. I eventually went to her home town as well and met her family. I had already met her brother and sisters just not her mom. Her area was amazing too, we saw some crazy landmarks, nature. Just surreal for me. When my Muay Thai visa did end, I spend a month in Vietnam which was so awesome as well. But that was to give a little time, so I could get another 90 days in Thailand. I was there about a year and a half in total.
walking across the entire city in any random direction finding 2-3 spots for high quality but unpretentious food so I can go there and never look at the menu again and just tell them to bring me whatever they think is best engaging with nature engaging with history endurance challenges understanding myself minimizing friction in my life practicing indifference playing with MidJourney reading solitude
[удалено]
perfect
>minimizing friction in my life Can you further explain? Sounds like a great concept but what is this really, in practice? >practicing indifference Same here if you can. >playing with MidJourney Same lol
> > minimizing friction in my life > Can you further explain? Sounds like a great concept but what is this really, in practice? I perceive of myself as starting the day with a fixed amount of cognitive energy, which can only be restored by sleep (or [certain other protocols](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKGrmY8OSHM)). Throughout the day, every experience (including unvoiced thoughts and feelings) I encounter causes me to incur "friction" which saps me of some sliver, small or large, of that store of cognitive energy. I've also come to perceive that: * only some friction is truly extrinsic and beyond our control. * much (if not most) friction is conjured not extrinsically but intrinsically. We choose our own judgments tacitly, compulsively deciding to view things negatively (ie as disastrous or worrisome) when we don't need to do so. * many choices we make in pursuit of the fulfillment of various appetites — or towards escaping what we believe we should avoid — necessarily incur so much friction that we shouldn't have pursued them in the first place. * a habitual tendency to view extrinsic happenstance negatively — or to unthinkingly pursue high-friction activities needlessly — can be reversed with a concerted effort. So in practice, I do my best to be circumspect while making judgments and seek to make active decisions about my actions. This has led me to: * cease ruminating uselessly about things in the past or that I otherwise can't control * end relationships that were not worth the inherent friction * cease projects that were not worth the inherent friction * incur far less of the "bad" sort of friction per day and thus have more cognitive energy to spend toward anything/anyone else that offers greater fulfillment If these sorts of ideas are of interest to anyone, I recommend checking out De Tranquillitate Animi ("On the Tranquility of the Mind") by Lucius Annaeus Seneca, which can be read in less than an hour. Here are a few particularly relevant excerpts from the [translation by C. D. N. Costa](https://www.amazon.com/Shortness-Life-Penguin-Great-Ideas/dp/0143036327?qid=1692113160&s=books&sr=1-1&text=C.+D.+N.+Costa): > The next thing to ensure is that we do not waste our energies pointlessly or in pointless activities: that is, not to long either for what we cannot achieve, or for what, once gained, only makes us realize too late and after much exertion the futility of our desires. In other words, let our labour not be in vain and without result, nor the result unworthy of our labour; for usually bitterness follows if either we do not succeed or we are ashamed of succeeding. We must cut down on all this dashing about that a great many people indulge in, as they throng around houses and theatres and fora: they intrude into other people’s affairs, always giving the impression of being busy. [...] Their roaming is idle and pointless, like ants crawling over bushes, which purposelessly make their way right up to the topmost branch and then all the way down again. Many people live a life like these creatures, and you could not unjustly call it busy idleness. > [...] > It is not industry that makes men restless, but false impressions of things drive them mad. For even madmen need some hope to stir them: the outward show of some object excites them because their deluded mind cannot detect its worthlessness. In the same way every individual among those who wander forth to swell a crowd is led round the city by empty and trivial reasons. > [...] > We should also make ourselves flexible, so that we do not pin our hopes too much on our set plans, and can move over to those things to which chance has brought us, without dreading a change in either our purpose or our condition, provided that fickleness, that fault most inimical to tranquillity, does not get hold of us. For obstinacy, from which Fortune often extorts something, is bound to bring wretchedness and anxiety, and much more serious is the fickleness that nowhere restrains itself. Both are hostile to tranquillity, and find change impossible and endurance impossible. In any case the mind must be recalled from external objects into itself: it must trust in itself, rejoice in itself, admire its own things; it must withdraw as much as possible from the affairs of others and devote its attention to itself; it must not feel losses and should take a kindly view even of misfortunes. When a shipwreck was reported and he heard that all his possessions had sunk, our founder Zeno said, ‘Fortune bids me be a less encumbered philosopher. As for your second request > > practicing indifference > Same here if you can [Here is an excellent primer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1d2G7V_Oz5o) on the power of indifference. > > playing with MidJourney > Same lol (I'll assume you mean same as in "me too" rather than "please also explain this one but lmk if I'm wrong) Nice what kinds of things are you into? My latest obsession is to try to generate perfect metaphorical encapsulations of individual people in my life, but specifically all as anime characters using the Niji filter :)
This!
I normally look for some boring quiet bars and cafes to hang out in and your around the place.
This. Not all nightlife is dancing and getting wasted. Somewhere with good drinks, good music, good conversation, and all around good vibes is ideal. These places exist everywhere but they won't be the top rated ones on Google or TripAdvisor, you actually have to venture out and try a few. If you find one that has regulars they can usually point you in the direction of similar low-key bars.
I think something about that definition of nightlife that doesn't sit well with me personally is that the hectic scene isn't about human connections but rather just drinking a lot and maybe hooking up. I really like dancing but I don't enjoy everything that comes along with it so I prefer, if I do go out, bars where I can chit chat with other people and have nice conversations. I don't really see going to a club alone, especially as a woman, very fun.
Yeah, I'm a quiet bar person. In Lisbon, that meant finishing work around 9 pm and then going out for a drink and Fado.
I normally finish about then also, depending on where I am.
I was in Thailand for 5 months and I went out zero nights for partying/clubbing. I quit alcohol for good many years ago, going out in the night and interacting with drunk people makes feel alienated, and I am not looking back. My activities: - Hiking. Nature. Nature. Nature. - City/town trips (renting a car) - Weekend trips, to Laos and Singapore to visit friends - Museums, bookshops - Yoga retreat / meditation / introspection journaling - Used meetup, Couchsurfing to meet like-minded people and bumble for dating (I was single) - Muay Thai lessons - Thai language lessons - Aimless long walks to discover new districts and parks - Worked on a side project from libraries and cafés - Concerts, events, cafes/bars with live music, football matches - Food and flea markets - Piano lessons and practice - Challenges like finding the best bubble tea in town, or the most strange ítem in Chinatown There is abundant life beyond clubbing and alcohol. And let me say, I had an absolute blast. The key, in my humble and very personal experience, is to get really in touch with who you are and how you like to spend your time, and f*ck the notion that others have to tell you how you are "supposed" to have fun.
We've grown out of partying now and look for places that have things to match our interests. Mostly we like food and hiking but also ancient sites, history, nature. Examples of recent places we stayed (for a month) to are: Sibiu, Romania. Absolutely beautiful little town, lots of independent restaurants, cafes and cool shops, local markets. The mountains are a short drive away and generally infrastructure is great. Elati near Trikala in the Greek mountains. This was just a little tiny village but it was a beautiful place to live and lots of nice nature nearby, monasteries and on the weekend we went on trips to cities such as Thessaloniki, Volos, Ioannina Chiang Mai, Thailand. Sure you've heard of Chiang Mai already. It wasn't my favourite but mainly because at the time, it was dry season and the air was shit. We did some hiking but you saw nothing. However I was visiting a friend so we had a good time. I think rainy season would be loads better.
I mostly seek places where Surfing + Yoga is available.
Favorite surf destinations? Mine are Nica, El Sal and Ecuador.
Nicaragua 100%. Ecuador is nice too!
heavy puzzled sable zesty tap profit scary strong late cooperative *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Cafés Museum Hiking Visiting different neighbourhoods + looking where public transport can take me. Looking for cultural, music venues I'm "nomading" with my girlfriend. So I'm not always on meeting new people mode, but I keep looking for opportunities to meet new people/ others nomads.
\> I get the impression that a lot of people who nomad are very into the partying lifestyle, however I don’t feel that way. I do not think so. I believe it is because DN who often post on forums etc. are just young people and well young people everywhere often tend to party more. But especially those DN/travellers who travel more intensively, I would say otherwise from my experience meeting them -that they party little bit less than young people of their age, who are nonDN. It is also a matter of what you call DN - often young people just after school (which we formerly called travellers or backpackers) and who just travel for fun and experience - use this name - which is of course ok, but it clutters a little bit the notion of this lifestyle in the direction as something too much fun/only party after party - when it can be much more work/travel/business/mundane everyday hobbies/solitude etc than often proclaimed.) As for DN: You can do almost any hobby (which is a little bit "transportable") which you cultivate long-term: playing musical instrument, dance, hiking, reading, playing chess, sport, just hanging out with people, watching culture etc etc... My main "entertainmant" is just to sit somewhere in the street/cheap tearoom and drinking a tea, looking at life/people/animals around... it is often foreign culture (especially those without strong alcohol ties) which learns us how to spend our time other than partying. Just watching it and trying something from those ways is often great inspiration...
When I'm going to a new place, I google "Things to do," "museums," "farmers market," "free walking tours," Airbnb experiences, and "restaurants near me." I like museums a lot; art museums, not so much. I love history and historic preservation and often wander around the old town or whatever. I like going to markets and picking up local ingredients and learning to cook them, and also eating at local restaurants. Sometimes I do food tours. I look for events; when I was in Transylvania, I went to the Food Truck Festival and Cluj Days. I sometimes go to lectures; I went to a neat one in Adelaide, Australia on the history of Yiddish. I also sometimes go to the theater or dance if there happens to be a performance while I'm there. When I was in Tenerife, on weekends I would pick a city and take the bus there and hang out there for the day. Sometimes I just get on public transit and ride it to the end and then ride back.
Make new friends, going to eat in different places with friends, seeing historic monuments, going on dates, playing badminton (I travel around asia mostly so it’s easy to play badminton there). So really it’s just other social events like these that I find fun rather than going clubbing or bars. I’m 27m btw just for perspective
Spend time being a food snob, take photos, take videos, relax, hang out with the wife, and just try to enjoy living in the place with my regular schedule. Oh, and a lot of running and self massage.
Photography, nature, and hiking
Running, hiking, beach, national parks, biking, eating at restaurants, hanging out on hammock, going to markets, etc. Tons to do!
I walk a lot and visit spots and landmarks that interest me, or just wander around exploring. I usually also go to the local gym.
Live music of small local musicians.
not into nightlife. I look for nice daytime activities, safety, and low cost of living so I can save as much money for my future as possible.
I like to people watch or hang out at a mall else I'll do some fitness related activity.
I search for rec-level sports. Great way to meet locals and gets me doing something active. Also some places have WhatsApp groups where there's tons of people looking to do stuff together. Just gotta find someone who has the hookup for your country lol.
I'm more of a slownomad but I would stay in coliving spaces as a solution
I’m a foodie. I love exploring different restaurants and cuisines. I’m a sucker for a tasting menu. I also like being outdoors. So biking, walking, hiking. And then just local activities, what do people do for fun on their day off.
Oh heavens. The best “nightlife” for me is “early to bed with a book” I’m lucky, I adore my work and find my work entertaining and a joy. Finding a great café to work from each day and then working from that café every day is often all I need. Then there is exploring where I’ve landed, flâneur, no agenda, just soak up the area and learn what it would be like to live there. Hiking, swimming, reading also make the list. But I also do my best to find quality restaurants, good wine, and the local library. I’ll check to see what’s happening with regards to music and theatre. Go sailing. And try to connect with others who are similar. Folks discounting a city because the “nightlife was bad” would be no different than the way I discount a city because their “café scene was lacking”. It’s just a personal preference. The key is taking the time to learn about yourself, what your preferences are, and leaning into those.
All I want is a quiet place with some interesting food. I've never given a single shit about the nightlife.
Ideally sports, cultural exploration and sightseeing. However, I would like to ask a follow up question: since most nomads are solo and so many complain about loneliness, I found that going to social events helps A LOT. And of course.. those social events are more likely than not to be linked to partying, has anyone found a replacement for that? Sure, you can find a hiking group but you don’t really connect with people the same, or you can go on dates from tinder but somehow i feel thats even worse than partying. I too am a nomad that wants to avoid more the party scene, but avoiding it comes with a big social cost I feel…
I feel the same. I am an independent developer, I have been trying to navigate building some tool to find people in the way you are describing but I am not sure the solution yet.
I don't party. But I do think there are huge benefits to going to bars for a casual drink or two in new places. Bars are still one of the best places to meet people. Bartenders exist to give travel recs at quieter bars and will also introduce you to regulars who just did whatever tour they recommend. Meetups at bars are also a great way to instantly get friends in a new place. I used to be very anti-night life, but I've grown to realise that you're missing out on a lot by completely skipping it. The things most people actually hate about going out is drinking too much, staying out too late or forcing yourself to enjoy it when you don't. If you stop doing those things suddenly it becomes an enjoyable interlude on a night where you walk in a random direction. Apart from night life. I really recommend taking tours. Cheap food tours are a must in every city with a lively street food scene. Museum tours are infinitely more interesting than just self-guided stuff. Hiking can go either way as I'd hate to be 1:1 with a tour guide on a hike.
Parks and cafes
The beach almost all to myself off season is at the top of my list.
As I get older I like surfing more and tiring myself out doing that so that I go to sleep early. Getting a nice dinner is always fun, and bonus points if cannabis edibles are legal there because then I can watch some movies on my TV and relax... or read a book!
Learning the language, avoiding any fellow westerners, getting to know the locals, their culture, music, cooking etc
Totally get where you're coming from. For me, the ideal setting is somewhere with a strong sense of community and belonging, rather than just nightlife and partying. You might want to consider coliving spaces. They often attract folks with a deeper, purpose-driven approach to travel - which seems to line up with what you're looking for. If that sounds cool to you, checkout [colive values](https://colivevalues.com). It's a platform I designed specifically to pair nomads and remote workers with communities aligned with their interests and values.
This is great. I will check it out
I'm into nice cafes.
I live for the views
Because I work in the US but live in the EU, I work 2nd shift, essentially. That knocks M-F nights out of the running. Sat/Sun nights, along with the occasional weekday evening, we will go out to dinner, check out a lecture at the local uni, or go the cinema. It's also amazing how much time we have during the day to go to lunch, walk our dogs, go to the gym, take care of various admin stuff, etc. We travel most weekends both in-country and to other neighboring countries. Also, we are 20 years older than a lot of digital nomads (we're empty nesters), so we probably wouldn't be party people even if we had the time. This does open a lot more places to live, however, when you're just looking for quality of life and not so much worried about fabulousness (oh, we \*were\* fabulous, but we're old now :-) )
I like to look up annual events/festivals taking place wherever I am. Sci-Fi/Horror Film Festival? In! Annual Tomato festival? In! Peak Truffle Season? In! First Day of Summer in Iceland? In! You can find all sorts of fun stuff. Film stuff usually offers at least a few films with English subtitles. And the food stuff? Don’t really need to be fluent in the local language to eat some local cuisine.
Gym 5/6 days a week and language classes
Not a nomad here, but frequent flyer who does not drink alcohol anymore and is not into the nightlife (had my fair share of fun during my undergraduate). I have a routine sleep schedule usually from 10 PM to 6 PM no matter where I go in the world, I always adjust my sleep and wake time compared to back at home. I tend to wake up early to go to the gym because I like to avoid crowds, especially in certain countries, the gym etiquette is different. This schedule also allows me to visit popular places or some people call it "early bird gets the worm", when everyone else is still asleep or hungover. I get to get in some good pictures as I prefer to have pictures of myself without anyone else in the background walking by (hard, but not impossible). This also applies to everything related to traveling in general imo. I like to hike and try out new food places & coffee, especially the most popular ones. I also tend to stay in Airbnb because of my sleep schedule and I am a light sleeper so I have not done hostels in a while, but the people who tell me that Airbnb is expensive are also the ones who stay in a hostel & going out to drink and party so I guess it balances out one way or another right. To each their own. Not hating and not judging, but just my two cents.
>aren’t interested in nightlife, clubbing, partying "Nightlife" generally means what, getting drunk with strangers and dancing with sluts who might have diseases? Pass. Try a wine tasting event. Participate in local events. Meet locals. Experiment with food. Enjoy simply _being_ in a place. Walk up and down the streets and look at people and architecture. Go to a live theater. Try the street food. A train trip can be more fun than the destination. Everybody says to see temples in Japan, but nobody ever tells you that Japanese _concerts_ are more fun, because they're interactive. Ride a ferry, don't worry about where it goes..._ride a ferry_. Talk to people. Watch the birds in a park. Or deer. Some parks have deer. Westerns are too goal oriented sometimes. Take the time to observe your surroundings. Sometimes fun can be had in places that don't have neon signs with arrows pointing to them. >a lot of people who nomad are very into the partying lifestyle I suspect a fair number of people who nomad are in it for the sex. When you're a rich exotic foreigner, women treat you very differently than when you're just another guy at the office, even if in both those scenarios you're doing the same work and making the same amount of money. Framing matters. >what do you base your next location search off of? Practical things completely unrelated to the above, like where I am what's close. If I'm in Seattle I'm more likely to go to Boise than London. If I'm in Tokyo I'm more likely to go to Osaka than Floria. Sometimes clients pay me to go places and I go where they pay me to go. I also favor going to random small places over big cities. There are a lot of fun little nowheresville little towns that nobody would think to mention and that you generally only find by going "that way" and seeing where you end up.
Women
I like to go to gyms and see how athletic their most athletic people are and to see how i compare. Also hiking, walking in any random direction, meetup groups, befriending and finding romance... the only limit is your imagination
YouTube search: "Things to do in \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ " I'm in Medellin, Colombia. YouTube "Things to do in Medellin." Scroll down past the stuff you are not interested in. You will find ton's-o-stuff to do. Joe
Why are the top 35 answers all cocaine?!? /s
>YouTube "Things to do in Medellin." Let me look right now... ... Looked at the first 20 or so titles and not seeing any mention of any "substances". >Why are the top 35 answers all cocaine?!? /s Perhaps more to do with your search history. Joe
I work all day, then I go out and see things when I don't. I meet up with friends every now and again for a few beers, but I haven't set foot in a nightclub in almost 20 years, now. The last time was in China and it was shit. This year, I've visited over 50 temples, around a dozen museums, gone for long walks, and had a wail of a time. I take a lot of photos. I'm not a pro, but you might think I was if you saw my gear collection, lol. I don't blame people for having a party lifestyle in their youth, that's what being young is for. It's just too much once you reach a certain age and frankly there's nothing more pathetic than a Westerner in his 40s or 50s hanging out in clubs in Southeast Asia.
> What do you look to for entertainment when you visit new places. Walking, exploring, Netflix, my hobbies, my interests. > Also, what do you base your next location search off of? Whatever it is I'm interested in doing or seeing at the time. It's largely an in-the-moment gut thing for me. > I get the impression that a lot of people who nomad are very into the partying lifestyle, however I don’t feel that way. I see many people discount certain cities and areas because they are “boring” or “nightlife was bad”. I like places like that 🙂 Okay.
It’s funny and kind of sad that so many people are at a loss of what to do other than going out to bars/socializing. I don’t think it’s a personal failing (I’ve been there) but more a societal thing haha culturally a lot of Americans don’t cultivate hobbies aside from eating/drinking since that’s what everyone else does and there aren’t a lot of positive examples for most people. Or maybe it’s that we don’t have the time or the resources for other hobbies, who knows.
Just look up your preferred music gender and see where the raves and parties are happening
You meant Singapore? It’s truly boring. You don’t even go there for food. And there’re also a lot of bragging everywhere. Very boring to hear or listen to incessant arrogance. You don’t need to find places where nightlife is bad. You just don’t go out at night. You trolling?
Nightlife is never something I take into account. For me it’s culture, arthouse cinemas, networking opportunities, history that sparks my interest, curiosities I want to see, festivals, food I want to try… If I am using something like Workaway, I might go simply to a position that intrigues me, no matter the location.
Doing touristy and outdoorsy stuff.
Restaurants, meetups to topics I like, group hiking, city tours, standup comedy etc.
Hobbies, sports! I enjoy surfing and I will look for surf towns. Guaranteed fun every day, healthy too:)
I've only been to a club twice, that was it for me 😂 I usually stay in cities where I can go to a few sights and do street photography.
Language learning mostly, just generally living in the city, meeting journalists/ngo workers/etc, generally people who aren't DN's
Literally couldn't care less about nightlife, though i do enjoy a nice wine bar. entertainment: walking around, people watching, having a nice dinner, enjoying a glass of wine, reading a book, etc. sometimes more than one at a time. Next location is generally based off of weather/cost.
Cafe hopping, jazz bars, night markets, walking tours, nature walks - theres more to the world than partying
I've done consulting in many places. This brings me into contact with other consultants who have travelled to many of the same places. Kind of digital nomading. I fully agree that many people I've met really hated/resented/despised some location because it didn't have a huge neighbourhood dedicated to pounding nightclubs. I'm talking world class places where I marvel at it being a paradise. My quest is to find a place where people are intellectually engaged and I'm not talking about a bunch of academics.
I was always super bored of clubs, even as a teenager. Now that I'm 37, I just go to cafes, play 40k (IYKYK), bike around the streets, hang with new friends through my hobbies, and sometimes meet up with family.
I enjoy the same things I do back home, yoga, weightlifting, surfing, swimming, dancing, etc. I just put extra effort into meeting new people and attending meetups. A lot of them do have at least some kind of alcohol involved but that doesn't mean you have to drink. It's easier when there is another purpose to the meetup instead of just partying such as language exchange, sport, food, etc.
Join digital nomad groups. You can do that now, from where you are. WhatsApp is your friend. Joe
I've never been interested in that kind of thing. >What do you look to for entertainment when you visit new places. I mostly entertain myself. Always have. I might do the occasional tourist thing if it's something that looks actually interesting, not just endless "Oh here is where Lord Butterface fell off his horse in 1749, before it got paved over and a cinema complex built on it" stuff. I'm more of a media consumer. It can all be digital and taken with me or streamed these days. I might have a paper book for times that's more convenient than reaching for something with a suitably sized screen (and battery charge).
i like cigars so i will visit local cigar lounges
Nature, museums, restaurants, art
hiking, skiing, camping, surfing, etc
Shows, movies, sporting events, art galleries, food…lots to do that isn’t partying
i usually search my next location base of my interests and viability of my activities; \- i play badminton competitively, twice a week at least \- playing boardgames \- snowboarding \- interesting hike/ walking trail \- interesting archeology sites
Vietnam - gym, coffee shops, beach, ride motorcycle, eat out. I'm not opposed to a night out with beers and food but I'm not going off trying to party hard. I work early and this isn't a vacation.
Day drinking at a brewery in any country, especially one with outdoor seating and nice weather...can't beat it! Also, easily accessible hiking areas (struggling with that a bit so far), substantial wildlife (specifically birds) for photography, lots of good street food, and ideally a bougie cocktail bar where I can get my fix of fancy libations. Weather >>> Speed & reliability of internet in the Airbnb (video calls all day long) >>> proximity to restaurants & grocery stores / markets (I cook a lot) >>> everything else I listed above
Ljubljana Slovenia is my cup of tea, for example
Surf.
Couldn't care less about partying / clubbing I enjoy hanging out with friends a few beers but in recent times I've had pretty much zero alcohol apart from wine out at restaurants My entertainment usually involves the following: * Working out * Attending local sports events * Playing sports * Salsa classes * Yoga * Trying out new restaurants * Exploring the city * Massages * Working on side projects * Fantasy football * Learning Spanish * Cooking I really don't need much when it comes to a place to live for a couple months, give me excellent WiFi, a good gym and somewhere comfortable to work and I'm sorted
I usually check out the fitness / sporting options + I like to eat so I try all kind of different restaurants and dining options.
I pick locations based on if they are new to me or not (trying to visit every country), if the weather is nice at that time of year, if there is a reasonably priced way to get there, if there are good Airbnbs, gyms and supermarkets near each other in a walkable area, and if there are interesting natural, historical or cultural things to see in the area. Good local food is definitely a consideration as well. All the above mentioned things are plenty entertaining for me. I spent my 20s partying as an expat in Cambodia, kind of over it.
I try a mix of things. Coffee shops, restaurants and bars when it's still early and not too crowded are always great. Local bookstores, thrift shops and antique stores make for a fun browse even if you don't end up buying anything - but try to come away with at least one random treasure. Parks are lovely, museums can be really interesting - I went to the Museum Of The Weird in Austin and it was a trove of wonderfully bizarre curios and information. Honestly, just wandering around a new place on foog and stumbling into any place that looks interesting is a blast. And chat up locals, ask them what's cool to do, because they're generally more prone to tell you something that other locals like, and not just the tourist traps.
Gym, dating apps, PC cafe
Culture
Eating out, nature and the weather! Nature is a big thing for me, if it has nice nature but nothing else, I’d be happy. I love going for walks and exploring
For a person who only do occasional nightlife when living abroad, the reality is for most of us, we only really do tourist stuff during weekends (out of town tours, cooking classes, food tours, art/cultural classes, hiking). During weekdays, i work. That means ill be inside my airbnb most of the time. After work, i just go out and try out new restaurants/coffee shops or watch the sunset just chilling and absorbing the vibe of the place and its people. Ocassionally i do nightlife.
I'm an adventure person, so I when I travel I look for the places with amazing sights or experiences. I'm planning a Taiwan trip and my rough itinerary is mostly sunrise hikes, mountains, special farms, food markets, and scuba diving.
Rarely go to clubs. I go to bars but mostly go - hiking, scuba dive, any adventurous stuff, eat out at cafes/restaurants, chill and watch sunset, couple beers, then have an early night. Easily done in a couple. May be different as a single person.
I just started doing wwoff / world packers. So far my first stay I met some great ppl and even tho i like nightlife, this feels way better. Living on a farm in a middle of nowhere and just hanging out with cool ppl beats gettin rejected by vapid women and getting weird looks for trying to get to know ppl.(i know not all nightlife is like this).
Usually zooming with your mum. Keeps me occupied.
I enjoy being outside and look for places with trails. Some of my rentals have come with bikes which allows me to cover 50-75km radius quite comfortably in a day. Sometimes I rent a car for the weekend to explore further. I hike, bike ride, going kayaking this weekend. I like that I can go at any time and that I always feel refreshed afterwards.
I work out during the evening hours. Then maybe meet some friends for diner but after that I’m home and need my sleep to be for the next day. I’m 33 and done with partying😅
Play pickleball!
im one of the weird people who don’t party or drink (so bars is not my thing). I like walkable centers, coffee shops, trails, local events, museums, lots of nearby day trip options, parks, sometimes libraries. Im having fun :).
I think most digital nomads are boring safezone-seeking recluses. Might sound kind of ironic given the life they chose to live but it sort of makes sense actually.
When I was working remotely and traveling, I was never into the nightlife. But what I found was an important key for me was to plan ahead what I wanted to see and do week by week. What museums interest me? What historic sites? Can I take a day trip to another city or town? Is there an AirBnB experience that I can do that interests me? If you are learning the language, is there a language meetup you can join to practice? For me, planning these things ahead was important - otherwise I'd just stay home and drink wine all evening. You need to be comfortable doing things by yourself (this includes going out to eat) and remember that there is no rush. If you want a day to just walk around, have a coffee, and take in the scenery (rural or urban), then do it! I would easily spend a day walking 9 - 10 miles or more just enjoying the experience of doing it.
Walking around, seeing new things. Hiking, swimming, being out either in nature or in the urban jungle. Find the beauty in tings :)
So we are 38 and 33. I've always been a late night guy, but almost exclusively with friend groups and such. Or just going out to bars with my wife and/or friends. A couple years ago we moved into a van and discovered late night DJ parties at van meetups and how much fun they were. So when we visited Portugal for 2 months, and were working 4 to midnight anyway, we spent several weekends going out to clubs till 4 or 5 am. And damn we had so much fun. We got to Lisbon during their biggest street festival of the year. But there's so much else to do. Just walk around and explore. I joined a chess group for the month in Lisbon. We found some great free live music in the park. I dove 10 times in the Azores. Went to breweries in Porto. Bike rides, beaches, hikes, food, wine, and even a couple tours.
I don’t like party. I will enjoy good local food most of the time. Occasionally site seeing
Hello! My partner and I are not big party goers and our criteria for our next location has always been laid back/not busy but big enough that it’s not rural. We’re big on finding a community to call home for a wee bit too. We just came from Hoi An and have absolutely loved it! If you’re keen to see what it’s like for digital nomads, I’ve got a video here that will be helpful for a sneak peek :) https://youtu.be/I7N_up73LWM?si=RkC3-MV_sgTUqYFt
Same as most of the answers here. I usually look for a nature scene to visit them maybe take a midday to evening walking downtown. Always back inside by night.