How has your nomadic lifestyle changed with Covid-19?
Me and my fiance have been on the road for 2 years now, but the goal was to find a new home that we could settle in. After travelling to over 33 countries together we landed on Mexico. Luckily we arrived here just before this Corvid-19 madness began, so have been lucky to ride it out here while beginning to create some roots here, but it has got me thinking about how the other nomads are weathering the storm?
Most of my nomadic friends seem to have returned to their home countries and are back living with their families, others decided to stay travelling, but that comes with its own problems. I would love to hear where you are all at and how you are all doing and what problems you are facing in these unprecedented times?
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My girlfriend and I actually just arrived in Mexico this week too!
We were living in Thailand for 6 months and we were planning on moving to Da Nang, Vietnam in March. I needed to travel back to the States to deal with some logistics and sell my car, so I had that flight booked a few months in advance. My girlfriend already had her visa sorted from a previous visit, but I was still waiting to apply.
When it all started Vietnam announced they were not going to issue new visas, then they added a two week quarantine for anyone traveling in. We also have a dog, which we weren't sure was allowed in the quarantine hotel in Da Nang. So, at the last minute we decided she should also come back to the States and she booked a flight two days after me.
The day of my trip it felt like that scene where Indian Jones is running away from the boulder. Every airport I left was announcing it's shutting it's doors hours later. Long story short, her flight was cancelled and all the alternative routes didn't allow dogs. So she's was stuck alone in Thailand for two months.
We finally figured out that we could both get to Mexico and now we're all three back together waiting for news.
TLDR; Girlfriend and I got split up for two months, and having a dog as a digital nomad is a pain (but worth it)
Wow, what a journey! It's a shame you didn't get to make it to DaNang, it's one of my most favourite places in Asia. It sounds like you made the right moves to get to Mexico in a very short amount of time. A few weeks out and we would have been stuck in the Philippines, not a great place to be while this is going.
I am glad you guys are reunited now, whereabouts in Mexico are you based? We are in Puerto Vallarta. Also, I am very intrigued about travelling with a dog, that must be difficult even without lockdown?
Yeah it's a shame. I visited Da Nang twice and have some friends there, would have been great. But I'm sure we'll head out there as soon as we can.
We're currently in Cancun and looking to move down to Playa del Carmen at the beginning of next month. I'm not sad about ending up in Mexico at all, so far I'm really excited to learn Spanish and have a more convenient timezone with friends and family back home.
I've heard great things about Puerto Vallarta, how has your experience been?
So far, having a dog hasn't been too difficult. She's small enough to be allowed in-cabin when flying, but we have to pick airlines more carefully. We generally stay in one place for 4-6 months at a time and finding pet friendly accommodation hasn't been too difficult, even in South East Asia. Health and immigration is really the biggest pain because you have to get the dog checked at the vet ~72 hours before you fly and then it becomes a race 😅
Yeah Danang isn’t going anywhere. I’m sure it will be grateful if the tourism once all this is over so it will be even more accommodating and fun.
Yeah Mexico is a great place to end up, as long as you are in safe areas. Affordable, good weather and nice beaches. Puerto Vallarta has all that and more. It’s become a paradise for us.
Other than the vet stuff I can see why you do it now. I thought it be much more difficult. I imagine travelling to more westernised countries would be difficult, like the UK or Australia. But as you are in Asia it sounds all good. Thanks for sharing.
We've moved to Costa Rica in Feb. Just before boarders were closed. We like here and want to settle. Before that we were living in Georgia (country) for 2 years, Dubai for 3 years, Belgium for 2 years and Netherlands for 2 years. We have no issues related to covid. Happy that made a move!
Looks like a good place to live through covid and it's economical consequences.
I hear good things about Costa Rica, infact had a trip planned last weekend. But. thanks to Corvid....
That is quite the journey. How come it was 2-3 years in each? Were you working full time in those locations for different jobs?
Yes, it was corporate positions. Except Georgia. Georgia we choose because it's cheap and has a rich nature. I started working for my startup there.
We've been on the road for a year as well, but we travel in an RV camping for free on public lands. Since the lands we camp (National Forests, BLM) on are managed by the government, we've had no issues.
Well that’s one genius way to escape all this. Have you had any issues with moving the RV since non essential travel isn’t permitted in some states?
We love it!
We've had zero issues.
Domestic travel isn't banned. It would be unconstitutional to be pulled over because you have out of state plates.
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That's one, but honestly Campendium is my go-to source. https://campendium.com
Also, if you're interested I wrote a book on this, it's with the editor now. https://livinginasmallrv.com
I had to make a mad scramble for an entrepreneur visa in Taiwan (which is where I had the most roots) so I didn't get stuck by the immigration restrictions going up everywhere.
It was intense, and I barely got it in time.
I’m guessing you made it there just fine. And I guess what a great place to be, things are back to almost normal there right??
I already was bouncing between Taiwan and Japan. It's a really short trip.
Yeah, Taiwan had a few super early cases evacuated from Wuhan, but due to competent governance and a deep skepticism of Chinese/WHO reports, it's gone well. Less than 500 cases total and zero local infections in more than a month. There never was a lock-down here.
They have shown the world, along with South Korea, that competent government and fast action can really have a huge impact on this. It's kinda embarrassing how my own country (UK) and the country I now live in (Mexico) have done almost everything wrong.
Would you recommend Taiwan to other travellers? I have only heard good things but have only gone though Taiwan on my way to other places.
Despite later initial transmission, Korea was slow to restrict travel with China and has had over 11k cases after a flare up within a religious community. Its response was about as much worse than Taiwan's as France's was worse than Korea's.
Taiwan is a great place to live. I've never been a passing traveler here, though, so I can't really say about that. People are friendly, mass transit is great, etc but it might be hard to get around outside the city if you can't speak Chinese.
I moved back the the states after 6 years overseas. While I was on a visa run, Vietnam then closed its borders. :(
Did you move back in with parents? How has it been after 6 years. That’s a long time!
yea for the time being but looking to move to south america or puerto rico soon... I am trying to measure the covid situations. I enjoy traveling a lot, my mind easily gets bored so moving on visa runs gives me the opportunity to break that daily repetition a bit.