How to find communities and connections while living a nomadic lifestyle

Every digital nomad knows that making long-lasting relationships and connections can be tricky while you travel the world and move from place to place. If you’ve got a partner or a friend that travels with you, it’s great! But what if you don’t?

If you’re traveling alone, meeting new people and making friends won’t be difficult. There are many ways to meet new people and create connections. It is, however, something you need to pay attention to! Friends won’t fall from the sky… most of the time.

In order to help you find communities and make connections while living a nomadic lifestyle, we’ll be presenting some great tips today that could come in handy for every digital nomad.

Use the internet

As a digital nomad, you already know that the internet can be very useful for many things, and of course, one of them is making connections while traveling.

You should join social media platforms like Facebook groups, CouchSurfing or nomadlist,  look for groups with other expats and become a member.
The main trick is: Don’t just join… Be active! Try to communicate and help everyone you can. That will create a strong presence for you and eventually lead to new friends and even joining some great events from time to time. You can even create your own event and invite people to hang out. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy… Trips to a nearby town or even a coffee will do the job.

Bonus tip: You can also search for interest groups. Let’s say you like hiking or surfing. Search for groups with people that like hiking or surfing and live near you. This way you will meet not just other digital nomads but locals as well.

Get a roommate

If you’re planning to stay in the same place for a long period of time, getting a roommate is a great idea. You can get an apartment or even a villa and share the rent. The internet will once again be your friend here and help you find potential roommates.

If you get someone that you live with every single day, you won’t just meet a new person, you’ll create a new friendship. Yes! You can create a deeper bond with someone even while you’re living the nomadic lifestyle.

Hostels are also a great option. You can live in a hostel for as long as you need and socialize or even find a new travel buddy.

Choose your destinations wisely

The best way to meet other travelers is by visiting digital nomad hubs. These hubs are places widely-known to other fellow nomads and with big expat communities. Places like this are a great option for beginners in the nomadic lifestyle.

This is the easiest way to find like-minded people and make connections. While living in a city with many digital nomads, make sure to attend a lot of events and meet as many people as you can. These places are perfect for both short-term and long-term stays.

Join a nomad trip

These kinds of trips are becoming more popular and more companies are offering them. Essentially, we’re talking about a trip somewhere in the world with a group of digital nomads like yourself. This trip might be 30 days or even a whole year.

The companies will be organizing everything which leaves you with plenty of time to meet new people and create strong bonds. It’s also worth mentioning these trips aren’t cheap but people that have tried it said it’s all worth it.

Companies that offer trips like this are WiFiTribe, Nomad Cruise, and The Nomad Escape.

Create a routine

Visiting the same workplace can be very beneficial to your social life. Digital nomads usually choose one of the following: They either work at a cafe or at a coworking space.

When you visit the same place every day or week or month and essentially create a routine, you’ll also get to know new people. For example, if you visit the same coffee shop every now and then, people working there will know your name and coffee preference. And just like that, you’ve created some new connections.

This doesn’t have to be limited to working places. You could also join a class. It doesn’t matter if it’s a fitness class or a cooking class. Attending a class on a regular basis will allow you to make connections and meet new people.

Worst case scenario, you will get to know your instructor and still make at least one connection while doing something you enjoy and learning new things.

Find some time for your loved ones

Maybe this goes without saying but I feel the need to include it in this list. Making time to go back home and visit your family and relatives is very important for your mental health.

You may be visiting once or twice a year, maybe more, it doesn’t matter! However, it would be great to keep in touch with your family and friends because when everything else goes wrong, they’ll be there to support and take care of you.

Being a nomad and moving around all the time doesn’t mean you can’t keep a steady and healthy relationship with your people at home!

Have the right mindset

Having the right mindset is also crucial when trying to create connections as a digital nomad. You shouldn’t see people with doubt and suspicion. Every stranger can be a potential friend. Treat strangers like your friends… That’s the way to go with this.

Remember that you are traveling around the world and bad people do exist. Even though you want to be as friendly as possible, always be protective of yourself.

Oh and one last thing about your mindset… Learn to say yes to new experiences and escape your comfort zone as frequently as possible. This is the nomadic lifestyle and that’s how you’ll make the most of it.

Humans are social beings and from the dawn of time, we have been searching for relationships both romantic and friendly. However, as digital nomads, this becomes more challenging. The goods news is, if you follow just some of the tips we mentioned in this article, you’ll be one step closer to meeting new people and creating new, amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experiences.