Digital Nomad - Diego Gerke

6 years (but an expat since I was 1.5 years old)

5 years ago we started WiFi Tribe (https://wifitribe.co). Now, we're a community of 1,000 remote professionals from 62 nationalities, who travel the world together as we work. We've done 105 month-long coliving and coworking trips and explored 5 continents, 31 countries, and 46 cities together.

A lot of digital nomads realise that solo travel can be very rewarding but also very lonely because people come and go as you travel. WiFi Tribe brings the long-term community back into the travel lifestyle, making it more sustainable as a long-term lifestyle.

Since I was 1.5 years old, I was moving from country to country every 2-3 years. But I guess my digital nomad journey started about 6 years ago in Cyprus. I went there to work on a startup and live a better lifestyle. But it all really kicked off 5 years ago when I invited about 100 friends to come to Bolivia. 7 showed up, and that was how WiFi Tribe was born... Since then, I've been permanently nomadic, without a home base, and living and working side by side with hundreds of other digital nomads.

Some friends were asking how to make it happen, whilst others saw it more critically. It was at a time when very few people were living this way. Now, I have built such a large network within WiFi Tribe that almost all my friends are in this lifestyle and a part of our community. We meet up regularly around the world.

I LOVE to work from cafés. I developed a cappuccino/flat white addiction since I became a nomad. Wherever I go, I will pin all of the best cafés on Google Maps and then explore them one by one until I've found my favourite cappuccino. Once I've got it, I'll be their most loyal customer...until I have to leave again :(

I find it a wonderful way to explore the city and feel (a little bit) like a local.

Krisp.ai is a powerful tool for anyone who needs to take a lot of calls when there's background noise. It uses AI to filter out background sounds and delivers amazing audio to the person you're talking to.

I also swear by wearing big noise cancelling headphones for focus and listening to thunderstorm sounds and chillstep. Nothing can break my focus when I've got that.

For better posture, I recommend that everyone get themselves a laptop stand with an external keyboard and trackpad/mouse.

People think that you can't build a company or a real career as a nomadic professional. To me, it's very simple; whether you work from here or from there, spend your weekends watching Netflix or doing memorable adventures, at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is whether you're getting sh*t done or not. It's just a different way of living. It's up to you to be productive and effective when you're working. If you can do that from home, or an office, you can probably do that from anywhere.

Go slow: Don't try to hop around like crazy. You've got the kind of freedom that means that you don't have to treat it like a 7-day holiday. Take your time so that you don't burn out.

Work harder: This is your chance to show your team or your boss that travel isn't going to make you less productive. Leave no doubt in their mind (or yours) by really dedicating yourself to the work in those first months of travel. You'll also build better productive habits.

Find a community: You're human, and humans have evolved to be connected to other humans. Travel can be a very lonely thing even for the most extroverted, because people come and go. Try to find some consistency in the relationships that you make on the road.

That we come into countries as guests, not as entitled customers who expect that everything should work like it does in our own country (even if in our own countries it often doesn't work that well). That we approach every local who has welcomed us into their country with humility and treat them with the utmost respect. In short, thoughtfulness, respect, empathy, curiosity and humility.

I traveled to a colourful little Colombian town called Salento with fellow members of the WiFi Tribe community. There, we went on a hike. After a day of hiking, we turned a corner and saw green rolling hills covered in the tallest palm trees in the world. It looked like Jurassic Park. This was the only time in my life that I was speechless and literally had tears of happiness in my eyes. Up until this day, I thought that was just a saying and that it would never happen to me. Anyway, I really recommend you go there and find out the magic of Salento for yourself!