I like to think that you are either consuming culture or contributing to it – if all you are there to do is consume, you may be better off in a place less foreign. I've found that taking the time to integrate with the people, learning the local language and overall just trying really hard to fit in with the rhythm around me has melded quite a different experience for myself. I have tried hopping around the world, doing a month at a time here or there and I've had mixed results - in Lisbon I felt like just another one in a pack of people taking the charm out of a small city that has a lot of resent toward digital nomads and the like, from younger folks to old. In Vienna and around Switzerland less so, as english didn't make me stick out like a sore thumb and there is much less of an influx in those places. On the other hand, during my last trip I stayed about 4 months in Buenos Aires, taking language courses with a teacher, working a bit less, and making lasting friendships with several people. Argentina felt very welcoming, but I think my efforts helped tremendously. If all you have time for is work, good luck in an Iberian or Latin city – these are slow places that do not have sympathy for people who revolve their lives around work as a city like New York or Zurich may.
As culture becomes more global, cities that are glossed over with the amenities digital nomads demand will all look one and the same. You can go to a city center in nearly any part of the world and get a pretty latte and an avocado toast, or go to a cute cowork. But why travel at that point?
As culture becomes more global, cities that are glossed over with the amenities digital nomads demand will all look one and the same. You can go to a city center in nearly any part of the world and get a pretty latte and an avocado toast, or go to a cute cowork. But why travel at that point?