After 2 years locked in my house, I was willing to try something that is sold as an amazing experience: A nomad Lifestyle.
In 5 months I had 11 houses, visited 5 countries, made a lot of new friends and had some nice experiences. We even lived 3 weeks in a church.
This text will touch on my personal life, the work-nomad relationship and some local experiences I had the chance to enjoy.
To give some small context: I moved to London in September 2019, before the pandemic, and into a nice open small flat with my partner. When the pandemic hit, it was hard for me to stay in the same environment all the time, so we moved to a bigger apartment with more walls, in order to have more rooms to be in.
Going from 3 rooms to 7 rooms was a huge difference.
Close to the end of our term, we started talking about where we would live next. We were discussing our preferences when my partner popped the idea, “we hadn’t had the chance to meet the UK yet, how about we travel around it until December?” We already had tickets to go to Brazil in December.
Initially, this seemed like a crazy idea to me. My first thought was that Airbnb/hotel nomad life would be expensive… Then it hit me: central London was very expensive @@. I quickly searched on the Airbnb website and I saw that, in a small random city, I could rent a house for a whole month for £400 — which was a crazy contrast from my £1500 + amenities monthly rent.
Ok, so it looks like it will be financially possible, how about Moonpig (the company I work for)?
I was worried about asking, of course, it was not simple to just mention, “I will be homeless for some months, hope you’re all ok with that”. At the time Moonpig had just put a test in place: some people requested the option to work outside the UK for the summer. The employees had to fill out a form, agreeing to be responsible for any medical problems and declaring they can legally work (for instance, some countries ban VPNs).
We had already been at home doing remote work, so why not try to spend some time outside in the sun enjoying a new environment? Since the covid measures allowed travel, we just needed the company’s thumbs up.
With that in mind, my plans were to always return to London in between places and stay mostly in the UK, so I could be a train away from the office if needed. Now I see this wasn’t needed, I could have enjoyed my nomad time more… Always learning.
This is when I started to get even happier to have joined MP (Moonpig). The People team got my request and their first answer was, “let us think”. They returned later agreeing to allow people to work outside the UK for 3 months. I needed to fill out a form since they worried about taxes, legal obligations and VPN access.
I loved this! If they are not sure, why not test it? The three months in question were July, August and September. September was our first month since moving to London without a fixed house. It felt like a great opportunity — the nomad timing was just right. I scheduled a trip to stay in Alicante, Spain, for one month. And what a month!
Before travelling to Alicante we had to move all our stuff (we don’t have much, but still some) to storage space, return the keys to the flat and stay a few weeks in an Airbnb. This is where our adventure started. We moved into a small rented room, one luggage of 23kg each, and one backpack each. In the backpacks, we packed our electronics — in my case, laptop, Nintendo switch, cellphone and cables (luckily everything we have is USB-C, a micro USB that allows everything to connect).
London — Airbnb in King’s Cross
This first room we stayed in in London was a small one in a great house, with great house guests. It was a good place to be, even if it was small… but hey, this is life now, inside your room or in the street.
Even though we were staying in the same city and having a similar routine, we had to make some adjustments. We were staying in a room in a house with other guests, so we had to get used to sharing a kitchen and bathroom, and had to get used to less space available if we wanted to rest. This is the main difference I found in comparison with my experience of staying in hostels while travelling — I wasn’t walking around London as a tourist, so I didn’t have a lot of energy or time to socialise.
However, this Airbnb was located more centrally than our previous flats, which provided a nice experience of being more connected to the city centre. The area we stayed in had some surprising habits: for instance, every day around 19:00, every cat owner would open their flat window so the cats could walk around and socialise. Sometimes I would be on my way back and just see many cats interacting in their little cat world.
Life didn’t change much, going to work and being in London. The only change was our surprise when one day they cleaned the refrigerator because all the other guests left, and threw away all our stuff accidentally X’D. After apologising, they tried to give us money that we didn’t accept to make up for the mistake. They were great hosts though — from time to time they would leave us some nice sushi ready-to-eat :p.
We learned how to manage in a smaller space. I started organising my clothes in a practical way. Since all of my clothes had to stay in my luggage, I stored my luggage under the bed and pulled it when I needed to grab clothes. It was sort of like a makeshift closet drawer. I also started folding my dirty clothes inside out, so when I did laundry or got dressed I knew exactly which ones were dirty, and which ones were clean.
Alicante, Spain
In Alicante, we stayed at some friends’ house. I wanted to make the most of the proximity to the beach, so we decided to go to the beach before work. Most days we worked out or did yoga, but every day I meditated. My meditation always ended as the sun was rising. It was a beautiful experience I got to witness every single morning.
But it’s not all roses! The kitchen table (which was the best spot to work) was not close enough to the internet router — yes, if you are a nomad, you need to be sure you can work from anywhere. In the UK it was easy; we have unlimited good internet on our phones. In other countries… not so much. In order to be closer to the router, I needed to be in the living room, sitting on the couch, without the support of a table. On our first day, I ordered on Amazon a small table that you can hide under the couch and assemble to use. The table basically had space for the laptop and a base position for typing the whole day. During this period I felt I was the least productive in all my years as a developer, because of both my workstation and the warm weather. I was still able to make valuable contributions, mainly because we work a lot with Pair Programming (where two people code at the same time, in consequence, the work is more collaborative), so while I have other devs typing most of the time I could focus on helping them.
Something I noticed: having a routine, a place to stay, and stuff that you don’t need to think about every day makes you less tired and more productive… but I will get to this point later.
In retrospect, a mistake we made when we packed for Spain is that we brought many winter clothes, and in trying to fit both mine and my partner’s stuff into one luggage, we exceeded the number of kilos allowed by 4. So, our luggage was 27 kilos, and we had to pay a charge of £11 per excess kilo, which made us pay £44 in fees — and the price of another 23kg of luggage would have been £45. Big mistake.
This also meant that when we came back from Spain, we had to leave a lot of our stuff behind. We tried to be practical about our decisions, so we left behind what we really didn’t wear or use that much.
My experience there was beautiful, and I tried to make the most out of being near the ocean. I went to the beach almost every day and having the opportunity to be connected to nature on a daily basis felt like a gift.
London — Airbnb in Southwark
We touched down in London for 6 days only, before heading off to Berlin. During those 6 days, we stayed in an Airbnb that is probably the worst one I stayed in so far. The host was very nice (a cool, stylish man) but the place was dirty and messy, a lot of appliances didn’t work properly, and the shower pressure was so bad I decided to shower at the Moonpig office.
But, this is something we learn: this Airbnb was cheap. And we decided to stay in Southwark to be near both of our offices, so in the end… We got what we paid for.
Berlin, Germany
During our short stay in Berlin, we stayed with friends who we had met in Budapest. We had to carry cash when we went out since there were many places that still don’t accept cards — something I remember having to do when I lived in Vienna.
Another difference between Berlin and London is that the pubs in Berlin are more like bars. We went out, and I randomly started talking to people I didn’t know… I remembered the pre-pandemic pleasure of getting to know people and talking about all kinds of things in the blissful honeyed air of tipsy conversation. To talk about so many topics, but not talk about work was heaven.
I have the habit of trying to do three things wherever I travel: I take a walking tour to learn and understand the history of the place; I eat local food; and if there is time, I try to do a pub crawl. In Berlin, we got to do the first two.
The walking tour was an eye-opening experience that taught me about the history of Berlin and left me with a deeper appreciation for the city I was in. When it comes to food, I already knew that I loved German food, and couldn’t wait to eat [food].
It was a short stay. We were there for 4 days but were able to enjoy some lovely time with our friends, meet local people and experience the beauty of the city.
Back to London — Airbnb in front of Euston Station
We returned to London for 6 days. Our Airbnb was above a Pakistani restaurant, where we had a discount to eat. We stayed in a room, sharing the rest of the house with other guests… and it proved to be a little tumultuous. I woke up one day to the noise of the other guests coming in at 3 am and let me tell you: they were partying. Believe me, I have been there. Partying is amazing, but now I felt like I was at the other end of it — waking up early to work on weekdays… I felt annoyed. It was an experience I handled from both perspectives: being aware of others that may be sleeping, but also being sensitive to people who want to have a good time. Interesting balance.
On Thursday and Friday, of that same week, the team from Moonpig attended DroidCon, paid for by the company. It was my first time at an Android conference, and it was my first time being a speaker at a conference. I gave a talk on the open-source library, specifically the codes for cropping images on Android.
Colwyn Bay, Wales
On Friday evening, after DroidCon, my partner and I took a night train heading to a small town in Wales. We boarded a full train, filled with people wanting to rest — it was the end of a working day, after all.
Changing trains in Chester, the second one we boarded had a completely different vibe to it. That was Friday night energy! It was full of people chatting and interacting, kids and adults were all over the place, and I even saw a guy successfully chatting up a girl on the seat in front of me.
One interesting point about this trip is that we really wanted to visit Wales for the first time, and we kept looking for places in the capitals or big cities… Nomad lifestyle was hard to plan ahead, so everything was fucking expensive. We went to sleep kind of frustrated, but it is always great to sleep on the problem… The next day I asked a simple question: “Why are we doing this trip?” It was not to meet the capitals and have a similar life as in London, but to enjoy the local experience… so instead of going to the big cities, we went for the small city with a great experience… By far Wales was the best part of the trip!
Nick and Dan were the couple who owned the Airbnb and lived in the church as well. They were both from New Zealand and were planning on selling the property to move back. Dan had lived in Colwyn for 22 years, and Nick for 12, moving over after she married him.
Dan bought the church and decided to keep the interior decorated as it was, except for the floor. He took out the seating that would be for the congregation and left a good space to hang out.
They are a lovely couple with an interesting life story — two people with life experiences completely different from mine. Nick taught me how to make fudge, and all four of us played board games and hung out, drinking wine, smoking weed and talking about life.
When Nick and Dan took a trip of their own, we invited a friend from Budapest to stay with us for a few days. I, my partner and our friend went out one evening to a local pub, where we ended up only paying for our first round of drinks. I think the way we looked gave away that we weren’t from there, and the locals were friendly enough to befriend us. From thereon, they gave us drinks and we had a lovely night.
In Colwyn, we visited the zoo, and the beach, and went to many castles. It was another moment in this nomad experience where I got to be more in contact with nature.
One special part for me was the castles in Wales… They were different from other castles I have visited before where they had some protections and closed areas that you could only see from afar... These castles in Wales were open to everything, you can walk, see and touch. It’s a much more complete experience of the environment. Would definitely recommend it!
Bath, Somerset
When thinking about our original plan to always return in London because of the proximity to our offices, we realised that it hadn’t been necessary. And, the point of living as a nomad was to get to know as many new places as possible… So, we decided to go to Bath.
I thought of Bath because it was an opportunity to be with family, since my cousin lives there, and to get to know a new historical city in England.
We stayed in a room in an artist’s house. He was a producer and illustrator, and his other flatmate was his 93-year-old mother, Audrey. They were a very typically British family, and after they had dinner, they would leave some food outside for badgers to help themselves.
Our room was tiny, maybe 8m², with two bunk beds. We worked in the kitchen — the house had a nice space, it was just our room that was tiny. The energetic demand of moving around and travelling was already wearing us down. I was starting to miss having a fixed address, and more space to relax by myself.
I soon noticed that Bath was a city populated mostly by two groups: wealthy older people and young university students. It is a beautiful city though, full of history: in a walking tour, we visited Abbey Church, which was built when the Romans left, and it was where the first king was crowned in England.
We roamed around the city, spent time with family and nature, and found fun activities to do — for instance, we went to a bar full of board games.
Back to London — Airbnb in Shoreditch
Returning to London ten days after our stay in Bath, we booked a room above a pub. We knew it would come with its complications, but we were in it for the adventure. Besides, we got a 50% discount on the pub’s food.
The noise proved to be challenging: the sound travelled from inside the pub, so we could hear it very close. On weekdays, the pub stayed open until 11 pm, and on weekends until 1 am.
I saw some interesting people come and go… The pub had an open mic, where people could perform. I was surprised by how much talent was around me. People who got up to play and sing were consistently good, which was surprising. Someone at one point asked me if I was going up onstage, and when I replied that I was just there to watch, he said: “Wow, there are people who just come to see?”
This was a unique experience, living the tech industry life in the same place as the musicians and the pub workers reminded me of how many different lives exist out there. It is always great to get out of your bubble.
Brazil — December 8 to January 17
When I arrived in Brazil, it was early in the morning. We landed in São Paulo and had a connection to Brasília. Confusion ensued in the airport as we landed from London — long lines and bad organisation made some people lose their connecting flights, but we made it to our gate just in time.
Landing in Brasília, I stayed in my mother’s house and had to adjust myself according to the time zone differences between Brasília and London. My first meetings in the mornings were at 6 am in Brasília. At first, I was waking up in time because of jet lag, but as I started seeing friends and going out… became harder. Because it was the end of the year, and because I hadn’t seen so many of my friends for so long, I ended up going out every. Single. Day.
My vacation started before Christmas, and the first thing I did was sleep. I essentially slept for two days, and on Christmas, my family — not just my immediate family, but cousins and aunts too — and my partner’s family reunited to celebrate. My New Year’s Eve was spent with friends.
After the New Years' celebration, I went to São Paulo to see my father. Since I had some time off, and because we have family all over Brazil, we decided to go on a road trip and visit as many family members as possible.
We drove for over 2000km — from São Paulo to north SP in Praia da Baleia, back to São Paulo to drop off my younger brother. Then, we drove to Santos, and from there to Curitiba, Florianópolis, Blumenau, and back to São Paulo. I loved this experience… I think it was a great opportunity to spend time with my father, to see different sides of Brazil, and it wasn’t complicated. It’s something I want to do more… I think it can be done every year.
We arrived back in England on January 17, and I went back to work the next day. And then, things got a little complicated.
My partner tested positive for Covid, and so did I a couple of days after. We essentially had no place to go; we were renting our friend’s flat for two weeks and had planned to look for a permanent place in the meantime.
We found a flat we wanted but had to wait two weeks before moving in. For those two weeks, we stayed in an Airbnb, which by far was the worst one we stayed in… It was small, because we wanted to save as much money as possible, but the people were rude and uninviting. By then, I was working in the Moonpig office, so I didn’t have to struggle with the space to work and be productive.
When we moved into our permanent flat, things were finally in place, and life carried on.
Conclusion
It’s quite a privilege in life to be able to travel. I think it makes the traveller richer — you experience different perspectives and atmospheres, but with your own senses. It’s indescribable.
Travelling is a brilliant way to get to know people who might otherwise pass you by, maybe unnoticed, maybe unremarkably. Meeting people and speaking to them in various circumstances makes it clear that we are more alike than we are different. Even though we all grow up in unique environments and gather individual perspectives in life, we are more often than not connected through the same things: our love for art, music, celebration, and culture; our desire to connect; our curiosity about one another. How much we see each other just depends on how open we all are to share a bit of ourselves and our lives.
If I could do it all again, I would only change one thing: I would stay longer in the places we visited. There is still so much more to see. And the routine makes your mind calmer and you less tired.
