It’s ok to prioritize friendships, community, and your mental health over traveling. Remote workers shouldn’t feel like they have to travel to lead interesting, fulfilled lives. The beauty of remote work lies in the ability to optimize your location for your well-being. Most people choose to put down roots in smaller cities surrounded by their friends and family. That means people can work from anywhere in the world as long as they have an internet connection. Community takes time to build - there are no shortcuts.ĭoist is a remote-first company. No matter what Airbnb might tell you, you cannot “belong anywhere” instantly. Extensive research shows that people with strong social ties live longer, healthier, happier lives.

As humans, we need real friends, loved ones, and a place where we belong. There are people out there who love the travel-and-work lifestyle, but for many it’s nothing like social media would lead you to believe. It took me a few years to fully recover from that experience. I learned some hard lessons as I went through a cocktail of depression, anxiety, insomnia, and loneliness. I lived in Taiwan for about a year before I returned to Europe.

You also quickly discover that meeting new people is easy, but making new friends - real friends - is hard, especially if you’re starting from zero. When you travel for extended periods of time, you lose your social circle, your sense of belonging, and the everyday routines that keep you grounded and healthy. You won’t see it in their Instagram stories, but I guarantee you they’ve felt it. Loneliness isn’t something that many traveling remote workers write about.

Couple that with a non-existent work-life balance, and you have an excellent recipe for misery. At the time, I had no idea that this would be the start of the unhappiest period of my life.įor the record, ending a long-term relationship and moving away from family, friends, and any other meaningful human connections you might have in the world is a terrible idea. I was living a traveler’s dream with no strings attached. When I was 23 years old, I broke up with my girlfriend, sold or gave away most of my stuff, packed a single suitcase, and booked a one-way ticket from Denmark to Taiwan.

The doist