When you and your partner consider long-term travel together, you likely imagine the magic of seeing the world at your own pace, with your love alongside you, working and living in peace. Trust me, there’s plenty of that. But, after nine consecutive months on the road with my boyfriend, I can tell you there is much, much more to traveling long-term as a nomad couple than the cobblestone streets or exotic sunsets.
Taking The Leap
As I write this, my boyfriend, Shawn, is with me on a trip to Buenos Aires. It’s our fourth continent together and our third with Hacker Paradise (a company that facilitates trips & community for remote professionals). I think back to our old lives (read: lease and car loans) and remember how we had considered working remotely and going nomadic. But for one reason or another our plans would fall apart, get stalled, or seemed impossible. We would get lost in the minutia of figuring out our first nomadic steps, and our plans sat still.
The first thing that really kicked my butt into nomad-gear, was accepting a role as Community Facilitator with Hacker Paradise. I started facilitating trips with HP and quickly realized how easy it was to leave my old life behind. My boyfriend and I stayed in regular contact during my first trip (Floripa 2019). It was tough, but by the time I was off to Seoul for my next adventure, he was ready to join me! Seeing me live it really helped him to ease into it himself.
Our New Reality as a Nomad Couple
We jumped into remote/nomad life headfirst together. We explored Seoul from top to bottom, ate insanely spicy foods, and gawked at the sky-high mountains that surround the city. Our dreams had come true! We were officially on our first nomadic journey together!
And just like that, our lives fused. We were living, working, traveling, grocery shopping, and doing basically everything together. Such can be the case when you opt to go remote as a couple. All of a sudden you’ll find yourselves basically bound at the hip. I mean, it’s a natural human response — to stay close to what’s familiar when navigating unusual experiences. It was definitely very different from in our initial musings of how it would go. We had imagined how ‘locally integrated’ we’d get on our own. It was only through our experiences with Hacker Paradise that we realised how difficult that would be without our network of locals that the program exposed us to.
Seeking Balance
Initially, it was fun being together 24/7. But after a few days, it became evident that this new lifestyle could become problematic in the future. It was crucial that we strike the right balance between time together, time apart, and time with other members of our community. Without the Hacker Paradise community, I don’t think we would’ve had the success we’ve had as a remote nomad couple. The built-in crew offered us each the opportunity to develop friendships with incredible individuals that we wouldn’t have met otherwise. People who came together to share exciting lived experiences in each city we visited.
Quickly Shawn and I found our rhythm. We found our own unique interests within the community and started to explore more independently. Knowing that we were part of a caring, inclusive community encouraged us to branch out in our own directions while staying rooted together.
Not only has HP allowed me to marry my dual loves of travel and remote work, but it’s given me the structure and support to bring my loved one with me. I have no doubt that had we gone remote on our own, we wouldn’t have had such an enriching experience. It’s the motivation and joie de vivre that we get from the community that keeps us excited to continue exploring.
From Me To You
For those considering hopping on an adventure like this as a nomad couple, my advice is to go for it! But, be prepared. Be aware that you’ll be spending about double the amount of time as usual with your partner. Be aware that living, working, and traveling together is about as intense an experience as you can have with your partner. So if you take anything away from this, I hope its that having a travel community to rely on is a really important part of hitting the road! Hacker Paradise has been our saving grace: the built-in crew of amazing fellow nomads, the inspiring coworking spaces that allow us to be productive while travelling, and the diverse programming that gives us an avenue to explore things we are each uniquely interested in.
Now, nine months later, we’re feeling as fresh as can be and excited to continue exploring. We’ve each found our own groove as individuals and are stronger for it as a nomad couple. No matter where our nomadic lives take us, I know that we now have the skills and experience needed to undertake this adventure together!
