How to make friends as a digital nomad (and keep them)
Ask long-term digital nomads what the hardest part is, and it's rarely the wifi or the visas. It's the people. You meet someone great, and a week later one of you is on a plane. After a year of goodbyes, plenty of nomads stop trying.
You don't have to. Here's how people who've been nomadic for years build friendships that last.
Slow down
Stay at least a month
The single biggest change you can make. A week somewhere is a holiday. A month gives you time to become a regular, see the same people more than once and get invited to things. Monthly rentals are also much cheaper per night; see what a month costs on our cost pages.
Return to the same places
Many experienced nomads build a loop of two to four cities they come back to every year. Each visit, the friendships pick up where they left off, and you arrive to a calendar instead of a blank page.
Go where your people are
Pick cities with real communities
Some cities are full of remote workers year round, which makes meeting people much easier. Lisbon, Chiang Mai, Medellín, Mexico City, Canggu and Buenos Aires all have regular meetups, coworking events and nomad groups. Compare them on our best cities guide.
Use coworking spaces as your office and your social life
Choose a coworking space with a kitchen, events and regular members, not just desks. Eat lunch there. Go to the Friday drinks. That's where most nomad friendships begin.
Try coliving for your first month somewhere new
Coliving gives you a ready-made group of housemates, shared dinners and weekly activities. It costs more than a regular rental, but for a first month in a new city it can be worth it.
Use your network
Ask who your friends know in each city
Before every move, ask your friends and your nomad friends who they know there. Nomad networks overlap constantly: the person you met in Chiang Mai knows someone in Mexico City who knows someone in Lisbon.
Overlap on purpose
When a friend says they'll be in Bali in March, go in March too. Planning trips around people, rather than only places, is how nomad friendships survive the moving.
Keep friendships alive between cities
- Share where you're going. A simple message or story when you book your next stop lets friends nearby know you're coming.
- Call friends in your time zone. It's easier to keep a friendship going when you can talk at a normal hour.
- Meet up in between. A long weekend somewhere halfway is a great reason to see each other.
- Invite people to join you. "I'm in Tbilisi for May, come for a week" is how a lot of the best nomad trips start.
Questions
Is being a digital nomad lonely?
It can be, mostly because of constant goodbyes. Staying longer in each place, choosing cities with big remote-worker communities and arriving through friends of friends all make it much less lonely.
How do digital nomads make friends?
Through coworking spaces, coliving, meetups and events, and increasingly through friends of friends in each new city. Staying a month or more is what turns those first meetings into friendships.
What is the best city for meeting other digital nomads?
Cities with large remote-worker communities, such as Lisbon, Chiang Mai, Medellín, Mexico City, Canggu and Buenos Aires, have the most events and the easiest social scenes.
How do nomads keep in touch with friends?
By sharing where they're heading next, planning trips to overlap, calling friends in nearby time zones and meeting up halfway. Many build a loop of cities they return to each year.