Feeling Lonely as a Digital Nomad? Here’s How Co-Living Can Help

Loneliness can be a struggle for nomads, but it doesn't have to be. Here's how you can find community wherever you are.
Founder, Co-x3 Family Foundation
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When I attended my first digital nomad conference a month ago at Colive Fukuoka 2024, I was buzzing with excitement and curiosity. It was my first time at an event dedicated entirely to celebrating and promoting the nomadic lifestyle. I couldn’t wait to meet people who, like me, were living life on their own terms.

And I did meet some incredible people—individuals pursuing their passions while travelling around the world. But as the days went on and the conversations deepened, I realized that it wasn’t all rosy. In random chats and panel discussions, one theme kept coming up: loneliness.

Many attendees shared how, while they loved their freedom and independence, they struggled with the emotional toll of their lifestyle. Constantly moving meant relationships felt transient. People spoke about the heartbreak of losing connections when friends moved on or settled down.

Their stories hit close to home. I remember how tough it was when I first left Canada at 21 to travel to Singapore and build my first company. The excitement of new adventures was often overshadowed by the emptiness of leaving friends behind or struggling to build connections in unfamiliar places.

Today, I am incredibly lucky to have a community that helps me feel at home no matter where I am in the world, and I want to help everyone feel that too.

So in this article, I'll share how I was not only able to "solve loneliness" for myself, but also how joining a co-living space like Our Family Without Borders helped me grow, learn, and live with amazing people around the world.

What Makes A Nomad?

There’s a lot of misconception about what it means to be a nomad. For most, being a nomad simply means being time and location independent—having the freedom to be anywhere, anytime they want. Digital nomads, specifically, embrace the ability to travel while earning a living by working remotely.

People pursue this life for a variety of reasons:

  • Seeking better locations to live
  • Chasing passions and dreams
  • Searching for like-minded people
  • Building their own ways of life
  • Wanting to break free from systems

But every lifestyle comes with trade-offs. For nomads, the biggest one is isolation.

The Isolation of Nomad Life

The nomadic lifestyle looks glamorous—picturesque views, endless adventures, and ultimate freedom. But the reality is often less idyllic. It's simply hard to build meaningful connections when you're on the move all the time.

Here are some struggles nomads face:

  • Starting Over Constantly: Moving to a new place means building relationships from scratch, which can be exhausting.
  • Transient Friendships: Quick bonds often dissolve just as fast when someone moves away or settles down.
  • Finding "Your Tribe" Takes Time: Even in nomad hotspots like Bali, Lisbon, or Chiang Mai, it can take weeks—or months—to connect with the right people.

Without strong social ties, even the most exciting destinations can feel lonely. Research shows that having meaningful relationships and a feeling of belonging is necessary for healthy and happy living.

At the conference, I noticed how nomads often move in "packs," chasing the next event or destination in hopes of maintaining connections. While that definitely can curb the feeling of loneliness, I've also heard firsthand how tiring it is to keep up and the difficulty of dealing with the FOMO (fear of missing out) when you miss an event.

How To Overcome Loneliness As A Nomad

"Can you really make meaningful, lasting connections as a nomad?"

That’s the question I kept asking myself. For the longest time, I avoided calling myself a nomad because it felt like an admission of loneliness—a self-fulfilling prophecy that I’d always be on the move, never able to truly connect. Many people I’ve met seem to believe this too, accepting that a nomadic lifestyle means sacrificing deep relationships for freedom.

Early on in my 20s, I learned that what I love most about traveling aren't necessarily the destinations—it’s the people. It’s those rare, honest exchanges of culture where conversations go beyond “How’s the weather?” to exploring what truly drives someone and makes them happy.

I’ve had unforgettable talks about family traditions over street food in Bangkok and learned about resilience from a fellow traveler while sailing in Grenada. It’s these deep conversations, rooted in curiosity and openness, that create meaningful moments and build our connection with a location.

But here’s the catch—finding people who are open to these meaningful interactions takes time. When you first arrive in a new place, building these relationships can feel like starting from scratch. It often takes weeks, sometimes months, to find your people. And during that time, it’s easy to feel isolated.

Tips I've Learned To Speed Up The Process

  1. Go Where Connection Happens: I’ve met some of my closest friends at co-working spaces, local meetups, and even gyms. These are the hubs where people naturally gather, so prioritize destinations with active, welcoming communities. For events, the more niche the topic, the easier it is to build a stronger connection. For example, I hardly keep in touch with people I met at boardgame meetups, but I ended up living with and being asked to officiate the wedding of someone that I met at a Notion meetup.
  2. Build a Network of Nomads: Stay in touch with the people you meet along the way. I love reconnecting with people in totally different countries than the one I met them in. Seeing familiar faces across continents makes the world feel smaller—and less lonely.
  3. Seek Depth Over Quantity: It’s tempting to join every social group just to avoid being alone, but that can drain your energy if the connections aren’t meaningful. Focus on quality relationships with people who inspire and uplift you.


Let’s be honest—this sounds exhausting. Putting yourself out there, trying to find the right people, navigating cultural nuances...it takes a lot of effort. And sometimes, you just don’t have the energy. After a long day of work or travel, wouldn’t it be great if these connections could just happen naturally?

That’s when I started thinking—what if we could make it easy? What if, instead of hunting for connection, it came to you?

Co-living Is The Answer For Loneliness

I believe that people naturally gravitate toward the path of least resistance. When you’re navigating a new country, juggling work, and trying to find your rhythm, meeting new people can feel overwhelming. The thought of putting yourself out there again can feel exhausting, and it takes a lot of willpower and energy, and its easy to just stay in.

That’s where co-living comes in. Imagine arriving in a new city and being immediately surrounded by people with shared values and goals. Common living areas, shared meals, and curated events provide countless opportunities to meet people who "get" your lifestyle. The beauty is in how organic it feels—friendships form naturally when you’re sharing a kitchen, brainstorming over coffee, or just relaxing in the common area. It makes it easy to engage because you're already in the same space, and you're all keen to connect.

The laughter coming from the common area, the warm welcome from my housemates, and the ease of settling into meaningful conversations made me feel like I was home.

The best part? Even when people come and go, the structure of co-living space ensures that you don’t have to start over every time and find a new place to build connections. These spaces naturally attract like-minded individuals, so you’re always surrounded by people who align with your values and lifestyle. It’s a revolving door of potential connections that elevate not just your experience as a nomad but your journey as a person.

At Our Family Without Borders, we’re taking co-living to the next level. You get to choose who you want to live with and find like-minded people who want to grow and level up together with you. It's the quickest and easiest way to feel at home in a new location, or finding a reason to love a location that you've written off before. Here, you're not just finding a room—you're joining a family.

Founder, Co-x3 Family Foundation
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Life Changes When You Meet The Right People.

Live with people who help you to grow and level up. Have organic conversations that are meaningful and relevant to your challenges and celebrate your wins together.

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