Digital Nomad Life: USA COVID Edition
My 2020 goal was to begin living in the same city full-time again, finally get rid of my virtual mailbox, and resume living a normal civilian life where my friends aren’t always surprised that i’m in town. COVID-19 arrived though, and I somehow found myself living the digital nomad life again, however this time, it was unintentional. While I know we’re all supposed to be sheltering in place in our actual homes, what would you do if your home is simultaneously the global epicenter of the coronavirus & also just not viable for being in 24/7? I’ve always been of the spirit of asking myself “how can I make this situation better"?” so when a friend asked if I wanted to leave NYC for a week getaway mid-March, I said yes. One week has turned into nine thus far consisting of basing ourselves in sparsely populated rural towns with low COVID counts. Where you can still easily find provisions, avoid other human beings, live in a relatively affordable & spacious house, and enjoy nature for some respite.
Prior to this, I felt extremely fortunate to live on a cute, picturesque, tree-lined block of Soho, but during these unprecedented times, none of that matters. Nothing seems more like a nightmare than being solo-quarantined in my ~450 sq. foot apartment without outdoor space, hand washing my laundry, waiting on long lines with angry New Yorkers to go inside a grocery store to only find empty shelves once inside, or the alternative of making people deliver everything I need and thereby risking their lives whilst simultaneously my own when they make the delivery by having to interact with another human being that I don’t know. Getting fresh air safely is also nearly impossible as my favorite outdoor activity pre-COVID was going for walks and exercising along the Hudson River but during COVID-times, New Yorkers don’t listen and it seems to look just as busy as it did during peak summer 2019 so it’s best to just avoid.
As the United States became increasingly alarmed about the coronavirus mid-March, all the shelves at my local stores in the Soho/Tribeca area became increasingly barren and seemingly never replenished. Finding fresh, pantry, or frozen food items was nearly impossible, and just forget about finding cleaning products or toilet paper. I’m sure this is how it was in most of America but it’s even more painful when you’ve spent all the time walking there and mentally prepared to haul what you can back using your backpack and totes due to lack of having a car. So, when my friend began working remotely and asked to leave the city, it seemed like a great idea. I had spent that same morning standing on an endless line at Trader Joe’s where once inside, I was pushed aside, food was grabbed out of my hands, and I was rammed into multiple times with shopping carts by aggressive New Yorkers who adopted an “every man for themselves” attitude. Nothing seemed more appealing than being in the country and not seeing a soul.
Having led the digital nomad life over the past ~3 years, I know I am more equipped than most as I already lived a mostly virtual life when it came to working remotely and maintaining relationships with friends & family as my life was already sprinkled around the globe. I long ago had embraced Instagram DM’s, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Messages, and of course Zoom. The difference however is I could always plug into social circles in-person wherever I actually was as I tended to go where I have a network already (i.e. London, Lisbon, Porto, NYC, Taipei). This time however, my in-person adventures are just me, my friend, and nature.
I’m a bit late with recounting my adventures but it’s never too late so here we go! We’ve spent thus far a week in Martha’s Vineyard, a week in Maine, 6 weeks in New Hampshire, and it will have been 4 weeks in North Carolina by the time we leave.
Enjoy the posts to come as I recount my digital nomad life adventures during COVID times in America!