Digital Nomad Stories

Josh' Journey (Pt 1): Starting The Digital Nomad Lifestyle

• Anne Claessen • Season 2 • Episode 153

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Meet my nomad bestie and freelance video editor Josh Cooper.

Josh and I met in a coliving in Valencia, Spain - his very first destination as a digital nomad. In this episode, he tells us why he decided to go nomadic, how he prepared for this transition, and what's different than expected (so far).

Tune in for pt 2 in ~ 3 months.

Connect with Josh:


Connect with Anne:

Speaker 1:

Hey Nomads, welcome to Digital Nomad Stories, the podcast. My name is Anna Claessen and, together with my co-host, kendra Hasse, we interview digital nomads. Why? Because we want to share stories of how they did it. We talk about remote work, online business, location and dependency, freelancing, travel and, of course, the digital nomad lifestyle. Do you want to know more about us and access all previous episodes? Visit digitalnomadsdoriesco. Alright, let's go into today's episode.

Speaker 1:

Welcome to a new episode of Digital Nomad Stories. Today I'm here with my nomad bestie, josh, and we're going to be talking about Josh's journey, because Josh actually came up with this idea, which I think is amazing. He is a pretty new nomad. This is his first destination as a digital nomad, where he is right now. We'll share more about that as well. And he said what if I take you and the audience through whatever is going to happen next? So right now, we're recording part one of Josh's journey, which is more like probably we're going to be talking about leading up to this move that he made for his destination, why he picked Valencia in beautiful Spain, and how and what and why. And then next time, in a few months, we'll check back in and ask Josh where he is done, what he has learned in the meantime and what's new. So very excited about this little series that we're recording on a podcast. Josh, welcome to the show and thank you for this awesome idea.

Speaker 2:

No worries, hello, how are you doing Anna?

Speaker 1:

Hello. So, josh, can you tell me a little bit more about you, tell me, what you do?

Speaker 2:

Me Hi. Yeah, so I'm Josh. I am 34 years old, I am from England and I am a video editor. I've been professionally video editing since about 2010,. 2011 and I've been working freelance since 2050. And, yeah, this is my first dive into the digital nomad world. I was already working remotely due to changes that were brought in because of the lockdown and such, but, yeah, decided to take it to the next step.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, exciting. So can you tell us, before we go into, what made you take this next step and things like that? I also want to know what does life look like for you? So I already spoiled that you're in Valencia, but what does a typical day or a typical week look like for Josh in Valencia?

Speaker 2:

I sleep in Even. We're very blessed in this wonderful co-living place in Valencia that you yourself stayed in called Feverium, and we are very lucky to have a weekly cleaner and she has made a note of to the Spanish speakers that I am the one that sleeps in and I'm supposed to be the first room she cleans but she never can Sleep in. Make a nice late breakfast. I love my cooking. We've got a lovely kitchen, something with eggs and avocado normally and then, you know, people start to. You know most people are already waking and working, so there's always somebody in the lovely big kitchen table room that we have. We get to sit and chat and see how everyone is doing for the day.

Speaker 2:

What's everyone's day?

Speaker 2:

Looking like the sun is shining, the kids are screaming downstairs and looking to the and yeah, if that's a work day, then if I have to really concentrate, then I will either lock myself into my room or I'll go down to the co-working space downstairs, which again we're very fortunate to have.

Speaker 2:

But if it's a more kind of relaxed part of a project, like if I'm coming towards the end and I don't have to concentrate so much, then it's nice that I get to sit in the room with everybody and chat and we've got music and it's fun and it's silly and it's just truly wonderful.

Speaker 2:

And one great wonderful thing about being freelance is that I get days off quite often and so today, for instance, a friend of mine, chris, was in town so I went and met him, went and got some tacos, had a nice walk around, caught up. I haven't seen him in years Just enjoying the sun. He's in a similar boat where he just kind of needed a change in his life and he's made that jump and he's just talking about just how wonderful it is just meeting people from afar and different worlds and realms and jobs, and just how interesting and lovely it is just to kind of escape the bubble, because we both worked for the same job years ago and have both been in London for years thinking that's the place we have to be, and then have since learned that that is truly not the case.

Speaker 2:

It's much brighter and better outside of it. I freely took that.

Speaker 1:

No, the day that you described it really nice. No, you definitely did. I think you described it very well, including the kids screaming downstairs. That is also a thing. Yes, yes, don't miss that, not being a Valencian anymore. But no, I think you really describe the day so well. And how does it work exactly? When do you work or when do you not work? Can you share a little bit more about that?

Speaker 2:

So I'm still very on much on UK time to GMT, which is an hour less than Valencia, which again, despite the fact I sleep in it, works on my benefit, because work for me officially starts around nine, but a lot of my clients they're getting into the office for nine, half nine, and then they have to decide what my brief is for the day, so then they're not contacting me until 10 am UK time, 11 am Spanish time. So that's quite nice, that's wonderful. But then on the flip side, what's actually happened on the past few days is I've been tremendously busy and I've been working until eight, nine o'clock Spanish time, sometimes even 11, one night a few days ago. I'll just do that again just because of the door. Yeah, some nights I've been working.

Speaker 1:

I think it's okay. I think you don't have to rerecord. I heard it but like barely.

Speaker 2:

Barely Okay, Just carry on. Yeah, I worked until I was supposed to go out to dinner last night because a couple of the girls on the fifth floor were leaving today and I was working right up until I had to leave. I'll have random days like that where it's super, super busy, but it's kind of okay because I know I've got a day off coming and I know work, but then for the rest of the week. But the way it works for me is really like I have an agent. I'm with a wonderful team at a Soho editors based in London and they would just email me on a day and ask are you available tomorrow or are you available next week for this day? Between this day and that day, I say yes, Sometimes the job comes in, Sometimes it doesn't.

Speaker 2:

Sometimes it can come in but like weeks later and yeah, it's. It can be scary If someone's listening to this and they're thinking about freelance life. It is truly wonderful their freedom, and you don't have to worry about booking holidays. There can be days, obviously, where months with nothing coming in, but I just have to be a bit smart with my money and know that something will always come.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. So I was actually wondering about this because you lived in London before, and I mean, london is one of the most expensive cities in the world. I realised that you realise that now it's like you always know, but you kind of just like you deal with it.

Speaker 2:

But then you see how like fairly priced things are in Valencia, like we get so ripped off in that country. It's unbelievable. Every time I'm buying like group coffees or drinks and it's under 10 euros. I just I'm still shocked. It's truly wonderful.

Speaker 1:

Especially that, yeah, especially like going out for drinks and then, yeah, that's shocking, definitely so is like what is exactly the reason that you decided to move out of London and Valencia now, but digital nomanning from here on out. Can you talk more about you? Know what made you make the jump?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so I initially left London, so I guess it kind of goes back to COVID here. Really, I remember telling you this. I remember feeling really guilty because everything I was getting a little bit fed up with London life before COVID. The bus journeys in, bus journeys home, so sometimes it takes an hour, an hour and a half, and I might not be finishing work until seven. So I'm not getting back home until like half eight and I've got to eat dinner and then I'm going to sleep, to wake up, to go do it all over again and it's just not fun, it doesn't always feel worth it and I remember wishing for my life to quiet down, to pause, to breathe and I would love to work at home and then COVID hit. No, not like that story.

Speaker 1:

I take it back. I take it back.

Speaker 2:

But yeah, but I also felt guilty that I was somewhat relieved that I can work from home and I was able to buy myself a really powerful PC, great monitor, work for my lounge, and it worked. It was smooth, it was lovely and all my clients, they just had to adjust and it, you know, we found our ways to make it work. And, yeah, initially this is initially it was great, but then obviously over time, you know, it gets a little bit lonely and quiet doing that all the time. But what it taught me is that I don't have to be in London to do my job, and I hadn't always. I hadn't there's a few years of not being particularly happy there, like friends lived quite far away. You know, if I have to see them or if there was a you know a plan, I'm leaving that house thinking, okay, how long is it going to take me to get home? And that's not how I should be thinking. You know my mindset shouldn't be there when I'm going to be social with my friends. You know people moving away in couples, getting married, like kind of. I wasn't really seeing people that much all the time and it was just completely, you know, on me as well.

Speaker 2:

And so I initially decided to move to Bristol because I had friends there, lots of friends, and they're all very close to each other. So it got back to a point where I was having friends over at my house over a Friday evening or a Thursday evening, or I was going to their house, a real meeting in pubs, and that life kind of came back and it was wonderful. It was really great. But I had two, a couple of friends of mine called Morello and Jamie, who were a couple and they'd started digital nomading a couple of years ago. They came to Valencia, one of their first places, and I'd been following them for a while and they had spoken to me about it, like why don't you do this?

Speaker 2:

It's like no, I couldn't. You know, I remote work works because I'm in London and I've gotten good into now I couldn't possibly travel, like I need good internet. So I just I said no, without even researching or looking into it. And then, sadly, in Bristol the landlord sold and that was probably like the fourth or the fifth landlord on me to sell in the last five or six years and I was just fed up with moving all of my stuff. I was fed up with moving as a whole. I really wanted to just get rid of all of my stuff and just have a bag and just go somewhere. And I spoke to Morello and I asked her about the life and the places and how she makes it work. And as soon as I found the news about the landlord selling, I just said to my flatmate I'm sorry, I'm gone, I'm done, I'm going to go try this thing and just see what happens.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so the universe kind of gave you a little notch there.

Speaker 2:

Weirdly. I need to thank the landlords.

Speaker 1:

Yes, I mean. What I'm hearing, though, is that there was just that you were unhappy with how things were, and then there are just a lot of things happened to make you see an alternative, because when you first didn't feel excited about your life, then there was. It felt like there was no alternative. Right, because that's just what you do. Right? You just live in a city, you go to work, you come home and you do it all over again.

Speaker 2:

You know, something will come along and change this.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

Can't sit and wait on those things.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, exactly. And you also made the best out of a really shitty situation with first COVID and then the landlords just having to move again. Pretty funny that you said I didn't want to move again, so then you become a digital nomad. That's kind of what we do, right.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, I see the irony, but like there's a key image that keeps coming to my brain and it's stupid. But one of the houses I lived in in London had this ridiculously big bed. I had a huge room and it came with this ridiculously sized bed but no mattress that I had to fill with a Super King mattress and it was memory film and that thing followed me around for like five houses and it's the biggest pain in the ass that I've had to move in my life. And like. That is the image of like I always go to, just like I want this thing gone and like, and the fact that I'm not carrying that around with me. I just feel so light, like I've got a travel bag and an equipment backpack. That's literally all I have.

Speaker 2:

And so moving, you know, yeah, well, that's also why I kind of chose to stay in Valencia for three months for my initial experience of digital nomadding, because I don't want to be flying here, there and everywhere month to month. I kind of like be still, but now I'm like, now I've done this, I'm looking forward to the next time I can come to the Schengen. Is it Schengen or Schengen, schengen, schengen? I'm going to do the jump around a bit more Like go place to place, month to month, just to see more experience, new cultures.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I saw hear you on feeling so light with just having a suitcase or a backpack and not having a whole apartment of stuff anymore. I also, I totally felt that as well.

Speaker 1:

At first, I had a really good cry for saying goodbye to my apartment five years ago and I started nomadding because I love it. Was a really shitty apartment, like it was so shitty, but it was mine, you know. Yeah, so, and it was the first apartment that was actually mine and I live with roommates but still, like my room was mine. So, yeah, I don't know. And then after that, just having no stuff, basically just a backpack with some clothes that felt so good and so light, Like you said, you can just literally pick it up and go and go to the next place, so good.

Speaker 2:

I've always enjoyed as well like just doing the whole airport thing on my own Whenever I've gone for group holidays. Sometimes I would book the day before, the day before everyone else flies in the day after, just because it's so easy just doing it on your own. You don't have to wait for anybody or anything, you can kind of just sit quiet. So yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, definitely. It's also that freedom of just doing your own thing and not having to wait for anyone. That totally makes sense. So you did mention that your friend went to Valencia and that that was kind of probably what was partly what's part of the idea. But why specifically Valencia? Why not Madrid or a completely different country?

Speaker 2:

Because they came back. They came back, they went and as soon as their Schengen days were open again, there was the first place they came back to. They loved it here and I trust their opinion. I trust their opinion. They've been like so many places since, and I was talking to Marilay the other day about Cape Town and she spoke very highly of it, so that's like an option now. But, yeah, yeah, it's just simply because they came back and that's a good sign.

Speaker 2:

And I hadn't even heard of Coal Living until I started. I literally Googled co-working in Valencia, looking for what kind of rentable office spaces there were, because my main thing in my head was I need good internet. So that was kind of like the first thing I was searching for, and then that just led to CoalLivingcom. And then, lo and behold, there were two options of Coal Living spaces that I was looking at like. The other one age range was like 18 to 30. And I was like and this one was like 25 to 40. I was like, OK, I'll go for the latter because it suits me more.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, the older piece yeah.

Speaker 2:

And then here I am.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, here you are. So this is your first nomad destination. How is it? Does it meet your expectations or is it completely different?

Speaker 2:

It's made me happier than I ever could have expected it for it to have made me. I didn't know what to expect of the place itself. I knew it wouldn't be hostile like because they're a completely different breed of accommodation, but I just didn't expect such quick and wonderful interpersonal relationships with people you've just been thrown into a house with. And there's one thing with the very amount, I didn't know what single thing about that.

Speaker 2:

It was Pablo who runs it was trying to. He wants to build it as a kind of what would you say, like a community with rituals and and all that kind of stuff. I didn't know that that was the thing. And there would be, like you know, team dinners and team meetings. I didn't know that that was happening before I got here, but they really fought by the wayside versus the random dinners that we would have together of an evening that we just, you know, just plan it Once cooking was up, would you like some? And then it turns into this like amazing night, or or just talking into the early hours just on the surface and laughing at being like just utterly, utterly silly.

Speaker 1:

And it's.

Speaker 2:

it's so wonderful and like yeah it's the on the silly point.

Speaker 2:

I feel like it really. It's really reconnect to be to my silly side and I feel much more myself here than I like have for a long time, just because it's. It's just so relaxing and everyone's on the same boat. Everyone's here for quite a similar reason and all you've got people here that have been doing it for a while, so they just like they have. This is a level of understanding that you share as to why you're here, that it's just lovely to be around, yeah.

Speaker 1:

Well, well said, very beautiful. I described the relationships that you, that you you've built in in the co-living I think you describe it so well and I have such a similar experience Like it's been so, so amazing. And I didn't expect that when, when I thought, okay, let's try co-living, because you know people are excited about this, let's give it a go, and I like people, you know, so let's, let's see how it goes. But I also I never expected to build such strong, deep connections with people which are like with strangers, they're literally just.

Speaker 2:

They just throw strangers into an apartment together, like yeah, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know how together and I don't know how Pablo has chosen people, but he is really, yeah, codified and what's the word where curated wonderful people and put them together. So it's really great.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so true. So, yeah, it was a better experience than you expected. Maybe, yes, yeah much better. Yeah.

Speaker 2:

I'm gathering from what people have said that, like we, just how nice for very the variant is definitely spoil, as my first experience with a co-living space, just like how kind of together it is as unfunctional. So yeah, I'd be interested where you know I end up next. But then you know, I guess the topic we've discussed the most is the people, right? So it's kind of like the people is what important and it's the people that make the best of your time here.

Speaker 1:

Definitely. So what are your plans to go? Where do you want to go next, and are you going to? Co-living or Airbnb's, or can you, I don't know? Do you have plans for after the variant?

Speaker 2:

Nothing solid, nothing booked in yet. I know you and I and our new First Floor Forever powers are talking about January, but I'm still kind of in the air about what to do for December. So I leave here in November, late November, and obviously there's Christmas and you know, go home and see family. But it's like part of me feels like not ready to go home yet, like I haven't been away long enough and I kind of want to stay in the heat. But I have like listed places that I would like to see. Like Cape Town is one of them for sure, because I, for now, I have to kind of stay within a certain amount of hours between the UK time. So, like you know, cape Town is not too different. We've been talking about Egypt and then you know shinghen, wise, when I can come back in, I want to see the Netherlands, I want to see Germany, I want to see, like well, I guess, bulgaria and Croatia that they're kind of oh, is Croatia, those that in in shinghen now.

Speaker 1:

I think so. I'm not sure, to be honest. I feel like they like recently got at it, but I'm not a hunksman. Sure, I know that they recently got the Euro, but I don't know if that means that they're also in a shinghen zone now. I have never had to look that up, luckily enough.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, you're so lucky, very fortunate that.

Speaker 1:

I don't have to look that up, yeah.

Speaker 2:

But like our dear friend Emma Emma, she's spoken about bandscape, Emily, she spoke about bandscape which looks really fun, and she's currently in Morocco at a work surf co-work surf which I was looking at for December. But weirdly there are no flights to Morocco from November onwards. So no direct flights anyway. So I'm not really sure what to do about that. But I'm also fortunate that for my odd, odd, odd job I've got some random air miles for Virgin flights, so if I wanted to do Christmas I could take myself to Jamaica. So I might do that.

Speaker 2:

I might not be able to work as much, but December, January is not really quite quiet anyway. So I have an ultimate goal I really want to see Japan. I've wanted to go for years, but before I kind of end up in that side of the world, I do want to go to the countries around Europe because I've not done it. I've never. I never did the gap here. I've never done like interailing when I think like that. I started work immediately after university, so I just never had a break. So yeah, this is kind of my first true exploration of our beautiful little blue marble.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, did you travel and like when you had vacation, or like some backpacking, or not at all?

Speaker 2:

No backpacking. No backpacking we would like vacation holidays would take would be typical Brit holidays to our beifa and Manorca and stuff like that, and, like you know, france holidays with the family. One as a child, alcante, I did used to travel a lot for work. I've been to America for normal amount of times like just because we just kept doing photo shoots, which was, yeah, one great. That's why I have the airmars and I've been to Zambia once before for a video job as well, which was a wonderful experience. Yeah, that was a and I had a. Yeah, that was wonderful.

Speaker 1:

Cool, awesome, well, lots of countries and places to go on. Lots on the bucket list with number one, japan.

Speaker 2:

Exactly.

Speaker 1:

Which I am not surprised by, of course. We went to a ramen place in Valencia which was amazing. It was like stepping into a whole Japanese world within Valencia.

Speaker 2:

My brain.

Speaker 1:

It was awesome, it was so cool, but, yeah, so that does not surprise me and I'm so excited for you that you have all these places to go and I mean not that I don't have a lot of places to go, but hopefully it's so cool that you like that this is your first nomad destination and that you still have so you know, like so many places that you want to go such a bucket list of places to go and so exciting. So, starting with a new chapter, it's crazy how easy it feels.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, exactly yeah. And you know you bump into a lot of great people here. Like I said, you've been doing it for a long time or they've just. Maybe they're just doing like a quick holiday, but they've been to lots of places before and and they're just like, yeah, you just, I just booked it and I just went and it's like, yeah, it kind of you know, like you know, we're in a privileged position.

Speaker 2:

You know, with our work and our financial situation, that we can do this, but it's, you know, that person that I was a few years ago when saying no. I wish he realized this.

Speaker 1:

How kind of simple it can be right, I think I can do this. I think we just make it a big thing in our head and, yes, I think some things are a lot, but I think we overwhelm ourselves with these kind of things.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, you just kind of get you know. It's quite easy to get stuck in your ways and you know in what's comfortable.

Speaker 1:

Yes, exactly the comfort zone.

Speaker 2:

A word I've used a lot is like I definitely like I felt stagnated. There's a word that often comes to mind for me through my own fault.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, but I mean that's also, I think, life right, that just happens. I think you're not the only one who feels that way or felt that way, and it just it probably happens to all of us at some point, and then I think, taking yourself, like you said, out of the bubble meeting completely new people being in a different environment that can have such a huge impact.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, especially is like when you know, with the lockdown I kind of like I was welcoming it, like I'm on my own, I get to work from my bed, right, don't have to talk to people in the office about work, but then you know that kind of that big freeing bubble that over the years I just got smaller and smaller and smaller.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, the bubble got smaller and that, now that you have stepped out of the bubble, probably that you know that.

Speaker 2:

yeah that I like, like I thought I was happy and out, not having the office environment, not having the social life, like the social aspects of, you know, working with people, and then what I've found from here is that I've flourishing it and what's. I guess it kind of works here because we don't all work for the same people. We're not like you know. Everyone has a different job and the jobs are all amazingly varied and so fascinating. So it's generally enjoyable to talk to people about what they do and, yeah, I miss people more than I thought I get it and it's, yeah, it's so fun, it really is.

Speaker 1:

Well, I'm so excited to get you back on a podcast in a few weeks to hear where you are then when.

Speaker 2:

Like, let's see where you're going after Valencia Back off. I don't know.

Speaker 1:

Josh's journey, part one and the only part.

Speaker 2:

Blood twist.

Speaker 1:

Blood twist. Well, you signed up for this series.

Speaker 2:

Get your money back now.

Speaker 1:

Josh living in his mom's couch. Who knows If that would be the case, dear listener, we will tell you, but I'm sure it will not be.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, if you don't see that episode in two months time, then you know.

Speaker 1:

Something's wrong here. No, I'm sure that won't happen, because you've had this amazing experience in Valencia and all these nomads that you now also know and that you can, you know, ask for advice or suggestions on where to travel next. And, of course, we're meeting in January, so you have to be on January.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I can come and crash on your couch.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, exactly that too. I wouldn't do that in the summer, though, because it's very cold here in Germany, so I don't recommend it, but it's possible, at your own risk.

Speaker 2:

At your own risk of freezing In January. Yeah, Very excited about January.

Speaker 1:

Well, I'm so thankful that you came up with this idea of recording Josh's journey episodes. Thank you so much for being here today and sharing part one. Can you tell us where people can find you? If they want to I don't know follow along the journey while you're on it.

Speaker 2:

I promise to get better at posting about the journey. I'm not the best at Instagram my mum gets angry about it but I am at hey H-E-Y. Josh Cooper, c-o-o-p-e-r. Yeah, so far I've posted three things and I've been here for a month, but I will do more. I promise I will try at least. I've also been filming like a second a day For most of the day it's not every one which I plan to turn into a nice little edit at the end of Valencia and I'll try to do one of those for each place. That kind of jazz yeah.

Speaker 2:

If you are interested in my video work at all, it is HJCProductionscom. Yeah, it needs to be updated as well, but I'll work on that at the same time that I work on my Instagram.

Speaker 1:

Okay, perfect, Cool. Well, make sure to add those links in the show notes so you can just click the links there. Follow Josh on Instagram, for sure, so that he has a good reason to also keep us updated there and post some cool stories and posts and one-second a day videos and things like that.

Speaker 2:

Thank you, anna. You too, thank you so much for listening.

Speaker 1:

I appreciate it very, very much. I would appreciate it even more if you could leave a review on Apple Podcasts for me. That way, more people can find this podcast, more people can hear the inspiring stories that we're sharing, and the more people we can impact for the better. So, thank you so much for listening. I appreciate it very, very much. I would appreciate it even more. So, thank you so much if you are going to leave a review. I really appreciate you and I will see you in the next episode.