Digital Nomad Stories

Josh' Journey (Pt 2): Resilience and Growth

July 29, 2024 • Anne Claessen • Season 2 • Episode 191

Share episode

What happens when digital nomads don't get enough work while on the road?

Meet Josh Cooper, a resilient freelance video editor from the UK, who shares his journey through the rocky landscape of the UK TV and film sector.

But it's not all about work; we also discuss the emotional and physical hurdles of a nomadic lifestyle. Josh opens up about dealing with work-related stress, personal health issues, and the emotional complexities of returning home in his mid-30s.

Listen to my first interview with Josh: Josh' Journey (Pt 1): Starting The Digital Nomad Lifestyle

Connect with Josh:


Connect with Anne:



Speaker 1:

Hey nomads, welcome to Digital Nomad Stories, the podcast. My name is Anne Klaassen 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 independency, freelancing, travel and, of course, the digital nomad lifestyle. Do you want to know more about us and access all previous episodes? Visit digitalnomadstoriesco. All right, let's go into today's episode. Hey nomads, welcome to a new episode. Today I'm back with Josh Cooper, my nomad friend, and we recorded an episode almost a year ago. Well, it was in September and now that we're recording this, wow, it is June this was supposed to be a three-month thing it's about three or three months sorry but we're back, hey, and I'm really excited to have you back on the show, josh.

Speaker 1:

Let's do a little update. Good to be back, yay. So, okay, let me provide some context. So, while you're listening and you haven't listened to the last episode, yeah, so we'll link in the show notes in case you want to listen. But george is a video editor, freelance video editor, from the uk, and last year we met in Valencia. So, um, and you just started nomading, right?

Speaker 2:

yeah, just it was my first venture. Yeah, it was my last for a while yeah, so tell us more what happened yeah.

Speaker 2:

So here's the thing about digital nomading it kind of requires some planning and some forethought and preparation. One would say. At least have a secure financial situation perhaps would be good. I'm suddenly talking really partially. I've changed how I speak, yes.

Speaker 2:

Well, we were supposed to do this in January, I think, when we were in Cyprus and I just remember I wasn't like in, I didn't feel in like a good headspace to be able to talk positively about what's going on right now, if you know what I mean. But basically, like it was a huge snowball of many things where lots of industry-wide changes were happening, but it's still going on now where the tv and film industry in the uk is not in a good place. There have been people that haven't been stepped on a set for two years, two, three years now, unfortunately, there's even been some like suicides because people just haven't had work. Or there's some stories of people who are working. There's too much demand on singular people and it's not in a good place right now and my agency, who were a client of mine that I was quite heavily reliant on, had their hardest year of 25 years, which happened to be the year that I was started digital, to note digital nomading, and also I had another main client of mine, which was Burberry Fashion House. They kind of stopped working with freelancers in the same capacity after having a new CCO who didn't want to do much video work anymore.

Speaker 2:

So I hadn't prepared for this. Like I, in all of my eight, nine years as a freelancer I haven't always had to do a lot of new business, a lot of outreach. I've been quite fortunate in that. But then suddenly it came to buy me in the ass. So yeah, I just I was basically running on fumes when I was here last time, eating into my corporation tax bill savings to keep the business going and just and being aware that it wasn't good but just, or because for years it's always like I've always had quiet periods and then something comes in and, like you know, get paid like five, six, seven grand. It's like everything's okay and that just wasn't happening anymore yeah, it was.

Speaker 2:

It was all gone, and so I just I kind of. After Cyprus in January, I went back home to my parents and I just had to say look, I need to stay here. Work's dried up and I did have plans to come back to Valencia in March. I think it was going to be. I just had to bail on all of that and go home and recuperate and actually start using LinkedIn, build my website properly, get my Instagram out there and start doing outreach. But good news is it effing worked. You did it, I did it.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

It didn't. It took. There were some dark times. There were moments I was like all right, I think this is it. Maybe I'm not an editor anymore and start looking into other jobs and seeing that I'm not matched up in any way to normal jobs, because this is all I've been doing for the last like yeah 10, 11 years or whatever it is, and but then I got very like lucky and stuff started coming through.

Speaker 2:

I reached out to some local devon filmmakers and there's one guy called chris really came through. I came at the right time for him because he was like super busy and needed help and and there I was and started working for this Instagram fashion account, which they've been amazing and it slowly, over time, it led to discovering a new client who are now a three well, and soon to be five day a week client, which meant like cool, I can come back to Valencia in june.

Speaker 1:

And here we are yeah, here we are, yeah, so I think it's really interesting, though, because I definitely remember that it was really tough for you when there was no work coming in. But I think it's also really important to kind of talk about it here, because you were so not alone in this.

Speaker 1:

No, like I've met so many nomads who did happen to where you know, things were going well, nomadic, nomaday, and then at some point I was like nowhere coming in yeah and just like ups and downs in terms of work and finances and stuff like that, and then you just sometimes need some time to kind of, you know, like get back to it, get some new work in. Yeah, and it's not easy. And I think it's really important to kind of paint the true picture here and not only have the highlights on the podcast, like oh yeah, we're in Valencia, you know, or sitting here in this beautiful apartment.

Speaker 2:

It's okay. No, no, in the back of my head, I'm like still very aware that this contract with these people won't last forever. They also don't pay as much as other clients, so I need to make sure I'm still doing new business and I have you know I've learned the lesson. Like don't sit on my laurels, don't become complacent again. Like it's not always going to be as smooth sailing as it currently is.

Speaker 1:

It's part of freelancing? I think Exactly. Yeah, Keep doing this forever, probably not always going to be as smooth sailing as it currently is.

Speaker 2:

It's part of freelancing? I think Exactly, yeah, keep doing this forever probably. I just got a little bit too lucky before, I guess, and yeah, and a bit blinded by like how much you know how much effort I have to actually have to put in, kind of thing yeah.

Speaker 1:

So would you say that for other new nomads, like maybe, like do you have any advice? Would you say like plan more, or is it more? Like you know, just get out there, do your thing and then you know when stuff like this happens, like don't worry. Yeah.

Speaker 2:

I guess, yeah, if you're starting out doing it, if you're planning to do it now and you're a little, a little bit unsure of your kind of work, consistency and financial situation, then secure enough for the next three months at least. Maybe, like I, when I left I was, I left the the country knowing that I I didn't have weeks and months of work lined up. I had a few days here and there, here and there, and you know, and and I just expected that to just carry on like you know, little blocks of work coming in. Yeah, I would say, yeah, I would do it knowing that you have consistent work coming in or that you've got a big bank of savings which you know I was, I was, I'm not fortunate enough to have, but if you do have that, then if you know that you've got your safety net and absolutely just carry on, but um yeah

Speaker 1:

yeah or I think, another way to do it might also be to go to places that are a lot more affordable yes, which is something I would like to do now, because I am spending a lot on accommodation here in Valencia.

Speaker 1:

I would quite like to spend a few months somewhere a bit cheaper yeah get some savings in which would be nice yeah, definitely, I think I mean that's what I did when I started my business. I just went to Southeast Asia, especially full cost of living, because I was like, okay, if I make a few hundred euros a month, that's enough to just live my life here and pay all my bills. And then, yeah, it's like less pressure to go in there a few hundred a month. Yeah, yeah, definitely I mean the only thing is like you need to fly there from where we are now, but if you would go for a few months.

Speaker 1:

I mean yeah, no, that's a way to save money and life's good there, you know.

Speaker 2:

It'd be worth the time zone shift, I think.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, I mean, I think, it could be for sure. So I mean, I think it could be for sure. So, in the time, though, we went to Cyprus also I don't think I mentioned it on the podcast, so I think Cyprus was so fun. So what we did with some people that we met in Valencia last year we have actually formed this really tight friend group and we said, okay, let's all meet up in January, and we decided to meet up in Cyprus, so we rented this huge over-the-top villa, beachfront villa, in Cyprus.

Speaker 2:

That if it was in peak summer would have cost like 40 grand. Yeah, I think it was like 40 grand In.

Speaker 1:

August. It would be 40 grand but we got this really good deal because it was off season. It was january. There was literally no one in that town. We went to ayia napa, which is like the party town dead zone in vipers. There was like literally no one, so that was interesting, but it also meant that we got such a good deal on this super swanky villa and lots of cats, so, yeah, we just went there shout out to pixie hope you're still alive.

Speaker 2:

They just coincidentally named the stray cat the same name or she would just look up when she heard the name?

Speaker 1:

yeah, so that was really fun. Did you have a?

Speaker 2:

good time. Yeah, so Cyprus was really lovely. I'm glad we did it. I was, I was, I've spoken to you and I spoken to Em about this. I was fully aware that I wasn't quite myself there, because I was. This was when it was all being revealed and I was actually finally accepting that work isn't going well, mixed with a little bit of heartache, which I am discovering seems to be a usual thing in digital nomad life now, hearing it from different places and different people.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

So, yeah, it was tough, and I also God, I realise I've been dealing with a lot Last time I was here in Valencia discovered that you know I've I've been dealing with a lot. Last time I was here in Valencia, discovered that you know I've got this lovely family inherited condition which revered its ugly head in my second month of Valencia and I couldn't walk for like a whole month and then, unfortunately, when we got to Cyprus it flared up again.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

So that kind of kept me in the house a little bit. So it's a shame. It's all under control now. I just have to take a pill for every day for the rest of my life, um, and yeah, so I had that. So it meant I couldn't come on. I couldn't even drive the car with you guys, I couldn't come on the long walks and stuff. It's such a shame, but it was still a really lovely time, lovely house. It allowed a lot of time for me to get my website done, yeah, and like start implementing like these plans of action to get work, because I didn't work a day yeah, I was doing free work for a couple of friends, which was a bit silly really, in hindsight but but yeah, even amongst all of it, we had a pool.

Speaker 2:

It was freezing cold, but I would swim in it anyway. We managed to go on a couple of walks. Lots of lovely straight cats.

Speaker 1:

And there was some sun in January.

Speaker 2:

There was some sun and you are like we. Basically there were upstairs rooms and downstairs rooms and the upstairs rooms had these wonderful views of just the sea and the coast and we swapped after two weeks each Just waking up to that and the sound of the waves.

Speaker 1:

That's the lovely part of this't it just like the privilege of having those moments, yeah, those experiences for sure do you feel like it helps that everyone was working and that you then were like, okay, let's just join in, yeah on this, yeah like work life and yeah, work on the website?

Speaker 2:

and stuff. Yeah, 100, it isn't. Yeah, it definitely.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, seeing everyone being busy, so, okay, yeah, better get my ass in gear, kind of thing yeah, and I think maybe also you know, like dealing with all that stuff, like you said, like oh, I wasn't myself, but I think it's, it's human right, like you have ups and downs and I think that you can still go through that with friends like that you don't have to be completely alone and like that you are in a beautiful place.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, while going through that, I feel like it might have made it a little less shitty, like oh, 100% rather than yeah, just dealing with the same stuff.

Speaker 2:

But being like in my parents house in the middle of winter in the UK, like yeah, yeah, but that was another part I would say about the last like a few months that I did spend back at home, like I began to see it as a bit of a failure, like being in my mid-30s and having to go stay in the parents' stuff. But then it's also just learning. That it's kind of part of this and everyone's kind of done it.

Speaker 2:

You, you were back home from yeah and stuff and and it was also, it was also necessary and it was also really nice to learn like, yeah, it's obvious that I have family that would be there when you know I need them to be. But my mum hadn't taken care of me or had me in her house for a longer period of time since I was 19. And I always just thought, from that point on it all has to be all on me, all on me, self-driven, self-care. But then just knowing that I don't know, it seems obvious. But having that safety net, that protection and a wonderful family, it was such a blessing and it brought me and my mom closer and I was like getting to see friends that I hadn't seen in a while. And it got to the point where I was having such a nice little life down in Exeter that when it came to leave I was a bit like sad to leave it suddenly yeah.

Speaker 2:

I was going on like really lovely long country walks and, yeah, it is so, so strange to be so fighting against it initially than to really like learning to love it that's really cool and it's very, I think very.

Speaker 1:

It's a good sign in nomad life when you're sad to leave one place but also excited for the next. I feel like.

Speaker 2:

That's always a really good sign.

Speaker 1:

I think that always means that you stayed exactly long enough yes, definitely you don't want to stay as long that you're like, oh my god, I cannot wait to leave, but you also don't want to stay like I, kind of financially I thought it would have been good to stay another month or so without having to pay rent, but hey, yeah what am I going to remember?

Speaker 2:

the experiences of coming here, or the money that I saved on my bank, kind of thing?

Speaker 1:

yeah, yeah. So what's your? What's your plan now for nomad life?

Speaker 2:

so I have july booked in valencia, and then I recently got invited to brittany with some friends that we have here, to solen's place. That will be a week in the first week of august and then after that I only have 23 days of shengen left. So what I'm thinking is I'm going to leave Schengen, whether that's going home or just somewhere out of the circle. I'm not sure yet, because I would quite like to maybe come back here in September because we have a few more friends here, don't we? So that would be nice. Japan is still very much on the list, very high up. I just don't know how I'm going to make it work. Southeast Asia now.

Speaker 1:

I mean it's underway.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, exactly, I do have some air miles that can get me to Shanghai, so that might help.

Speaker 1:

That might help, sure yeah.

Speaker 2:

I was just from. My first ever job in London was I was working for a photographer and we used to fly out to LA and New York all the time to shoot right and it was always Virgin Atlantic and we could.

Speaker 2:

You know it was on our account. They pay for it, but it was on an account on our names that we could save, like all the points. I flew so much in my like, first year there I became a gold member of, like Virgin Atlantic. It was like 20 odd times in a year that I flew. I don't know how I was getting past customs and I had so many points of watch. I've only got like there's so much left now, but yeah, like I said, it's enough for a one-way flight to Shanghai. Yeah, it's very useful. I've just been waiting for the opportunity to use it cool.

Speaker 2:

I did have loads, but my brother had, a few years ago, had a bit of an incident in uh where he lost all of his wallet and everything in uh, las Vegas, and I like I was like I have these points I can get you home, don't worry about it that's hilarious.

Speaker 1:

I lost a whole bunch of getting him back from Las Vegas that's very useful yeah okay, so you have some planned book, some ideas in mind, and the plan is to just keep, keep going from yeah, yeah, I'm not very good at the long-term planning. It's all like I mean you don't have to.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it's like month to month. Yeah, like I said, I am keen to go try and find like the non-shengen cheap kind of places that aren't too crazy with their hours from the UK.

Speaker 2:

But then I also don't mind that idea of having to work a little bit late. Like you guys all do it, all of our American friends, and they all kind of work in the evenings and seem to make it work. Ok, yeah, there is a lot of options, for sure, it's like I want to. It's weird because in general, I have a general desire to see as much as possible, but I don't have, like any specific places that like yeah you just want to see everything just like yeah, if someone says, hey, do you want to go here, but all right, yeah, let's do it yeah

Speaker 1:

yeah that's good. So I think it's. It's quite good to hear that, even though you had quite a bit of like a sad back a few sad backs that you're you're still excited about now that time, yeah, yeah now like, how is it, now that you're back in Valencia? Does it because you had probably high expectations? Yes last time, you know having such a good time, and then you know also working your way towards coming here for quite a while as well, like how is that?

Speaker 2:

it's it was. It's so good to come back. Uh, we I've been staying in this incredible apartment that our mutual friend, elise sorted out for me through some people that she works. It's lovely. I love being here. I am missing Bavaria in the way that I would. There's nine of us and we all meet up in the kitchen to just chat into the early hours Like I've got no-one here. No-one here, but I've been having people come and work from here because it's like it's a lovely place to work from. So headquarters now.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, little little mini, uh co-working dale cooper it does look like the headquarters of a startup where it kind of is.

Speaker 2:

The couple own it, they just work from here and they have their bed and that's kind of it. It's amazing and it's overlooking for people who have been to Valencia. It's kind of an apartment that's sitting at the back of Valencia Nord and the Coliseo and I'm overlooking all of that and it's very lovely, a lot of construction work, but you know Tiny man Can, and it's very lovely, a lot of construction work, but you know can't escape that. But yeah, in terms of expectations.

Speaker 2:

I feel like a lot of it has been reached and some hasn't. I've spent months watching videos and seeing friends have all these big nights out during fires and stuff, and I came with the expectation of, okay, there's going to be more of that, more of the nightlife stuff, and it hasn't really happened. But then it's not. It's not to say I haven't had lovely times, because I have, and it's not like I want to go out and just get wasted.

Speaker 2:

But well, that's not what you just said a long night out, not like going home, like to bed at midnight yeah, yeah, yeah, I don't know, but it's also, I feel like there's an element of you know, we reward our brain for new experiences and new sights and everything.

Speaker 2:

I guess I'm coming back to a place that I've been to and I've seen. I've noticed I'm not taking as many pictures as I did last time because like it's like I've been here before, but then so then it's up to me to do more experiences and stuff, and even just this like cycle ride back from the beach the other day that I didn't right use the bikes before, that was like a nice new experience. We're going paddleboarding on Sunday and we've got San Juan and then, yeah, all sorts of things come out.

Speaker 1:

So yeah, and there is a lot to do, I think, especially now going into summer, like there's so many festivals and activities we're going to like a candlelight live music thing soon as well, of like Coldplay's first album, which would be like really nice.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, solen, like send it to us too, I'll send it to you? Yeah, that's really cool it's really good that's sometime in August, I think no, because I'm not here in August. Must be July, yeah, but yeah it's. Yeah, I've been.

Speaker 2:

It's interesting to be waiting so long to come to a place and feel like you're missing out and then then you're here it's like all right, cool, yeah, it just feel well that coming back, just felt right, yeah felt like I was coming home, yeah, yeah, oh, that's so good, yeah, coming home, yeah, I think it's also interesting because you know like our friendship is it's.

Speaker 1:

It's quite special, I think, for a lot of people because, like we lived together for a month yeah, didn't see each other for months, no, lived together for another month yeah, didn't see each other for months yeah and then I mean, we don't live together but we see each other like quite often, right, which is kind of like, I think, for many people weird, but it feels so normal.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, like I remember, when you arrived back to valencia, when I arrived back to valencia and I saw our friend group again, it just, it was just so normal like after five minutes it was like I saw you.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that's the most strangest and wonderful part of this. Yeah, seeing you, it felt like I saw you the other day Our friends Vivi and Alize. When I first saw them it was like on the build-up to it. I thought it was going to be like jumping up and down. It was just like, oh, I feel like I just saw you yesterday. It's so great. That's like signs of good, good friendships, isn't? It like yeah, it's it could have been two days ago. It could have been two months.

Speaker 2:

It could have been two years and then nothing's like changed yeah, nomad, friendships or something.

Speaker 1:

I think blessings definitely blessings, blessings amen such a blessing.

Speaker 2:

I was supposed to say, and to you alright, joshua.

Speaker 1:

Thank you so much for giving us an update no worries. Thanks for having me.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it's been great to hear that everything is like going well yeah, I mean let's see in the next what six months a year in three months and we'll see when that is. Oh wow, we make the rules when will three months be?

Speaker 1:

where are we at now, june?

Speaker 2:

the 9th september and the september potentially be back here, so yeah, yeah, okay get on yeah, let's see where we are.

Speaker 1:

Okay, cool. Also, if you haven't listened to the last episode of george and I recorded it's in the show notes. Little reminder thank you for listening and until the next one. And that's it for today. Thank you so much for listening. I appreciate it 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 if you are going to leave a review. I really appreciate you and I will see you in the next episode.