Based: Cape Town, South Africa

Matt Davison left South Africa because of its tainted past and spent fifteen years travelling the world trying to find somewhere else to call home. He found the answer in a co-living in Palma de Mallorca — not a place, but an idea — and then came back to Cape Town and realised the place had been there all along. It took him another year to find the right house. Two and a half years later, Cape Co-Living is a home rather than a business, and he calls himself a community facilitator rather than a host.

This conversation isn't about the business model. It's about the memories. The dance party he came home to at eleven at night. Three hundred dolphins breaching at sunset with champagne in hand. A birthday at Gold Restaurant that felt like stepping into Africa itself. It's also about the harder things: a guest targeted and robbed, and how the whole house closed around him afterwards. The stark inequality of Cape Town, and the honest conversations Matt has with guests before they arrive. A hungry man on the street, a guard, and a piece of chicken.

Underneath it all is a question about what makes a co-living a co-living. Matt's answer is that the host has to bring the frameworks — the Monday meeting, the name written next to the plan — and then get out of the way. Facilitate, don't control. It's a conversation about coming home, building with intention, and what it means when a house full of strangers starts to feel like family.

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction, and why Matt

00:49 Three months at Cape Coliving, and the end of an era

01:22 Why he wanted a co-living: fifteen years of travel, and how isolating it can be

02:24 Palma de Mallorca, the co-living that changed his life

03:22 Back to Cape Town, and a year spent finding the right house

04:00 The dance party in the lounge

04:45 A 7:30am call from Philly, and a guest who wasn't a guest

06:13 Waking him up: you got robbed

07:14 Targeted and drugged, and why they warn guests

08:00 How the house closed around him, and trauma bonding in co-living

08:57 Staying vigilant in South Africa

09:34 Booking three co-livings because they all began with C

10:58 Never booking flights early, and the elephants on the booking page

12:06 All I heard was island: arriving at Robben Island by accident

13:13 Electric fencing, and what it feels like to touch it

13:52 Expectations of Africa, and embracing the mystery

14:45 The inequality, and where it starts to equalise

15:37 Informal housing, and what jars people on arrival

16:43 The question Matt asks every applicant before they come

17:40 The man who wanted the chicken, and the guard who stopped him

19:26 A normal Tuesday

20:18 Whether to give: night shelters, expectation, and the sandwich

21:31 Drugs, kids on the street, and the harder right answer

22:26 Wisdom teeth, painkillers, and walking the street without your wits

24:29 Seeing homeless people differently

Remaining timestamps are in the full write-up linked below.

Full write-up and transcript: https://www.ibimalik.com/podcast/matt-davison

Guest website: https://traveltractions.com

Watch: https://youtu.be/vxkT1mxltTI

Haz Memon doesn't believe in scaling. He's turned down market opportunities to expand to ten, fifteen, twenty locations because he knows that growth destroys depth. Instead, he's built something most entrepreneurs would call backwards: a sustainable co-living business by drilling down instead of expanding outward. He brings people together. He connects human beings in ways that transform them. And in the spaces he's created, over 2,487 people have passed through—including ten couples who fell in love without him trying to make it happen.

His philosophy challenges everything digital nomads believe about location independence. Freedom, he says, is not about being able to move whenever you want. It's a state of mind. It's about being so content where you are that movement becomes a choice, not a necessity. Which means you can be free in one location if your mind is free. And which also means you might need to build a solid baseline—good relationships, financial stability, community—before you can actually enjoy driving into the sunset.

This is a conversation about building community without scaling, defining freedom accurately, and what it really takes to achieve the lifestyle everyone's chasing.

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction, greeting

00:03 What's on your mind right now - being at Chateau

00:20 Do you want to retire early?

00:38 What is it that you do - bringing people together

01:00 How many couples have you made - 2,487 people, 10 couples

01:41 Theory about digital nomads and entrepreneurship

02:07 Ibi's parallel theory about co-livings and drilling down

03:13 Tribal thinking, creating depth vs. scaling

04:03 What does freedom mean exactly?

05:14 Do nomads need to be location independent for freedom?

06:09 Co-living isn't just for digital nomads

07:02 Destination vs residential vs hybrid co-livings

07:52 Focus on destination co-living for digital nomads and remote workers

08:52 Real example: London office worker using co-livings for remote work days

09:59 What are you trying to create? A sense of belonging

10:28 Freedom is a state of mind, being yourself without judgment

11:22 Co-living as home, welcoming guests as family

11:43 The importance of coming with open mind and open heart

12:28 Co-living Hub project and certifications

12:59 Co-living mafia question - standardization vs soul

13:47 What certification looks at: infrastructure, accessibility, sustainability, community

14:48 Two years of research with co-living founders, debunking fake co-livings

15:43 [Community-driven solution approach]

16:00 [Letting go and trust lessons]

17:00 [Growth versus contentment philosophy]

18:00 [Opening spaces in Switzerland and Greece]

19:00 [Personal philosophy on location and passion]

20:00 [Living in spaces - three months, then five minutes away]

21:00 Lived near first space for five years, then had to let go

22:28 Opening second location taught him to trust others

Remaining timestamps are in the full write-up linked below.

Full write-up and transcript: https://www.ibimalik.com/podcast/haz-memon

Guest website: https://www.ourescape.co

Watch: https://youtu.be/jXIhuXyjhls

Based: Nomadic

Jennifer Chuu didn't want to go to university. Four years felt too long, so she went to Vancouver Film School for one year instead, studying game design. Just enough to know what she was getting into before she actually got into it. Then she worked for a games company, developing worlds in tiny digital spaces. Sometimes she designed pet habitats for a game called Dream Pet House. Sometimes she created characters and assets she loved. The work was solid. It paid well. But it was also strategic. Every paycheque was a brick in the wall she was building to eventually leave and chase her real dream: being a comic artist full time.

When she got laid off at 23, she didn't panic. She had savings. She had time. She had hunger. She told her parents: give me one year. One year to debut herself in Taiwan as a full-time comic artist. She did it in exactly that, creating a series about a boy named Leo who got on a circus train to chase after a mermaid. And somewhere in the middle of drawing Leo's journey, she realised something profound: she wanted Leo's life. She wanted to travel and work like he did. She wanted to see what was beyond her own fish tank.

Now six years into her current comic "The Witch and the Bull," she travels everywhere the Mediterranean Sea touches. Not to escape her work, but to deepen it. Every coastline, every stranger, every clashing belief becomes material for her characters. She's learned that discomfort is where growth happens. That your characters hold pieces of your consciousness. That living your story doesn't mean you have to sacrifice telling it. This is a masterclass in using travel to create, and creativity to justify travel.

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction to Digital Nomad Stories podcast

00:37 Ibi's introduction to Jennifer's unique journey

01:08 Overview of Jennifer's story and \"The Witch and the Bull\

01:34 Transition into main conversation

01:46 Jennifer works on comics, currently six years into \"The Witch and the Bull\

02:07 Game artist career in New York for eight years

02:40 Working for Zynga creating 2D game assets

03:14 Designing pet habitats and environments for Dream Pet House

03:32 Jennifer's favourite design: detective Dutch hound house

04:13 Passion in game design versus other game companies

04:52 Laid off at Zynga, decision to pursue comic artist dream

05:22 Game artist job as savings strategy for dream

05:54 Vancouver Film School one-year game design course

06:18 Entering manga contests and parents' concerns about career

06:50 Parents asking for commitment, one year to debut in Taiwan

07:29 Creating circus train mermaid series over two years

08:01 Taiwan publication through Japanese company, webtoon format

08:54 Webtoon digital scrolling format versus traditional pages

09:00 [Publishing the Taiwan series and moving forward]

09:30 [First travel experience and Croatia inspiration]

10:30 [Character Leo inspiring real-life travel]

Remaining timestamps are in the full write-up linked below.

Full write-up and transcript: https://www.ibimalik.com/podcast/jennifer-chuu

Watch: https://youtu.be/9CLSISbJ9qY

Based: ½ Year in DC and ½ year Nomadic

Kristen Womble spent years living divided. There was travel Kristen and there was home Kristen, and they didn't talk to each other. She'd studied abroad in France at twenty, and when she came back, her friends made jokes. The study-abroad clichés were merciless. So she learned to hide it. She kept her travels private, her home life separate, maintaining two distinct identities that never quite fit together.

The more she hid, the more fractured she felt. She was being dishonest with the people she cared about most. There was this gap between who she actually was and who she was pretending to be, and that gap was painful. Then one day she made a choice: she decided to stop hiding. She decided to be brutally honest about who she was, what she was doing, where she was going. And something remarkable happened. The division started to heal.

Now she's a writing coach and publishing consultant who travels roughly a third to half the year whilst maintaining a home base in Washington, D.C. that exists purely for her personal life. She has Sunday family dinners. She plays on a weekly soccer team. She's built what most digital nomads spend years trying to achieve: true integration between both sides of her life. Not a compromise between them. Not choosing one over the other. But actually having both, fully, without the shame or the secrecy. This is what freedom looks like when you stop dividing yourself in half.

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction by Ibi

00:39 Ibi's introduction to Kristen's journey

01:06 Kristen's current lifestyle, writing coach, travel balance

01:29 Closing intro statement

01:38 How long nomadic, started 2022, now has home base in D.C.

03:20 D.C. home base, metro system, politics, distance from city centre

04:10 Pickup truck tangent and vehicles in American cities

05:00 [Main topic: Career path and consulting background]

06:00 [Main topic: Writing and publishing consulting]

07:00 [Main topic: Unstructured travel beginning, first solo trip]

08:30 [Main topic: Setting boundaries for first unstructured travel]

10:00 [Main topic: Identity crisis and siloing experience]

11:30 [Main topic: Study abroad experience in France]

13:00 [Main topic: Communication challenges with people back home]

14:30 [Main topic: Breaking the division, becoming transparent]

16:00 [Main topic: Benefits of being honest about travel]

17:00 [Main topic: Nomadic mindset and meeting new people]

18:00 [Main topic: Balance between travel and home base needs]

19:30 [Main topic: Family dinners and soccer team importance]

21:00 [Main topic: Community and roots whilst traveling]

22:00 [Main topic: When she got home base, end of 2024]

23:30 [Main topic: Career as location independent consultant]

25:00 [Main topic: Freelancing journey and business building]

26:30 [Main topic: Risk taking from position of safety and security]

Remaining timestamps are in the full write-up linked below.

Full write-up and transcript: https://www.ibimalik.com/podcast/kristen-womble

Guest website: https://passkeypublishing.com

Watch: https://youtu.be/5tMhIgw1Yc0

Based: Nomadic

Yelena McElwain discovered FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) at 25 when she read Tim Ferriss's "The Four Hour Workweek." But she didn't want to start a business like Ferriss did. Instead, she kept working as a data analyst, saved intentionally, and hit her financial independence number in ten years. Not because she was aiming for exactly ten years, but because she had a concrete target based on her spending: roughly 200 times her monthly expenses, or 25 times her annual spending. When the 4% rule is working in your favour, that's your ticket out.

She didn't quit immediately when she hit her number. She continued working for another 3-4 years while projects started shifting in directions she didn't want to go. Then she left, travelled full-time for three years, settled in Denver for another three, and now she dives on shipwrecks, practises yoga, and teaches meditation. She teaches Instinctive Meditation, a practice rooted in The Radiance Sutras, honouring individual nature rather than forcing rigid techniques.

Here's the twist that breaks all the assumptions about early retirement: she spends less now than when she was working. Her childhood in 1990s Russia taught her frugality, her Russian parents prepared her to always be ready, and that foundation made saving as natural as breathing. This is not a story about luck. It's a spreadsheet equation anyone can solve if they treat freedom as a number rather than a fantasy.

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction

00:37 Ibi's intro of Yelena, FIRE formula explanation

01:05 The 4% rule, ten-year journey, diving and meditation

01:34 Conversation beginning

01:45 How long nomadic, six years almost

02:00 Three years full-time nomad, three years half-time

03:00 Quit job whilst full-time nomading, got tired of travel, moved to Denver

03:30 Countries visited, Mexico, Colombia, Vietnam, Bali

04:30 Average 10-12 countries per year, one month each

05:45 Dive master training, diving on shipwrecks

06:24 Discovered FIRE at 25, Tim Ferriss \"Four Hour Workweek\

07:21 FIRE wasn't earth-shattering initially, unsure if it was for her

08:00 Tim Ferriss business path versus saving path

08:40 Data analysis career, studied economics

09:50 Data science explosion, right place right time

10:15 FIRE inspiration, saving mentality, not becoming big spender

11:00 Russian childhood foundation, frugality mindset

12:00 Set monetary target based on spending

13:00 The 4% rule explained, 200 times monthly spending

14:30 Portfolio growth assumptions, inflation adjustments

15:30 Real estate versus stock market investments

16:30 Ten-year saving journey, reaching financial independence goal

17:30 Continued working 3-4 years after hitting number

18:30 Projects not going in desired direction, decision to quit

19:30 Travelling whilst still working, remote work flexibility

20:30 First month or two identity crisis after retiring

Remaining timestamps are in the full write-up linked below.

Full write-up and transcript: https://www.ibimalik.com/podcast/yelena-mcelwain

Guest website: https://www.meditation-compass.com

Watch: https://youtu.be/1RPghL9albQ

Based: Nomadic

Andreea Rusu was sad and depressed in her Bucharest flat in June 2021, post-COVID, with no money to travel. So she bought a one-way ticket to Spain, spent half a year researching on YouTube and Google, and discovered the World Packers platform. She applied to 40 volunteer opportunities, got accepted to 12, and ended up in Anceu, Galicia—a 100-person village in rural Spain—to do some Instagram marketing for a co-living space.

What was meant to be a one-month stay became five months, then extended to two and a half years of returning repeatedly. Because when she arrived, something shifted. On a date before the trip, someone had asked her, "Who are you?" and she could only answer, "I'm Andreea and I'm a video editor." At Anceu, surrounded by strangers who became family, she finally discovered the answer. She wasn't just a video editor. She was a community builder. A connector. Someone who made strangers feel like they belonged.

Now she's building a directory bridging two worlds: community builders looking for places to volunteer, and co-living spaces looking for community builders. She's experienced 15-plus co-livings, understood the power of genuine curiosity, learned that what you feel is valid even when you grew up in a conservative environment that told you to shut up, and realised that being a community builder is actually a full-time job in mental space—even if volunteering looks part-time. If you want to know everything about co-living, about finding yourself by helping others belong, about the personal development bootcamp that is community building, Andreea is your person.

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction by Ibi

00:37 Andreea's story intro, depressed in Bucharest, one-way ticket to Spain

02:00 Discovery of World Packers, applied to 40 opportunities

03:00 Anceu co-living, Galicia, rural village

03:30 First month experience

04:20 Marketing volunteer role discovering co-living concept

05:30 Applied to 40 opportunities, accepted to 12, found Anceu

06:50 Stayed one month, emerged as community builder

08:15 The date question \"Who are you?\" identity crisis as video editor

09:30 InsideOut project by J.R., rural revival cause

10:30 Using InsideOut as excuse to stay longer

12:00 Two types of communities, online and offline

13:00 Building community in tiny 100-person village

14:30 Trust people, don't guide them through everything

15:00 Conservative upbringing, fear of speaking openly

15:45 Learning from others' stories, discovering multifaceted self

16:30 \"What you feel is valid\"—psychologist moment

17:00 Control freak lesson at team dinner, learning to trust

18:30 Lived there on and off, one year nonstop

20:00 Community expanded from co-living to village to neighbouring villages

21:30 Personal development bootcamp aspects

23:00 Permission to fail, observer role, awareness of impact

24:30 Friends around the world, friendships built through co-living

25:30 Material benefits, no rent, maintaining freedom

Remaining timestamps are in the full write-up linked below.

Full write-up and transcript: https://www.ibimalik.com/podcast/andreea-rusu

Watch: https://youtu.be/jo-hT8Yy9ZQ

Based: Nomadic

Ab Khurana treats his entire life as a series of experiments, including the experiment of having a normal life. Two years ago, the timing was right to settle, so he signed a lease in San Diego, built a routine, joined sports leagues, dated normally—all the standard stuff. Then, two years later, the timing was right to leave, so he left. Some people would call that a success. Some would call it a failure. Ab just calls it valuable experience.

He doesn't theorise about what he wants. He runs experiments and observes the results. His framework: try ten things, you'll love three, hate three, and feel neutral about four. But only once you've actually tried them, not just imagined them, will you know what to orient your life around. San Diego taught him he's definitely a beach and sun person. That making new friends as an adult matters to him. That two years of routine felt good but not complete.

Now he's pursuing the specific things his twelve-year-old self always wanted to do whilst the window is still open. Machu Picchu, check. Erupting volcano in Guatemala, check. Scuba diving certification despite being scared of water, check. Next up: the Galapagos Islands, a safari in Africa, a month on a farm with WWOOF making things with his hands instead of pushing pixels. And eventually, being a tourist in India, the country where he spent his first thirteen years but hasn't visited since.

This is a masterclass in building self-knowledge through empirical living. When you stop predicting how you'll feel and start collecting actual evidence, you stop wondering what you've missed and start knowing what matters. The tetherball metaphor applies: you can stray as far as you want, but you're still tethered to something solid—whether that's good parents, close friends, or the three things you've discovered you genuinely love. Trust your inner fire. It's unique to you, and that's the point.

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction

00:41 Guest introduction

02:05 Two and a half years nomadic in two stints

03:33 San Diego experiment, lease and routine

05:04 Why he left, timing and freedom before commitments

06:38 Long-term relationships and family considerations

07:56 Twelve-year-old dreams and pursuing new experiences

09:18 Maslow's hierarchy of needs discussion

10:05 Fulfilling relationship needs through community

12:34 Nomads more open and untethered from roles

13:29 Only getting one layer deep, something missing

14:20 Strengthening existing relationships

15:23 Electron metaphor, travellers vs settled people

16:57 Hopping on friends' trips, maintaining connections

18:21 US vs Europe vacation time, 15 days vs 35 days

19:42 Tetherball metaphor, being grounded whilst travelling

21:48 Good parents as foundation, unconditional love

23:41 Ten experiments framework, love 3, hate 3, neutral 4

24:58 Self-awareness through experimentation

25:54 Ibi's grounding, music and fire metaphor

28:11 Inner fire, comparing to others leads to analysis paralysis

Remaining timestamps are in the full write-up linked below.

Full write-up and transcript: https://www.ibimalik.com/podcast/ab-khurana

Watch: https://youtu.be/Tv0I1FYH2sI

Based: Nomadic

Elle Ota spent her summers underwater, diving to fourth-to-sixth-century Roman shipwrecks off the coast of Sicily. She studied classics and ancient Greek, worked as an underwater archaeologist, and seemed destined for a PhD analysing ceramics under microscopes. Her professors pushed her toward academia. The track was clear. But Elle had a problem: she has an enormous social battery, and a career staring at pottery shards in labs felt fundamentally lonely. So she made a choice, she picked living people over thousand-year-old ones.

Today she works remotely for the Human Rights Foundation whilst running the U.S. fundraising arm for a Ukrainian aid organisation. October 2022 changed everything, she moved to Europe the same month she first volunteered in Ukraine. The parallel timeline revealed something crucial: remote work didn't just enable travel, it enabled impact. She could hold down her 9-to-5 promoting democracy and human rights whilst balancing weeks in conflict zones managing aid operations. Without location independence, none of it would be possible.

She's lived completely out of a suitcase for two years, gaining perspective from Europeans and South Americans in co-livings across the continent. Not surface-level tourist perspective, the depth that comes from living with people, hearing their stories day after day, understanding how they think. She surfs, climbs mountains, learns to scuba dive despite childhood fear of water, and has built a life that lets her chase both adventure and meaningful work. When you ask if she's brave, she gets uncomfortable and she knows activists who've been tortured, soldiers in trenches defending their country. Her work feels comparatively small. But that's exactly the point: she's found a way to contribute whilst feeding her enormous energy to try everything.

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction

00:37 Guest introduction

01:56 Moving to Europe October 2022, transitional period

02:44 Part-time to full-time nomad journey

03:27 Value of having a base to return to

04:40 Returning to same places for familiarity

05:02 Living completely out of suitcase, 23kg limit

07:18 Kiev as difficult home base, travel logistics

08:29 Human Rights Foundation 9-to-5 work

09:19 Ukraine volunteering origin, October 2022 parallel timeline

10:31 Remote work enabling Ukraine volunteering flexibility

12:08 Nomadism enables building best version of life

14:09 Ibi's background and motivations

15:11 Maslow's hierarchy and trying different things

16:58 Gaining depth of perspective from living with Europeans

19:24 Nuance of understanding European countries beyond surface level

21:13 First-hand vs second-hand perspective, both valuable

23:53 Sicily discussion and tourism perspective

25:40 Underwater archaeology background, Roman shipwreck

27:18 Academia career path consideration

28:52 High social battery, choosing people-focused work over ceramics

30:52 Ghosts and archeology spirits discussion

Remaining timestamps are in the full write-up linked below.

Full write-up and transcript: https://www.ibimalik.com/podcast/elle-ota

Watch: https://youtu.be/hxsuI1ZNMI8

Based: Nomadic

Miranda Miller didn't wait for the remote work revolution. She was already there. Since 2006, fighting for $15-an-hour writing contracts as a single mum in small-town Canada, scrapping together work on Elance whilst waitressing and working factory shifts. Then someone offered her $1,000 a day to work conferences. She had two babies. She initially said no. But then she called her mum to arrange childcare.

Australia, London, the US—she caught the travel bug and never looked back. Eighteen years later, she's survived every era of remote work. The pre-COVID grind when nobody understood what she did. The COVID burnout when boundaries dissolved and she took on too much. The recovery when she had to intentionally reset, kill projects that weren't working, and choose what actually mattered.

Now she runs Midlife Nomads, a community helping 40-plus professionals make the leap to location independence. Not the backpacker hustle. Not the 30-year-old grind. A different pace. Different priorities. Comfort over adventure. Sustainability over exponential growth. Three years of building slowly, choosing the right people over fast expansion.

This is a masterclass in reframing. When you stop seeing failures as losses and start treating them as experiments, eighteen years of trial and error becomes eighteen years of compounding wisdom. She's killed beloved projects, turned down opportunities, bought fifty domains she'll never use, and learnt that the real skill isn't saying yes to everything—it's knowing which opportunities to pursue before you run yourself ragged.

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction

00:37 Guest introduction

01:48 Been remote since 2008, part-time then full-time nomad

02:12 Travel durations and recovery time

03:10 Midlife Nomads origin and purpose

04:08 Different pace and priorities for 40-plus travellers

05:57 Starting as single mum, $15/hour struggles

07:15 Elance platform and women writers' network

08:15 $1,000/day conference work pivot

09:12 Catching the travel bug

09:25 Factory work, hospitality, finding what she's good at

10:23 Internet as levelling the playing field

11:33 COVID impact: doors slamming shut, burnout, boundary issues

13:33 Selling time vs expertise theory

15:02 Packaging services and productising expertise

16:39 Contract mindset and reframing

18:49 Anxiety about proving productivity whilst nomading

19:27 Reframing mindset from corporate to outcomes-focused

20:12 Seeing others model the lifestyle, monthly check-ins

21:22 Becoming a beginner again, permission to suck

21:58 Building sustainably vs get-rich-quick

23:48 Three years building Midlife Nomads slowly

24:44 Daily routine and grounding practices

26:04 Energy management and seasons

27:01 Self-imposed pressure and recovering from perfectionism

28:18 Too many ideas problem, Writer's Den vs Midlife Nomads

29:35 Reframing failures as experiments, knowing which opportunities to pursue

Full write-up and transcript: https://www.ibimalik.com/podcast/miranda-miller

Watch: https://youtu.be/Ishui5vvCbE

Based: Nomadic

Jocelyn Macurdy Keatts spent ten years trying to save the world from inside Washington, DC. She worked as a political consultant, produced events for politicians, reported on protests, and built a career in progressive activism. But the system swallowed her whole. Networking became performance. Activism became about who you know, not what problems you're solving. The power center's ambient narcissism and daily energy tax drained her creativity.

So she left. She told herself she just wanted to travel, write media advisories from Greek islands, take a break. But what she discovered was something deeper: distance gave her clarity that insiders never have. Being outside the US made her more effective at US politics, not less. She could think long-term instead of chasing viral moments. She could focus on problems over profit. She could build stability instead of reacting to whatever Twitter was talking about that week.

Now she runs political campaigns from co-livings across Europe, more effective than she ever was in DC. She produces Resistance Labs with Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, teaching nonviolent resistance tactics. She's discovered anti-fragility, collective nobility, and that curiosity compounds exponentially when you're surrounded by courageous people.

This conversation explores how leaving a power center can make you better at changing it, why comfort is the enemy in the modern economy, and what happens when you stop assuming everyone else is right and just try things.

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction

00:33 Guest introduction

01:37 Political consultant for ten years

02:08 Burnt out on Washington DC power center

02:52 Activism distorted by power networks

03:48 Left to travel, discovering deeper reasons

05:08 Daily energy tax of maintaining normie existence

06:24 Creative liberation from leaving

07:36 Berlin and different assumptions

09:51 Anti-fragility concept and building resilience

11:28 Comfort is the enemy, disruption is the law

13:32 Nomadic mindset and capitalizing on opportunities

14:52 American left's problem, replicating failed strategies

17:18 Problem over profit mindset shift

18:42 Solving problems vs making money

20:42 Objectivity from distance

23:56 Resistance Labs with Congresswoman Jayapal

26:26 Building stability vs chasing viral moments

28:38 Surrounded by people you respect

30:18 Courage and collective nobility

32:31 Curiosity compounds exponentially

34:47 Closing

Full write-up and transcript: https://www.ibimalik.com/podcast/jocelyn-macurdy-keatts

Watch: https://youtu.be/tuJIZKaTcOU

Based: Nomadic

Kayleigh Franks didn't stumble into digital nomadism. She hunted it down. In 2016, she flew to Chiang Mai and spent three months interviewing 24 digital nomads for 90 minutes each, studying them for her bachelor's thesis. Then she made it her life's mission to become one. She took the long route. Got an office job in Sydney. Showed up every day. Built her skills in digital marketing. Established a foundation. COVID hit and restricted her further. When it lifted, she quit her job, went freelance, and finally started traveling. But it wasn't what she expected. Airbnbs isolated her. The magic she'd observed in Chiang Mai was missing. Then she discovered co-living. After eight years of planning and building toward this life, she finally found what she'd been chasing. In this conversation, we explore what happens when you spend a decade preparing for something and reality still surprises you. We discuss the time prison of office work, why one month is both too long and not long enough, and the trade-offs between freedom and connection that every nomad eventually faces.

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction

00:35 Guest introduction

01:33 Writing a thesis about digital nomads

02:08 Chiang Mai 2016, 24 interviews

02:43 Integrating with the community

03:34 Observing nomads in their natural habitat

04:23 What she does now: digital marketing

05:00 Life's mission to become a nomad

05:33 Building career deliberately in Sydney

06:25 COVID restrictions

07:02 Deliberately calculated approach

08:12 First attempts: Airbnbs and isolation

09:09 Connection and belonging, the cafe lady

10:44 Month-long stays and hubs

11:03 Ten-day connection threshold

12:23 Discovering co-living in 2025

12:52 The magic and aliveness

13:24 Sustainability of co-living lifestyle

14:19 One month co-livings back-to-back intensity

15:34 Maintaining productivity while traveling

16:25 Five hours a day, four days a week

17:17 Time prison of office work

18:08 Digital nomadism as solution

18:56 How does it feel to have made it?

20:12 Gratitude and creating your own luck

20:59 Challenges and difficulties

21:50 Slow travel vs fast travel preferences

23:15 Community building in co-livings

24:29 Deep connections vs surface connections

25:44 Relationships and nomadism trade-offs

27:48 Freedom vs connection, making decisions

29:45 Worth being nomadic, liberation from structure

30:06 Closing

Full write-up and transcript: https://www.ibimalik.com/podcast/kayleigh-franks

Watch: https://youtu.be/yev3GdVSrhk

Based: Home in Cambridge but also Nomadic

Dave Neale did the sensible thing. He studied English literature at university, got a PhD in psychology from Cambridge, became a Cambridge professor, and built a proper academic career. Then one evening, he rewrote the rules for an old Sherlock Holmes board game, not for money or career advancement, but just because he wanted to see people play it. He sent it to a publisher on a whim. That casual email changed everything. Today, Dave designs narrative games whilst living nomadically across Europe. His work ranges from text-heavy narrative games as long as novels to jigsaw puzzle mechanics where you build maps piece by piece. I experienced one of his creations firsthand: a 36-hour murder mystery in a French castle that left me and the other guests absolutely stunned. In this conversation, Dave shares his philosophy of play: making things because the process itself is worthwhile, not because you're demanding specific outcomes. We explore how childhood dreams of writing and travel got buried under "real life" practicality, how making a game just for fun accidentally became a career, and why following what's interesting leads somewhere interesting. This is a masterclass in trusting that doing what you love will lead somewhere worthwhile.

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction

00:27 Guest introduction

01:28 Are you a nomad?

02:06 Writer and game designer

03:18 Story or game mechanics first?

04:55 Childhood dreams and routes

06:31 Travel fascination as kid

07:11 Discovering nomadism in 2016

08:08 2016 era vs post-pandemic nomadism

11:22 Power of play and nomad life

12:50 Play, bonding, and community

15:19 Psychology of play in groups

17:54 Play mindset: process over outcome

20:20 Game designer nomads

21:37 Location independence in game design

24:32 Cambridge researcher and professor

26:33 Sherlock Holmes game and first contract

28:57 Win-win philosophy and non-neediness

30:28 Second career path and future

33:22 Closing

Full write-up and transcript: https://www.ibimalik.com/podcast/dave-neale

Guest website: http://www.dneale.com

Watch: https://youtu.be/nJvCTvB9g8U

Based: Nomadic (Co-living spaces across Europe)

Sarah Cols spent six years as a career counselor in Brussels asking unemployed people about their dreams—questions most had never been asked. She was brilliant at helping others chase their dreams whilst feeling increasingly trapped in her own role. Then the perfect job offer landed: everything she wanted on paper. Her body said no.

She walked 900 kilometres across Spain on the Camino de Santiago with no preparation and an injured knee that had already required three surgeries. She went expecting solitude and physical healing. Instead, she discovered that transformation happens in community, not isolation. Strangers walking together for hours without even exchanging names had deeper conversations than she'd ever had back home.

In this conversation, Sarah shares why she turned down her dream job by improvising on a phone call, how the Camino taught her to be grounded in the present instead of planning the future, and why collective experiences spark more growth than solo inner work. We explore the golden cage of job security, the magic of spontaneous decisions, and how she's now creating La Casita de la Magia—a travelling sanctuary helping nomads reconnect with forgotten dreams.

This is a story about listening to your body when your mind says yes, trusting intuition over rational answers, and becoming a catalyst for others whilst building your own dream.

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction

00:28 Guest Intro

01:32 Career counsellor in Brussels

05:29 The breaking point

09:37 Career breaks and discovering workaway

12:55 Second breaking point

15:23 The spontaneous phone call

20:02 The Camino decision

22:39 Walking the Camino

25:56 From career counsellor to dream catalyst

28:12 Community over solitude

31:32 Current work and lifestyle

34:37 The journey is the dream

38:46 Closing

Full write-up and transcript: https://www.ibimalik.com/podcast/sarah-cols

Watch: https://youtu.be/GOa2BPv7_VU

Based: Normandy, France (Chateau Co-living)

Katia Dimova pioneered remote work years before COVID made it mainstream, managing a distributed team across Greece, Turkey, and Bulgaria with nothing but Facebook Messenger. She never planned to coordinate refugee relief across three countries—she just went to drop off donations and stayed for a meeting. Today, she runs one of Europe's most sought-after co-living spaces in a literal castle in Normandy.

In this conversation, Katia shares how she accidentally built a location-independent business whilst avoiding telling clients she didn't have an office, why nomads made perfect volunteers during the refugee crisis, and how being comfortable with chaos became her greatest professional asset. We explore the schizophrenic feeling of living in two separate worlds, the dinner party question she dreads most, and why nomads benefit communities more than most people realize.

This is a story about not planning anything, showing up anyway, and becoming the centre of everything that matters.

Timestamps

00:00 Podcast introduction by Ibi

00:39 Guest introduction: Katia the Catalyst

01:33 Opening: together in the castle, rumours and stories

01:49 When did digital nomad journey start? Hard to put year on it

02:26 Corporate job with long business trips, company apartments

03:26 Gave flavor of not being in one place, then itchy feeling

04:35 Location independence before it was a thing, freedom claimed illegally

05:35 Quit corporate job, started own company based in Istanbul

06:51 Driving weekly to Istanbul, not planning to be location independent

07:21 Scarcity mindset: travel while we still can before office

08:21 Senior team, absolute separation of tasks, people knew each other

09:14 Working for big corporate clients, not serious without office

10:13 Managing remote team: small, senior, trusted people

11:12 No tools for remote work: Facebook Messenger, no Zoom

12:51 Lebanon electricity cut, no backup, super unprofessional execution

14:36 Not letting client see what's behind the scenes

15:28 Came from big design agency, people assumed comparable

17:49 Small senior team advantage: fast, agile, no approval layers

19:17 Pre co-living: corporate work and nonprofit work

21:07 Syrian refugee crisis, small human effort, got consumed

22:45 Went to drop off donations, joined meeting, met best friends

24:18 Facebook group exploded to thousands, no official entity

25:10 Remote skills helped coordinate logistics across countries

26:27 Nomad volunteers: flexible, saw need, stayed to help

27:11 Bridging two worlds: corporate and nomad finally connected

27:59 Nomad mindset shift: flexible, agile, challenges normalized

29:54 Wild stories seem normal until you see reactions

31:31 Connection between corporate world and social work

32:39 Carbon footprint can be mindful, different ways to care

34:15 How nomads benefit places: longer stays, support local, inspire

Remaining timestamps are in the full write-up linked below.

Full write-up and transcript: https://www.ibimalik.com/podcast/katia-dimova

Guest website: https://chateaucoliving.com/

Watch: https://youtu.be/2E04dNlMu2o

Based: Cornwall, UK

Yello Balolia started a publishing company 15 years ago with zero business experience, zero publishing knowledge, and zero qualifications. His strategy? "How hard could it be?" Today, he's published 12-13 books on diabetes and weight loss, lived on a boat for years whilst working remotely, and is opening an 80-acre co-living farm in Cornwall.

In this conversation, Yello shares the power of unrealistic optimism, the dinner party moment that made him realise he sees possibilities where others see hurdles, and why boarding school prepared him for community living. We explore his unconventional journey from London to boat life, his obsession with vibe coding that turned a £799/month app into a £50,000 custom build, and why being unrealistic isn't a flaw—it's an entrepreneurial necessity.

This is a story about giving things a go without regard for complexity, making ideas physical before they're finished, and building a life where obstacles simply don't exist in your imagination.

Timestamps

00:00 Generic introduction

00:26 Yello's introduction

01:40 Are you a nomad?

01:43 Living on a boat for 3-4 years

02:42 Escaping UK winters to co-livings

03:19 Boat journey: London to Oxford

03:47 Location independent definition

03:57 How he makes money: publishing company director

04:31 15 years, 12-13 books, diabetes and weight loss

04:57 Role: business side, project management, making it happen

05:32 Zero MBA, business, or publishing qualifications

06:43 \"How hard could it be?\" philosophy

07:12 First edition was awful, six editions later it's great

08:13 Unrealistic optimism as necessary entrepreneur quality

09:28 Blessing and curse of being unrealistic

09:50 Dinner party revelation: seeing opportunities vs. hurdles

11:06 Eye-opening moment about different thinking styles

11:42 Making ideas physical: Canva book cover technique

13:15 What motivated starting the business: love of creativity

13:58 Passion: making something from nothing

15:07 COVID: leaving London two days before lockdown

16:26 Working hard during lockdown: website, YouTube channel

17:25 Boat life: nothing plumbed in, working hard to survive

19:09 Slower pace, not conducive to high productivity

20:37 Missing ease of living in a house after couple years

20:50 What is Froomies: 80-acre farm in Cornwall

21:24 Journey to co-living: living it, then wanting to create one

23:18 How co-living operators define co-living

25:11 Boarding school ages 10-18: co-living for kids

26:13 Thriving in boarding school environment

27:34 Struggle maintaining friendships when living alone

27:57 Why open Froomies: means, will, drive to add co-living

28:44 Future plans: flexibility, creative projects, festivals

30:16 Always having business ideas

30:24 Vibe coding: building Froomies guidebook app

32:09 Waking up at 5am excited to vibe code

33:17 Built £50,000 app with ChatGPT for $20/month

34:27 Future of vibe coding: profession appears then disappears

35:55 Closing thoughts

Full write-up and transcript: https://www.ibimalik.com/podcast/yello-balolia

Guest website: https://froomies.org

Watch: https://youtu.be/xeT0LDCW2Sc

Mathilde Andersen left Switzerland with no clients, no business plan, and zero freelancing experience. Today, she runs a thriving virtual HR consultancy serving Swiss companies from anywhere in the world.

In this conversation, Mathilde shares how she transitioned from three years of backpacking to building a location-independent HR business without any remote work experience. We explore the practical realities of making HR work remotely, the financial requirements of nomadic life, the emotional challenges of constant travel, why she chose Paraguay for residency, and the importance of connecting with local communities wherever she goes.

This is a story about taking the leap before you're ready, figuring it out as you go, and building exactly the freedom you envisioned.

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction

00:27 Guest Introduction

01:39 Background: travelling family, three years backpacking

01:59 Zero remote work experience before starting

02:40 \"Opening a Pandora's box\": all the questions

03:34 Left Switzerland before getting clients

04:14 Where nomads actually are: the hubs

05:53 Spain then Brazil

06:44 Language barriers and connecting with locals

07:49 First invoice moment: \"This is actually working\

08:15 How she found her first client on LinkedIn

09:11 Making HR work remotely and what virtual HR means

10:17 Financial requirements: €2,000/month minimum

12:01 The emotional side: loneliness vs. alone

14:01 What freedom looks like

15:12 Spontaneous meetups and flexibility

15:34 Meeting people on Instagram: \"Let's just go\

16:27 Co-living culture and community

19:20 Deep conversations and common struggles

20:01 Too many options: getting lost

21:23 Dating as a nomad and managing emotions

22:30 Evolution and cousin's romantic success story

24:35 The nomad community mindset

26:49 Paraguay residency: process, costs, and connecting with locals

30:16 Closing

Full write-up and transcript: https://www.ibimalik.com/podcast/mathilde-andersen

Guest website: http://www.mathildeandersen.com

Watch: https://youtu.be/zaSpZYyFTCM

Based: Normandy, France (3 months on) | Worldwide (3 months off)

Jeanne Fontaniere didn't plan to become a digital nomad. She was just bored during Paris's second Covid lockdown. So she convinced her events agency boss to let her work from Madrid for two months whilst learning Spanish—despite working in an industry that required being on-site.

Four years later, she's built a career that didn't exist before: hosting a co-living château in Normandy three months at a time, then travelling the world the other three months. In this conversation, Jeanne shares how she negotiated remote work in a non-remote industry, transitioned from stable employment to freelancing, and why she believes you need to live the nomadic lifestyle yourself to authentically host it for others.

This is a story about communication, calculated risks, and designing work around the life you want rather than the other way around.

Timestamps

00:00 Generic podcast introduction

00:30 Guest introduction

01:25 Introduction to Jeanne

01:55 Background: events manager in Paris during Covid lockdowns

05:15 Decision to learn Spanish and work from Madrid

06:45 Landing in Madrid, discovering freedom

09:05 First week realisation: \"This is the life I want\

11:40 Moving to Lisbon, discovering Wi-Fi Tribe

13:55 Meeting the digital nomad community

16:55 Returning to Paris office, feeling trapped

19:15 Quitting to become freelance events manager

22:10 Seeing château hosting opportunity

24:35 Juggling both roles: freelance + hosting

27:05 80-hour weeks flying between Paris and Normandy

29:10 Decision to leave events agency

30:45 Full-time château work with marketing/comms

33:25 Negotiating 3-on, 3-off structure

35:05 Why hosts need to stay nomadic themselves

36:46 End Communication, negotiation, and building trust

Full write-up and transcript: https://www.ibimalik.com/podcast/jeanne-fontaniere

Watch: https://youtu.be/hl8icJPZiIE

Based: Worldwide (Travelling through Europe)

Tracy Bellevue quit both jobs, broke her lease, sold her car for cash, and left America with nothing but savings and a book she needed to write. No clients. No remote work experience. Just a determination to escape 75-hour work weeks and an empty nest.

In this conversation, Tracy shares how she transitioned from burnt-out single mum to digital nomad, building multiple income streams from marketing to tutoring to Substack. We explore the raw reality of her first 30 days abroad, the mental health memoir she's writing, the healing that only distance could provide, and why co-living spaces became essential to her journey.

This is a story about radical reinvention, confronting your past, and building a life where you ground yourself in yourself.

Brand: Bellevue Abroad Substack: Co-living reviews and travel insights Services: Marketing consulting for small brands

Timestamps

00:00 Generic podcast introduction

00:29 Guest introduction

01:30 Introduction to Tracy

01:53 Background: working 75 hours/week, two jobs, full-time mum

06:14 The moment: \"I'm going to die if I keep doing it this way\

06:41 Kids moving in with dad, empty house, identity crisis

07:54 Cousin's Europe trip invitation

08:51 Quitting both jobs, breaking lease, selling car

09:33 No plan, no income, just savings

10:15 Immigrant hustle mentality: \"Thousand ways to make money\

11:36 The book she needed to write, leaving August 2024

12:42 How she makes money: marketing as primary income

13:48 Multiple income streams: candle campaigns, tutoring, Substack

16:00 Income fluctuation: hard months vs. abundant months

18:30 First 30 days: crash landing in Switzerland

19:49 Going from constant movement to complete stillness

22:34 The book: memoir about borderline personality disorder

25:48 \"I was just a monster\" - except as a mother

28:12 Owing vindication to people she harmed

30:12 Leaving America with no close friends

31:38 Europe as space to write and heal

33:54 Meeting people as just Tracy, not connected to past

36:20 Why the book must be finished in America

38:40 The bridge between two lives

39:53 Going home: \"Nothing feels like home anymore\

41:31 \"I am my home as a traveller\

41:54 Closing thoughts

Full write-up and transcript: https://www.ibimalik.com/podcast/tracy-bellevue

Watch: https://youtu.be/52djR3kKEK8

Based: Nomadic (Currently planning co-living space)

Edouard Renard walked away from a thriving robotics startup just before they were set to raise outside investment. Today, he teaches robotics online to students worldwide. Now he's opening a co-living space, proving that success isn't always measured in revenue.

In this conversation, Edouard shares how he left his co-founded robotics startup to travel and teach, built an online course business that serves students globally, and why he's starting over again with a completely different project. We explore the reality of "passive income," the importance of making education accessible, and what it means to measure success in student testimonials rather than investment rounds.

This is a story about walking away from the conventional definition of success to find what actually fulfils you.

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction

00:23 Guest Introduction

01:28 Why did you want to become a Nomad?

02:07 Co-founding robotics startup, three years of building

03:16 Educational robotic arms: 10-20x cheaper than industrial

04:20 Why he left: not aligned with industrial market direction

05:43 Walking away before raising investment

07:21 First destination: Mexico, having a backup plan

08:14 Giving up Paris apartment, organizing nomadic life

09:22 The skill set combination: robotics + marketing + teaching

11:17 Starting with written tutorials and SEO

12:09 Trying own website vs. Udemy: platform won

14:06 India as second market, geo-targeted pricing

14:56 Success measured in testimonials and impact

17:00 When it felt like it was working: enabling the lifestyle

19:06 About a year to leave unemployment benefits

20:15 Five years in co-livings, solving workspace and community

23:13 Not passionate about robotics teaching anymore

26:56 Why open a co-living: looking for more purpose

29:16 Co-living values: homey, authentic, family feeling

30:54 Defining co-living: \"It's a feeling\

34:50 Track record of projects, where he'll be in 3-5 years

36:34 \"Passive income\" reality: maintenance and adaptation

39:48 Closing thoughts

Full write-up and transcript: https://www.ibimalik.com/podcast/edouard-renard

Guest website: https://www.auluscoliving.com

Watch: https://youtu.be/aK7KLCQ72fs