Review of 2019 – after 3.5 years around the world
The year 2019 marks the third year of our world tour and the second year of our life as digital nomads.
This year, we set foot in many new countries (Portugal, Iceland, Canada, Bahamas, Mexico, Colombia, Panama, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala), in addition to the countries already visited (Morocco, France, United States). I have marked “set foot” because there are two countries where we stayed only a few hours (Honduras, Bahamas).
After comfort and ease in Asia and Europe, we wanted to test digital nomadism in America : North, Central and South America.
TOP 12 for the year 2019
- See wild dolphins (in Florida and Mexico)
- We bathed in incredible water springs: we loved the Ginnie Springs in Florida, the hot springs in Iceland and the cenotes in Mexico
- Seeing and seeing our loved ones again: this year, we had the opportunity to see and see many more people than in 2018, and also to make unforgettable encounters. Thus, our stays in Portugal, Canada, Colombia, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Mexico have become much more memorable thanks to them
- In Canada, JB crossed the line and was able to make his first skydiving jump, thanks to H. – who jumps regularly and accompanied him on this first jump. Thank you! Skydiving was a gift I had given him years ago without having had the opportunity to enjoy it, it’s finally done!
- Discovering the Colombian Amazon
- See two active volcanoes and lava (in Nicaragua and Guatemala)
- Attend a Cirque du Soleil performance in Montreal
- See a rocket takeoff at Cape Canaveral
- Crossing the Panama Canal by boat
- Swim with the rays and see a shark on San Andrés Island in Colombia
- Climbing to the top of (many) Mayan pyramids
- Celebrate American and Canadian national holidays, July 4th in Washington DC & July1st in Ottawa
The landscapes in America remain the most beautiful, and the still very preserved nature surprises us every time: between wild animals, pure water springs, forests as far as the eye can see… we have filled up with oxygen.
FLOP 3 for the year 2019
- Dental care that has lasted a lifetime in Canada. Unfortunately, only urgent care has been provided and it is possible that this problem will drag on into 2020 as well.
- JB had his smartphone stolen in the Colombian subway in Medellín. The experience was more upsetting than traumatic.
- Big fatigue at the end of the year (more details below)
There are many more tops than flops, it’s a good sign 🙂
Learnings
If the first months of the year went very very well (many of you were following the cat’s vacations in Normandy) with an unforgettable road trip to Iceland, things became more complicated as soon as we passed through America.
Clearly, we’ve tried some pretty tough places for a digital nomad life.
The passage to the United States and Canada emptied the wallet: Because we didn’t enjoy Miami that much for a month (we spent our time inside because it was so hot), while paying for an expensive accommodation. The expensive and long-lasting dental care in Canada was a blow to my morale, the medication made me sick and weak for weeks. It wasn’t easy, the long winter in Canada completely wiped us out. I think that compared to the cost of living in Canada and in the United States, next time it would be more relevant for us to go there as tourists for a road trip between 2 and 3 weeks, instead of staying in one place for a long time and spending a fortune on housing while eating badly.
Indeed, we loved all the road trips we did there, especially our incredible 2 weeks in Florida, our week in New York and a few days around Montreal.
If the passage in Colombia was a real favorite (varied food, cheap cost of living, correct Internet, small excursion in Amazonia), we were too optimistic about the potential of Central America
Already, Central America is a relatively unsafe area (well, it depends on areas and countries). If we haven’t had the slightest problem, it is necessary to be constantly on our guard, to inquire about the districts that aren’t recommended, to avoid being outside at night, … We get used to it but in the long run it’s heavy (I want to go back to Japan !!).
Then, the cities (except capitals which are of little interest) are small, we quickly make the tour. Instead of staying 30 to 45 days per city as usual, the last 3 months of the year, we did not stay more than 15 days in the same place. Result: constant traveling and a lot of fatigue for JB who needs a minimum of stability to work efficiently.
Not to mention the frequent Internet and electricity cuts, very slow connections, lack of hot water, mosquitoes, unsuitable working environments (the choice of Airbnb is much less in the region)…
Finally, the gastronomy isn’t very varied and much less to our taste. All the meals (breakfast included) are based on corn, rice and red beans (the famous frijoles that we can no longer see in paintings)
I think that during our next stay in Latin America, we will have to choose only cities where there is a coworking area. For example, our Internet connection in Oaxaca, Mexico is very slow, but having a fiber optic coworking facility right next door takes away a lot of the stress and provides a lot of the comfort we need to work. Until now, we’ve been systematically looking for suitable housing to work in, which is complicated in this region.
Fortunately we made very nice encounters in America, and all our road trips (particularly numerous this year) were absolutely incredible – so the global balance remains very positive despite the “material” difficulties : Central America is little known and deserves to be visited. The people are charming, the landscapes are beautiful and the trips are fast.
In summary, there are 4 cities visited in 2019 that make us want to come back as digital nomads. They have a good Internet connection and are close to several tourist points of interest:
- Lisbon (Portugal) for its gastronomy and beauty
- Medellin (Colombia) for its infrastructure and atmosphere
- Antigua (Guatemala) for the view of the volcanoes
- Merida (Mexico) for its colonial city center and its many French restaurants
Business
From a Business viewpoint: the turnover of our small SEO/SEA agency (our main activity) remains stable, with a few new customers, and a few customers who left (to come back maybe?). We are always surprised to benefit from the trust of our clients when we are thousands of miles away and we have never met physically for some of them. Thanks to all of you!
It has been more than a year since our apartment in La Rochelle has been rented without any problem, managed by a real estate agency. This property brings us serenity because it contributes to prepare our retirement.
With the complete redesign of the blog, we went from an average of 45k monthly visits to 75,000 monthly visits in 2019 youhouuuuu Even though our YouTube vlogs were much less successful (and our drone ended up crashing in the forest), I enjoyed editing videos.
The blog is starting to generate a decent income (but not yet enough to live on), which I will try to boost further in 2020. It’s still a hobby for the moment but could become a full-fledged job in the future?
Projects for 2020
This year (2020), after Mexico, we plan to return to Asia to be pampered a little, and more precisely to Vietnam.
South East Asia remains the most suitable area for digital nomadism in our opinion: a low cost of living, a gastronomy that suits us, fast Internet, hot shower…. On top of that, it’s a very safe region overall.
A road trip in China is planned in early March, and a 2 weeks road trip is planned in Vietnam in April with a friend. (cancelled because of the coronavirus
)Then we will probably go to Indonesiato
discover Bali, the “capital” of digital nomadism where we have never been before…
I hope that a few days in St Petersburg and Moscow will be part of the itinerary. Let’s see if it’s possible…
In 2020, we hope to reach (or even exceed) the 100k monthly blog hits and symbolically surpass the one million visits over the year.
Thank you for having followed us so many, thank you very much for your encouragement.
Many have followed our itineraries, our advices… and have gone to the same restaurants and hotels as us ahahah
Your trust touches us very much, thank you!
Happy newyear 2020 to you, may it bring you a lot of serenity and beautiful travels.
To read the 2017 – 2018 balance sheet, please click here
