Corner Office Anywhere

As a full-time digital nomad, managing homesickness comes with the territory. Even though I don’t call any particular place in the US my ‘home’, I regularly get homesick for the people I love, for American culture and norms, and for the Latin American foods and celebrations I grew up with at home in Miami. Lately I have dealt with a couple of deaths in the family, some health issues, and missed some new additions to the family, too. When these things happen it is especially hard to be far from home. Here are a few ways that I do as a digital nomad to combat homesickness.

Make room for “that one thing”

Even though I pack super light, I always make room for a little something that holds no practical value but will remind me of where I come from and the people I love. This thing will change from time to time. In the past it has been a small stuffed animal my sister gave me, or ingredients that will help me to make traditional holiday foods in a strange land, or a small set of photos and postcards I can put up in my temporary homes with a bit of masking tape. Even a little bit of personalization to my surroundings or routine can go a long way toward making a new place feel familiar.

Make time for getting in touch

I am truly the worst at keeping up with phone calls and correspondence. My happiest times on the road, though, include a healthy amount of chatting with loved ones. I do best with a schedule, which means actually writing down when I will make calls to the loved ones in my regular rotation. That way, even if I miss it sometimes, it happens eventually. I also sometimes will randomly video call someone while in a particularly beautiful spot, and share the moment with them. These things are hard to schedule ahead because I can’t be sure about the connectivity or noise where I’ll be going, but it is magical when it works out.

Embrace social media

On a similar note, my life on the road has shown me the value of social media. This has been tough, since I’ve never been a huge fan of sharing the mundanity of my own day to day life with the world. It truly is a good way to casually connect with a large swath of family and friends at once, though. I joke that I post to Instagram for an audience of one – my grandmother – and that’s not far from the truth. Traveling has given me a reason to be more active on social media, not just because I have something that is interesting to me to post about, but because it gives me a way to easily share with the people I love.

Seek out familiar surroundings

One good thing about being an American abroad is that you can find pockets of American culture just about everywhere. Sometimes stepping into familiar surroundings for a couple of hours will be what sustains me for another two months of travel. I recommend heading to the biggest shopping mall near you, even if like me you are not a huge fan of shopping. There is something oddly transporting about just being surrounded by American brands and the influence of American consumerism that has been exported to shopping malls around the world. You’ll usually find a chain cinema there, too. I love going to the movies, and American blockbusters with showings in English and subtitled in the local language are easy to find everywhere (after you’ve learned how to say “subtitled” in the local language, that is).

Finally, when I have been far from home for a particularly long stretch, I will start waxing poetic about American chain restaurants. You can hardly get away from them anywhere in the world even if you try, but you will find them invariably and in abundance at any major foreign shopping center. Don’t underestimate the power of a moment of pure predictability when your life is defined by constant change. Occasionally I’ll find an authentic Cuban or, less commonly, a Puerto Rican, restaurant or bar. It is worth going out of my way to seek those out, even if they are a bust experience-wise, because the reward can be so high. While living in Seattle, I once had a bowl of black beans that tasted so much like my mother’s that they made me cry actual tears of joy.

Have an exit strategy

Life at home will not stop when you decide to go on an adventure, and it’s a good idea to decide on your rough game plan ahead of time. If you’re like me and luckily enough to have a big and loving support system at home, then step one will be to acknowledge that the further you stray from loved ones, the bigger likelihood that you will simply miss some big life moments. You won’t be the friend who drives someone to the hospital or there to greet a new baby, unless timing is extremely providential. You will need to prioritize what types of occasions warrant trips outside of your normal travel budget, and the more you can consistently explain to your loved ones ahead of time where that line falls for you, the smoother it will go for everyone, including yourself.

The further away from home you are and the longer your itinerary, the bigger financial impact you can expect from unexpected trips home, as well. Travel insurance can help with this but will not realistically capture all costs. Because I don’t want money to be a barrier to getting home as quickly as possible and staying as long as needed for ‘big’ emergencies and occasions when they arise, I make it a priority to maintain a slush fund for this purpose that I don’t spend on anything else except travel-related emergencies, including the cost of changing plans last minute to go home to where my heart is.