I was excited to interview Lauren because she just finished her own book, Global Natives about her own experience as a nomad (since 2013!) and also the past, present, and future of the movement. I think she is one of the most thoughtful perspectives on the future of work and global mobility.
Currently, Lauren is Executive Director of Plumia, the mission to build an internet country for digital nomads at SafetyWing, a Y Combinator company that raised a $35 million Series B in 2022. She is also author of the book Global Natives and writes the Counterflows newsletter) about borderless living. She tweets @LaurenRazavi.
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Conversation Topics:
- Background and Introduction: Lauren Razavi has been a digital nomad for many years, exploring life paths similar to the host. She is currently working with Safety Wing and Plumia, helping to build an internet country for digital nomads.
- Global Natives: She discusses her book, “Global Natives,” which explores the history of nomadism and how the current digital nomad movement fits into these historical trends. She also discusses the future of this lifestyle and how we can be pragmatic about it at the policy and human levels.
- Transition to Digital Nomadism: Lauren started as a travel writer after university, funding her way through grad school. She discovered co-working retreats in 2015 and went to Bali to profile a startup called Hacker Paradise, which organized trips for digital nomads to travel in the community.
- Nomad Lifestyle: The benefits of being in nomad communities, the self-experimentation that leads to many nomads being thoughtful and reflective, and the creativity and experimentation that the lifestyle sparks.
- Work and Productivity: The shift from time-based work to output-based work and how traditional companies need to adapt to stay competitive in a remote work environment.
- Nomad Visas and Borderless Living: The trend of countries offering nomad visas, which allows digital nomads to live and work in their countries. They also discuss the concept of subscription living, where instead of paying rent to one landlord, you pay a global brand for access to flexible living spaces worldwide.
- Real Estate and Nomad Living: The impact of real estate trends on nomad living, including the rise of nomad hotels and the potential for companies to invest in real estate in off-site locations.
- Future Predictions: Lauren predicts that in a decade’s time, global natives might be subscribing to Plumia to get their nomad passport.