I’m Marita, digital nomad and freelancer traveling the world with my laptop. I’ve hiked above the Arctic Circle in Sweden, ridden thousands of kilometers on a small motorcycle in Vietnam and lived at Buenos Aires airport for five days during Covid.
On this digital nomad blog, I’ll write about my quests for the best pastries, how to juggle sightseeing and digital nomad life and travel hacks that make my luggage fun to carry around windswept pampas and dodging Manhattan taxis. Pro tip: Always carry your own cup and 3-in-1 coconut coffee.
It’s only words, and words are all I have, to take your heart away.
Ronan Keating (or the bee gees actually but I’m a Millenialš)
What Is New Roamantics?
If I told you how long it took me to choose this name, you would laugh at me. Aren’t you a writer, linguist, and creative world traveler? Surely you can give an elevator pitch about who you are, you’ve done it thousands of times during awkward hostel encounters. In the end, my friend suggested this name for me. But did I really want to have a blog that’s named after a twist on a Taylor Swift song?
Going back to the age-old question of who am I, this blog is about more than my name, my age, where I’m from, how long I’ve been traveling for, and where I’m going next. It’s about inspiring others to find their place in a new era (getting back to Taylor), where all you need to work is a laptop and WiFi. This new working holiday lifestyle doesn’t involve fruit picking. It’s a completely new way to measure success, stability, and work-life balance and redefines priorities and happiness.
This is a space where romance (or roamance) meets realism. I want to tell about my personal travel stories, the personal side to choosing this lifestyle, while sharing my successes and struggles as a digital nomad, and some helpful travel tips to make the most out of this lifestyle along the way.
I’ve entered my own era of roaming and I’m learning to balance my high expectations of this “roamance” with new realities.
About Marita
Since you already know my name, let’s start with some fun facts:
- My favorite utensil is a spoon. It’s so versatile and can do anything a knife and fork can’t.
- I only read romance novels in my tent. Anything else is just too scary and makes me hear footsteps and noises.
- I’m a libra and can’t for the life of me choose between two simple things.
I was born and raised in Berlin but never used the city as tourists would. I don’t like techno, I don’t go out, and I don’t take advantage of the gazillion of arts & culture offers. Instead, the city is my home and I use it just as anyone would their smaller hometown. I go on walks with my friends, have waffles with my sister, or go on runs in new areas.
It’s been four years since I quit my job and started traveling full time. Slowly but surely I built a freelancing business, and won and lost clients along the way. I’m still learning how to balance my old life in Germany with my new one in the world. I’m still learning how to balance working and traveling without feeling like I’m not doing justice to either of them.
But then an elephant walks past the coffee shop I’m working from and all the doubts are gone.
My Travel and Hiking Journey
I always used to enjoy traveling and everything that comes with it. New foods (I’m talking to you papas arrugadas with aioli), new experiences, and new stories to tell. I learned Spanish with a book and a CD to order food in Spain visiting family (success) and read the newspaper (fail). And I was such a teacher’s pet in English class. My favorite book was an illustrated dictionary our Canadian family friends gave me. I had to start somewhere to read those original Harry Potter books they gave me!
But back to traveling itself. I remember the amazement the first time I took an intercontinental flight with in-seat entertainment. The flight attendants bring you multiple snacks, refills, and ice cream? What is this place? Add Niagara Falls, Oprah on TV, and (North) American food and shopping malls to the mix and I was hooked. I worked as a nanny for almost a year before I left earlier than planned because of a new arrival to the family. This might be the best thing that happened to me. A trip to New York and Boston during my Easter break got me hooked on the hostel and backpacking lifestyle. I completed this working holiday year with escapades all over the East and West coast of the U.S. Nowadays, I would probably prioritize hiking and national parks. But my 20-year-old self just wanted to see the Full House houses in San Francisco, CSI locations in Las Vegas, and the D.C. Capitol.
What About Now?
18 years later (is my traveling persona really allowed to legally drink now?) and I’m still doing what I do best. Looking at maps and finding the most fun routes between places. Balancing my scratch-off map with some lesser traveled regions or big countries for some color (China! Kazakhstan! and finally Nepal for South Asia). Building up courage to travel to rougher places that keep my family from sleeping at night, like Uganda or Colombia. Or spending a few weeks in Morocco to learn Arabic.
Though I still like to splurge on amazing things to do, like a snowy winter holiday in Finland, my focus has since shifted to prioritize lesser known (and cheaper) regions of the world. Kyrgyzstan, El Salvador, or Zambia are not at the top of anyone’s mind. But sometimes, the joy lies in exploring new places, building my own opinion, and defying people’s opinions and fears with amazing travel stories.
My Digital Nomad Journey ā The Joys, The struggles, and the In-Between
I wanted to start these ramblings with some deep-rooted thoughts about finding purpose, maintaining friendships, and creating a new life on the road. But really, my main problem is: What do I do with my laptop when I need to use the restroom? Add a half-eaten breakfast or almost-empty cup of coffee to the scenario and you got yourself a situation that requires careful planning. Laptop in backpack, laptop bag on the table to indicate I will be back. And fingers crossed my coffee will still be there.
Jokes aside, on some days my main driver for motivation with the digital nomad lifestyle is meeting people who are NOT doing that. Let me explain. Telling random strangers in more or less detail about what I’m doing, where I’ve traveled and that there’s no end in sight can be all the fuel I need to overcome a challenging period. Because they’re right: I’m living everyone’s dream. Okay, maybe not everyone’s, but I’m sure there are more than a handful of people out there who have the means, jobs, and life situation to do just what I’m doing ā but they don’t dare.
So when I sit in a crappy hotel room, working from the bed because there’s no table, illuminated by a naked lightbulb because why not, I like to tell myself that I’ve come a long way in my journey to creating a lifestyle that I feel secure about, even if I know that the famous little voice with less-than-nice comments about it will never be far.