On arrival in Playa del Carmen, I was keen to meet some fellow digital nomads, so I joined the Facebook Group. I knew this town was a new hotspot for digital nomads, especially with the arrival of co-working spaces.
Nest seemed to be the most popular space, due to its proximity to the centre. Work Zone Coworking was another space a bit further out.
I had just missed the first meet up, and the second meet up was scheduled after I was leaving, so I resigned myself to thinking that I wouldn’t get to meet anyone.
Then an event was announced at Nest, which would be a little presentation from Fabian from the Startup Diaries. I decided to go.
Presentation at Nest
The room was pretty packed at Nest for the evening presentation, but immediately I felt uncomfortable. The people there were not especially friendly, or making eye contact.
I received such a warm reception at the Punspace in Chiang Mai in Thailand, so after the good things I had heard about Nest I was disappointed.
Why was there no host? To introduce themselves? Why couldn’t the host get each person to quickly introduce themselves to get the room warmer?
Oh well, I was just hoping I would learn something.
The Startup Diaries
Fabian did quite well with his presentation, telling his story of how the Startup Diaries came to be.
I did learn some good tips from his story, and I was inspired to continue to live an amazing life on my terms.
It was great to hear about the practical use of online tools, like Calend.ly, Evernote and Tripit. I was already a fan of these tools as well.
It was also useful to hear about Fabian’s time management and how he learned to “hack” his time to get more work done.
Overall it was inspiring and a great example of a skilled professional, living their life on their terms. I also really liked that Fabian doesn’t have a big goal or big plans for the future… He IS living his goals, plans and future. I like that.
As for meeting any digital nomads in Playa del Carmen? No, I didn’t end up meeting any. And I quickly left the Facebook Group too. It seemed like a community of lost souls with no heart. Maybe I missed something?