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Hey Freaking Nomads,

Yesterday, I was about to book a longer stay somewhere new.

And frankly, I got a bit pissed off that in 2026, it's still really hard to connect with another nomad and ask the questions only someone actually living this lifestyle can answer.

Sure, I could DM someone on Instagram, but it always feels a bit awkward and half the time the message disappears into their requests folder anyway.

I could post on Reddit or a Facebook group, but those spaces can be a mixed bag. Sometimes you get great advice. Other times, you get judged for asking a simple question by people who don’t really live this lifestyle themselves.

And honestly, we realized Freaking Nomads has been part of the problem, too.

We’ve literally spent years building a place to help nomads find guides, events, workspaces, and destinations. But we haven’t done enough to help nomads actually connect with each other.

So over the past few weeks, we’ve been working hard on fixing that.

And from today, you can actually message other nomads directly on the Freaking Nomads platform!

You can go to the find nomads section, request to chat with them and just start a conversation.

But this is only the beginning.

We want to build this in a way that genuinely makes your nomad life easier, not just another app or inbox to check. So I’d love to hear from you:

How would you want to find other nomads?

• By shared interests (surfing, climbing, startups, parents on the road)?

• By location (who's in my city right now)?

• Through online meetups or local events?

• Or something completely different?

Hit reply and let us know. We read every response, and a lot of what we build next will come directly from your feedback.

So glad you’re part of the Freaking Nomads family 💗

Irene

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While writing this newsletter, I had a kinda scary conversation with another nomad in Bansko who'd had her email account hijacked while working from a café.

And it took her weeks to get everything back.

I've been using Proton VPN for a while now (run by the same team behind Proton Mail, the encrypted email service), and I felt pretty relieved knowing it's based in Switzerland, which sits under some of the strongest privacy laws in the world.

What I like about it:

• 20,000+ servers in 145+ countries, so you can usually find a fast connection wherever you are

• NetShield blocks ads, trackers, and malware before they even load

• Secure Core routes your traffic through privacy-friendly countries like Switzerland and Iceland, useful when you're in places with heavier internet restrictions

• Stealth protocol hides the fact that you're using a VPN at all (handy in countries that block them)

• Works on up to 10 devices with one account

• A genuinely usable free plan with unlimited bandwidth, if you want to try it before committing

• Open-source apps across every platform (Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, even your router)

If you've been putting this one off, please don't. Try Proton VPN

🙏 Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend who might like it and help us spread the word. This would help us a lot to spread the word about it!

💖 Join our Community Hub! Discover & review digital nomad places, find workspaces, track your countries and connect with like-minded people who are nomading just like you → Create your profile for free here.

📚 Want more digital nomad guides? Read our articles on all things nomad, including travel tips, budgeting & finance, legal and taxes, community, productivity and more.

If you haven't already, you can also follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn and Threads for more no-BS digital nomad content (and plenty of memes!)

We'll see you there, Freaking Nomads 👋