Lisbon: I am here to become a digital nomad | My City in 2022

In 2019, I quit my high-paying job in a New Zealand bank, bought a one-way ticket, bid farewell to Auckland, where I had lived for nearly ten years, and came to England to watch football alone, chasing the literary dream buried in my childhood. Unexpectedly, before it can gain a firm foothold, it will hit the epidemic that swept the world, and the original dream of watching the European Cup in six major cities was in vain. But there is always a ray of light behind the dark clouds. The two years of fighting the epidemic in the UK have allowed me to experience a new culture and life. When I was alone in the city, I had a lot of time to reflect on myself, so I had a clearer understanding of myself. Know.

In 2021, following the craze of the “digital nomads” , I moved to Portugal and immersed myself completely in telecommuting and freelancing, freeing myself from the social clock’s shackles on women, choosing Following a lifestyle that gives me energy, feeling and experiencing the gifts of life with passion and love from the heart.

More than half of 2022, I have witnessed the change of Lisbon as a “digital nomad city” , and this city, which is famous for its bright yellow colors and gorgeous tiles, but also bears a sense of historical vicissitudes, is also subtly changing everything for me.

I had fantasies about stepping into the city where he lived, walking through the streets he roamed, stopping at the cafes he frequented, and seeing for myself what kind of living environment could make Pessoa full of creativity. When I was living in London before, I was fortunate to be invited to share Pessoa’s book “Book of Disquiet” at the “Banmu Fangtang Reading Club”. At that time, the whole of Europe was still in the blockade stage. At the end of my online speech, I said that the epidemic is over. After the first stop of the trip, it must be left to Lisbon.

Now he has finally fulfilled his promise, visiting the city of Lisbon, lingering in the place where Pessoa left his footprints, and admiring his precious paper and video materials, the excitement is indescribable! It really struck me when I visited Pessoa’s private library. In addition to owning literary books and periodicals from around the world such as Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, Whitman, H.G. Wells and ancient Greek poetry, he also has a large collection of books on religion, philosophy, natural science, medicine and technology. His more than 1,300 books are overflowing with notes and comments in his own hand. Before researchers had worked around the clock to sort through the nearly 30,000 manuscripts he left behind, and now with these fragmented materials, Pessoa was an admirably prolific writer.

Pessoa constantly examines human existence through observation and thinking, and each creation is a process of crushing and reshaping the past self. And my life in Lisbon is also a process of constantly dissecting myself and discovering new identities. Pessoa often felt like a country in a remote frontier that didn’t exist, a book review on a book that had never been written. He lives a life of obscurity and is accustomed to being alone instead of getting along with others. He believes that only in this way can “self” be transformed into countless “others” from the identity of ordinary people. Reading his book is like seeing my thoughts and feelings come to life on paper. Pessoa clearly describes things that I have never found words to describe.

I also really want to be a creator like Pessoa, hidden in the city, silently examining the existence of human beings through observation and thinking, without the need to be trapped in fame and social life, so as to spend all the limited time and energy It is used to explore the self and observe the surrounding objective environment, and even create in “nothingness”, using the works to explain one’s short life. And Lisbon gave me such conditions. Although I live in the bustling city center, in this Portuguese-speaking city where not many people know me, I can spend a lot of time with my own mind, which leads to a new feeling. And the starting point of consciousness, I deeply feel the connection between me and all things in the world in a fundamental sense.
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Pieter Levels, a pioneer of digital nomads and founder of Nomadlist.com, predicted in 2015 that telecommuting would be the future and that by 2035, the number of digital nomads in the world would reach 1 billion , the current development process of digital nomads will also usher in the fourth wave:
– The first wave: Internet development period (2007-2013)
– The second wave: digital nomads become a trend (2014-2020)
– The third wave: telecommuting mode under the impact of the global epidemic (2021+)
– The Fourth Wave: Multi-City Migration Living Patterns (2027+)

Digital nomads generally choose cities with higher living standards and affordability as their destinations. In the past, Chiang Mai, Thailand, and Bali, Indonesia were the preferred destinations for digital nomads. Now, Lisbon, with its pleasant climate, international environment, and availability. Affordable living standards and favorable tax policies stand out among many European countries.

Although the European tourism industry in the post-pandemic era has begun to recover, people’s concept of tourism has changed due to the popularity of remote work. In the past, short-term trips to famous attractions in Rome, London, Paris, Las Vegas, and New York have been gradually replaced by the fact that it is better to move directly to the place to live for a few months while working and traveling.

Pete Levos believes that destinations based on leisure interests and community activities are the future of tourism . If you like anime, you can choose to live in Tokyo; if you are into country music, you might like to live in Nashville; if you like yoga and meditation, living in Bali may be best for you. And I chose Lisbon as the base camp because I like seafood, warm sunshine and multi-cultural gathering environment.

Lisbon, a once-not-so-famous European city, is relying on Internet publicity to build its brand influence to compete with big cities for talent. Norwich in the United Kingdom has created a reputation as a “city of literature”, Portland in the United States is committed to eliminating plastics and becoming an “environmentally friendly city”, and Portugal, relying on the craze of digital nomads, built it on the small island of Madeira, the hometown of football star Ronaldo. With the first “digital nomad village” in history, Lisbon has also followed the trend and became the most popular “digital nomad city” on Nomadlist.

Beginning in the 1980s, the super-rich could gain global liquidity through “citizenship by investment”. Right now, middle-class knowledge workers like myself are getting the same rights through digital nomad visas . Pete Levos launched Rebase.co in 2021, an intermediary service that helps digital nomads move to Portugal, and I immediately joined as an early client. Through one-on-one consultations with migration agents, I learned that based on my current situation, I can apply for a D7 visa (passive income visa, also known as retirement visa and digital nomad visa) in Portugal.

Since last year, countries including Croatia, Iceland, Spain, Greece and others have all started to follow the Portuguese government and launched visas for digital immigration and remote work. These visas are characterized by relatively low economic requirements, and the application process and speed are also higher than other residency. Visa is fast. I submitted the application materials to the Portuguese embassy in February this year, and I got the approval in April. Since then, I can live in Portugal and other European countries for up to 2 years.

After settling in Lisbon, I also organized a lot of local gatherings for digital nomads and remote workers, met a large group of friends from all over the world, visited stores, watched sports, and exchanged knowledge in the fields of finance and technology. Share each other’s entrepreneurial achievements. The current digital nomads are leading a new way of life that shares the fruits of globalization: a future that is free, decentralized and borderless. Isn’t it exciting to think about it!
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When I was living in New Zealand before, I always complained about why people don’t watch football, what’s so good about rugby? Just like in the past, I always wanted to change other people. I always have something that should be done the way I think. Development, but also delusional to change the culture of the entire country by oneself. But if you look at history, you can see that places such as the Renaissance and the Enlightenment are the crystallization of the collective wisdom of a group of people. You need to find your group and find the city that suits you, instead of trying to be a car and use yourself. Tiny forces to change cities.

When I moved to London, most of the friends I met were football fans and poetry and writing enthusiasts, because football and literature are England’s famous national business cards. Now in Lisbon, I am surrounded by freelancers and tech entrepreneurs who see it as the next Silicon Valley, practicing their original intention of continuous creation in an open and free environment. The environment I’ve been in has inspired me to keep improving in a way, and it’s also made me realize that instead of trying to change the culture, I’m just going with the flow and working with like-minded people to strengthen the ethos you identify with .

Paul Graham used to think that Berkeley was an optimized version of Cambridge, because of its rich cultural atmosphere and better weather. But when he lived there, he found that the truth was not what he imagined. The people in Berkeley did not have the same ambition as the people in Cambridge. Although they were well-educated and knowledgeable, most people just wanted to enjoy life well, and lacked The ambition of the Cambridges. Then Paul realized that Cambridge wouldn’t be Cambridge if it had good weather. If you choose a city, accept its weaknesses, Lisbon’s infrastructure isn’t as complete, the streets aren’t as clean and tidy as the Auckland I’ve lived in, and state officials are notoriously lazy and inefficient. , but it is precisely because of the fusion of its strengths and weaknesses that it shapes the character of this city. To love this city is to accept everything about it.

No one is immune to circumstances, and it’s easy to fall into self-doubt if you always live in a place that doesn’t fit your character. Today’s Paris has become the capital of fashion, but a hundred years ago, Paris was once a gathering place for literati and writers. Impressionists were born and died all over the world, but in their prime they chose Paris as their home because they had their colleagues and their audiences there. Your birthplace does not necessarily match your personality, and what you pursue at each stage of your life is also different. However, in the years when you are mature, choosing a right city will have an invaluable role in your future development. The impact of segmentation .

As a content creator and web3 explorer, Lisbon’s dynamism matches my personality, and there is a diverse environment and intellectual community that I aspire to. Compared with neighboring Spain, the Portuguese are more approachable and their English level is more than one grade higher. When I first arrived in Lisbon, my Airbnb host graciously took me to visit the home stadiums of Sporting Portugal and Benfica, introduced his friends to me, went to the book fair together, and went to the gym together. The owners and service staff of the cafes and restaurants I usually frequent can also converse with me in fluent English. Their cordial and warm attitude and generous portions of dishes always remind me of my hometown of Shandong – “This place is my hometown” ——The hospitable Portugal gave me a feeling of stability in my once wandering heart.

There are exciting activities every day in Lisbon’s digital nomad group and the local Meet-ups website. For example, in April of this year, I met local web3 entrepreneurs Federo and Philip at the event, and we talked a lot. I was fortunate to be invited to Barcelona to participate in the Celo Connect blockchain conference; at the same time, I also participated in meditation yoga classes, creative writing and reading groups, and met many like-minded friends during these offline activities. Chatting with people from such different cultures always inspires new ideas, and I also interviewed these interesting friends on the bilingual podcast Chiwi Journal.

During the six months of living in Portugal, the biggest inspiration for me in terms of creativity is the Fado performance. The Portuguese word for fado means “fate” or “fate”, and this musical form is also often referred to as Portuguese grudge. Like another well-known Portuguese word, Saudade, Fado is a word that cannot be translated perfectly in other languages. Although the performers lament the impermanence of fate, they also contain love and resistance to life.

The first time I saw Fado’s performance in Lisbon, it reminded me of Su Shi’s “Ode to the Red Cliff”: “Its voice is humming, resentful, like crying, like complaining; In my life, I make admiring Fado a regular item in my life. The Iberian Peninsula has a lazy and comfortable schedule. People often have dinner around ten o’clock in the evening. In order to enjoy Fado, who started performing after eight o’clock in the evening, I also changed my work and rest time as the locals do. I wrote on the street in the afternoon in the sun. Write something, go to dinner on time in the evening, listen to ditty until midnight, lose yourself in the company of Portuguese wine and food and fado music.

Nietzsche once said: “Life without music would be a mistake. God gave us music, first and foremost to guide us in continuous development. Music can excite us, distract us, cheer us up, or use it softest The melancholy tones of the song shatter the hardest of hearts. But the main task of music is to direct our minds to something higher, even to make us tremble…” Music is a unique art, completely abstract, yet deeply emotional . It has no ability to represent anything external, but has a unique power to express inner states or feelings.

Portugal’s most representative music, Fado, perfectly interprets the temperament of the city of Lisbon: sometimes cheerful and bright, reminiscent of golden sculptures under the hot sun and churches decorated with colorful tiles; I take me back to the glorious and glorious days of Portugal during the great voyage; sometimes sadness and grief represent the helplessness and melancholy of the local people who have left their homes during the economic crisis. There is a deep and mysterious paradox in music: while it makes people experience pain and sadness more intensely, it also brings solace and solace.

So let me end it with a short essay I wrote while listening to Fado, and I wish everyone can find their place in the vast world. I found Lisbon, what about you?

I like to wander the empty streets at five in the morning,
I love discussing this absurd world with wanderers,
I love watching the sun rise slowly from the sleeping world,
I like having philosophical conversations with strangers.

I often make mistakes,
also like to screw things up,
But I’m trying to learn to accept my weaknesses.

Most of the time I don’t care what other people say about my creations,
This is a record of my life, my view of art.
But sometimes, I long for someone who can see the essence through words,
I just want to be meaningful to Ta alone.

I am pessimistic at the bottom, but full of hope for the future,
because I’m still alive,
To live is to have everything.

I love to laugh, I love to make trouble, and cherish the little beauty.
Like the heat from a cup of coffee on a rainy day,
Couples are seen hugging at the corner of the street.

I love and hate humans,
Because of the inability to understand their motives and behavior,
They can’t understand me either,
Or rather, I would rather keep people from thousands of miles away.

I moved to New Zealand from China when I was 20,
At the age of 30, he moved from Auckland to London and then to Lisbon,
to live the life I want,
Be who I want to be.

I’ve traveled on four continents but nowhere to call home,
But it has established its own foundation in the creation,
Everyone I meet is the world to me.

I’m still on the road and don’t know where to go.
I want to live life as art,
Turn my existence into a poem.
Although difficult,
But because it is true and beautiful.
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