Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Culture
  3. Evergreens

Love on the Road: How To Date as a Digital Nomad

By

A couple sitting on truck looking at ocean view.

I’ve been living the digital nomad lifestyle since before the phrase was coined. Back when I started out, Airbnb was still only relegated to a handful of cities, reliable Wi-Fi was still the exception rather than the rule, and Zoom was just a noise people made to express speed. It was a more challenging time to combine work and travel, to be sure, but tech innovations have made it easier. One thing that remains difficult, however, is dating — regardless of how many new people you meet on dating apps to find love.

Dating as a digital nomad might seem like a dream come true — you arrive in some exotic locale, meet someone attractive, then wing off on exciting adventures together. At the very least, you enjoy a string of James Bond-like encounters. That’s the fantasy. Reality is, as usual, much trickier.

Recommended Videos

Related Guides

Why Is It So Hard To Date as a Digital Nomad?

A man sitting in his hotel room alone with his laptop.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Bond-like one-nighters and spur-of-the-moment travel flings do happen, but they are rarer than you might dream.

The primary obstacle involves the fact that you’re usually on the go, leaving little opportunity to build connections. This is a problem whether you’re looking for a hook-up or a long-term relationship.

Let’s look at a hypothetical scenario: You’re in Barcelona, and let’s say you match with some sexy someone via your dating app of choice. You exchange a few messages, this person learns that you’ll be moving on in a day or a week or even a month, and it’s all over. They’re looking for someone they can enjoy or perhaps even be with long-term, and you’re a bad bet.

For the sake of argument, let’s say that you actually do get the date, and the two of you do turn out to enjoy one another. Again, the impending departure makes it difficult for the other person — who very likely lives and works in Barcelona, and therefore must stay in Barcelona — to put much energy into your interaction, and it fizzles out after a few encounters.

Now let’s say you’ve been in Barcelona dating this person for a couple of months, and it turns out that you really like each other and want things to continue. Sorry, but your visa is about to run out and you’re not allowed to travel back to Europe for three months after you leave. They have to stay, and you have to go.

Finally, let’s look at what might be the best-case scenario, in which you connect with a fellow digital nomad. Perfect, right? You can travel together! Not so fast — from my experience, you both have very different plans that are taking you in very different directions.

There are exceptions to all of this, and I certainly know of travelers who have made it work. For the most part, however, the obstacles prove to be too great. As a consequence, there are a lot of frustrated and lonely travelers out there. This is one of the aspects of the lifestyle that most of us tend to avoid discussing.

How To Date as a Digital Nomad: Be Flexible, Go Digital, Plan Ahead

A man with a laptop under the sunset.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

If it seems like I’ve painted a rather depressing picture of dating as a digital nomad, take heart. While there are certainly challenges, it can still be a lot of fun. What’s more, there are a growing number of tools and tactics that nomads are using to overcome these dating difficulties.

One-night-stand it up.

The most straightforward thing to do is simply roll with the ebb and flow of the whole thing. Maybe you’re in it for brief connections and wide-ranging experiences, which is why you’re traveling in the first place. Kudos — enjoy. Embrace the transient nature of dating on the go.

Use the Digital Tools

Popular apps like Tinder and Bumble are, of course, useful resources for meeting up, but their value is limited if you’re attempting to find an ongoing romantic connection while on the go. The majority of people using it are locals who aren’t interested in dating someone who’s disappearing in a few days. OK Cupid can be a little more helpful in this regard, as it allows you to make connections in places before you’ve even arrived, meaning you can plan things out better with an interesting match.

Over the past few years, there have been dating apps and websites popping up that are specifically catered to the digital nomad crowd. I spent a month traveling through Turkey with a woman I met on Nomad Soulmates, which is essentially OK Cupid for travelers. Tour Bar will connect you with fellow travelers, or show you where single travelers tend to hang out in a particular destination. And Fairytrail will match you with people interested in traveling to similar cities or countries.

Stay or Work in Shared Spaces

Co-living and co-working spaces are all the rage among digital nomads right now. These are accommodations or office spaces that tend to be tailored to nomad needs, offering a bed, solid Wi-Fi, desk, and so on, usually in a shared space or structure of some kind. By surrounding yourself with people living a similar lifestyle, you vastly increase your chances of making an ongoing connection.

Make Plans — Together

Two people on a date, holding their mugs.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

I’ve found that there are two kinds of digital nomads: Those who plan meticulously, and those who just wing it. Dating as a digital nomad, however, can require more of the former than the latter — at least if you’re hoping to date someone over time.

If you do connect with a fellow traveler who you’d like to continue seeing, you’re going to have to make plans. Together. Leaving things up to chance won’t work. You have to make the conscious decision to stay in one place together or move on to the next digital nomad-friendly destination together. This can be intimidating as you’ve likely just met, but coordination is essential.

Speaking of the fact that you’ve likely just met, there are a few things you should keep in mind if you do decide to travel with a newly acquired partner-ish person:

Don’t Scare at Every Snag

You’re going to be spending a lot of time with someone very suddenly, and people aren’t always at their best when they’re dealing with the stress of travel. Remember that issues will almost certainly arise. Things that you don’t necessarily like about the person will likely be revealed, probably faster than if you were able to date at a more typical, moderate pace. Just be aware of that.

Have an Exit Strategy

While keeping that last point in mind, you also should have an exit strategy. If you’re driving through rural Thailand to try out authentic Thai food with someone you barely know and they turn out to be no fun or — worse yet — crazy, you need to be able to break off on your own. Have a plan, and know when to cut your losses.

Give Each Other Space

Let’s say you’ve fallen for some fellow nomad and you’ve decided to travel through wherever together. That’s awesome, but as I mentioned above, you’ll probably be spending a lot of time together. Make sure you give each other space when necessary so that things don’t burn out, and so that you don’t get on each other’s nerves.

Dating as a digital nomad comes with its share of challenges, but it can also be incredibly rewarding. It’s largely a question of finding someone who lives the lifestyle, and who wants to visit the same places you do. From there, the world is yours to share.

There’s nothing quite like bonding over travel and adventure.

Nick Hilden
Nick Hilden
Former Contributor
Nick Hilden is a lifestyle and culture writer whose work has appeared in the Washington Post, Esquire, Rolling Stone, Afar… Read Full Bio
Culture
Saturday Packs a Punch With Anthony Joshua vs. Kristian Prenga and Errol Spence Jr. vs. Tim Tszyu
Adult, Male, Man

Your Saturday is pretty much booked if you’re a big boxing fan. But if not for Tyson Fury, the action would have actually started Friday morning with his heavyweight bout against Poland’s Mariusz Wach, which was NOT televised because the so-called Gypsy King opted to save the footage for the upcoming season of his Netflix series, At Home With the Furys. According to reports, Fury squared off against Wach at Max Muay Thai Stadium in Thailand, where Fury secured a seventh-round TKO. Fury’s dominant win sets up a once-in-a-generation heavyweight showdown against Anthony Joshua, provided the British boxing star keeps his end of the bargain on Saturday.

Joshua’s long-awaited return to the ring comes against Kristian Prenga in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, as part of Riyadh Season. It’s Joshua’s first fight since he brutally knocked out Jake Paul at Kaseya Center in Miami in December 2025. While his fight against Paul was a sanctioned contest, Joshua’s last fight against a legitimate boxer came against Daniel Dubois in September 2024. Joshua, who was a passenger in a deadly car crash that killed one of his best friends in Nigeria days after the Paul fight, lost to Dubois via a fifth-round knockout.

Read more
Culture
What I Learned From John Daly About Smoking Cigars
Body Part, Finger, Hand

I’ve been smoking cigars for two decades. I fell in love with the aroma when I walked into my first cigar lounge, Fair Oaks Cigars, in South Pasadena, California, when I was 21 years old. I remember my first stogie — Flor de las Antillas from My Father Cigars. During my early 20s and 30s, I smoked cigars religiously, at least five per week. I puffed alone in the living room, hours before getting ready to hit the town with friends. On my patio on a lazy Saturday afternoon. In the car during heavy traffic. On the rooftop lounge at the mid-high-rise building I lived in for a few years in downtown Los Angeles. Inside my loft — decked with concrete floors and walls, and exposed pipes — while watching pay-per-view boxing or a Dodgers game.

No matter the setting, smoking a cigar, to me, was the occasion. I never needed, nor do I need now, a reason to light up. It doesn’t matter if I smoke alone at a lounge or with friends on my patio; I love that, for an hour-plus, time slows down for me. Because smoking cigars can’t and shouldn’t be rushed. It’s not a cigarette. From the moment you light up to when you set down the final stub of a cigar, at least 45 minutes to an hour has passed, during which, if you’re like me, you made new friends, formed stronger bonds, and/or reflected on all that is great in your life.

Read more
Culture
What’s the deal with Bryson DeChambeau? The Open Championship controversy explained
Baseball Cap, Cap, Clothing

It was Ryan Fox who birdied the 18th hole on Sunday to win The 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. Despite the electric finish, all anyone’s talking about is Bryson DeChambeau, who was given a two-stroke penalty following Friday’s second round. The penalty has apparently divided the golf community, but the fact remains that DeChambeau’s response to the penalty over the weekend took away from Fox’s triumphant moment. And now, word is that DeChambeau reportedly tried and failed to rope President Donald Trump into said controversy.

The drama unfolded after Friday’s second round, when it seemed DeChambeau finished the day in sole possession of second place with a -7 under score heading into the third round. At least it appeared that way — until the leaderboard was updated to reflect a two-stroke penalty against DeChambeau, after officials claimed he stomped on the grass behind his ball to improve the line of his swing at No. 5. That, officials say, violates Rule 8.1, which states that, in order “to support the principle of ‘play the course as you find it,’ this Rule restricts what a player may do to improve any of these protected ‘conditions affecting the stroke’ (anywhere on or off the course).”

Read more