Welcome back to Nomad Cloud, your #1 lifestyle hub for digital nomads. Enjoy the latest news and ideas from the top minds in location independence & remote work.

Today we discuss why Colombia’s biodiversity may attract a new type of digital nomad.

But before that, let’s have a look at the latest news in remote work, shall we?

🙏🏾 Thanks to today’s Sponsor Tendies Research

Institutional Insights for everyday investors

Hot Off The Press

• Want to move to Europe? Here are all the digital nomad visas available for remote workers (euronews)

• Digital nomads chase thrills by fusing work and foreign travel (cbs news)

• How to Transform a Digital Nomad Lifestyle Into a Business (foundr)

• Digital Nomad Policy: A boost for the Employer Brand (morethandigital)

Colombia’s Biodiversity is attracting Digital Nomads, Here’s Why

Colombia is quickly gaining traction among online entrepreneurs who love nature. Forget city life. The Sierra Nevada and Andes mountain ranges, and other breathtaking landscapes make Colombia one of the most biodiverse nations on the globe.

Additionally, this nation is home to a number of renowned natural spectacles, including Tayrona National Park and Chiribiquete National Park, both of which are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

After a protracted legal procedure, Colombia's Digital Nomad Visa was introduced in 2023, championed by our very own Ilana Milkes Espinosa. With this new visa, visitors will be able to stay in the nation for a period of two years and obtain the "Cedula de Extranjeria," a state ID that is required to access important services in the country. Without this ID, it might be challenging to rent an apartment or sign a contract for mobile phone service.

Colombia’s Internet Connectivity

Several surveys have concluded that the South American region has been expanding its internet connectivity. Following Argentina, Mexico, and Brazil, Colombia has had the highest internet growth in the region.

With over 39.34 million internet users today, Colombia had a 75.7% internet usage rate from the start of 2023. Due to efforts from Colombia's Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies, the nation is also increasing its Network Readiness Index faster than the global average (MinTic).

The growing internet connectivity and the availability of supportive digital nomad services is providing a tasty recipe for Colombia to accommodate more than 45,000 digital nomads in the first 18 months of its new visa program.

Apply for Colombia Digital Nomad Visa

LIFESTYLE

Hannah Brown shares her experience on how she stepped out of her professional life to connect with her mind, body, and spirit. Have a read.

The incredible value of taking a break from the grind by Hannah Brown.

When was the last time you stepped out of your normal life? Closed yourself off from the external world to focus inwards? Swapped technology to concentrate on your own mind and body?

At a silent retreat in Romania over New Years, I did just that. In a group of about 30 people, I took a break from reality. No phone. No books. No talking. No eye contact.

The ten day retreat took place on the outskirts of Brasov in Romania. The schedule included multiple daily meditation practices, hatha yoga, and lectures on topics of the body, mind and spirit. During the short breaks, I hiked in the nearby hills or cuddled the friendly dogs and cats that embodied that purity of presence us humans strive so hard for.

As someone who spends a lot of time on my own, the silent and solitary aspects of the retreat felt natural to me. The true struggle was sitting still. I battled hard with itches and aches. And tried to ignore my inner voice - urging, screaming, and shouting intrusive thoughts. This cacophony of noise was a constant companion and I never could have imagined silence and solitude could be so loud.

But stillness did come eventually. And it was accompanied by tears of release, uncontrollable laughter, and incredible awe. By the final day, I felt the total melting away of fears and doubts. It was truly a reset for my life - as if I finally found the start button for self belief and drive.

My day job is in the dizzying world of digital content marketing. It’s fast-paced, involves a lot of screen time, and the work is never done. The ten days I gifted myself were some of the most magically healing and therapeutic days of my life. Even now, I feel more positive, more motivated to learn, and - most surprisingly - more certain in what I want to create and share with the world.

So I ask you again, dear reader, when was the last time you stepped out of normal life?

If you don’t have an answer or only have a distant memory, I encourage you to take a break. Whether it’s a ten day silent retreat, or a few minutes of breathwork, dedicating this time is honoring yourself.

These moments will only enhance your experience of life and improve your living of it.

by Hannah Brown 

Connect with Hannah: LinkedIn, Twitter, Substack

Nomad of The Week: Eva Ieridou

Eva embraced a nomadic mindset for the most part of her life and career and acts as an evangelist for that lifestyle.

“I’m more inspired when my work sessions come with a sea view” she says

She’s now creating a movement for like-minded people that want to have a free life and strive to build a career meant for the future. That prepares them for the next phase where the work environment is displaced.

She is the co-founder of NomadCyprus, a community builder, and now also works for Nokia Belgium. What brings her most joy, is creating spaces that bring people together through events where they can immerse in genuine conversations, share their experiences, and create meaningful projects.

Connect with Eva: LinkedIn

Tendies Research

Institutional Insights for everyday investors

So you’re a nomad that wants to invest more regularly but you lack the knowledge and access to information that you need to invest in your future.

Let’s meet today’s sponsor Tendies Research.

Tendies Research was started to remove the barriers preventing individual investors from accessing the research that banks and hedge funds use to make decisions.

Why You Should Check Them Out

1. They’ve built a team of former industry professionals, from Bloomberg, UBS, Morgan Stanley, and others to bring daily insights to your inbox, for free.

2. Their coverage spans multiple sectors and categories. Commodity articles cover the latest energy, metals, and agricultural news.

3. Economics coverage provides weekly market reviews with key macro- and microeconomic market drivers.

4. Equities coverage spans sectors like Banking, Consumer Technology, Healthcare, Biotech, and Retail.

5. Thought-provoking opinion pieces dive deeper into topics few outlets cover, and Special Reports provide distilled, institutional quality equity research to readers.

Join Tendies Today

📲 HUSTLE ZONE

Change Your Habits, Change Your Life

Habits are semi and fully autonomous actions or decisions that an individual performs every day. These habits may be good or bad. Habits form a very important aspect of your physical and mental well-being. For instance, habits dictate how in shape or out of shape you are, how happy or unhappy you are, or how healthy or unhealthy you are.

For these reasons, it’s important to always fight to change bad habits and embrace good healthy habits.

The following is a simple guide on dropping bad habits and starting good habits.

For this guide, I have used working out as an illustration. However, the guide applies to all habits that you want to develop.

How To Start Working Out Without Quitting

Most people struggle to build good habits because they rely on motivation rather than discipline.

If you want to be in shape, your brain will most likely discourage you from going to the gym.

This means you should definitely NOT rely on it when making a decision whether to go to the gym or not.

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Commit - Instead, make a commitment to go to the gym four times a week with a minimum of 30 minutes each session.

2. Specify - Choose specific days and times for your gym sessions. For example “I will go to the gym from Monday to Thursday at 5 am in the morning. Set an alarm🔔 and never snooze it once it rings. Wake up and go to the gym regardless of how you feel about the situation.

3. Specialize - It is also wise to have specific training sessions for each day. These will also improve your discipline and make you overcome the wired psychological block that screams at you not going to the gym.

📰 Good Reads of the Week

Partner Highlight: Roam Generation

Originally founded on a yacht while sailing the world, Roam Generation is a public relations agency inspiring curiosity and exploration among audiences.

Combining their adventurous spirit, lived experience and sheer determination, Roam Generation will achieve brand-defining results through earned publicity and press, raising brand awareness, elevating credibility, and generating a buzz.

They will take your brand from unseen to unstoppable through traditional PR, done in an untraditional way.

TWEET OF THE DAY

^{UPCOMING EVENTS: Estonia Invites}

In Estonia, you will have all the time in the world. Given the compact size and effortless accessibility of our Digital Wonderland, you can run your business everywhere, while enjoying the busy startup scene of Tallinn, connecting with the lively digital nomad community, connecting with the nature, and still get a restful 8 hours of sleep – all of this within 24 hours.

We invite you to join a meetup for digital nomads in London, hosted by Visit Estonia and the Estonian Embassy in London. At the meetup, you'll have the opportunity to: Network and share experiences with other digital nomads.

Learn about the possibilities that Estonia offers for digital nomads, including the Digital Nomad Visa. Discover support services such as the e-Residency program to help you on your journey. RSVP by the 30th of March. Please note that we will send you a confirmation and details about the venue by the 3rd of April. You will need an ID to enter.

This meetup is funded by the European Union.

^{NOMAD CLOUD PODCAST}

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