I Lived Like A Digital Nomad in Mexico City

The best part was the trendy hotel for coliving and coworking.

Recently, I started hearing more about people who are living as digital nomads and found the idea totally intriguing.

I wanted to try it out for myself.

A digital nomad is a person who works on the internet, which allows them to live anywhere they want. They take advantage of the opportunity to travel the world and work at the same time.

Since the pandemic, people living as digital nomads have greatly increased. Workers are realizing that in this day and age, you don’t always have to work from an office in the same place.

According to an article on twoticketsanywhere.com, Mexico is the most popular destination for digital nomads.

There are several reasons for this. Mexico gives tourists a free six-month visa when they go through customs. If you want to stay longer, you just have to leave briefly and then come back in, and they will give you another six months.

The cost of living and traveling in Mexico is very affordable. My trip to Mexico City was super-cheap. I paid about $35 US dollars to take a comfortable ETN bus to Mexico City. I stayed at the Selina hotel in a community room for five nights, costing less than $100 US dollars, and I felt very safe and comfortable.

Mexico is a very beautiful country and there are plenty of interesting places to visit. One of the most popular areas for digital nomads and tourists is the Yucatan peninsula, in an area known as the “Riviera Maya.” This area includes Cancun, Playa de Carmen, and Tulum, which are popular beach towns.

I am planning to go to Tulum for my next digital nomad trip, and I have been checking out the prices. I can take Viva Aerobus airlines from the nearest airport in Queretaro to Cancun for $40–50 US dollars. There are two Selina hotels in Tulum. One is in the downtown area and the other is at the beach. The beach hotel is supposed to be very popular, and I can get a bed for a week in a “mixed community” room for about $80 US dollars. They also have private rooms for people who prefer that.

The average digital nomad is 32 years old, and they start their digital nomad journey at age 29.

At 63 years old, I am significantly older than the typical digital nomad.

I am curious to know if there are many other senior citizens and retirees who are interested in this lifestyle. I think you would have to be in fairly good health and physically fit. In Mexico City, I ended up doing a lot of walking, sometimes while carrying heavy bags. I am working on reducing the size of my “travel writer” kit, so I don’t have to carry so much.

I have read that many digital nomads work in software development, website development, startup businesses, and marketing.

I was surprised that I didn’t see travel writer or blogger on this list. I suspect that it may be difficult for most people to afford to travel on the amount of money they make as a travel blogger. I am fortunate in that I have a decent pension, so the money I make as a travel blogger is a nice extra.

Selina is just one of the many hotel chains that cater to the digital nomad market, mostly in Latin America.

This is how the Selina website advertises this Mexico City location:

Whether you’re a digital nomad, a travel addict, an adventurous backpacker, or a surfer looking for paradise, you’ve come to the right place. From global cities to urban hubs, remote destinations, and off-the-grid destinations, develop a deeper connection with the world when you stay at Selina.

Mexico City’s unique energy is electric. From gastronomy to history, music, and art, almost all aspects of its culture reference freedom, democracy, and the country’s independence. The perfect base to explore all that this fast-paced capital has to offer, Selina Mexico City Downtown is situated at the heart of the action. On-site features include a sixties-inspired design, a comfortable cowork, a bar, a restaurant, and an art hub home to live music acts, exhibitions, and other cultural events.

Stretch out with morning yoga before taking a 10-minute stroll to Bellas Artes, Memoria y Tolerancia Museum, and the Museo Nacional de Arte. Feast your eyes (and stomach!) on local dishes in Mercado San Juan or check out beautiful antiques and vintage goods in Mercado ‘La Lagunilla.’ In the mood to party? As the sun sets, grab a friend, order a round of tequila, and dance the night away to beats from guest and resident DJs.

I first heard about Selina hotels when I took a recent trip to Sayulita beach on the west coast of Mexico, just north of Puerto Vallarta. I saw that they had a nice hotel and restaurant right in the middle of all of the action, and had a booth outside the place that was offering surfing lessons and other activities.

When you research digital nomads, you see a lot of mentions of the terms coliving and coworking. This is part of the digital nomad lifestyle. Coliving means living in a community with similar others. Coworking means spaces to work while living amongst other digital nomads.

All of the Selina hotels have desk and office space that you can rent for $10-$15 US dollars per day. I did not rent a desk on this visit, and I didn’t see the space, so I cannot comment on what it was like or how good it was.

I want to try renting a desk on my next trip to Tulum and see how it works for me.

After reading a few more articles, I found out that loneliness is the number one reason why digital nomads quit the lifestyle.

I was expecting to meet people at the Selina hotel, but very few people even acknowledged my presence. It was not just me. Nobody was speaking to anyone else. In the restaurant, there were always a few people sitting at tables by themselves. In the community room, people were very quiet and polite, and nobody said a word.

I am wondering what is going on with that. I thought that people would be interested in making friends or at least business contacts. I am wondering if people didn’t want to meet others, or if it was uncomfortable for them to do so. I wanted to ask people for an interview but didn’t want to bother anyone.

According to my research, the main reason why people join a coworking space is to be part of a digital nomad community. I am curious to try out some other coworking spaces to see if people are more friendly there.

When I travel, I try to have some things planned and some things left to spontaneity. I usually prefer not to follow a strict schedule.

I prefer to go out in the morning for visiting cool coffee shops, shops, and sightseeing. In the afternoons, I work on my writing and illustrations and in the evenings I like to watch videos online. This is how I usually do things when I am home, and also how I like to live while I am on the road.

After this experience, I would not recommend moving around very often if you actually want to get some work done.

I had a very difficult time figuring out how to get anywhere for the first few days, and I have been to Mexico City quite a few times.

I was planning to visit coffee shops in the Roma Norte neighborhood because I heard that they were popular hangouts for digital nomads. I never made it to any one of them. This is probably the first thing I will try to do on my next trip to Mexico City.

I made the mistake of trying to hail city taxis for the first few days. By the time I figured out that this was a bad idea, it was almost time for me to go home. The next time, I plan to try to call an Uber as much as possible, because this seemed to work out much better.

I also have a sensitive stomach, and it would probably take a few days to figure out how to get the kind of food I like. I believe that most Selinas have a kitchen for residents to use, so this might be the easiest way for me to eat food that I like. On the other hand, it’s fun to go out and try different restaurants when you go to a new place.

Staying at a coliving and coworking place like Selina makes the transition to a new place a bit easier. They provide almost everything a digital nomad will need in the short term. I can envision a person starting out there and eventually moving to their own apartment if they are interested in staying for a long time.

I am looking forward to visiting Tulum and living like a digital nomad in the next few weeks.