---
title: Digital Nomad Lifestyle
description: Jan Wilmake's location-independent working lifestyle from 2016 to approximately 2023
category: Lifestyle
---

# Digital Nomad Lifestyle

[[Jan_Wilmake]]'s **digital nomad period** spanned roughly 2016 to 2023, during which he combined software development work with extensive international travel. This lifestyle fundamentally shaped both his technical projects — particularly [[Communify]] and [[Code_From_Anywhere]] — and his professional philosophy.

## Overview

The lifestyle involved working as a remote freelance developer while traveling through Southeast Asia, South Asia, South America, and Europe, rarely remaining in one location for more than a few months. Income came from client contracts, independent products, and in-game revenue from [[MasterCrimeZ]].

A defining characteristic was the integration of physical activities (kitesurfing, hiking) with intensive work in unconventional environments: co-working spaces, mountain villages, hostels, and outdoor locations.

## Timeline

### 2016: First Journey (Nepal, Southeast Asia)

Following graduation, Wilmake invested his savings into traveling through Nepal and Southeast Asia. He decided during this journey to pursue an entrepreneurial, location-independent career.

### 2017: Learning and Community Building

Extended stays across Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Cambodia), Prague, Berlin, Budapest, Bansko, and Lisbon. Key milestones:
- Learned JavaScript, Node.js, and React Native in co-working environments
- Started [[Communify]] after the DNX conference in Lisbon
- Founded *EAT CODE KITE REPEAT* in Tarifa, Spain — a network of developer-kitesurfers

### 2018: Bali and Return

January–April 2018 in Canggu, Bali at the **Dojo** co-working space, developing [[Communify]]. He subsequently returned to the Netherlands and took on conventional employment roles for a period.

### 2020: Tarifa, Spain

Extended stay (September–December 2020) at *La Cocotera* hostel in Tarifa, kitesurfing, working remotely. Development of *EAT CODE KITE REPEAT* and *BackpackingTribe*.

### 2022: Europe and Asia

The most geographically intensive phase:
- **Netherlands**: King OS / Typerepo development; wildcamping around Groningen
- **Norway road trip**: Groningen → Bremen → Hamburg → Copenhagen → Oslo → Bergen → Christiansand
- **Nepal** (Sep–Oct): Code From Nepal Bootcamp; trekking to Tilicho Lake
- **Italy, Naples** (Nov–Dec): Present for ChatGPT's public launch

### 2023: Bali, Thailand, Brazil

- **Bali** (March): [[Chat_AI]] launch at Code From Bali co-working
- **Thailand** (April–May): Chat AI growth to 4,000+ users
- **Brazil, Recife** (May–June): Zion B2B AI project; Clay.com workflows
- **Netherlands** (July+): [[ActionSchema]] public alpha; VentureLab North

### Residual Nomadic Patterns (2024)

Although largely settled in Groningen by 2024, traces of nomadic working persisted. After his Slimmer.ai contract ended in July 2024, Wilmake worked full-time on [[ActionSchema]] from outdoor locations around Groningen — the Zeegse duinen, the Gieten heath, cafés, and parks — running on a laptop and powerbank during summer months.

### Settled Life (2024–Present)

By late 2024, the nomadic phase gave way to a more stable Groningen-based existence. In 2025, Wilmake began planning a potential relocation to the San Francisco Bay Area.

## Key Communities

- **EAT CODE KITE REPEAT**: Community co-founded in Tarifa (2017) uniting developer-kitesurfers
- **Code From Bali / Code From Nepal**: Co-working and bootcamp initiatives under [[Code_From_Anywhere]]
- **BackpackingTribe.com**: Community travel platform concept developed in 2020–2021

## Philosophy

Key principles from the nomadic period:
- Geographic distributed teams are viable and often preferable
- Living cheaply enables entrepreneurial risk-taking
- Physical activities complement rather than oppose intensive coding work

## See Also

- [[Jan_Wilmake]]
- [[Code_From_Anywhere]]
- [[Communify]]
- [[Chat_AI]]