Jan_Wilmake's digital nomad period spanned roughly 2016 to 2023, during which he combined software development work with extensive international travel.[1] This lifestyle fundamentally shaped both his technical projects — particularly Communify and Code_From_Anywhere — and his professional philosophy.
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.[2] 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, a car, and even abandoned sheds.[2]
Following graduation, Wilmake invested his savings into traveling through Nepal and Southeast Asia.[1] He decided during this journey to pursue an entrepreneurial, location-independent career.
Extended stays across Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Cambodia), Prague, Berlin, Budapest, Bansko, and Lisbon.[2] Key milestones:
January–April 2018 in Canggu, Bali at the Dojo co-working space, developing Communify.[2] A medical episode in April 2018 led to repatriation to the Netherlands.
Extended stay (September–December 2020) at La Cocotera hostel in Tarifa, kitesurfing, working remotely.[2] Development of EAT CODE KITE REPEAT and BackpackingTribe.
The most geographically intensive phase:[3]
Although largely settled in Groningen by 2024, traces of nomadic working persisted. After being dismissed from Slimmer.ai 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, camping and working in nature for extended stretches during the summer.[4] He described this period as a near-ideal environment for focused solo product development, and considered spending the entire summer this way.[4]
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.[5]
Key principles from the nomadic period:
history/career-rundown-2006-2026.md ↑history/2015-2022.md ↑history/2023-2024.md ↑2024/2024-Q3/2024-08-diary.md, 2024-09-diary.md ↑2025/2025-08-diary.md ↑