Welcome to my “A Digital Nomad in…” series
Sharing my experiences as I travel the world, working remotely from new and interesting places, and reveling in different cultures.

La Nomadienne: A Digital Nomad in Paris

A transformative introduction

“There is but one Paris, and however hard living may be here… the French air clears up the brain and does one good.”

Vincent Van Gogh

I first visited Paris in the autumn of 2018, when I was feeling unsatisfied in my relationship, in my career, and in the place I called home. I had been living in San Francisco (the “Paris of the West”) for almost a decade, and was starting to see the city I had loved since childhood slip away in the wake of invading armies of tech bros and venture capitalists. The resultant exodus of the artistic, literary and queer female communities that, for me, have always made up so much of San Francisco’s ineffable spirit, was hard to take. I started feeling less and less like I had a place in my own home.

Around the same time, I was starting to realize that I needed to leave my relationship. We’d been together for over two years, and I cared very much for them, but as things went on I reluctantly had to acknowledge to myself that we wanted very different things out of a partnership. Effectively leaving that person took me another six months after I returned from Paris, but I will always remember finding my resolve while walking along the banks of the Seine with a friend. Surrounded by the natural and architectural beauty of the French capital, I realized that it didn’t take having a partner to experience magical moments like these – and that even if I left, I’d be okay.

Since that transformative visit, I’ve dreamed of returning to stay without an end date, and settling into Parisian life at my own pace: to spend mornings reading in cafes and parks, rambling through covered markets, or soaking in the culture at world-class museums; afternoons people-watching while working and writing (a girl’s gotta make a living somehow); and evenings restaurant-hopping, sipping natural wine, and making new friends from complete strangers.

For four years, it’s been a beautiful dream – but now, it’s about to become my reality.

Planning the trip of a lifetime

“Paris is always a good idea.”

Audrey Hepburn

Six months ago I was very fortunate to land a job as an in-house marketing lead for a start-up that aims to make building professional relationships easier among small business owners. In addition to the warmth and kindness of my colleagues, and the trust with which they let me make creative and strategic decisions, one of my favorite things about this company is that they are fully remote: as long as you’re available during the “core working hours,” you are allowed to work from anywhere in the world.

As of yet, I’ve only taken advantage of this policy during family holidays or when working from home, which is perfect for when you want to laze around petting the dog and wearing sweatpants until two in the afternoon. Recently, however, my beloved senior dachshund passed, and I was found rudderless and relatively without responsibilities for the first time in years. What do I do with all this free time aside from wallow in my grief? I need a change of scenery for a bit, to get out of my head, and to experience something refreshingly new.

So I booked a one-way ticket to Paris.

I arrive on March 1st and will be starting my stay with a week in the Marais district, or the 4th arrondissement of Paris. I have no idea yet where I’ll head from there, but I’m looking forward to the adventure!

Stay tuned as I eat, drink, and people-watch my way around the City of Light, and beyond.