The lifestyle of a location independent entrepreneur is a unique one.
You have the unique luxury of being able to pick up your life and move to a different country at a moments notice.
Whether it’s a conference, mastermind, or spiritual awakening you’re going to next, the next trip is never far.
So how could you possibly expect to find a significant other that could keep up with that kind of lifestyle?
Well, you can. And if you really want it, you will.
What Kind Of Partner Do You Need As A Digital Nomad?
As an eternally travelling entrepreneur you have one of three options when it comes to finding your significant other (that I have seen work for digital nomads who are interested in long-term monogamy).
You can either find a partner who is already location independent, find a partner who is willing to be location independent, or find a partner who is happily location dependent and wants to stay that way.
Pros And Cons To Each Of The Three Styles Of Partner
While each of these will have obvious benefits and disadvantages, you may not realize how easy it is to pull off a thriving love relationship with a traveling significant other until you’ve read through the following details.
I have several clients who have successfully pulled off each of these different relationship dynamics and they are all blissfully happy with their rather unique arrangements.
1. Find A Partner Who Is Already Location Independent
For some, this is the holy grail. No persuasion or compromise needed… they already live the kind of life that you do.
Benefits: They understand the hours, the flexible schedule, and have an equal or greater thirst for life than you do. You both feel passionately fulfilled when you engage in your work and you get to do it side by side.
Disadvantages: You think that there will be little to no compromise when you join up with another digital nomad, but then you realize that you might frequently want to go in two different directions (i.e. countries) at the same time. As long as you aren’t both overly strong-minded (read: stubborn) this dynamic generally works out quite well.
One of my first ever clients that I met while traveling through Bali had been traveling with his wife for over six years and they both adored working together side by side on their separate businesses. I have seen it several times over in multiple countries… it is completely do-able.
2. Find A Partner Who Is Willing To Be Location Independent
Who wouldn’t want to live a life traveling the world, seeing dozens of countries, and drinking out of coconuts? Well, a lot of people. But a surprising amount are quite fond of it once they give it a shot.
As rare as location independent entrepreneurs are, many people secretly dream of traveling the world from the safety and comfort of generating revenue from their laptops.
Whether she has an idea for her own business/blog/book/podcast, you create a business model for her to work on, or you simply hire her to work within your business, the options are limitless.
Benefits: The fact that your partner is either 1) an employee of yours, or 2) willing to join you on such a drastic shift in lifestyle with you is kind of sexy.
Disadvantages: It sometimes feels like you are attached at the hip, you tend to get asked a lot of questions that might seem basic to you (“What’s a back link? What’s a chargeback? What does R.O.I. stand for?”), and these partners tend to have a ‘getting used to it’ phase where they miss their friends and families a lot more than people who have been location independent for a handful of years. Tread lightly and start off by only doing shorter excursions away from their home base.
3. Find A Partner Who Is Happily Location Dependent
Your significant other doesn’t necessarily need to travel with you at all.
A lot of location independent entrepreneurs feel really comforted knowing that they have someone waiting for them at home. Sure, being on the road a lot of the time is exhilarating and seemingly sexy, but there’s no place like home.
Benefits: If your temperament is the “Go! Go! Go!” type then having a partner who is keeping your roots growing in a specific city might be beneficial to you and bring you the kind of balance that you need.
Disadvantages: You’ll miss each other… a lot! But each time you talk you’ll have some pretty interesting stories to catch each other up on.
Where Do You Meet Location Independent Women?
So now that you have decided what type of relationship dynamic you’re looking for, where do you start looking for location independent women?
1. Digital Nomad Hotspots
Chaing Mai (Thailand), Ubud (Bali), Barcelona (Spain), Berlin (Germany), and Davao City (Philippines) are all well known hotspots for location independent entrepreneurs.
Get your work done in coffee shops, restaurants, and co-working spaces and make sure to strike up the occasional conversation with those around you.
2. International Online Dating
Set up an account with an online dating website that has good global reach (OKCupid or Match for example), fill it out as per what you’re looking for in a partner, and then do a global search by match percentage. You would be amazed at how accurate the algorithms have become and you will likely find yourself with a newly boosted wanderlust when you see all of the amazing people around the world that have online dating profiles.
I even know a successful serial entrepreneur who set up his international online dating profile, narrowed his search down to a few high quality matches, and flew around the world to meet them all and through this process he quickly met his wife. He is one of the happiest men I have ever had the pleasure of connecting with and it is in large part because of his pure intentionality when it came to his love life.
3. Join Online and Offline Entrepreneurial Networks
Just like every other area of your life, never underestimate the power of your extended social network.
Actively stretch your social capital by joining up with online and offline entrepreneur networks that share your values and you would be surprised as to the quality of people you’ll find yourself connecting with. Stay social, stay open, and your future partner could saunter into your social circle in no time.
Is It Worth It To Travel With A (Non-Business) Partner?
Imagine getting out of the sweltering heat into your air conditioned hotel room, and climbing into bed with your loving partner.
Imagine being woken up by a gentle kiss on your nose and then springing out of bed to work on your passion-infused business each morning.
Imagine being the kind of entrepreneur who not only has a successful and thriving business (dime a dozen), but has an enviable relationship with an amazing partner.
As always, think long and hard about what it is that you’re truly looking for out of your life, and then fight like hell to obtain and maintain it.
Dedicated to your success,
Jordan
Ps. By the way, one of the most common complaints that I hear from wanna-preneurs is that they wish they could be location independent but they have children. While I don’t for a second doubt that it would make things harder to travel with youngsters, I also have a client whose two year old son has been to over fifteen countries already. If you want it badly enough, you can make it work.
