Hi!

I'm a freelance virtual reality developer and I'm currently trying to coin the phrase "semigrating" which is a kind of digital nomad life invented by lots of people before me, where you don't fully commit to either home or away and just hop back and forth every few months. Does this work? Is it at all interesting to others? Can I work on heavy 3D development projects without my big giant beast of a PC? I'm going to try and find out.

First, some background :

A few months ago, I moved from my quiet beach life in the South East of Ireland back to Dublin, for a long-term job.

The job had been offered to me starting May, but this was delayed to July because of what I was assured were just formalities to do with the exasperatingly slow wheels of academic funding. (It was a startup to be based in a university.)

Before I signed a lease on an apartment, I was sure to ask - is this a sure thing? Is there any chance this won't go ahead? I was assured that it was a matter of "when" and not "if". 

I met with the team, I specced out the PCs for our new office, I grumbled that I wouldn't have a standing-sitting desk like the one I have at home (even though I think I've probably used it as a standing desk twice in the last year), and I wound down my search for new business, stopped aggressively networking, and said no to a couple of opportunities that would conflict with my main occupation.

I signed the lease, and my partner and I moved to the city. It wasn't bad - we had a great summer and I ended up working consistently enough on the back of my networking earlier in the year. We were close to friends, family, and our apartment is lovely, with a great sea view even if we're no longer within walking distance of water I'd swim in.

But I did turn down a few opportunities for work - this is my only regret. I turned down jobs I'd have really liked to be part of, and I missed out on money that I could have really used, and when July rolled around and the job was delayed again til September, and it became clear it was not a "when" at all but an "if" I'd be a fool to count on any longer, I found myself struggling to replace the lost income, and now paying a premium to live in one of the cities with the highest rent to income in the world.

Disappointing, to say the least.

On the bright side, I've regained my freedom - the imaginary job that never was would have been very much an in-person position, and I was not looking forward to having to wear shoes for prolonged periods of time or have people in my eyeline while I tried to work.

Now is time to take advantage of the bright side and go for an adventure, and in a few days that's what we're doing - heading to Italy for a couple of months to see what we can make of it, if it's somewhere we can both live and work happily - and without spending so much on just living day to day.

I'm not sure what if anything I will make of this blog, but I thought I'd better share what I find about this digital nomad adventure in case it's of any use or interest to anyone else.

To be continued.