Persona
A digital nomad's city-by-city place collections
Four hundred map pins with no context is not a system. How digital nomads can organise cafes, coworking spots, and neighbourhoods one city at a time.
Digital nomads collect places at an unfair speed: a cafe for morning calls, a lunch spot near the apartment, a weekend neighbourhood, a friend's recommendation from three cities ago. Maps fills up. Context does not.
One collection per city
The simplest nomad structure mirrors how memory works:
Lisbon — work cafesMexico City — foodChiang Mai — weekend
When you land somewhere new, create the city before you start saving. Empty inbox energy, but for places.
Tag intent inside the city
Within each city, separate:
- Work — wifi, quiet, outlets
- Food — quick lunch vs worth the trip
- Explore — walks, markets, viewpoints
You will not remember which pin was which in two months. Notes beat hope.
Close cities when you leave
Archive or stop adding to a city when you move on. Your active set should be small — current city plus the next one you are researching.
Do not confuse pins with a life map
Maps tells you where things are. someday helps you remember which places matched how you actually lived in each city — the cafe where you closed a deal, the bar where you met friends.
Read next: Build a neighbourhood hit list.
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