Digital Nomad<\/h1>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>![\"10391436_10204955863398189_5262514366898318848_n\"](\"https:\/\/estherjacobs.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/10391436_10204955863398189_5262514366898318848_n-228x300.jpg\")
<\/a>As\u00a0a digital nomad my home is where my laptop is. I don\u2019t have a fixed place to live; instead I consider the world my playground. This makes my life a dream for some\u00a0and a nightmare for others\u2026<\/p>\nOriginally from The Netherlands, I have always travelled a lot. Curiosity, a sense of adventure and a strong need to learn, guided my trips to over a 100 countries<\/a>. I have been to places as diverse as Haiti, Transdnistria (a non-existing country!), Madagascar, French Guyana and Colombia. Being an entrepreneur, my business background was not enough to understand everything I saw. Out of curiosity I did a Master study in Latin American Studies and Anthropology<\/a>. No matter where I travelled, however, after a few days, weeks or months, I always returned to the Netherlands.<\/p>\nIn the past 5 – 10 years my needs changed. I did not want to be on the road so much; travel so fast anymore. In stead of trying to see it all, I preferred to stay longer in one place, to feel at home there rather than a visitor. I alternated between a few locations I had grown fond of: my home in Amsterdam, my fathers place in Miami, my boyfriends house on the Caribbean island of Curacao\u00a0and a small farm we were restoring in the heart of Mallorca.<\/p>\n
Still I was restless and have not stayed in one place for more than 6 weeks.<\/p>\n
One day in november 2013, when I went to get a new passport in the city hall in my home town of Amstelveen, they refused to extend my passport. Apparently there is a law stating that you are only allowed to register in the Netherlands if you stay at least 4 months on that exact address. According to the government I travelled too much. Since I did not spend 4 months in the country I was told that I could no longer use my address as my official residence. ‘But it is my own house!’ I objected. ‘And I don’t live anywhere else. This is the only fixed base that I have…’<\/p>\n<\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>Esther shares her story in this TEDx speech and on the TMBA podcast<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Originally from The Netherlands, I have always travelled a lot. Curiosity, a sense of adventure and a strong need to learn, guided my trips to over a 100 countries<\/a>. I have been to places as diverse as Haiti, Transdnistria (a non-existing country!), Madagascar, French Guyana and Colombia. Being an entrepreneur, my business background was not enough to understand everything I saw. Out of curiosity I did a Master study in Latin American Studies and Anthropology<\/a>. No matter where I travelled, however, after a few days, weeks or months, I always returned to the Netherlands.<\/p>\n In the past 5 – 10 years my needs changed. I did not want to be on the road so much; travel so fast anymore. In stead of trying to see it all, I preferred to stay longer in one place, to feel at home there rather than a visitor. I alternated between a few locations I had grown fond of: my home in Amsterdam, my fathers place in Miami, my boyfriends house on the Caribbean island of Curacao\u00a0and a small farm we were restoring in the heart of Mallorca.<\/p>\n Still I was restless and have not stayed in one place for more than 6 weeks.<\/p>\n One day in november 2013, when I went to get a new passport in the city hall in my home town of Amstelveen, they refused to extend my passport. Apparently there is a law stating that you are only allowed to register in the Netherlands if you stay at least 4 months on that exact address. According to the government I travelled too much. Since I did not spend 4 months in the country I was told that I could no longer use my address as my official residence. ‘But it is my own house!’ I objected. ‘And I don’t live anywhere else. This is the only fixed base that I have…’<\/p>\n<\/div>![\"10391436_10204955863398189_5262514366898318848_n\"](\"https:\/\/estherjacobs.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/10391436_10204955863398189_5262514366898318848_n.jpg\")
<\/a>As\u00a0a digital nomad my home is where my laptop is. I don\u2019t have a fixed place to live; instead I consider the world my playground. This makes my life a dream for some\u00a0and a nightmare for others\u2026<\/p>\nEsther shares her story in this TEDx speech and on the TMBA podcast<\/h2>\n<\/div>