The two Danish entrepreneurs Nikolaj Astrup and Michelle Rødgaard Jessen has launched an experiment called “The Travelling Village”. It is a community of digital nomad living together abroad while moving from country to country. The first experiment has taken place in Vietnam, Thailand and ends in Japan.
The experiment started in 15 January 2024 and has unfolded over four months. The idea was born out of a personal need from Nikolaj Astrup and Michelle Rødgaard Jessen. Both of them had travelled and worked as digital nomads. The plan was to continue the lifestyle when they had a family, but a different kind of loneliness emerged.
They decided to try an create a community of families. A rendition of the Danish concept of “bofællesskaber”, where families live and occasionally eat together. In Denmark it varies how much the families are involved in each others life.
Nikolaj Astrup and Michelle Rødgaard Jessen decided to try and create something similar for international nomad families. Many families applied and 19 families were chosen. The families were from Denmark, the US, India, Ireland, Italy and the Netherlands.
Now that the experiment is getting close to its end the families are looking at both the pros and the cons of the experience.
“In the past, when our daughter didn’t want to join us for activities, one of us had to stay back. Now, she can reach out to other adults in the community. This gives my husband and I more freedom to do things together or independently,” says Irene Genelin as a true pro of the experiment.
However, the moving around so quickly turned out to be an issue for multiple parents. Wishing for a slower paced travel style.
Source: BBC
