In this pod I talk to Nathan James Thomas, a veteran Kiwi traveller, writer, and publisher who left Aotearoa New Zealand more than a decade ago and built a life on the move before eventually putting down roots in Poland in 2022.

Nathan left NZ in 2014, bound first for China. What began as an OE gradually evolved into something more permanent. Over the next 10 years he lived the life of a digital nomad, working across China, Spain, Hungary, Albania, Georgia, & Poland, supporting himself as a writer and editor.

In our conversation we talk about what life as a digital nomad looks like beyond Instagram curation, the emotional and practical costs of life as a modern Bedouin, and the inflection point when the itch to move kicks in.

Nathan's the owner of Exisle Publishing and the founder of a travel publication - Intrepid Times - focused on narrative, long-form storytelling. I loved hearing about the origination stories of both commercial threads to Nathan's life, his description of Kiwis as enthusiastic travellers, how travel writing is changing, what relying on AI can result in for travellers (spoiler alert - certifiably mad recommendations and hallucinatory destinations), and why curiosity for modern travellers matters more than ever.

Our conversation about the origination of the term 'carbon miles' and travel-shaming also saw Nathan kindly providing links to a relevant story he penned for Intrepid Times, found here.

I so enjoyed this conversation. Nathan is thoughtful, candid, and unromantic about both the rewards and realities of a life spent on the road, and on questions of Kiwi identity and place.

On behalf of the team here at OFNZ, thank you so much for listening.

My huge thanks to the Kiwi Flees for candid conversations, and to my sound-meister Robbie at Matrix Digital (Wgtn) for his commitment to the craft and making himself available at the weirdest of hours to record these conversations from abroad. Thank you too, to Team Kea for promoting the pod.

If you're a Kiwi Flee or know someone who should be, please get in touch at: kiwiflees@onlyfromnz.co.nz

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