At the tershouse coworking space so far we have had many digital nomads from all over the world and each of their stories is unique and can not be compared to the story of another digital nomad. All of them are connected by a couple of things: the desire for freedom, the desire to meet other people and customs, and curiosity. One of them is Samantha (Sam) Hulls who has been living in Scotland for the last 7 years, originally from Australia, before that she was in Berlin for a few weeks where we met and after that, she decided to come to Sarajevo and our coworking space. Another reason why she came to BiH is the climate. ‘I wanted to go to some warmer countries because I have been living in the UK for the last 7 years and I wanted the sun. The life of a digital nomad is quite exciting; so far I have visited many new and interesting locations, and one of the benefits is meeting new people. It's also a nice feeling when you go somewhere where you know people and a big added bonus is definitely when those people have a great coworking space, 'adds Sam with a laugh.

Her main identity is not, of course, being a digital nomad; before she opted for such a lifestyle she had a completely different lifestyle. When asked who she is besides being a digital nomad, she answered: 'I am an Australian who has been living in the UK (Scotland) for the last 7 years, and I am a major traveler. My experience so far is related to law and event management and I somehow ended up in the field of coworking, I liked it and I never left it. I ran the coworking space as a Community Manager for 7 years. I am also creative; I dance and play drums.'

As we continued to talk about her choice to become a digital nomad, she mentioned some other interesting aspects of this lifestyle, but also some bad sides. 'I’m someone who felt very trapped in times of lockdown, and I love to travel. One of the reasons I moved from Australia is so I could travel more easily because everything is far from Australia. The next step was to become a digital nomad. I enjoy the fact that I can adjust my schedule and plans depending on the people I meet, such as on this trip to Sarajevo. The advantage of being a digital nomad for me is getting to know new places. I also really like coworking spaces, I like to see how they are designed, and I also like to meet the people who run them as well as the people who use them. 'In the conversation, she also mentioned some shortcomings of this way of life. 'This way of life can be very tiring due to constantly meeting new people. Here (BiH) I felt a language barrier, but it is okay given that many people speak English. As much as I enjoy traveling, I think that in a few months I will be sick of digital nomadism', she adds with a laugh.

What I noticed about the tershouse community is that you feel that friendly atmosphere, people chat with each other, have fun in the kitchen, really connect. Nothing is forced, but it is sincere.'

She also recalled the time when she worked as a Community manager and compared the tershouse community to the community of the coworking space in which she worked. “Our space was called‘ Melting pot ’and it was one of the first coworking spaces in Europe. This year they are celebrating their 15th birthday and I joined the team for their 8th birthday, so I had the advantage of joining an already formed community that of course continued to expand when I came. It was a wonderful space, everyone was always kind and friendly. We always believed we had a strong community and lockdown proved it because we offered free space and we didn’t lose any members then most of them even paid the full membership fee and it proved to us that what we built was authentic. What I noticed about the tershouse community is that similar vibe, you feel that friendly atmosphere, people chat with each other, have fun in the kitchen, and connect. Nothing is forced, but it is sincere.'

Talking about the coworking spaces across Europe she visited, I asked her what she generally thought about the benefits of membership and working from such spaces over offices or from home. 'There are a lot of benefits. For example, as a digital nomad, it is very important for me to meet new people, but there are also professional advantages of this community, such places are full of freelancers from various industries, which you would not meet otherwise but you need for your business and then you make connections and you have the space to do it. I believe that every coworking space has a basic level of values and ideas. 'When I asked her if she plans to return to Sarajevo again someday (since everyone who drank water from the Baš čaršija fountain comes back to Sarajevo according to an old legend) she said that she likes that everyone is very kind regardless of the language barrier and that she feels welcome and for sure, and she especially likes our sense of humor and that we are all very relaxed and open when it comes to war, and that we have a specific way of dealing with it.

Sam is currently working on an application called 'One coworking' which facilitates hybrid work for coworking spaces and she works as an Operations Manager, which means that one of her main tasks is to build structure, and strategies and organize team retreats for employees of this application that are from all over the world. When I asked her about her plans for the future, she said that she would return to Edinburgh soon, later to Berlin again, and in Sarajevo, if everything went according to plan, again for the SFF (Sarajevo Film Festival).

If you are interested in first-hand experiences of digital nomads and this lifestyle, stop by tershouse at Kolodvorska 5 because we always have a few digital nomads from all around the world who are always ready to tell their stories.

Interview conducted by Ivona Narančić, Community Manager at tershouse