Alt_Newsletter #0007

Spilling The Beans

🇲🇾 John will be speaking at Penang Slushd on May 20. Tickets available for the whole event, but make sure you’re there on the 20th 😉

👩‍🎓 We are hosting a series of groups of students, graduates and future interns over the summer. If you see them around say hi and offer them some inspiration for their journeys!

🇯🇵 This is only a rumour (ok, it’s our rumour 😅), but Alt_Popup might show up again in November in Japan. It’s just a rumour though…

What we did in April at Alt_

Alt_Projects

Alt_Popup #1 Wrapped Last Week 🇯🇵

The very first Alt_Popup, supported by Safety Wing - who offer flexible insurance for nomads - came to a close at the end of April. Japan was an overwhelming success if the hosts, participants and locals in Kotohira are anything to go by!

Read what John had to say about what he calls the “experiment”, and what it signifies for the future of coliving - at least for Alt_ - in this post.

Here’s what a couple of the nomads who attended the month-long popup had to say about their experience in Kotohira:

Sunil (a regular Alt_Coliver!): “The Alt Popup gave me a truly unique experience in Japan. Small town living, local people, deep history, and so many magical moments getting to know the people of Kotohira. I can’t wait to spend time there again.”

Amy (the Alt_Team representative): “The group were very easy to have conversation with and share experiences, and help each other with work and life in general. We kept busy as there were so many local activities to do, and wanted to do them all! Some trips we took together like renting a car and heading out into the countryside, but anyone could explore by themselves too.”

This won’t be the last coliving popup, that’s for sure!

Alt_Community Stories

For some, coliving is the ONLY way

What made you consider coliving as a nomad?
I’ve always lived with a lot of people. I went to boarding school in the UK, I lived in an artist house in London with other people, in fact I’ve only lived on my own for 6 months once. I knew when I started to travel the world I wanted to stay in colives as my sister had a friend who had done.

I like that I can tap in or out of group activities every single day, there is always someone to say hello to, and you always have community around you. I always knew that was what I liked.

Ok, that’s a pillar of Alt_ obviously, so what does community mean to you?
Community I think of in terms of my job - a collective of people that have a similar ideology and working towards a similar goal. That can be living in a place like this where we all have different jobs, but have similar ides of the way we would like to live.

That is the goal - living together, being around people and not being lonely. I think that’s a big part of community. It’s like the opposite of loneliness. That’s a big problem as a lot of people feel lonely.

How has staying at Alt_ helped you with your nomad journey?
Alt_ is a special coliving for sure. I was travelling for a long time, and then got here and this is the only place apart from Lisbon that I’ve actually come back to - and it’s halfway round the world from where I live! I came to Alt_ and was like, “oh, I can kind of settle a bit, I can breathe.” I felt like I could relax a little bit.

I think the types of people who come here are types that I get on with where we have a similar idea of the way we are living our life and want to share it. I’ve made so many friends, both that lived here and just came to the workspace every day. There’s something about the layout - how you almost have to say good morning to everyone as you walk through. You have to have those touch points. There are several things that are special about Alt_ and that is one of them, the layout of the buildings. Ping River sometimes feels like you’re at a retreat!

And how about your work. Does staying at an Alt_ help your worklife too?
Being in Thailand in general has been really good for my business, but staying somewhere like here stabilises you. Having a really big space where there is separation between life and work in the same place has really helped me focus in with my work.

I haven’t worked with anyone I’ve met here specifically on a project yet, but I chat with Tim who’s here a lot about tips for photography as I use Instagram and Pinterest a lot for the business. You get talking to someone who is in a similar industry, when you haven’t been feeling it for a week, and you get that energy back up again.

Lizzie is a crochet pattern designer - so one of the less common nomad businesses you’ll come across - and has a big Instagram following for her design work. We often see her setting up a shoot in different parts of both Alt_’s!

If you’re after a hobby that is super-lightweight to travel with - and fast growing in popularity - then follow Lizzie on Instagram. Grab yourself a pattern you like the look of and get crocheting!

She’s also built her business on Instagram and Pinterest, so grab her at a Tea Time if you see her and ask her advice if you need some inspiration to grow yours.

If you have an Alt_ story to tell, or want to appear here and share your thing with the community, fill in this form.

Get involved at Alt_

Alt_Recommends

This week we had a roundtable at Tea Time at Alt_PingRiver and collected some recommendations from members A.V., Sean, and Chris, as well as the Alt_Team who served up this week’s traditional Thai sweets; Ploy and Amy:

Book The Power of Now; Ekhart Tolle (AV actually had it with him - it’s the 4th time he’s read it!)
Podcast Joe Rogan - everyone knows it, but wide-ranging topics and guests
TV Black Mirror - the new season is just out
TV Oz - a bit old school, and gruesome!
Music Ploy recommends Zach Bryan (in particular Pink Skies); Amy likes to listen to early jazz from the 20s to 50s, especially Ella Fitzgerald

If you’ve any recommendations other Alt_Fam people might benefit from, drop what you’ve got here.

What’s going on in Chiang Mai this month

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Opportunities

Community Manager, Alt_
If you are a social butterfly, can head up a fun activity, or might just love helping people enjoy what Alt_ and Chiang Mai has to offer, then we might have just the thing for you.

Our community managers are usually nomads who fancy staying around a little longer, so drop us an email at [email protected] if this sounds like you!