My first week of official digital nomad life has been a bit of a whirlwind. After 2 days and 15 hours of driving from Seattle to Tahoe, CA, I had three days to explore my new town before taking off to Denver, Colorado to ski Vail and Breckenridge and explore Denver.
After 6 days in Colorado, I’m officially back in Tahoe (for a few days at least…!) and working long hours before my next trip.
Tahoe life is, in a word, different. We don’t lock our front door (my roommates literally don’t have keys), we don’t have a mailbox, at any given point in time I live with between 2-5 dogs. There’s no snow, and believe me, that is the topic of conversation anywhere you go. I ended up not remembering to bring any hangers, but the nearest Target is 18.2 miles away, in another state. I need to get my nails done, but it’s an hour-long drive to the next nail salon. I asked my roommate if there’s live music in town, to which he emphatically said, yes of course! When I asked what kind of music, he explained that a local band played at the dive bar next door every Wednesday.
Despite all of these stark differences from my typical city life, I am loving Tahoe! Everyone here is kind and genuine. They’re friendly, they’re outgoing, and they are here to adventure. To quote one of my new friends, “everyone that lives in Tahoe is running away from something. And we’re having the best kind of fun doing it.” It truly does feel that way; Tahoe is in itself an escape from what many consider the drag of office life. And I truly mean that. You’ll meet a lot of people here. So far, I’ve met a couple who owns an art shop in town, 8 professional skiers, a guy who grows weed, and many construction workers. But no office workers. People here think differently; they live in the moment, they dance to the beat of their own drum. And they’re perfectly happy doing it. I fit right in.
Honestly, between all of the unpacking, working, and traveling, I haven’t had much time to fully and completely explore the city. Pictures and updates on where to eat, drink, explore to come in later posts.
Colorado itself was equally amazing. If you ski, Vail is a mountain you cannot miss. We were with a group of about 10 people skiing Vail, and we all equally agreed it was one of the best ski days we’d had at a resort. Breckenridge is also an amazing mountain. With 10 peaks and dozens of lifts, you’re sure to find some kind of terrain you love. We found Breckenridge almost too big for a group of people who had never (or at least rarely) skied the mountain. With 10 peaks to explore, you find yourself doing a lot of gondola riding or traversing from peak to peak. Nonetheless, it’s hard to complain about a bluebird day.
The reason we chose those particular days to be in Breckenridge was that they had an annual festival, Ullr Festival, occurring during that time. Ullr festival is basically where everyone dresses up as Vikings and parties in the streets. It was a crazy, wild experience and I would highly recommend it. If you go, don’t miss the parade and the burning of the Christmas trees. For me, the Christmas tree burning was particularly symbolic and beautiful. The way the sparks flew in the air and the fire warming my skin felt magical. I can’t describe that moment of happiness.
In short, my first week has been a breath of fresh air. From navigating the plains of Oregon to missing my flight in Denver to showing up at a bar alone in Tahoe, I’m constantly and consistently pushing my limits, and loving every second of it. Cheers to a new chapter, friends.
Love you all,
emily