Earlier this year Lauren Foley wrote about packing her bags to explore Europe. Why stay put after Covid set us free from the office, she asked. The company she works for, Global Office Consulting, is based in London, but she has been working remotely, first in Lisbon and now on the Greek island of Syros, with her best friend. Next month she will move on. Here she describes a typical week.
Monday
Monday starts with a lovely view of the island from our Airbnb, which we got an unbelievable discount on as we’re staying for more than 30 days. It was €1,200 in total.
I’m working in a British time zone for the most part, so I don’t start work until around 10 or 11am. We start the day with a 30-minute walk to our local Lidl for the weekly food shop. It’s a little more expensive than a normal one, as we have to stock up on things like spices, cooking oil and toilet paper. That’s a reality of living in temporary accommodation, which may not have these things already.
We have too much shopping to carry home, and public transport is limited, so we get a €4 taxi back to the apartment with our friendly driver, Mike, who gave us his card when we first landed on the island.
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Then I start work for the day, designing and executing digital communication strategies for global gender-equality organisations. I’m incredibly lucky that my team is so flexible about where I dial in from.
In the evening I take a short walk around Ano Syros, or Upper Syros, where we’re staying, and play with all the kitties that line the streets. After dinner I read an article for an upcoming assignment I have to do for the master’s programme I’m in and then head to bed.
Tuesday
Tuesdays usually start with an Italian lesson from my tutor Giulia on Italki. I typically do my homework the night before, but this morning I am a bad student and quickly put something together right before class.
Today we focus on possessive pronouns – the joys! I then go straight into work and finish the day with an online barre class from Barre by Emma and read another article.
Wednesday
Wednesday starts with another barre class, which is a bit more of a struggle when it’s first thing in the morning, but it is a good way to begin the day.
After work I spend the evening and night – right through to the early morning – reading and writing my very last-minute submission for my master’s assignment. The degree is in gender, justice and society from Umeå University, in Sweden. I’m very lucky that I can do it alongside a full-time job, as it mostly consists of pre-recorded lectures and readings.
In a normal week, when I don’t have an assignment due, there is only one live seminar, and even if you can’t make it you just submit in writing what would have been discussed in the seminar, so it is extremely flexible. This assignment was on different perspectives on women and sexuality within the feminist movement. It has been five years since I was last in academia, so I’m trying to get back into the swing of things. Referencing is not fun!
Thursday
Thursday starts with another Italian class. I typically do two a week. I’m fairly wrecked from staying up late the night before, but I plough on through my work day. Thankfully, it is work that I love, so it’s not a chore.
Thursday nights are our Kardashian TV date nights, so we get takeaway pizza, or pinsa, which is a traditional Roman-style pizza, as Ano Syros was once a Roman settlement. Then we cosy up for the night.
We cook at home for the most part, to save money and because there aren’t many other takeaway/delivery options very close by on a quiet Greek island in autumn. This hits the spot, though.
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Friday
As my work is trialling a four-day week, for a better work-life balance, I have Fridays to myself. This is heavenly.
I sleep in and then watch some recorded lectures to get ahead for next week. Afterwards set off to explore Ermoupoli, the island’s beautiful main town, and get some lunch with many kitties sitting nearby.
If you like cats, this is the island to come to. We have brought our towels and swimsuits with us, so a short walk later we’re jumping into the Aegean Sea from a nearby pier. The water is glorious. Once it starts getting dark we head home to have some dinner.
Saturday
For the weekend we book a quad, so we can drive all over the island.
We need to collect it from Galissas, so our plan is to get the bus there. However, due to the season change – it is a big thing here, with restaurants closing – the bus is now only running three times a day. So we call trusty Mike to help out.
Once we’ve secured the quad for the very lovely price of €60 for two days, we set off to explore the island. First, we need petrol. The little bit that’s already in the tank runs out on a main road right as we’re turning into the garage, so that’s thrilling – not.
We get lunch in Poseidonia and see Megas Gialos, Vari and Azolimnos, all lovely beaches across the south of the island. We rent some sunbeds at Agathopes Beach for €5 each, then chill and swim for the rest of the afternoon. In the evening we return to Ermoupoli, park up and get yummy Greek gyros for dinner for the extremely low price of €3.50.
Sunday
Taking full advantage of having the quad, we drive around the hilly area of beautiful Ano Syros and take in the spectacular views.
After that we go off to explore the north of the island, whose terrain is a lot steeper and scarier than the south’s. There’s many a time when I have to concentrate on not going over the side of a cliff. After we’ve had enough thrills for one day we head back down south and get lunch at Kini Beach and go for a much-needed dip in the intense heat.
We then drop the quad back to Galissas, get the bus home and have Italian for dinner at the port of Ermoupoli.
This may not be a typical week for every digital nomad, but it’s mine. There’s no one way to do travel, and there’s no one way to do life. This is just the start of my digital-nomad journey, so let’s see how it goes.
If you live overseas and would like to share your experience with Irish Times Abroad, email abroad@irishtimes.com with a little information about you and what you do
