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The Privileged Appeal of Freedom: Digital Nomadism in Portugal

Avander, Tom LU (2025) SANM05 20251
Social Anthropology
Abstract
This thesis examines digital nomads in Portugal, a popular destination for location-independent digital workers, through multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork conducted over winters of 2024 and 2025. The research examines digital nomads' motivations and challenges of the pursuit of freedom and mobility, loneliness and social isolation, their role in the socioeconomic impacts of gentrification, and the ethical concerns surrounding the commercialization of the digital nomad lifestyle. The research finds that digital nomads seek autonomy and mobility, value freedom and lived experiences. However, the findings also show how they experience challenges such as loneliness, social isolation, and career instability. Their privileged mobility, enabled... (More)
This thesis examines digital nomads in Portugal, a popular destination for location-independent digital workers, through multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork conducted over winters of 2024 and 2025. The research examines digital nomads' motivations and challenges of the pursuit of freedom and mobility, loneliness and social isolation, their role in the socioeconomic impacts of gentrification, and the ethical concerns surrounding the commercialization of the digital nomad lifestyle. The research finds that digital nomads seek autonomy and mobility, value freedom and lived experiences. However, the findings also show how they experience challenges such as loneliness, social isolation, and career instability. Their privileged mobility, enabled by digital infrastructure, visa policies, and strong passports contributes to urban transformation, rising housing costs, and local resentment in cities like Lisbon and Porto. Commodification of the “freedom lifestyle” through expensive online courses supports aspirational narratives that nomads view with skepticism and as unethical practices. Based on informants’ reflections, the research identifies contradictions between idealized narratives and lived realities, where meaning-seeking and transnational identity formation unfold within broader structures of inequality. This research contributes to the discourse of digital nomadism as a transnational phenomenon shaped by both emancipatory aspirations and entanglements in global capitalist dynamics. (Less)
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author
Avander, Tom LU
supervisor
organization
course
SANM05 20251
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
digital nomadism, transnationalism, remote work, mobility, freedom lifestyle, gentrification, social anthropology, coworking spaces, Portugal
language
English
id
9203418
date added to LUP
2025-06-21 16:29:43
date last changed
2025-06-21 16:29:43
@misc{9203418,
  abstract     = {{This thesis examines digital nomads in Portugal, a popular destination for location-independent digital workers, through multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork conducted over winters of 2024 and 2025. The research examines digital nomads' motivations and challenges of the pursuit of freedom and mobility, loneliness and social isolation, their role in the socioeconomic impacts of gentrification, and the ethical concerns surrounding the commercialization of the digital nomad lifestyle. The research finds that digital nomads seek autonomy and mobility, value freedom and lived experiences. However, the findings also show how they experience challenges such as loneliness, social isolation, and career instability. Their privileged mobility, enabled by digital infrastructure, visa policies, and strong passports contributes to urban transformation, rising housing costs, and local resentment in cities like Lisbon and Porto. Commodification of the “freedom lifestyle” through expensive online courses supports aspirational narratives that nomads view with skepticism and as unethical practices. Based on informants’ reflections, the research identifies contradictions between idealized narratives and lived realities, where meaning-seeking and transnational identity formation unfold within broader structures of inequality. This research contributes to the discourse of digital nomadism as a transnational phenomenon shaped by both emancipatory aspirations and entanglements in global capitalist dynamics.}},
  author       = {{Avander, Tom}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{The Privileged Appeal of Freedom: Digital Nomadism in Portugal}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}