The main Nomad Summit 2026 conference in Chiang Mai wrapped up over the weekend and ended, as it often does, with conversations flowing well beyond the official program – this time at the Pool Party on Sunday. What follows is Nomad Week: a more relaxed, community-driven stretch filled with side events, meetups, and informal gatherings.
Episode 36 of the Nomad Summit Podcast captures this transition perfectly. Recorded during Nomad Week, the episode blends a live side event with two main guests, voices from the Pool Party, and reflections from attendees who are still processing everything they experienced during the conference.
A Live Nomad Week Side Event with Toti and René
The episode begins with a live side event hosted by Palle Bo and Christoph Huebner, recorded in front of an audience during Nomad Week.
The first main guest is Toti, who shares his personal journey into a life shaped by travel, curiosity, and storytelling. He talks openly about how his path evolved, what drew him deeper into nomad life, and how creating content became a way of making sense of constant movement.
Toti reflects on the contrast between the dream of freedom and the discipline required to sustain a nomadic lifestyle long-term. His story resonates strongly with the audience, particularly when he speaks about uncertainty, decision-making, and learning to trust the process even when the next step is not obvious.
The second main conversation is with René, who brings a more seasoned, long-term perspective. René talks about how nomad life changes over time – how priorities shift, routines emerge, and what once felt temporary can become a stable way of living.
He shares reflections on community, belonging, and how staying location-independent for years requires different choices than when you first start out. Together, the two conversations offer contrasting but complementary views on nomad life, sparking thoughtful reactions from the audience in the room.
Reflections from the Pool Party After the Conference
Interwoven with the live conversations are short recordings from the Pool Party on Sunday, which marked the end of the main conference weekend.
Here, attendees share immediate reactions while the experience is still fresh. Some talk about the talks that stuck with them, others about people they met or conversations that changed their perspective. The Pool Party voices capture a mix of relief, inspiration, and reflection – the feeling that comes when an intense few days are over, but the impact is still unfolding.
These moments ground the episode in the collective experience of the conference and show how differently people process the same event.
Audience Voices and Nomad Week Energy
As the episode continues, more attendees step up to share their thoughts – recorded during and after the live side event, and later during another Nomad Week gathering.
These short reflections reveal what people are taking with them into the week ahead. Some speak about feeling energized, others about needing time to integrate what they learned. There are thoughts on connection, vulnerability, and the value of hearing honest stories rather than polished success narratives.
Together, these voices turn the episode into more than a recap. They create a layered portrait of a community in motion – no longer in conference mode, but not quite back to everyday life either.
From Conference Intensity to Nomad Week Conversations
What makes this episode different is its timing. It sits right between two phases: the structured intensity of the main conference and the open-ended flow of Nomad Week.
That shift is audible throughout the episode. Conversations are less formal, reflections more personal, and the focus moves from stages and schedules to people and shared experiences. It is in this space that many of the most meaningful connections often happen.
What Attendees Took Away from the Conference
Toward the end of the episode, the microphones turn to the people who were actually there – and a clear theme keeps coming up. When Palle asks why they came, community and connection is the most common answer – often even more important than the talks.
Joey Kudish, who’s been living in Chiang Mai for the last few months, says he came because it “seemed like it would be my crowd” and then adds: “I think just how friendly everyone is.” When asked if it was more about community than talks, Joey answers: “I would say more community even.”
Orest Zub calls it the major nomad event of the winter in Asia, but his main takeaway is also people – he describes it as meeting the same tribe across the world: “So it feels you are migrating with a tribe, on a seasonal basis.”
Kieran from the UK describes what the conference does to your brain in the best way – inspiring talks and a burst of motivation, but again he circles back to the people: “What I really love about it the most is the networking part.” He also highlights one concrete format that helped him meet the right people: the “AI matchmaking for dinner tables.” His partner Emily agrees – for her, “the best part is always the networking and the evening events,” especially seeing familiar faces and making plans with new friends for what comes next.
Several attendees talk about how it felt to be surrounded by people who are building something – and how energising that is. Kevin, who attended on a scholarship, says it felt “super empowering to be surrounded by so many like-minded people,” and that the weekend gave him “so much inspiration.”
Laura mentions something a lot of listeners will relate to – she’s not a digital nomad yet, but still felt she belonged: “I love that I didn’t feel out of place, not really being a digital nomad.”
And Sheena shares one of the more personal reflections – she came in with a stereotype of digital nomads and left with a completely different impression: “They did not meet my stereotype at all. They were actually really interesting, impressive individuals that I would love to stay in touch with.”
So if you boil down the most common answer in these attendee reactions, it’s this: people came for the talks, sure – but they stayed for the feeling of belonging, and for the friendships and connections that are hard to find anywhere else.
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