Overwintering in Namibia: Digital nomads are drawn south

Get out of the cold and spend the winter in the south? Mobile working in exotic locations far from home is the trend Namibia even offers a new visa for "digital nomads"

Leave winter, cold and darkness behind in Germany: that is Alina's goal when she books her flight to Namibia She has been in Windhoek since the beginning of December

"The weather is good I like it when it's hot and sunny and that's the case here right now," she says

"I find that I'm just in a better mood and therefore more productive " The 32-year-old works for an advertising agency, completely "remotely", i

e from the home office

In Namibia, Alina has rented an Airbnb; sometimes she also works in a café It works well, she says

"The time zone is almost the same as in Germany, we only have an hour difference " The people in Namibia are very open: "You get a connection quickly if you want that

Well, I think the vibe here is incredible " child-friendly working exile That's how 38-year-old Meike sees it too

The single mother works at a start-up She lived in Namibia a few years ago and fell in love with the country

In a few days she will be flying to Windhoek with her little daughter for a month "It's also a bit of an 'emerging markets' issue, that many things can simply be made much more flexible and complicated," says Meike

This also includes childcare: "They are happy when they can join their old friends again for a few weeks That wouldn't be possible in Germany, but it's possible down there

" Special visas for "expats" There are no official figures on how many so-called digital nomads like Alina and Meike live in Namibia in winter What is certain is that the country has the number A new visa is designed specifically to attract people who want to spend up to six months in Namibia while working for their employers in their home country

"Obviously this is a good development Anything that simplifies things is great," says Matthias Boddenberg from the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce for Southern Africa

However, there are two things that need to be considered "One is: there are a number of countries where you can get such a visa, including some very beautiful other countries

On the other hand, in addition to the competition, there are also strict criteria for the income that you have to prove " 2000 income is a prerequisite, plus another 1000 euros if you want to bring a partner

It is therefore still unclear to what extent new visa will be accepted Contribution to reconciliation Nevertheless, some observers believe that the new opportunities could have a positive effect on coming to terms with German-Namibian history At the beginning of the 20th century, the German Reich, as a colonial power, committed genocide against the Herrero and nama population groups There is now a reparation agreement, but the story is still very present, says 28-year-old Theresa: "You can tell that these conflicts are having a strong impact

I'm just trying on a small scale