Elan van der Mijn is our frontend developer and digital nomad. He has been working remotely for Publiq for years, while travelling the world with his fiancée Daniela.

I spoke to Elan about living out of a backpack, the illusion of working under palm trees and Publiq as a stable factor in his life. And about why he now secretly finds himself thinking about something very ordinary: choosing a sofa together at IKEA.

There and back again: the origins of his love for travel

When I ask Elan where he is from, he pauses for a moment. “I was born in Utrecht,” he says, “but we moved to Indonesia almost immediately. That early experience may well have been the origin of my love for travelling. After that, we returned to the Netherlands, and I spent most of my childhood in and around Arnhem and Dieren.”

Later, he studies in Arnhem, moves into IT and, at just twenty years old, leaves the country again. This time for China. What starts as an internship turns into a long period of living and working there, while learning the language. “China was fascinating,” Elan says. “But I always felt like a bit of an outsider.”

How COVID changed his direction

Just before COVID breaks out, Elan returns to the Netherlands for a short break to reflect on his future and talk things through with his parents, who both work as career coaches.

Then COVID arrives, China closes its borders and Europe follows. Month after month, he postpones his return flight, until he realises that he may actually want something different altogether.

He finds his first remote assignments, spends some time living with his brother in Sweden, returns to the Netherlands again and eventually decides that it is time to seriously broaden his horizons.

He leaves for Costa Rica, a country with a relaxed atmosphere and few entry restrictions. There, he meets Daniela, now his fiancée, travel companion and nomad in crime. What started as a practical decision soon turned into an entirely new chapter.

Frontend developer with an eye for detail

It is also in Costa Rica that Elan starts working for Publiq. He works as a frontend developer on both our app and the management system.

“Frontend is what the user sees,” he explains. “If something does not look right, I take that personally. I get distracted by things that are just slightly off, so I cannot help but fix them.”

At Publiq, he translates existing designs into functional, well-crafted interfaces. With a keen eye for detail, he makes sure buttons are intuitive, flows feel natural and screens look polished.

Life as digital nomads

After Costa Rica, Elan and Daniela move to a new country every few months, working from Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Colombia, Peru, Brazil and now Argentina. In between, they visit family in the Netherlands and Costa Rica.

Whenever possible, they travel from one neighbouring country to the next, depending on visa regulations. In Asia, that often means moving every month, while in Latin America they can usually stay for ninety days. Each time, they need to find a place to stay with reliable internet, enough workspace and decent living conditions.

“If you are unlucky,” Elan says, “you end up on the top floor under a plastic roof, basically living in a greenhouse for three months.”

The myth of working under a palm tree

Before becoming a digital nomad, Elan once drew himself working under a palm tree on his mother’s whiteboard.

“That was my dream image,” he laughs. “A year later, I was actually sitting under a palm tree with my laptop. Only then I realised I had sand in my keyboard and could not see anything on my screen because of the sunlight. That dream did not last long.”

Since then, he prefers a quiet workspace in a comfortable apartment over a hammock on the beach.

Between freedom and a sofa of their own

Meanwhile, Elan and Daniela are quietly starting to look for something more permanent.

“In Brazil, for the first time in a long while, we felt that this might actually be the place,” he says. “That made it much harder to move on to Argentina.”

At the same time, there is the practical puzzle of residence permits, digital nomad visas and passports. Costa Rica is appealing, Spain is interesting and Brazil has clearly won their hearts.

“We are ready to simply go to IKEA together and choose a sofa,” Elan says. “I am now in my thirties, and I have never really had a fully furnished home of my own.”

World wonders, football shirts, and a Maya mask with the Ajax logo

Elan keeps track of the countries he visits in an app and has now reached a total of 43. He has seen six of the seven world wonders. Only Petra in Jordan remains on the list.

Souvenirs are part of the journey too. His favourite is a traditional Maya mask with an Ajax logo, bought at Chichén Itzá in Mexico. He also collects football shirts from almost every country he visits. These keepsakes have to travel with him every time.

“I definitely have far too many football shirts in my bag,” he admits. “But they are great memories.”

Publiq as a constant factor

Amid all the moves, visa requirements and new destinations, Publiq remains a constant factor in Elan’s life.

“The company gives me the freedom to work from anywhere in the world, as long as I have stable internet and do my job well. That trust motivates me to always deliver quality.”

Every day, he shows that travelling does not have to get in the way of a career or the work he delivers. “I actually feel more motivated, because I am the living proof that both are possible.”