Remote work made digital nomads possible. The pandemic made them essential Connie Lin This story is part of The Road Ahead, a series that examines the future of travel and how we’ll experience the world after the pandemic. In April, a radio DJ, a marine ecologist, a water polo player, and a migrant studies scholar flew to idyllic Dubrovnik, a seaside city in Croatia with a vast labyrinth of medieval architecture that formed much of the backdrop for the cult fantasy TV show Game of Thrones. Hailing from Finland, Japan, and the United States, the travelers were among 10 winners of a newly unveiled, first-ever digital nomad residency contest, for which the prize was a month-long stay in the so-called “Pearl of the Adriatic,” with complimentary meals and lodging. The residents ate, drank, networked, and day-tripped to the cliffs of Konavle—home of 2020’s most beautiful beach in Europe—and the island of Mljet, which is shrouded in dense forest that features exciting hazards like venomous snakes and wild mongooses. Ostensibly, they were there to brainstorm how to design Dubrovnik as a nomad-friendly city in the digital age.