Long-term GF or Digital Nomad Life
Hey guys, I'm in a bit of a dilemma that I'm sure many of you have been in before. I'm dating a great girlfriend who recently started a business in her hometown of Guayaquil, which she says will require her to be primarily based there.
I recently received a job offer, which will permit me to be a digital nomad again, which has been my dream ever since I lived that life from 2022-23. I've been taking Portuguese and would love to explore Brazil, return to Peru and Colombia, Europe, etc. I just turned 30 and feel like now is the time for me to pursue this dream if I'm going to do it again.
I love Ecuador (Quito, Cuenca, Olon, etc.), but not Guayaquil which is very unsafe and requires you to drive everywhere (I don't have a car and would be beholden to her parents for rides lol)
As far as I can tell, I have five options:
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Suck it up and live in Guayaquil to support her business. I'll be bored and will probably feel a lot of pressure from her family to get married, but oh well.
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Drag her with me on my digital nomad tour, disrupting her new business so that we can live my dream.
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Split my time between visiting her in Ecuador and traveling alone (or with her for short stints) to other parts of LatAm (side note - not sure if she'll be super cool with me and the boys going to Medellin, Colombia or Rio de Janeiro)
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Convince her to move the business to Quito or another part of Ecuador that's safer
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Accept that we want different things right now and break up.
I'm thinking that trying for #3 or #4 make the most sense to try before going with #5, but I'm curious to hear thoughts
Posted May 5, 2026, 5:17 PM UTC