JANOS - SOFTWARE ENGINEER

Nine is a community for coliving and coworking on the beautiful island of Tenerife, Spain. During their stay, we ask our Digital Nomads to share their stories.

About

Country: Hungary

Age: 25

Stayed at Nine: Lockdown 2020

Insta: @janosvelenyak

What’s your background?

I grew up in a small Hungarian city called Felsőzsolca, but left to study in Budapest where I graduated as a computer engineer last year. I didn’t know much about IT or software development before university, but as I was learning more and more about it, it became my hobby as well.  I feel very lucky because I can do what I love as my work, turn ideas into working products, and at the same time it also gives me the freedom in terms of working place.
Sports has also been a big part of my life, it helped me a lot during hard exam periods, or when work was just too much. Out of all the sports basketball has been my main one for 15 years now, but I also like running.

How long have you been working remote and what are you currently working on?

I have been working remotely little over a year now. I left my office job to start working on our own idea with my friends from university, but unfortunately not all friends make good business partners, so I left the startup as soon as the first version of our product was ready. So far, remote work meant working from home for me, this is my first time traveling while working. Currently I work as a software engineer for Kasa Living, a US-based travel company. We are working to create a new kind of short-term rental brand that offers affordable and high quality stays for our guests. It’s a perfect match for me since my work is also connected to travelling so I can identify with the company’s mission and goals.

Why do you think Tenerife and the Canary island is a good destination for digital nomads?

The weather is very nice here, not too cold, and not too hot throughout the whole year.  The nature is beautiful here, you can go hiking in the forest one day, visit the beach the next day, or go above the clouds on El Teide.
Unfortunately I didn’t get to explore the island, as much as I wanted to because of COVID-19, it definitely deserves another visit to check out all the places I missed this time.

What is your favorite thing about Nine Coliving?

I’m sure I have a different experience at Nine than other guests who didn’t stay here during a world pandemic. The house has a great location, less than an hour from both the beach and the mountains, very spacious, the rooftop and view from there is amazing, and the garden also has a nice atmosphere, but I have to say the community in the house is what makes it special.
I was supposed to stay for a month, and didn’t go home when the last flights left the island, so I got “stuck” here for more than 2.5 months now, and I don’t regret it at all. The morning yoga classes, family dinners, various games, cooking for each other and parties in the house really brought us together during lockdown and showed that you really can live at Nine for months, without having to leave the house! :)  I feel incredibly lucky to be able to spend the lockdown at a place like this.