In their own words · Digital Nomad · Lisbon
How Maya J. rebased her design studio to Lisbon on the D8 visa in 11 weeks.
Maya Jenkins, 34
Independent product designer · Brooklyn, NY → Alfama, Lisbon · D8 visa granted March 2026
Interview by the Travel Dialog editors · Published July 2026
In their own words · Slow travel · Oaxaca
Julian A. spent three months in Oaxaca apprenticing with a fourth-generation mezcal maker in Santiago Matatlan. His budget was $3,400 USD across 90 days, including the flight from Toronto. He is not in the drinks trade; he is an architect who took a sabbatical. We asked how the trip came together.
Travel Dialog: How did the apprenticeship start?
I emailed the palenque cold, in Spanish, after reading a piece about them in a wine magazine. They said yes if I paid my own room and helped with the harvest. I flew in three weeks later.
Where did you live?
Xochimilco in Oaxaca City the first month, then a room above the palenque in Santiago Matatlan for the last two. The room was $180 USD a month, no wifi, hot water four hours a day. It was the best two months of the trip.
The two months without wifi were the two months I remember. I did not plan it that way; I would plan it that way now.
Julian A., architect, Oaxaca, three-month stay
What did the days look like?
Up at 5:30am for the agave roast, in the tahona pit by 8am with the horse. Lunch was tlayudas and beans in the yard. Afternoons I read or walked. I saw the sunset from a hill above the palenque every night for 60 nights and I do not think I missed one.
Real budget?
$3,400 USD across 90 days including the flight. $850 for the flight from Toronto via Mexico City. $520 for the Xochimilco month. $360 for the palenque room. $180 a week on food and mezcal I bought to take home. About $600 buffer I did not spend.
What would you tell someone thinking about a sabbatical like this?
Write the cold email. The worst answer is silence and the best answer is a room above a mezcal palenque. Also, learn the numbers in Spanish before you go; the market runs on them and Google Translate is slow when the woman with the grilled tasajo is waiting.
- Cold-email the palenque or the workshop. Small producers answer their own email.
- Xochimilco for the first week to acclimate, then move where the work is.
- Learn numbers, greetings, and the twelve most common foods in Spanish before you land.
- Budget $180 USD a week for food and small purchases; that is what our interviewee spent.
Related reading
- Oaxaca guide, from five of our interviewees
- Slow travel: monthly stays, from our interviewees
- Mexico Digital Nomad Route
The editorial team
Named editors, real bylines.
Elena Martz
Editor in chief
Ten years at Roads and Kingdoms and Afar. Runs interviewing cadence. Based Brooklyn, New York.
Priya Bhandari
Destinations editor
Former Lonely Planet contributing writer. Writes the destination deep-dives that cite our interviews. Lisbon-based.
Jonas Reid
Planning editor
Digital-nomad visas and practical planning. Filed the Portugal D8 himself in 2024. Verifies every visa page every six months.
