Samantha Shea, a 27-year-old American digital nomad, had never been outside of the United States while growing up. In 2019, she traveled to more than a dozen countries, including India and Pakistan, but was so captivated by the beauty of the scenic northern Pakistani region of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) that two years later she made it her home.
The mountainous region is home to five out of 14 world peaks above the height of 8,000 meters, and was listed by Forbes among the ten “coolest places” to visit in 2018.
Born and raised in Connecticut, Shea graduated from the University of Miami and describes herself as a freelance writer, blogger, and budget backpacker. She decided to work as a digital nomad and moved to GB’s Hunza valley in 2021.
In addition to Pakistan, she traveled to 15 other countries in 2019 but says she fell in love with Hunza. “I really feel like, it was honestly like love at first sight moment with Hunza. I had seen so many [places], I’d done a lot of research, I’d seen videos and photos and I’d read different things about the history and everything [of Hunza],” Shea told Arab News in an exclusive interview last week.
“However, really being here and seeing it for myself was just unbelievable… I come from a place that does not have many [high] mountains. So, I was just fully blown away by the landscapes and everything.”
But the splendor of Hunza’s landscapes was not the only thing that bewitched her. Shea says she was touched by the warmth of the local people and the community-oriented environment in Hunza. The valley is home to the Ismaili community which is famed for its hospitality.
“That (beauty) was just the first thing. The other thing that really just made me fall in love with Hunza [was] just the warmth and welcoming, just the wonderful energy of the people here. The people in Hunza are truly just no other people I’ve come across,” she said.
The digital nomad also married a Pakistani national, Farid Sultan, in 2021 who works in trekking tourism. They met at a local coworking space and now live in the Aliabad area of the valley, which shares its border with western China.
She says she also loves Hunza for being a “very walkable place,” where she could take a stroll in peace:
“Everything is within 10, 15 minutes on foot. So, a lot of things are really just simpler but, in that way, they are more peaceful, and life is a lot more enjoyable I feel, even just the day-to-day routine items.”
