Digital Nomads, do you leave your stuff unattended?
If you work in a coworking space, cafe, hostel, wherever it may be: when you go to the bathroom or to get coffee, do you leave your stuff (computer, iPad, notes, etc.) unattended? Or take it with you?
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While I wouldn't leave my MBP unattended and openly visible in a fully public space like a café, I have no problem with leaving it on a desk in my Co-Working Space, since the latter is imo a rather semi-public environment where there are normally no random strangers around.
When I need to use the bathroom while on a train, I put my Laptop into my backpack and ask a person that looks trustworthy and is sitting nearby if they could take care of my backpack for a few minutes. The benefit of a train is that the person can't really get away with it easily anyways.
Depends on where! E.g. in Japan no one touches anything so it's all good. All in what your spidey senses feel about the environment and whether culturally everyone's not in need to pocket something on a whim. Wouldn't do the same in Malaysia.
Never leave it unattended.
I have left my stuff behind a few times in a cafe by accident for hours on end, and my bag was still there when I got back.
But I wouldn't risk it otherwise, theft is a thing in life.
If I'm working in a library of co-working place, there is no way I'll wait for it to get stolen.
At college, there were gangs of students that would carry out coordinated hits at the library, swiping tons of computers in one go. They were notorious. Ever since then, I've learned not to trust people with computers. These things are $1K-2K sometimes, practically the cost of a car. People are definitely making a living from stealing them, so I'll keep mine close to my chest.
Call me a cynic, but "no way, Jose." I'll typically leave something inexpensive on the table/counter I'm working at and then pack all of my stuff up and bring it with me to the bathroom.
It's one of the cost-benefit analyses that I find pretty straightforward.