Travels of Digital Nomads
The travels of digital nomads look like pure freedom: you work from anywhere in the world and live wherever you choose. In reality, it is a lifestyle like any other – it takes planning, research and determination to make it sustainable. Here’s what that really involves.
If your history lessons stuck, you probably know who original nomads are: people who moved on when resources ran out. Their genes seem to have lasted, with one crucial difference – today the only resources that run out are landscapes and tourist visas. Thanks to the digital world, nomads still walk the earth in their digital reincarnation.
What Is a Digital Nomad?
The term “digital nomads” describes people who work from anywhere in the world using the internet and virtual tools. They’re not people on a sabbatical, and they aren’t backpackers. They work during their travels and live where they choose.
Of course, it’s not quite as simple as that, so let’s dive a bit deeper.
The Travels of Digital Nomads: Towards a Sustainable Lifestyle
You can probably picture it already. You wake up in Cape Town, Bali or Lisbon, it’s very quiet, the sun is beating on the balcony of your Airbnb, and you enjoy a cup of coffee before getting to work. You choose when and how much to work, and spend the rest of your time touring sights and enjoying new landscapes.
At first glance, the daily life of a digital nomad seems like utopia. But it’s not a life where you spend all day wandering around. Work remains a necessity, and many digital nomads devote several hours per day (or night) to it.
It’s not escapism, and it’s not a search for anything in particular – it’s a lifestyle. That lifestyle is quite similar to everyone else’s, except it’s on the go. So it has to be made sustainable if you want to work remotely and travel.
Start with a Test Trip
That’s why most digital nomads start out with a short trip to see whether they can really work this way, or whether it was just a fancy idea. You need to find out if you can handle the good and the bad that come with this lifestyle – including living out of a suitcase.
Careful Considerations Before You Go
The feeling of complete freedom is often associated with digital nomads, but that doesn’t mean they don’t plan. Getting started can actually require a lot of planning.
- Reliable internet: all your money comes from working online through your laptop, so much depends on reliable high-speed broadband, or at least mobile internet, on demand.
- A sustainable income source: this has to come first.
- Insurance: once you have an income, sort out your travel, life and health insurance.
- Research at every stop: each time you change destinations, you need to do fairly extensive research on local services.
If you’re caught in Wyong with a throbbing toothache, you’ll want to know everything about a Wyong dentist, right? Staying informed is not easy when you don’t have a place to call home.
Loneliness and Relationships
It also takes planning to overcome loneliness, which can be a very persistent companion in this lifestyle. Relationships are complex enough already, and they become even more so when they have to be maintained on the road.
Nothing is impossible, though. Many digital nomad couples travel the world with small children. Just keep in mind that every consideration above is multiplied for a family.
Endless Opportunities, Nevertheless
The virtual world is gigantic and still growing, so it offers a sea of opportunities. Remote work covers a very wide range of diverse professions, from photographic models to web designers, that can be done from anywhere in the world.
The opportunities are there both for people who want to create their own business and for those who prefer to work as employees. Look, research and talk to people, and you’ll inevitably discover openings – there’s room for everyone. It all comes down to a firm decision, backed by determination and persistence.
In most cases, people discover they already have the training needed for some remote jobs. Sometimes you may need to change fields, but isn’t that what traveling the world is all about – healthy, natural changes that expand your knowledge and your universe?
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a digital nomad?
A digital nomad is someone who works from anywhere in the world using the internet, living where they choose while they travel. They are not on a sabbatical and are not simply backpackers.
Is the digital nomad lifestyle really a utopia?
No. Work is still a necessity, often several hours a day, and the lifestyle needs planning, research and determination to be sustainable.
What do digital nomads need to plan for?
Reliable high-speed internet, a sustainable income, travel, life and health insurance, research on each new destination, and ways to handle loneliness and relationships on the road.
What jobs can digital nomads do?
A wide range, from photographic models to web designers, either running their own business or working as remote employees.
Conclusion
Traveling as a digital nomad offers endless opportunities, but it’s far from utopia. It is a lifestyle like any other, and it needs to be made sustainable through planning, research and determination. But aren’t those exactly the qualities of people who really want to see the world?
About The Author
Fiona Adams is a freelance lifestyle writer inspired by traveling and the colorful world around her. Different cultures, people and food make her want to stay on the road forever.
