You should never become a digital nomad?

Is something stopping you from jumping into the life of a digital nomad?

Do you hear this phrase quite a lot?

Perhaps it’s something that your own subconscious tells you?

I’m going to be completely honest here, I’m not currently a digital nomad, but the lifestyle has always appealed to me. 

The idea of travelling from place to place, discovering and exploring whilst also having work days and chill days is a dream come true for me.

If this appeals to you too but you haven’t made that leap yet, then we’re in the same boat!

For so long, I thought that the only option to travel for a long period of time was to save up a load of money and then go and travel for some months. The only problem with this is, at some point you will run out of money and you’ll have to go back to “reality” which is a bit of a bummer.

Why can’t reality be a digital nomad life?

For a long time, I thought that I had to save thousands of pounds to do something I’d always wanted. But the idea put me off because I couldn’t feasibly save money for a massive trip AS WELL AS save for a house, have an emergency fund and live. 

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I didn’t have enough money for that!

So this is why I’ve always travelled on a budget, to fulfil my passions as well as living a normal life. 

For a while, I thought there must be another way… and then I came across people on YouTube (never people I actually knew) who had done what I wanted to do and books that went through what I wanted to do!

…And people around me still told me that what I wanted wasn’t possible, that I had to “grow up”.  

Ring any bells?

But I resisted those thoughts. 

As I research and think about options for becoming a digital nomad I have put together some pointers as to what I think is important when preparing for nomadic travel. 

One MASSIVE thing, is getting away from those negative comments that people throw your way.

What is a digital nomad?

Digital nomad definition: Digital nomads are people who are location free. They can travel the world whilst working independently and remotely. 

Digital nomads most commonly work in coffee shops, libraries, internet cafes and apartments/hotels. 

With many of us working remotely more and more, I imagine the life of a digital nomad is appealing to a lot of people now. 

Why people say you shouldn’t become a digital nomad

Most people will probably think you’re weird for wanting to go and explore the world whilst working.

Who DOES that?

And if they don’t think you’re weird, then you’re hanging around the right people!

As a lot of people like a steady and predictable lifestyle, they think that people who want to live a little outside of the box in a more free and nomadic type way are odd.

I guess going from place to place and being a little spontaneous and adventurous is out of the ordinary.

The usual reasons for poo-pooing digital nomad life often include things like, you should have a real job, what about your career, what about saving money, what about saving for a pension…But what about doing what your heart desires?

Rant over…

Limiting beliefs

If, like me, you were held back from travelling for a long period because you thought you had to save up loads or because people told you it wasn’t possible, then perhaps you took these to heart?

Limiting beliefs are something I have become aware of quite recently. It is the idea that something you believe in your mind holds you back.

So, maybe you think that you can’t become a digital nomad because you need a “proper” job in an office or you need to work until you’re retired and then you can enjoy yourself. 

These limiting beliefs are only holding you back from escaping and doing what you want. 

How do you free yourself from your limiting beliefs then?

You firstly need to acknowledge that they are there in the first place!

Have a think about what you’ve been told about being a digital nomad and what you think about it, you can even write them down.

Were you too scared to tell people your thoughts because they’d probably try to convince you not to?

Then, turn those beliefs around…

If someone has told you you can’t be a digital nomad because you have to work in a stable job, then turn that on its head!

Why do you need to work a stable job? Yes for stable income, but why can’t you start working for yourself remotely. Surely there’s more potential to earn more that way?

And if you travel to countries that have a lower cost of living, you may as well be there saving money right?

And why can’t you make your remote work stable by finding multiple streams of income and properly planning for the jump from a stable income to self-employment or freelancing? 

Every time you are told no and your limiting beliefs start kicking in, remind yourself that this belief is simply limiting and is not helping you be happy. 

How to prepare for becoming a digital nomad

Before you go on your adventure, you need to firstly think about the logistics of your decision.

If you’re like me, you’re probably working a 9-5 job…right?

It is a daunting prospect thinking that as a digital nomad, you wouldn’t have that steady income necessarily and that you’re responsible for keeping your pipeline full.

Before you go, it’s a good idea to save some money so that you have an emergency fund or cushion.

You don’t want to be stuck with no money if you have found an invoice has not been paid or something.

As well as considering the jump from your 9-5 to nomadic life, you need to think about other logistics such as…

• How long you’ll go for
• Where you’ll go- a website that helps find the best places to live as a nomad is Nomadlist.com
• Whether you need to wait for your current rental tenancy to end or whether you need to sell or rent your house
• What you need to take

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How to make the jump into nomadic life

If you’re making this big jump, you need to have things in place to support yourself before you do so.

An idea is to start working on a side job/ side hustle to show yourself that you can make money independently from your full-time job.

You can make mistakes and work out the logistics of working for yourself whilst having the stability of your regular income.

You should also start saving money and put a fund together for emergencies.

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How to start budgeting and saving money

Whilst you’re working your normal job, learn how to reach out to companies or potential clients. 

Once you get an idea of how to actually run your own type of business or freelancing service, you’ll have a much better idea of what is expected of you.

You will be in a better position to make the jump out of your 9-5 and not be a complete beginner.  

You may find that along the way, you test out different side jobs or side hustles and find what fits best with you.

You don’t want to be testing this out when you’ve started your nomadic journey as you’ll be relying on this income. 

Digital nomad jobs

Providing you can work using a laptop, phone, camera or other technical equipment that is easy to carry around, then you’re pretty much free to work anywhere and do whatever you want to!

When you are considering what you should do for work as a digital nomad think about…

• What skills you have right now
• Which skills can you learn
• What are your strength and weaknesses
• Which jobs will you enjoy doing

Example jobs:

• Writing a blog
• Freelance writing
• Copywriting
• Social media management/marketing
• YouTuber 
• Affiliate marketing 
• Web designer
• Graphic designer
• Virtual assistant

Digital nomad visas

If you are looking to live and work remotely in other countries, then often a visit visa is just not sufficient enough.

With many visit visas, they are only for visiting as a tourist and do not include actually working, regardless of whether your employment is based elsewhere. 

With the rise in the number of people now working from home, many countries have introduced digital nomad visas. 

Many countries already have freelance or remote worker visas where you can live in a country for a period whilst working remotely.

Each country has different requirements of what you have to prove to be able to apply for the visas, but these visas seem to be an emerging theme around the world and it would not be surprising if the majority of places implement this in future.

Which countries have digital nomad/ freelance visas?

• Estonia
• Costa Rica
• UAE
• Bermuda
• Cayman Islands

Estonia Digital Nomad visa– This visa is available to those with location-independency who have an employer or run a company which is based outside of Estonia or work as a freelancer for clients mostly outside of Estonia. You need to show evidence that your employment met the minimum threshold for 6 months prior to making the application. The current monthly threshold is €3504. 

Costa Rica Digital Nomad visa– This 1 year visa is for remote workers who have work outside of Costa Rica and earn a monthly income of at least US$3,000 per month. Private medical insurance should be acquired for the whole duration of the trip.

Cayman Islands Digital Nomad visa– This 2 year visa is more of a high-end visa and requires that you earn a minimum of $100,000 and proof of employment outside of the Cayman Islands.

Panama remote worker visa-  This is a 9 month remote worker visa for those who are self employed and can show that you earn an income of USD$36k annually. You should also hold private medical insurance.

Dubai digital nomad visa- This is a 1 year visa which requires you to have a monthly income of USD$5000 which is earned through your company.

More and more countries are launching remote work visas, this list is not exhaustive. Keep an eye out for remote worker visas for countries that you are interested in staying!

To conclude… 

If digital nomad life is for you, then who can tell you it isn’t?

Go where you want, when you want and see the world…doesn’t it sound like a dream?

Many people will tell you that you shouldn’t live the digital nomad lifestyle because of all sorts of reasons.

But when you actually break it down, there are a lot of benefits of living the nomadic life.

A common misconception is that if you travel the world, you’re not able to save money at the same time and when you finally return home, you’ll be back to zero again.

But that will only happen if you don’t prepare, plan and travel savvy.