What to consider if you want to become a Digital Nomad (before you become one)
Is it just a case of digging out your passport and booking a flight?
I hate to break it to you but you can’t become a digital nomad overnight…or at least that was my case. I had a job, a pet bunny, a house and a mortgage to sort out before I even considered booking my first digital nomad flight. Spoiler alert: I still have a pet bunny!
Now I never did the “backpacking thing”. Or as they call it in the UK - a “gap year”: being the year you take between finishing school and starting university where you stuff a bunch of underwear your mum bought you into a backpack and go travelling whilst picking up odd jobs (and probably starting university already in debt). In a way I wish I had. I think it would have done wonders for helping me learn how to pack light and also the opportunity to travel without responsibility.
Choosing to be a digital nomad when you have already had a long-ish career (15 years as a lawyer), a mortgage and a house takes a bit of planning. It helps that I LOVE planning…but if you don’t fall into the spreadsheet tribe, then please don’t let this discourage you from embarking on a digital nomad life. It may take a little longer, a few more lists and spreadsheets but like most things…it is well worth the wait.
In this post I write about what I think you should consider before become a digital nomad.
These are a few things that you will need to consider before you pack that suitcase:
Your biggest assets (in size and cost)
Do you need to give notice on your rental? Where will you store your belongings?
Do you own your home? Will it remain vacant or Airbnb it or rent it? How will your home insurance change? Can you afford your mortgage payments whilst you are away (as well as paying for an Airbnb or hotel in your new destination at the same time?).
Do you have a vehicle and if so, what are you going to do with it whilst you are away?
Insurance: if you have it then you won’t need it (until you do)
Digital nomad insurance (travel and medical). Research a policy as the standard travel insurance only covers you for an average of 30 days away.
When you are not your own boss
If becoming a digital nomad involves leaving your current job then consider your notice period and how this can affect your travel plans.
I had to give six months’ notice that I wanted to leave. That is a lot of time to overthink whether you have made the right decision or not, but a great way to supplement that travel fund!
Slow is fast and fast is slow…or is it?
What type of travel do you want to do? Slow or Fast travel?
Do you want to be moving every few days or would you rather unpack the contents of your packing cubes into that wardrobe at your Airbnb for a few weeks or maybe even months?
Consider your first destination and how this can ease you into this lifestyle. We chose a familiar one due to Covid restrictions at the time, knowing the language and our surroundings. I found that this made for an easier transition, but also helped maximise our work life balance. Our first digital nomad destination was Portugal, where we stayed for three months.
I actually prefer a mixture of both slow and fast travel. In our last Asia trip we chose Thailand as our base for six months. We stayed in each location for around 2 months at a time, and in between that made short trips to Japan and also Cambodia.
The Dolla Dolla Bill
Think about the cost of living in your new destination but also back at home.
If you are keeping your home and plan on returning, you do want to return to a semblance of an organised life when you get back. But it might be time to pause that Amazon prime service and reduce the internet package you have at home whilst you are away.
And how much is it going to cost you to live at your destination? From accommodation to a cup of coffee to groceries. Plus don’t forget to allocate funds for doing the “fun things” which got you into this lifestyle in the first place!
Where to lay your head at night
Especially if you are thinking of the slow travel route, it is important that you get your accommodation right. Yes, you can always change - but who wants their time away to be disrupted with having to find a new place to live and potentially dealing with getting refunds for unsuitable renting fees?
So ask questions of your prospective landlord or Airbnb host - even if you feel you are being over zealous.
A big part of our business is creating technical content on YouTube. So yes, we travel with a LAN cable but we also ask for speed tests in advance of booking where we stay.
And sometimes you just have to learn “on the job”. Despite requesting videos of properties from Balinese rental agents we found out that these tended to be years old and the condition really didn’t match once we actually saw them.
It’s not just about the Birks
How will you get around on a day to day basis at your destination?
In the last few years, I have learnt that Bangkok has a great overground system. But forget walking anywhere in Bali (unless it’s on the beach): there are giant holes in the sidewalk and most scooter drivers see the sidewalk itself as another lane and a great way to avoid traffic.
There needs to be a shift from “vacation mode” to researching the practical aspects of your destination. It is not practical to walk for miles to the nearest grocery store or not be able to fulfil your work tasks because your internet is too slow. This will all impact not only your day to day enjoyment but also your perception of whether this lifestyle is for you.
Making sure you get that passport stamped! (and not getting deported)
Ah…Visa applications…a necessary evil.
There is a lot in the media on how easy it is to get a “digital nomad visa”. Yes more and more countries are opening their borders to remote workers. However the countries where you can get this type of visa without strings attached (for example, renting a place for at least a year) are few and far between. Plus it is not always that easy to meet the income tests, particularly if you are starting out as a freelancer given that many countries look at how much income you generate per month regardless of how much you have in personal savings.
At the time of writing this post I am actually waiting for my DTV - the “Destination Thailand Visa”. This is a new visa type introduced with digital nomads, remote workers and freelancers in mind. It allows you to stay in Thailand consecutively for 180 days per year (with the possibility of an extension), legally work (so long as it is not for a Thai company) and…for a one-off fee it is valid for five years. I will keep you posted on whether I get it!
Is it going to be lonely and is that a bad thing? (for you)
If you are a solo traveller - and even if you are not - do you research ahead of time for local digital nomad groups at your destination, co-working spaces and digital nomad meetups.
Consider if you are one of those people who need to be surrounded by friends and family at all times and an IRL support network. Yes, you will make friends when you are away (even the most introverts and ambiverts of us do), but there will be times when you might find your are dining by yourself or taking that tour on your own.
Some people can find this lifestyle a little lonely so it is important to make sure you will be able to form a network of support at your destination, no matter how strong your network back home is.
Dont burn the ships…just yet
You may have heard of this expression? Where you do something which makes it impossible for you to turn back.
I get it… the idea of selling all of your possessions unless they fit in a backpack is quite liberating in a Marie Condo way.
Not to pour a bucket of ice cold water over the idea of digital nomadism but…what if this is not for you? What if circumstances whether professional or personal dictate that you need to return?
Financial planning as a digital nomad isn’t just if you can afford the Airbnb. Particularly as a freelancer or entrepreneur, you need to consider having a financial safety net and the ability to return to your home country and have a base where you can regroup.
My biggest takeaway is how much planning is actually involved in being footloose and fancy free, but I would have it no other way.
Great post Sara! Things are never a simple as they seem on the surface. We learned that as well. 😉