You might have heard about increasing numbers of people remote working and working online from exotic, interesting, and exciting locations around the world. So what is this digital nomad lifestyle all about, how can you get started, and what else is there you need to know? Let’s take a look below.
In what follows, I’ll tell you all you need including where digital nomads stay, how you get nomad work visas, where you pay taxes, how to make friends and connections as you go, and much more!
Table of Contents
What Is a Digital Nomad
So what is a digital nomad?
A digital nomad is a person who works online and travels and works in different places for long periods of time.
In terms of location, you can be working from anywhere in the world including from the likes of Costa Rica, Thailand, Bulgaria, or Bali, as many digital nomads choose to.
As long as there is good internet access and you can connect online and have a laptop, you are good to go.
Benefits of Being a Digital Nomad
The benefits are clear and very attractive, I think you will agree. They include:
- Traveling to new countries around the world
- Meeting new people and trying new experiences globally
- Having the freedom to change where you are working from whenever you want
- Being able to work in some amazing locations such as by the beach (see the post we did on working by a beach as a digital nomad)
- The opportunity to work in low-cost locations and to thus save lots of money (i.e. work in Thailand buy on U.S or UK style wages)
- Avoiding the 9 – 5 routine (although it depends on what digital work you do)
Disadvantages of the Digital Nomad Lifestyle
As with everything, there are of course some downsides and you should consider these also, before embarking on a digital nomad lifestyle.
The disadvantages of being a digital nomad are:
- If you prefer to be in one place all the time, then being a digital nomad might be too unsettling for you
- Some people can find it lonely sometimes (although if you are using coliving and coworking spaces as you travel then I personally feel you might meet more new and interesting people than you normally otherwise would)
- It can sometimes be hard to focus on work because of the social scene at many coworking locations, especially on the beach coworking spaces.
- It’s hard to have no base (although many digital nomads end up finding a base they love and then using that as their main place and Bansko, Bulgaria is one such location)
How to Make Money to Live the Digital Nomad Lifestyle
The big question that you might well be asking is how exactly do you finance the digital nomad lifestyle, right?
There are a number of options you have if you want to join others coworking their way around the world and these ways include:
- Continuing your existing job if you can do it from distance (i.e., if you can WFA – Work From Anywhere). You might, for example, be an accountant and one who does all of the work digitally.
- Find a salaried job you can do from anywhere – there are many companies these days that are hiring and who do not expect you to be in an office. You can work for them from anywhere (see below under ‘Useful Nomad Job sites’). If you are a computer programmer then this can certainly be a role that suits working as a nomad.
- *Start your Own Blog and Build Your Own Online Business – You can get started immediately by blogging and we explain how to get started here.
Useful Nomad Job Sites
- Contena – is a great site for finding freelance writing and content writing work, in addition to editing work. You can use their site to have them send you alerts for work opportunities related to your niche that you like to write about.
- Upwork – is one of the leading sites worldwide for freelancers and you can find a wide range of work opportunities including writing, programming, graphic design, and customer service-related roles.
- Remote OK – is a site dedicated and set up specifically to detail work opportunities for remote workers. Hundreds of new jobs get added weekly.
- WeWorkRemotely – is also well-worth checking as they have numerous listings and opportunities added every week.
What Accommodation Do Digital Nomads Use? Where Do They Stay?
You might well be wondering where digital nomads stay as they travel and work around the world and there are a few options here that you have.
1. Co-Living
The concept of co-living is relatively new but it is fast gaining in popularity with digital nomads.
The idea, with co-living, is that you can rent a room for days, weeks, or months and you will generally have:
- the choice of your own or a shared room
- access to high-speed WiFi
- access to a co-working space (if the property itself has a place that you can comfortably work from)
- cleaning services included
- organized events so that you can socialize with the other co-living residents
- shared kitchen
- and many have classes such as daily yoga classes
So co-living isn’t an Airbnb, not a youth hostel, not a hotel.
But it is a well-organized living and workspace perfectly suitable and designed for digital nomads.
Read about:
- Our 12 favorite coliving spaces worldwide
- What is coliving explained in more detail
- Our Gran Canaria coliving experience
One of the great advantages of coliving spaces is that you have a place to work from but also the chance to easily meet other digital nomads and to develop a social scene.
Advantage: by staying in a coliving space you will have everything you need for work, i.e. high-speed WiFi but, more importantly, it will provide you with the social network you will need as you travel.
2. Airbnb
Some digital nomads choose to rent an apartment, villa, or room via Airbnb and you can get a great place to stay really quite cheap if you book for a month.
Tip: If you book for a month then you will normally see a discount applied as most Airbnb owners give a discount for bookings of 30 days or more.
The question that you might want to ask yourself if choosing an Airbnb is:
- How important is the social aspect of being a digital nomad to you
- and will you be too isolated socially in an Airbnb
- or will you meet people mostly through a co-working space or through the likes of meetup.com and an Airbnb will suffice?
Advantage: You can rent your own place to stay in and at a reasonable price. I recommend to book somewhere near a good co-working space.
What Are Coworking and Coliving?
I have mentioned the terms coworking and coliving a few times and let me just explain these terms further as they are very relevant to the digital nomad style.
I’ve written a whole post on what is coworking here.
Coworking, to summarize very briefly also here, are places worldwide set up for you to work from digitally, and they normally include:
- high-speed WiFi
- refreshments (usually fresh and good quality coffee)
- organized social events
- a desk you can rent by the day, week, or month
- meeting room you can rent by the hour
- and many other facilities depending on the specific coworking space.
Coliving, on the other hand (as mentioned earlier), is where digital nomads stay in very well-organized shared accommodation, and that normally includes:
- private or shared room (you can usually choose what you want based on your budget)
- good WiFi access throughout the accommodation
- shared kitchen
- cleaner
- social events and activities (often things such as yoga classes and weekend trips)
We’ve written some other posts all about coliving that you might want to read and they are:
How to Socialise and Meet Others as You Work Around the World
You do not have to be interested in meeting other travelers and digital nomads but working across the world can sometimes be a lonely thing to do.
There are several relatively easy ways though to meet others as you work digitally and travel and these are as follows:
- Find social events locally and worldwide using meetup.com
- Internations is another site dedicated to listing social events in major cities worldwide
- Stay in a coliving space so that you instantly have a social circle from day one
- Work from a co-working space and join in their social events
Where to Work From as a Nomad
As the saying goes, the world is your oyster, meaning all corners of the world are possible.
As long as you can get a decent WiFi Internet connection then you can work anywhere.
To give you some ideas though of popular places to work from around the world as a digital nomad, take a look at these posts we have done:
Managing Your Business as a Digital Nomad
1. Where to Pay Taxes
Something that you really need to consider is where you will pay taxes, meaning in which country.
This is quite complex and it will be very specific to your own situation, i.e. what your country of residence is and where you are working from.
Digital nomads from the U.S., for example, are normally expected to pay tax to the U.S. government on their worldwide income.
There is an excellent post written on TaxForNomads.com and they cover the topic in great detail.
2. Nomads Insurance
Normal travel insurance will not normally be sufficient because it is not aimed at people staying for long periods of time, in one place.
In other words, standard travel insurance is usually intended for holiday and travel purposes.
The great news is that there is a solution. Safety Wing now offers policies that are underwritten by Llyods of London, and that is designed specifically for digital workers who spend long periods of time abroad.
3. Nomad Work Visas
I wrote a special post specifically on the best digital nomad visa and I keep that page up to date so take a look at the ‘Digital Nomad Visas‘ page for lots of information.
4. WiFi Internet Connections
Without question, having access to a high-speed Internet connection is absolutely vital as a digital nomad. Without great Internet access, the ability to work online and travel worldwide becomes difficult
I know that I have covered some of these options already in this post but, to summarize, the options you have for getting great WiFi access as you travel are:
i) Create Your Own WiFi Hotspot from Anywhere
What you can do (and this is what I did as I own one) is to buy a GlocalMe and then use it to create your own WiFi hotspot.
You can use this in over 150 countries worldwide and, if there is a mobile/cellphone signal, then you will be able to get and create a good speed internet connection.
The GlocalMe enables you to tap into local data to thus create very affordable WiFi and you can connect your WiFi hotspot on up to 10 of your own devices.
ii) Use Coworking Spaces
The next option is to use a coworking space given that they are set up worldwide specifically to offer digital nomads a place to connect online.
iii) Use the WiFi in Coffee Shops or Your Accommodation
Cafes around the world now tend to offer free WiFi. Many nomads love using coffee shops to work from.
Likewise, you can use the WiFi in your Airbnb, coliving space, or hotel.
Note: Just be careful though when using public WiFi. Use a VPN (discussed below) to ensure that you are correctly protecting yourself when using public WiFi.
5. Internet and Digital Security
I cannot emphasize strongly enough how important it is that you protect yourself digitally such as against identity theft.
Using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) I think is an absolute must as it provides you with an extra layer of security when you access the Internet.
Otherwise, when you are using a WiFi connection, you are potentially leaving yourself wide open to fraud.
6. Bank Accounts
This really depends on the country in which you are resident and what countries you plan to visit.
- An interesting option though and that is popular with some digital nomads is the N26 account. If you are from the U.S. or a European country, the N26 account can be used for mobile banking.
- Many American nomads seem to like the Charles Schwab Bank
- Please leave your comments at the bottom of this post and let us know what banks you recommend as a digital nomad.
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