How to Become a Digital Nomad in 2024 Ultimate Guide + Free 30-page eBook

Would you like to travel the world and work from anywhere? Learn how to become a digital nomad and explore and live in countries such as Spain, Costa Rica, Thailand, Bali, and 100+ other countries. Does the idea of being completely free geographically to work for yourself and from anywhere appeal to you?

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So let’s start by clarifying what a Digital Nomad is and then let’s get into the really juicy stuff such as how you can start the journey towards creating your own freedom to take control of your own work-life and lifestyle and travel worldwide.

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.

A classic example is a web designer who is, let’s say, from England who decides to spend a year working in Thailand in a co-working space and then spend a year in Costa Rica working.

You might also come across the term, remote worker. This term refers to someone who works from somewhere online. They might though be working from home or as they travel.

Why Become a Digital Nomad?

You might have seen the move towards a lot of people working from home in recent years and also you might have heard of more and more people working from exotic and interesting locations?

Working from Anywhere (WFA) is becoming a massive trend as it becomes increasingly easier to live for months on end in places like Thailand, Costa Rica, Bansko because it’s now possible to:

• work from co-working space in great locations including such as Hawaii (I’ll explain this in detail later)
• get the Internet in even the remotest of locations (even in the jungle as we did at Bolita Hostel) by creating your own WiFi Hub (internet connection) and I’ll also explain how to do this.
• get a digital nomad visa (also explained below) or stay in countries using the standard entry limits, i.e. 90 days in one country.

Many digital nomads have spent 5+ years just living in different exotic and amazing places and you can too!

Is It for You?

Disadvantages of Being a Digital Nomad

This type of lifestyle is NOT for everyone and there are some disadvantages! Consider, for example, that this lifestyle might not be suited to you if you:

• have no interest in traveling and working abroad
• prefer to stay in one place, i.e. your home town and stay close to family and friends
• are not interested to meet new people
• hate computers and do not want to work online
• cannot manage without most of your possessions

Advantages of This Lifestyle

Do we really need to mention the benefits 🙂

Exotic locations + travel + meeting new friends worldwide + new life experiences + Freedom

The Reality

It can be quite hard sometimes to focus on getting work done when you are surrounded by other travelers.

You might be in a co-working space in Waikiki, Hawaii. Can you train yourself to get your work done?

Do you mind living in shared accommodation such as a co-living space or spending time in AirBNBs, or backpackers’ hostels?

Being a global traveler and worker can be huge fun.

Indeed, many coworking spaces organize events such as day trips, BBQs, bar nights, poker nights, and a range of other events (Bansko is great for social life).

So can you separate work from play when you need to and organize your work and get it done?

Being a digital nomad is absolutely a reality and by using co-working spaces and mixing it with co-living, you can get a great balance of work and play and see the world at your own pace.

Why and How Being a Remote Worker Has Become Possible and Realistic

Three key things have come together in the last few years to make working remotely from exotic locations absolutely something you CAN do! These 3 things are:

• Internet speeds and access have massively and rapidly improved over the last 5 years and have become available far more globally.
• The development of co-working spaces in exotic and interesting locations around the globe and from where reliable and fast internet connections can be found.
• Countries embracing digital nomad working visas and seeing it for their country as an economic opportunity (because they do ask that those taking up the visas can prove a certain level of income)

Digital Nomad tourism is one of the fastest-growing forms of tourism and thousands of people are embracing the chance to become global travelers, staying abroad for years on end.

It IS within the reach of most people and it’s a great way of life.

Where to Be a Digital Nomad, i.e. Where to Visit and Best Places to Work from

There are literally hundreds of places you can go worldwide but there are nonetheless certain well-trodden routes that are very popular with digital nomads because these places offer the ideal conditions.

Some of the most popular locations for remote workers are:

1. Thailand (including Bangkok and many of the islands)
2. Bali (exotic, cheap, and lots of fellow remote workers)
3. Costa Rica (we loved Puerto Viejo and working from Puerto&Co – Coworking Space and Vegan Cafe)
4. Bansko, Bulgaria (has a great nomad community and easy to meet others)
5. Canary Islands, Spain (there are many co-working options and great all-year-round weather)
6. Chiang Mai, Thailand (very inexpensive and culturally very interesting)
7. Seattle, USA (has a well-developed remote working scene and it’s a fantastic city to spend some time in).
8. Berlin, Germany (a lively city with something for everyone and a lot of great co-working and coliving options)
9. Buenos Aires, Argentina (a great city culturally and plenty of remote working locations to choose from)
10. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (a very cheap place to work from, great foods and culture, and a unique location to live for a few months or longer)

You can also use the Nomad List to see the top-ranked places for remote working around the world.

What to Look for When Choosing Your First Remote Working Destination

The guidelines that I use for choosing a place to work remotely from and which you might also find useful is to look for somewhere that:

• Is inexpensive
• Has at least one good co-working space (ideally has 2 or 3 good options)
• Matches your climatic needs (such as snow for skiing in Bansko or beach weather in Costa Rica)
• Has a good remote working vibe (so that you can meet others and have a good social life)

How to Make Money Online and Online Jobs While Traveling

There are a number of ways you can make money as you travel and live abroad. The best choice for you depends on where you presently are in terms of work. These are the best options:

• You already have a job you can do from anywhere as long as you have good internet access (this is a great situation to be in) – this can include being an online teacher
• You find a job whereby you can work remotely (meaning working from anywhere online)
• You build your own online business and income

Option 1: Types of Work You Can Do to WFA (Work From Anywhere)

• Check RemoteOk who list work from anywhere jobs.
• Also, Flexjobs is a useful site. Other sites to check are Remotive and Remote.co and WeWorkRemotely
• Teaching English online (try VIPKid for starters)
• You can also try freelancer.com to start building work
• Becoming a content writer is always an option and Upwork is a good starting point. Whatever work experience you have, there will be a market for creating content on your niche. Here’s an interesting article on how to become a content writer online
• A virtual assistant (sites as Upwork are the place to start)
• IT jobs (including programming, web and graphic design, and SEO) – all jobs that can be done virtually and as WFA (Work From Anywhere jobs
• Accounting
• Translator

If you feel that you need to build up some skills and need to do it for free then use Future Learn (Free courses from universities that you do online).

It’s a great way to build your skills to help you get an online remote job or to start building your own business by blogging (see below).

Option 2: Work for Yourself – Building Your Own Online Business to Work From Anywhere (WFA)

This is the route we went down and that we have been very successful with.

We have written a number of posts on how to start your own online business.

Blogging in fact is the way we have built a 5-figure income and this is what has given Valeria and me our own freedom to work from anywhere in the world. In fact, you can read all about it in this post:

• How we built a 5-Figure income blogging (and got to travel the world as we earned)

In a nutshell, what we have done and what you can do (it does take a lot of work and effort though but YOU can also do it), is to build a blog around a niche that you are passionate about.

You then monetarise that blog through one of many options such as via:

• Affiliate income (such as Amazon affiliate links to products on their site that relate to your niche).
• Selling your own digital products online. This is what we have done and it is a fantastic option. Write eBooks, for example, and sell them. The beauty with a digital product is that you can create it once and sell it an infinite number of times (scaleable). It can also be sold automatically so sales are done passively (automatically even while you sleep or sit on a beach).
• Getting paid as an influencer (this is quite hard though as it takes times to build up a really large following).

So, the best way is to start reading these posts to get started:

• How to Start Your Own Blog
• How to Design Your Own Logo for free with zero design skills
• Free vs Paid Web Hosting
• How to Choose a Blogging Niche

Option 3: Creating Your Own eLearning Courses Online That You Sell

This option takes a little time and is best combined with option 2 above as you will need to build up some kind of following in your niche.

There are certain sites online on which you can submit content such as videos, written lessons, and downloadables to make up your own eLearning lessons for people to log in online and do online. The best platform we have come across is:

• Teachable

Teachable is what we ourselves use for our Blogging courses.

In order to think about what to teach, spend some time with pen and paper and write down everything you are good at, i.e. what things do you know better than the average person in the street?

We all have skills that we can teach and in a range of topic areas and niches.

Frequently Asked Questions about Being a Digital Nomad

1. How do I get a visa to live anywhere? Are there travel restrictions?

There are a number of countries now offering work visas and we have done a dedicated post detailing all of the countries offering these visas.

>> Read our post on Digital Nomad Work Visas here.

2. Is there such thing as digital nomad travel insurance?

Yes, there is. Travel insurance for digital nomads is something that many people ask about and the main company on the market offering specialist insurance for you (and that is underwritten by Lloyds of London) is Travel Wing insurance.

3. Where do digital nomads work from?

You can literally work from anywhere in the world but by working where there is a co-working space, you will know then that you should have access to high-speed Internet.

These days there is a race by many countries to offer special remote worker work visas as many countries and so many exotic countries are offering you the chance to stay for 12 months or more.

You can also use your holiday allowance, which is 90 days for many locations. You can often leave and then re-enter a country and then do another 90 days.

4. Where do digital nomads stay in terms of accommodation?

You really have a choice as to how you approach the digital nomad lifestyle. You can choose your own accommodation or you might want to try co-living.

Co-living, in essence, is when a co-working space also offers accommodation options and one huge benefit is that you really get to know the other co-workers really well this way, and meet people. These are your main options for accommodation:

• Coliving
• Bookings.com

5. Can anyone be a digital nomad?

Anyone can but you have to enjoy traveling and meeting new people. But the sky is the limit. If you are interested in the idea of remote working around the world, then you CAN do it.

6. Do you have to be ‘tech savvy’ to do it?

In truth, you WILL need a certain level of IT ability in that you should know how to use a laptop and connect to the Internet. And according to what type of online income you plan to survive on, your skills will need to match.

If teaching English online is your plan, for example, you’ll need to know how to use the teaching platform you will use as you travel.

The best way is to familiarise yourself with the technical side of things before you start traveling and living abroad remotely.

7. Can you make a living out of being a digital nomad?

It is not really a case of making money out of being a digital nomad (unless your business is giving advice and helping remote workers to travel = some bloggers make a business just out of this).

It is generally a case that you are able to make money working online and this affords you the chance to do your work from anywhere in the world.

8. Do you have to be good at something to be successful as a remote worker traveling?

You will need to be good enough at something to make money online sure. But we are all skilled at something even if we do not realize it.

If you have 5 years experience of working as a carer, for example, you will know much more than the average person about being a carer and the skills and challenges involved.

So, even in this example, you are good or skilled at something.

Think of where you were mentally and workwise 5 years ago. What skills have you developed in those 5 years?

Chances are that what you’ve learned in the last 5 years is already enough on which you could be offering online courses to help the very people who were you five years ago.

9. How and where do I pay my taxes for income from work?

It really depends on where you are from (normally based) and where and how long you are working from. If you are a U.S. resident, for example, the US tax office expect you to pay tax in the U.S. on your worldwide earnings, even if you are working abroad.

On the other hand, if you stay in one place as a digital nomad and start to settle, then you will find that a location such as Bansko, Bulgaria (one of the best nomad communities), is a place where, if you go for residence (as some nomads do there), then there is a 10% flat rate of tax.

Furthermore, in Bansko you can buy an apartment for as little as USD$10,000 (GBP£9000).

So an option is to take residency in a location such as Bulgaria and to use that as a base, something several remote workers have already done.

There is an excellent post you can read which explains in detail where you pay taxes as a digital nomad here on Tax for Nomads.

Final thought on taxes: You are best off taking advice from an accountant in your country of residence.

10. How can I get an internet or Wi-Fi signal in a remote location?

There is absolutely no doubt that high-speed + reliable internet access is vital if you want to work abroad as a remote worker.

There are two key ways in which you can ensure that this internet access is available and these ways are:

1. Use established co-working spaces around the world that offer high-speed and reliable internet (you’ll see in the reviews of coworking spaces if they offer good internet connections).
2. Use a Glocalme so that you can easily create your own Wi-Fi hub and at local data prices that you pay for as you go. On the device, it scans the local data options and you purchase data on the Glocalme and you use the Glocalme then to connect up to 10 devices onto the Internet. The Glocalme will scan and connect to the best 4G network and works in over 140+ countries worldwide.

11. Do you have any advice, i.e. travel hacks for digital nomads?

Absolutely. Here are 101 Travel Hacks for Digital Nomads to travel better and safer.

12. How do I choose a country to work from? What should I consider?

Certain countries are extremely popular with digital nomads and these places tend to offer a key mix of things. A good place to work from:

• is inexpensive
• is in a tropical or exotic country or in a place of natural beauty
• offers co-working spaces with reliable and super-fast internet speeds

You might also want to consider countries that are offering Digital Nomad Work Visas.

Several countries, in the last year or so, have begun to see the great benefits of offering these visas. To get the visa you normally be earning and be able to prove that you make a certain level of income such as £20,000 (USD$22,000) a year and, in return, you can get a 1, 2 or 3-year visa.

Even without such a visa, living and working around the world is possible and most digital nomads do not bother with the work visas as they travel to a new place every few months.

Safety and Security as a Digital Nomad

1. VPN (Virtual Private Network)

It is important to make sure that your data is secure and this becomes even more important as you travel and use public Wi-Fi connections.

The solution is to use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) and it is something that is very simple in fact to do.

2. Specialized Digital Nomad Insurance

I know I’ve already mentioned insurance but it is, of course, an essential when it comes to safety as a digital nomad.

‘Safety Wing’ is one of the leading providers worldwide of specialist nomads travel and medical insurance.

The policies are available to anyone worldwide for just about every country globally and the policies are underwritten by Lloyds of London.

3. Traveling Solo

Traveling as a digital nomad is not really any different from if you were backpacking in terms of getting from A to B. So the general rules apply that you would normally follow.

You can also read this list of 50 tips for single travelers.

In terms of when you are at co-working and coliving spaces around the world, you will normally meet other people very quickly and so are rarely really alone.

Remote workers who travel also tend, for the most part, to be a positive and a sensible bunch so the key is to be sensible in terms of where you go at night and how you get to a place.

Networking and Connecting with Other Nomads

There are lots of online nomad communities that you can join to start building some connections so that you will not feel alone when you start traveling. These are some communities we recommend:

Facebook Groups

• We would LOVE it if you joined us on Digital Nomads Online (our own group)
• Digitals Nomads around the world
• Global Digital Nomad Network

Meetup Groups

• There are tonnes of Nomad groups here

5 Steps Towards Being a Digital Nomad

1. Start Saving

It goes without saying that the more you have the better and smoother your experience will be.

Even as a Digital Nomad, you will want to factor in costs to cover:

• Flights costs
• Nomad insurance
• First months accommodation (i.e. coliving space)

2. Work out How You Will Work

If you do not already have a job that makes you geographically independent to work from anywhere, start planning how you will make this work.

If you want to start making money online by blogging and are wondering what niche to start with, watch this video.

3. Start Thinking about Your First Nomad Destination

Make sure to carefully read the visa regulations for the country you intend to visit and work online from.

In Europe, many digital nomads move between the Schengen countries and EU members that are not in the Schengen agreement, so that they can spend years legally working in European countries.

This technique is especially popular with many U.S. and Canadian digital nomads.

You might also want to consider applying for a Digital nomad work visa so that you can easily stay 1 – 3 years in a specific destination such as Thailand, without the need to do a visa run.

You might also want to read our list of favourite nomad co-working spaces.

4. Start Downsizing and Preparing with Lifestyle Changes

If you are definitely planning to make the move to become a world traveler and nomad, then you can start freeing up your existing life such that it moves you towards having fewer ties. I recommend, for example to:

• Take a look at the digital nomad’s gear and gadgets travel list to see what you might need to buy that might help you.
• Tidy up your social media profiles so that you are connected to other digital nomads and you have access to useful information and social circles in nomad hotspots.
• Start unsubscribing and canceling any costs and memberships that you use that you will not need as you start traveling abroad to be a remote worker from afar.
• Try and digitalize anything that you might need abroad in the coming years. Scan and save onto Cloud Space (such as onto Dropbox if you need access to a lot of files for your eBusiness)

5. Make the Move

If the idea of being a digital nomad and working remotely is an appealing one for you, I suspect and I assure you that it can be an amazing way to live.

For many people though, it is a dream and something that never quite happens. There comes a point where you have to take a break and just do it.

Tip: You can do a test run by going to another country for one week or one month as a one-off and work from a co-working space and then get a feel for what it is like to be a digital nomad.

So, replace a vacation or holiday you would have taken abroad anyway and turn it into your first digital nomad experience. If you meet good people and feel that you could become a full-time digital nomad, then at least you will have gained some experience and know that it’s for you.

Freebie to Start Building Your Own Online Business to Work remotely from Anywhere

If you are looking to start trying to make money through blogging as we have so that you too can travel and work online, you might want to start with this free mini-course below: