Tips to start your digital nomad life

February 8, 2023
ANA LUIZA MAGALHÃES

The nomad life attracts more and more digital professionals that pursue living adventures and meeting new places in the world. With 17 million people aspiring to a digital nomadic life in the future, the remote work trend is encouraging this movement (MBO Partners).

With the level of work satisfaction getting to 90% (MBO Partners), digital nomads encourage other professionals to embrace adventure and pursue a joyful lifestyle.

The remote job boom brought by the Covid-19 pandemic made people realize it’s possible to do your jobs smoothly without the need to be physically present. The 13% increase in digital nomad workers’ productivity attests to companies that nomadism is actually a positive contribution to the workplace (Stanford Business).

Main models to work as a digital nomad

The nomadic way to live and work may seem too far from the reality of most digital professionals. Nonetheless, being able to be a nomad is simpler than that.

The most important thing is having a way to make money in a place-independently way. The main options to achieve it are:

Being a freelancer

34% of digital nomads are freelancers (A Brother Abroad). This work model allows digital nomads to build their own customer portfolio and work remotely.

Another advantage of being a freelance digital nomad is that, as long as you deliver your work as agreed, you can manage your hours and work at any time. This allows you to save time to travel and meet cool places.

Working at a company

Many companies are already open to remote working and giving employees flexibility. If you don’t want to worry about finding the next client, maybe looking for a company with a strong remote work culture will be ideal to you.

Of course you must check if the company actually accepts and supports your lifestyle before taking the job, and be sure you will be able to perform the work without any problem.  

Running your own business

66% of digital nomads have their own companies while working location-independently (A Brother Abroad). This possibility allows nomads to create their own rules of where and when to work.

It’s important to set the expectations with clients, making them aware that you won’t be available for presidential meetings.

Tips to start

This different and exciting lifestyle attracts many digital professionals. But which are the first steps to start your nomadic life?

Save money

It’s important to have an emergency reserve when you are far from everything and everyone you know. Also, plane tickets, renting location and leisure represent extra costs that can be very expensive, especially in another currency.

Unforeseen expenses may arise out of nowhere. You may lose your plane, get sick or have to leave a country earlier than expected.

The range of unpredictable events that can occur is long and is more than enough reason to grow your savings account before and during your location-independent life.

Find a remote way to make money

The next essential step is keeping the money coming in. Especially if you plan to be a nomad for a long time, it’s not recommended to rely only on savings.

Either by being a freelancer, working at a remote company or running your own business, there are plenty of ways to get money and keep this lifestyle.

Test if this life is for you

Adapting to different places and contexts, being away from family and friends and immersing in a completely new culture can be challenging for many people.

It’s recommended to check if this is the kind of life you want to have for the next months or years before buying your ticket.

Try to simulate the reality you would find if you were a digital nomad. You can travel for a month to your own country and see how being away from home and owning only what fits in your travel bag feels like.

Choose your first destination

Have you decided to become a digital nomad? Then it’s time to pick the first place you want to visit. Take in consideration aspects like language, cost of life, and, of course, your desire to know the place.

You can plan in advance your destinations after that, and trace the better logistics to go from one place to another.

Remote opportunities for nomads

Being able to work from wherever there is a wi-fi connection turns the world into your office. Digital professionals in particular are becoming aware of it and gaining interest in living this kind of lifestyle.

As travel and experiential purchases have shown to be the best methods towards happiness (Cornell Chronicle), a nomadic life meeting amazing places and visiting other cultures tends to impact positively on mental health.

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