These days, the question that we get asked most often is how did you guys become digital nomads? As working remotely becomes more and more possible for so many people, this idea that we can travel AND work also becomes more popular. The thing is that people have NO idea where to begin.
If you’ve listened to the podcast then you know that we started off as young, poor backpackers. We spent years saving for our first backpacking trip and spent the whole time on a budget because we needed to make the money last the entire time. Then, we returned home, got big kid jobs and worked our asses off until we could do it all over again.
When we got back from South America, we were in our mid-twenties and we knew that we would need to come up with a more sustainable way to build our careers AND travel the world. We decided to figure out a way to work while traveling.
Let me preface this by saying that it did NOT happen over night. It took us about 2 years to get to a place where we could travel and work and nearly 2 more years to make that sustainable. In essence, we’ve spent the last nearly 4 years working towards where we are now.
So, if that still sounds like something you are interested in, here are some tips to get started as a digital nomad:
1. Figure out your budget
When I say this, I don’t just mean how much you need to travel. I mean how much money you need to comfortably live abroad. It’s important that you know this so that you can be really realistic about where you can afford to go, for how long, how many flights you can take, how long you need to stay in places, and how many hours a week you need to work.
This will really help you when it comes to finding remote jobs (if you don’t have one already), as well as to figure out when you can leave and how much money you need to save up before you go.
2. Plan your travels in affordable places
If you’re a brand new digital nomad, you’re going to need to keep your travels to more affordable places. We started out our digital nomad life in Southeast Asia, spending time in places like Chiang Mai, Ubud, Kuala Lumpur, and Bangkok. Then, we spent all of last winter in Mexico.
Of course, these places are beautiful and fun and warm and amazing, but they are also all cheap. This has allowed us to work on our projects and businesses and allow them to grow remotely without the worry of how we’re going to pay the bills next month.
At this point in our digital nomad lives, we are not traveling to places like Dubai, Norway, or Hawaii. Those place will have to wait until we have either saved for a vacation there or we are making more money from our online projects.
3. You are going to have to work
Work and travel means that you do need to budget time to WORK. It’s not as simple as just getting a remote job and then heading out to somewhere tropical and beautiful. You will need to make sure that you have time budgeted into each day to get your work done. This will mean that you will need to slow down your travels. Gone are the days of 3 days in one place and then 3 days in another place and then onto another place from there. We prefer to spend at least a week in a new place, but ideally we like to spend a month wherever we are so that we can settle in without pressure to adventure around every single day.
4. You need to be online
One thing that can be challenging about digital nomad life is the constant need to be online. We used to love the spontaneity of an overnight jungle trip or being able to pop off the grid for a few days to go on an excursion somewhere remote. Of course, we can still be offline, but we need to coordinate it around days off or around projects that we’re working on.
Now, we have to make sure that we have AirBnbs with good wifi or that we’re in a place that has an accessible coworking space. We also have to plan trips and excursions with friends on days when we don’t have work to do.
The quickest way to get yourself fired in a remote role is to go offline for a few days without telling anyone, so this is a really important thing to consider as you set off on your digital nomad life.
5. Be realistic with your workspace
There are so many photos and ads floating around the internet these days of people working beside pools or at beaches or on safari expeditions. Let’s be realistic for a second though – laptops die, they are not water proof, they will overheat, and you need a good internet connection.
Realistically, you need a GOOD place to work. This means a solid common area in a hostel, an AirBnb with a work space, a coworking space or a good cafe. If you are going into this thinking that you will work beachside, you will be extremely disappointed, so make sure you are taming your expectations and thinking realistically about what you need to do your work.
6. Decide how you will make money
A few minutes ago, we talked about budgeting. Well, this will be important when it comes to figuring out how you will support yourself on the road. The first step is knowing how much you need / want to make and how many hours you need / want to work.
Next, you’ll want to look at what you’re good at, what skills you have, and different opportunities to make money doing these things. There might be the potential to take your current job remote, or you may have to look at working for other companies in order to make the transition. Maybe, you are looking into using your skills to do freelance projects online.
Believe it or not, there are a ton of ways to make money on the internet. All of them are WORK though, so it’s important to be patient as you build up your remote work.
For a few ideas on how we make money, check out this blog post!
7. Just go for it
Theodore Rosevelt once said “Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty…” and we tend to agree with him. The digital nomad life is great, but, like anything in life, it still comes with it’s challenges. If you want it, then you will need to work hard, be patient, and just go for it.
And of course, if you need support along the way, don’t hesitate to reach out or join our online Facebook community!
