Become a Digital Nomad in Easy steps.

Digital nomads make a career by working online while living in several locations of their choice rather than from a workplace setting. Digital nomads can choose to be full-time travelers because their profession is fully remote, as long as they have access to Wi-Fi and the digital gear  like laptop or smartphone they need to conduct their work from anywhere in the world.

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There are many benefits of being a digital nomad, and having the option to live location-free, while ticking off all your bucket list locations all while working from your laptop. 

• Travel to popular destinations (skip them cold winters) 
• Learn about new cultures, new languages & make new friends
• The flexibility of your time and your lifestyle of choice
• No Boss telling you what to do, or asking for time off
• Work whenever and wherever you want – true freedom.

With benefits there are struggles and the novelty of traveling around the world can eventually become overwhelming for some. This is not to say you will feel like this, but things to always consider. A few con’s from personally living abroad can be: 

• Loneliness and missing your family
• Staying motivated (remember you don’t have a boss telling you what to do)
• Living out of suitcases and always moving around can be exhausting
• Lacking privacy depending on your accommodation choices (hostels can be crowded)

What jobs are there for Digital Nomads? 

There are many different options to working remotely, either with a company or by becoming an entrepreneur and being your own boss. 

With the global pandemic, working from home has become a way of life for many businesses, and many people have taken to the entrepreneur lifestyle and begun working online. 

Here are a few examples of Digital Nomad Jobs. 

• Blogging
• Affiliate Marketing
• Social Media Marketing
• YouTube
• Freelance Writers
• Virtual Assistant (VA)
• Tutor / Language teacher
• Creating online courses, funnels, web designs

I have a travel blog and a high-ticket affiliate marketing business. This is what I find works for my family and me to travel and work as we go, it gives us the lifestyle we were looking for, but also something that I enjoy doing.

If starting a blog is something that you might find interesting, click here to find out more or if high-ticket affiliate marketing might interest you, you can find more about starting your own Brand (AKA Business) here and be supported by an amazing community that is worldwide.

There are endless options for working online, this is a list of a few ideas, for a larger list, check out my post here.

Tips to start your digital nomad life

1. Making preparations

Before you plan your digital nomad endeavors, you should scout out what you already have and what you consider to be essentials. (travel gear, tech gear, health, etc)

2. Figure Out How You Want to Live

Once you find a destination, you’ll need to secure housing or at the very least, figure out what kind of accommodations you want. You can look at options like Airbnb, hostels, and shared housing to save on costs, but working remotely will require a good WIFI connection, so an important thing to look for when looking at accommodation. 

• Booking.com – Best for hotels and hostels accommodation, and offers a great cancellation policy. 
• HostelWorld – Best hostel search engine for every country. 
• Airbnb – A very popular option for digital nomads to find housing/ apartments for short-term/long-term rentals.

3. Decide your destination

The first step in carefully choosing your selection of destinations is to determine the cost of living in each location and the safety if you are traveling alone. You’ll need to be able to pay for everything from rent to food and entertainment and transportation to get around, so be realistic about your salary in relation to the cost of living in different locations.

Remember to be a digital nomad you do not have to travel, you can choose to stay in your county and you may just work from home or travel around in an RV/Caravan. 

4. Join a digital nomad community

Finding new networks of like-minded people is the best part of being a digital nomad. Being a part of a community is helpful not only to your business but also to our lifestyle! There are many Facebook groups that join Digital Nomads together like Nomadbase – The Digital Nomad Community & Digital Nomads Around the World Working from cafes and libraries can be a great way to meet new people. 

5. Making money and paying taxes

 When it comes to earning money as a digital nomad, you will need to check your country/ state on paying taxes, if you spend more time out of your home country and pay taxes to the foreign country you have been living/working, you can claim for a “foreign income exemption, however, you will need to check with your countries tax rules. If you are making working online your main source of income, I suggest getting yourself a good accountant to assist you with the rules on earning an income while living overseas. 

6. Get insurance

You might be thinking about why you should pay this additional monthly cost if you’re in good health. When you travel full-time, you never know what will happen, and let me tell you accidents do happen. As a result, insurance is the greatest option to protect yourself and your wallet.

Many digital nomads make the mistake of not considering health insurance before starting on their adventure. Some popular health covers for nomads are World Nomads and Safety Wing.

7. Set Boundaries

Becoming a digital nomad is hard, it takes time and sacrifices, you need to set yourself some boundaries, no longer being an employee and becoming your own boss, it takes time to condition yourself to set a routine to be more productive. Here are a few tips to help: 

 Set the number of hours you will work

• Allow yourself breaks
• Prioritize your work schedule and workspace
• Have a daily routine
• Be active throughout the day- get out for a walk or exercise or yoga
• Eat well and stay hydrated

You got this!!