Wild Free Design

What you need to know before becoming a digital nomad

Becoming a digital nomad is one of the most exciting experiences you can enjoy. It allows you to travel the world while you work, meet a whole host of new people, make some incredible memories, and inject a sense of genuine adventure into your life.

For those stuck in sedentary office jobs that offer little in the way of diversity or excitement, the thought of packing your bags and becoming a digital nomad is an incredibly tempting one.

However, as with anything in life, there are both pluses and minuses to the life of a digital nomad, and many people make the mistake of believing that it will be a no-holds-barred life of excitement, when the reality is more complex.

While you can meet amazing new friends, visit the most beautiful places on earth and balance your work with exploration, being a digital nomad can also be scary, lonely, stressful, monotonous, and exhausting.

Thus, it is important to find out what being a digital nomad is truly like, before you become set on this lifestyle. Here is what you need to know.

You will need to move out of your current accommodation

One of the most life-changing aspects of becoming a digital nomad is, of course, the actual move itself.  While you may keep your accommodation back home in some cases, the more likely course of action is to end your rent or sell your house to pay for the cost of traveling.

This can be a difficult process, because you will need to either transport your belongings into a storage facility, to a family or friend’s home, or sell it altogether.

Of course, unless you have a van or truck at your disposal, this process can be time-consuming or even impossible. Therefore, you should consider hiring a removals service, such as at https://www.shiply.com/removals, to carry out the transportation for you.

You will need a consistent stream of income before traveling

One of the worst mistakes you can make when trying to become a digital nomad is flying out to a destination without a freelance job lined up first.

It is easy to become swept up in the excitement of changing your lifestyle, but unless you have deep pockets you are going to need to earn your accommodation, food, and travel expenses.

Unfortunately, it can take many weeks or even months before you land consistent freelance income (especially if you don’t yet have a skill that can be adapted to freelance work).

Therefore, start working on this as a side hustle before you leave, in order to build up your status as a freelancer and make the transition seamless.

Try and live in one place for at least a couple of weeks

Another difficult part of digital nomadism is the idea of moving around constantly. While it is fun at first, after a while you will find it impossible to concentrate on your work, find time to explore the local area, and get into a modicum of a routine.

You should therefore try and live in one place for at least two weeks at a time. This will allow you to settle enough to work, have fun, and feel like you have soaked up the essence of the place.

 

Leave a Comment: