How to Become a Digital Nomad: Everything You Need to Know
You’ve seen them on your Instagram feed. You’ve heard rumors of the way they live. They pop into your town for a few weeks at a time, only to dash off to another location somewhere else on the globe.
They're always posting beautiful pictures from exotic places, on a seemingly permanent vacation…and somehow supporting themselves while doing it.
You guessed right: Digital nomads.
They can work from anywhere in the world with a good internet connection, allowing them to travel and live wherever they please.
And guess what? You can too.
After all, I’m a digital nomad, so I know exactly what it takes to become one.
I’ll break it down for you (no matter who you are) so that you can realistically take the steps toward becoming a digital nomad too.
What is a Digital Nomad?
In other words, a digital nomad is someone who takes advantage of the incredible feats of technology so that they can work and live anywhere in the world. This can look like spending several months of the year abroad, traveling as you please (within internet range) while making a living doing work online.
It can also look like living the life you have planned for retirement right now.
Instead of taking your one-week vacation at that surf spot you’ve dreamed of visiting, you live there and arrange your work schedule around the swell. In general, many people who choose to become digital nomads:
Are tired of the “9-to-5” dominating their life and seek a better work-life balance
Value adventure and experiences over money and things
Want more freedom and flexibility
Have always dreamed of being their own boss
Crave the flavors, sights, and experiences of globe trotting
In other words, they want it all. And honestly, that’s what they have.
It’s an incredibly liberating way to live and allows you to really focus on the important parts of life, like human connection, experiential learning, and growing compassion.
It’s not always easy, though. Don’t get me wrong. There are days when I’m bored out of my mind and there are some days when it’s just too much. And let’s not forget the third-world bureaucracy that makes virtually everything more difficult and less efficient. But those days are balanced by the freedom and breathtaking views that also come with nomadic living.
Before you go totally remote and jet off into the sunset, take a moment to understand both the benefits and drawbacks of being a digital nomad.
5 Big Benefits of Being a Digital Nomad
There are countless benefits to being a digital nomad, but I’ll try to sum them up in big ways. But promise me that you’ll read the benefits, one by one, and really imagine yourself living the life.
Want to go out to a concert or a friend’s birthday party or some-other-event-that-ends-late-at-night on a weeknight?
➡️ You get to. Because you can schedule important meetings around your schedule and sleep in when needed.
Want to meet up with a friend for lunch, but she’s only available at 2 p.m. on Tuesday?
➡️ Easy. Go see her whenever you want. You’ve literally got the rest of the day to do your work.
Have a bunch of errands to run but don’t want to do it when the stores are the busiest?
➡️ You don’t have to. You can go take care of your personal stuff any time of the day, any day of the week.
Yeah, it’s that good. Here are additional benefits of being a digital nomad that you need to seriously consider:
1. You get to be your own boss.
You get to decide when you work, where you work, and with whom you interact with. You even get to decide whether or not you work at all! Cut back on hours when you really want to explore a place and pile on the workload when you need to save some cash. You work because you want to live the life you want, not the other way around.
2. Your money lasts longer.
When you earn in USD and travel abroad, the value of your money is anywhere from 10 to 100 times higher than most other currencies. This means that you don’t have to work nearly as much as you would have to back home, which frees you up to do a lot of other cool stuff.
3. No time is wasted.
When you don’t have to commute to work, clock in and out at a certain time, or be in a set place, you have a lot more time each day to do whatever you want. That could mean sleeping in, meeting up with friends, or just sitting quietly in your own home. You work exactly when you want to and that’s really it.
4. You’re not too tired to do the things you like.
You know how at the end of the day sometimes all you want to do is go home and get in your comfortable clothes and have a glass of wine? As a digital nomad, it’s kinda the opposite of that. We’ve been holed up in our quiet space all day and so when we’re done working we often just want to go do things. This frees us up for a social life as well as for new hobbies or experiences we’re keen to explore. No stone goes unturned, if you don’t want it to.
5. If you don’t like something, you can easily change it.
As your own boss, if you don’t like the work situation or location you end up in, it is much easier to make changes to both than it would be in a traditional job back home. You’re not stuck in any one place and you don’t work for any one company. So if something’s not vibing with you and your goals, you can change it.
5 Unavoidable Drawbacks of Being a Digital Nomad
1. It’s still a lot of work.
Though your friend’s photos may look like it, the digital nomad life is not the same as a vacation. We may live in a vacation destination, but we are still working. This means you’ll need to master your self-discipline when those pristine waves or rare cultural events call your name, because you still have work to do. The cool thing is that it’s flexible enough to work a quick surf or fun event into your day, anyway.
2. Everything depends on your internet connection.
Your livelihood will also depend on something mostly out of your control — your internet connection. While you can do your best to find a reliable spot, some places just don’t have reliable internet or power. Don’t worry, though. You learn that you need to have back-ups prepared for losses in connection and that it’s also not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. (Another amazing result of being a digital nomad is learning to go with the flow.)
3. Significant start-up energy and cost.
If becoming a digital nomad was easy, more people would be doing it. It’s going to take some gusto to break-free of comfort, routine, and a known way of life to step into the unknown — and not to mention a wad of cash. I’d say that it took me about three years to get to where I’m at today.
The first year I spent saving cash and honing my marketable skills (writing) while I still worked my salaried job back home
The second year I spent my savings traveling around and working entry-level online jobs
The third year I trained intensely, earning more with each new client
By the end of that third year, I was earning enough to move back to my home state California and rent my own place. I didn’t jump into this and I was frighteningly broke for some of that time, but I would do it all again in a heartbeat. I mean, it was fun every step of the way even if a lot of work.
4. You will be faced with lots of job searching, selling yourself, and uncertainty.
Some people stay in jobs they hate for decades purely to avoid these exact three things. If you foresee your best life as being a digital nomad, though, be ready to embrace and master them all. Though it's uncomfortable at first, being able to handle this part of the digital nomad life becomes incredibly empowering. I am certain of who I am, what my skills are, and what kinds of commitments I make only because I've had to decide all of these things as a digital nomad.
5. You're actually really poor.
I know that all of these travel pics and bungalows and fancy experiences make it seem like we're rolling in cash, but the opposite is true. A lot of the time, you're actually really poor. As a contractor, you don't always have a steady income and unexpected expenses almost always eat at what small savings you have. But the thing is this: once you're a nomad, you don't really care.
Okay so I can't afford the latest iPhone and I don't even know what it means to be in style anymore, but have you seen those fried fish cakes with sweet and sour sauce at the street market in Chiang Mai? And have you ever felt anything so exhilarating as trekking to a remote village in the Andes Mountains of Ecuador, where a warm cup of cacao and lots of wool blankets await you?
I earn a fraction of what I earned in my traditional job years ago, but I rarely think about it anymore. Because I spend most of my time doing fun things for free and pay for things that help support me in that. That's it.
How to Become a Digital Nomad in 6 Steps
Still interested in learning more about how to make this your reality? Here are six steps to prepare you to take the plunge into the wayfarer world within a year of reading this.
Step 1: Reduce Your Material Possessions
You may be hesitant to part with your belongings, but if you’re serious about digital nomad life, it’s time to break up with your stuff. There are tons of reasons to do this, but the main is that you honestly won’t even think about them once you leave.
Storing material possessions at home while traveling costs you money and are just a headache.
Whether you’re paying to store them or to carry them with you in your bag, you’ll resent your stuff eventually. Pus, you can make a couple thousand bucks selling all of your things, anyway. Also, having less stuff also means more free time and peace of mind.
You spend less time managing or worrying about your stuff at home while abroad, less time packing and unpacking on the road, and less energy coordinating who is going to help you take care of all of that stuff. It will make you truly free and mobile, no matter where you are in the world, to get rid of all of your material possessions.
✨ Imagine the freedom of living out of a suitcase
✨ Imagine spending all the time, energy, and money on new experiences, instead
Before embarking on your journey to become a digital nomad, do yourself a solid and start minimizing your material possessions now.
Step 2: Start Saving Cash
Saving seems like common sense in preparation for this transition, but it really cannot be overstated. A near certainty of being a digital nomad is that there will be a period without an income when you’re transitioning, when things fall through, or when life otherwise happens. The bigger the nest-egg you have, the more comfortably you can weather these moments.
But don’t just save.
Stop spending so much money, too.
Start eliminating subscription services and unnecessary expenditures. Every time you want to buy something that’s unnecessary, think about what that money could equate to in your new life. That $6.50 almond-milk latte could buy a healthy, fresh, five-course meal in Colombia on a garden terrace for you AND a friend. That new $60 pair of shoes could pay for three nights at a nice Airbnb as you transition to a new country.
And even though you don’t necessarily have to buy a lot of flights, having the ability to do so is a major relief when you’re eyeing a new destination on the map.
Get into the habit of saving and spending minimally so that you have more cash during your transition.
Thrifty habits are pretty essential to living as a nomad, too. Though it seems like we live lavish lifestyles all over the world, the reality is that we have all just become incredibly good at spending as little money as possible.
Step 3: Identify Your Marketable Skills
Think about your background and which services you could potentially provide remotely. Maybe you have a background in data analysis, creative design, computing, or writing. These skills are highly marketable and will be easy to jump into.
And if you don’t have any of those skills, consider which of those (or others) you’d be interested in training in.
And don’t be afraid to think outside of your immediate skill set too. Being good with numbers or good at writing are two major marketable skills that open up the door to many remote jobs. And keep your mind open about that, as well. Maybe you’ll swap your stable salaried job for a lot of odd contractor jobs.
Many digital nomads have a few different revenue streams for security, so get creative! Even if you can’t think of anything, if you can use a computer you can likely get started with things like data entry, transcription work, etc.
Step 4: Get Proper Training That Matches Your Skills
Take advantage of your more stable schedule and income to bolster your skills and resume in your marketable areas. Spend those dull afternoons teaching yourself new skills or researching what it takes to earn a living remotely.
If you’re good with numbers, look into coding, programming, or data analysis courses.
If you’re good at writing, look into copywriting, SEO, and all marketing options.
If you’re creative, look at design courses that allow you to be creative all day.
There are many excellent online courses that you can work into your schedule with sites like Udemy, Coursera, and edX, or find an apprenticeship program.
You can add to your credentials directly or support yourself in being your own boss with some training in business or marketing. Plus, training is also a great way to make connections and find job leads.
Step 5: Search for Jobs That Allow You to Travel
Once you’ve chosen what kind of skills you want to hone, take a look online at what kinds of jobs actually exist and where there is demand. Some of my favorite freelance platforms are:
You can start applying to these jobs now to build your portfolio and get experience. Then, when you’re ready to jump in fully, you’ll know exactly how to find more work and how much you could potentially earn while travelling.
Step 6: Choose a Destination
And now it’s time for the part you’re actually interested in: Choosing a destination.
There are millions of different criteria you can work from when choosing a destination. When I was first a nomad, I spent a year changing locations every few weeks to a month. Then I finally settled in Ecuador for a couple of years.
What I can tell you is this: my favorite places to work have amazing street food, are warm, have super low cost of living, and have excellent wifi.
So though remote beaches are ideal for my own personal lifestyle goals, they became exceptionally frustrating when the power would go out in the entire village for days at a time.
Cities were helpful in getting consistent internet time and workspace, but they were often expensive and crowded.
Choosing a destination for your adventures as a digital nomad is all about finding a work-life balance that works for you. As a digital nomad, you get to design the life you want.
If you’re serious about finding a place that makes it easy to work, then check out sites like NomadList for places that are best for digital nomads.
Another criteria you could go by is how much it costs to get there (that’s how I started in Guatemala). Sites like Momondo make it easy to find cheap flights so that you don’t waste any of your savings on getting to your dream destination.
It’s a good idea to start somewhere with a low cost of living while you hone your digital nomad skills and are confident that you can afford more.
My advice? Be honest about what you need to be happy and look for a place that provides you with that.
Is a digital nomad or expat community important to you?
Do you need certain creature comforts to feel at home?
Are you greatly affected by the climate?
Are you mainly excited about culture and city life?
Do you prioritize quick access to nature for your hobbies?
Pick your favorite place to start and then relax. If you don't like it, leave. It's really that simple.
Finally, if you question your decision as you get closer to your more footloose way of being, that is totally normal. It is a big transition full of unknowns and you will likely be questioning your sanity at various points along the way. This is absolutely normal - and even a good thing!
Questioning yourself is part of the experience of leaving your comfort zone, where growth and adventure and a life with fewer regrets happens. In moments of doubt, envision your dreams. Soon, you’ll be living them - and wondering why you didn’t take the leap sooner.