Imagine you could go travelling and not stop. Imagine leaving and not having to worry about whether you will have a job to come back to. Imagine having the freedom to work from anywhere in the world.
Sounds nice. But surely it’s just not realistic is it?
Well no, in actual fact more and more people are living this lifestyle, using the Internet to work from anywhere in the world and make continuous travel possible.
They’re called Digital Nomads or sometimes Vagabonds or Location Independent and due to the rise of the Internet and new technologies they’re becoming more common all the time. If you were to type the term into a search engine you’d be rewarded with pages of links to pages about and often written by Digital Nomads.
Its appeal and advantages seem obvious to anyone who loves travel or who has an adventurous streak. Justin Wright, who runs Life of Justin, one of the most popular blogs written by a Digital Nomad says “The main advantage is being able to travel and enjoy the things you love. Instead of being isolated to a specific area, you’re free to roam around, travel, or move as often as you like. It’s also nice because you can choose your own schedule and work hours.”
Christine Gilbert, writes Almost Fearless another top blog that deals with travel and the Digital Nomad life, said “I think most people would like to work remotely. There’s no commute, less distractions and a much improved quality of life. If I want to take a little nap, I can. If I want to travel and work on the beach somewhere, no problem. It basically frees you completely from the out dated notion that the amount of time spent at your desk is your value as an employee. Most digital nomads know they can get their work done faster and better at home, and have plenty of time for whatever other interests they have.”
So how easy is it to start doing?
Generally it’s thought that the hardest part about being a digital nomad is getting into it. It takes a lot of time and a lot of hard work to build up an income from working freelance especially if you’re used to working in a different field.
Christine’s view is, “If you have a career established, it’s easier. If you are working in IT, software, writing, graphic design, consulting, programming or any other area that already has a strong path developed, it’s simple. In general I tell people it’s about as hard as getting a new job. If that’s something that takes you 3-6 months in your field, expect the same.”
and Justin adds “For me, it was a long process. I started by freelancing and blogging while I still had an office job. For the better part of a year I constantly worked on the side building my credibility, portfolio, and online business. Once I felt that I could survive off of my own business, I decided it was time to leave my full-time job.”
But, is it getting any easier?
10 to 15 years ago, the idea of being fully location independent and of making all your money through your laptop would have seemed incomprehensible, but then again so would such everyday things as Wikipedia, Google and Facebook. My point is that advancing technology is making it easier to stay connected to the world and there are less and less places left without internet access. But with all of this is it actually getting any easier to become a Digital Nomad?
“Yes it definitely is.” Says Justin “Technology is rapidly improving and it’s making everything easier to do, regardless of location. Internet applications, storage, and communication tools are making it easier and easier to stay in touch.
The current global recession however is making an impact on everyone regardless of if you live in one place or not though, according to Christine “with the current economic conditions, workers have lost a bargaining chip. It’s hard to push for a remote environment, when you’re feeling just lucky to have your job.”
What are the downsides?
Just like any long term travel it takes a certain kind of person and there can be a certain degree of loneliness to deal with.
Ori Bengal is another Digital Nomad who details his couch-surfing adventures on his site called Couch Surfing Ori, he says that “The downsides of being on the road are few, but are quite noteworthy. The most obvious (at least after a while) is loneliness. If you’re not staying somewhere, and you just met the coolest people, you start missing them. On long drives, I often wish there was someone riding along”
There’s also more practical problems that come with moving around so much “I’ve had difficulties with companies that have sent me mail, which I hadn’t received, ’cause I was on the road… and then I have to deal with collection agencies, etc… ’cause they think I was ignoring their letters or bills,” says Ori.
Becoming a Digital Nomad may be a difficult process, it can be lonely and it’s often means hard work but it’s rewards still outweigh the downsides, and none of the Nomads I’ve talked to would want to return to a normal life just yet, according to Christine “I was just reading one of my friend’s posts about being home after a year around the world and it makes me sad. She wrote that it was like someone forgot to add the salt to life.”
I’m sure that over the next few years more and more people will realize that their careers no longer require that they stay in one place and will join the Digital Nomad revolution. It can only be a good thing really, the more people who travel, the more understanding people will be of other cultures and more people will have the opportunity to see the world.
So if you’re still interested in it Ori offers these words, “The main peace of advice I can give anyone who wants to try this is to forget everything you know, and be open minded. This is a very eye-opening experience. You will learn a lot about yourself, the people you knew in your past, and people in general.”