It’s January. You’ve all read the ‘new year, new me’ Facebook posts, re-grammed the inspirational travel quotes on Instagram and begun thinking about where 2016 will take you. Well, for some people, the year will take them wherever they want to. The best part? They don’t have to give up their work and live an uncomfortable lifestyle, if they don’t want to. This is known as being a ‘digital nomad’. Here at Holiday Numbers, we’ve scoured the web for the best tips to becoming a nomad yourself.
What is a digital nomad?
A digital nomad is a person who uses technology to work remotely, anywhere in the world. The most likely candidate for the nomad lifestyle are the millennials, who are often described as an ‘asset-light generation’- meaning they access documents/media/music remotely. To see the origins of the digital nomad lifestyle, you have to look at the rise in co-working spaces. In cities all over the UK, you will see offices which offer ‘hotdesking’ facilities- pay a monthly fee in return for a desk in a shared office. Co-working spaces have become increasingly popular, with people moving away from London to the likes of Brighton, where rents are cheaper and communities are growing. If all that you need to run your business is wifi, a laptop and a Skype connection, you may as well do it in a sunny climate, right?
OK, so you want to be a digital nomad…
It’s obvious that you have to do a certain job to be able to work remotely, but you can do almost anything if you put it online. A big part of becoming a digital nomad is to develop skills which would be useful from anywhere in the world. If you have aspirations to set up your own business online, there is now a digital nomad academy, which aims to help you have your business ready to launch in three months. In terms of income, you need around £1000 a month to be a budget digital nomad in somewhere in Asia, but you’ll need a lot more to be location independent, or live in a more expensive setting. Of course, the lifestyle won’t last forever and it can make developing relationships and maintaining existing ones difficult, but it can be rewarding to travel the world whilst working online.
If you don’t already have the skills to work online, here’s some things you can do to develop them:
- Get a job at a company which teaches you to work online, for example at a digital marketing agency.
- Study at an online university.
- Buy an existing online business.
- Save up and learn skills in a digital nomad hub.
- Ask your boss about working remotely.
Here are just some of the jobs that you can do as a digital nomad:
- SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
- Telesales
- Social Media Manager
- Public Relations
- WordPress/web design
- Programmer
- Bug testing for apps
- CAD Design
- Graphic design
- Guest blogger
- Content Writer
- Translator
- Legal copywriter
- Lawyer
- Data Entry
- Customer support agent
- Bookkeeper/accountant.
The best places for a digital nomad to live:
Bali
Bali has been a popular destination for artists and writers for centuries. In the 1980s, many fashion designers set up studios there, and now it’s becoming a tech hub for young people. Hubud is the main co-working space in Bali and it was set up by two digital nomads. The hub is open all night to accommodate British and Australian office hours. It also has very fast broadband, a raw food café and hosts seminars. Users of the hub can expect to pay between $50-$250 per month, depending on internet usage.
Bangkok
Bangkok is popular with both tourists and expats, but it is becoming a nomad hotspot, due to its proximity to tropical islands. Fellow nomad heaven Chiang Mai is also close by. Bangkok has a good range of co-working spaces, all with access to wifi and refreshments. The cost of living is around £900 per month, based on renting an Air BnB apartment and eating out three times a day.
Tijuana (Mexico)
Tijuana is one of Nomadlist.com’s most popular places. For the majority of the year it has an ideal climate of warm weather. It’s particularly popular with nomads from the USA, as it sits on the border next to San Diego. Tijuana has great nightlife and is generally seen as a fun places to be. The cost of living for a nomad is around £453 per month, based on staying in cheap hotels and eating out three times a day.
Prague
Prague has lots of co-working spaces and amazing cafés with wifi. It’s the most popular European cities for nomads, mostly because it is incredibly cheap to live in. It also has a good public transport system which ideal for exploring the city in your spare time. It will cost around £990 per month to live there, in a cheap hotel and eating out three times a day. It also has a vibrant nightlife, so you’re sure to meet friends whilst out there.
Chiang Mai
This Thai city is the current top city for a nomad, due to a low cost of living, variety of co-working spaces and coffee shops with wifi. It’s the easiest place to begin your nomadic lifestyle. In particular, Punspace has working spaces in two locations- membership includes 24/7 access to facilities, discount room rates and free coffee/snacks. It will cost you around £755 a month to live there, staying in a cheap hotel and eating out three times a day.
Berlin
Filled with fellow entrepreneurs, Berlin is an ideal city for digital nomads. In the Spring and Summer, you’ll find good weather. The rent is fairly cheap, as is the food and the internet speeds are high. It also scored highly with Nomadlist.com users for it’s safety and attitude towards foreigners. Live here as a nomad and you can expect to pay around £1687 per month, based on a short term stay, staying in an affordable hotel and eating out three times a day.
Lisbon
This Portuguese city is becoming more popular with nomads due to it’s good cost of living, friendly attitude towards foreigners and fast internet speeds. Nomadlist.com lists 20 co working spaces in Lisbon, so there’s lots of choice. You can expect to pay around £1133 per month for a nomadic lifestyle here.
Hear from the nomads themselves…
It’s all very well reading about the digital nomad lifestyle, but what about actually living it? We had a little look over the forums to see what the lucky nomaders themselves think…
When asked about romantic relationships, user ‘wanderingdev’ from Nomadlist said:
“My personal opinion is that nomads are more likely to find someone to have a relationship with while they’re nomading than when they’re in their home countries. Take heart from the many nomading couples that it can happen and work.”
On which skills are best to build if you wish to go from university to being a nomad, Reddit user ‘imgoingtoeatthat’ said:
“My advice would be to wait until you make money before starting to ‘travel’. Making money out of nothing is really hard, and it’s even harder if you travel at the same time. If you want to travel after your studies, just go travel where you can get a working holiday visa (like Australia for example). You’ll experience new things, meet new people, travel, and get some money on the way.”
On whether it’s important to have a home base or not, Reddit user ‘fernando-poo’ said:
“For most people, giving up a permanent residence at home is what makes a nomadic lifestyle affordable. Otherwise the costs are the same as someone who is just on vacation: you’ll have to pay for housing back at home and wherever you are at the same time. So maybe it’s worth it if you have a place that is a long-term investment and are able to offset the costs, but definitely not just for peace of mind.”
Louise Croft told us on Twitter…
@holiday_numbers @edmoyse I teach on Udemy & ed runs @JournoRequests. Best is the low cost of living, but you have to embrace instability!
— Louise Croft (@Paupertoprinces) January 5, 2016
So, what are you waiting for? If you’ve got the skills, plan your digital nomad adventure!
