Around the globe
Digital Nomads
Let’s look at the term’s two components.
Digital refers to people who earn a considerable part of their income through digital means. If they can do that from anywhere, they are location independent. A common example is a software developer who can work from home.
Nomad refers to people who roam — those who repeatedly change the place where they live.
These are rough definitions. What we can now do is to create a spectrum that ranges from barely qualifying to strongly qualifying as Digital Nomad. To locate where one sits on the spectrum, we consider the three preconditions that are essential to the lifestyle
Source of income: from fully analog to fully digital
The more income a nomadic person earns by digital means, the more they qualify as a “Digital Nomad.” Even if a job involves some physical work, living as a Digital Nomad can still be possible to some degree.
The majority of jobs associated with Digital Nomads are fully digital. In many cases, that enables location independence from the start.
Frequency of relocation: from never to very often
Some travel slowly — about every few years. They may enjoy being in the same place, staying around friends, and exploring their area for a while. They may prefer to plan ahead.
Some prefer more frequent changes to their environment — about every few months. They love to travel but also want to save money and stay productive. They try to keep a good balance between traveling and the downsides of relocating.
Then there are those who rarely stay still for more than a few weeks. They may be hopping between events and speaking gigs. They may be visiting places located along the way from one long-term stay to the next one. Or they may have just started on their nomadic journey — full of excitement and energy to see and do as much as possible.
Over time, many slow down and focus on places where they would love to stay for longer.
Many Digital Nomads have no intention of ending their travels anytime soon. But there are also plenty who live and work in various places just for a while. Afterward, they either remain in a place they love or head back to their previous “hometown.” They’re part-time Digital Nomads. They discover new places and then settle for a while.
Distance of relocation: from local to global
For many, remote work starts at a small scale. They work from home occasionally and once comfortable with it more often. They may mix things up a little and work from cafés and coworking spaces. At some point, they may combine work and travel.
Over time, they can get more comfortable with the idea of not just working from different places but also living there — at least for a while. Some of them travel more locally—in the same country or continent—while others set out to explore the entire world.
We can consider everyone to be some kind of Nomad as long as they’re relocating beyond their neighbourhood. Once they remain in a place for longer, they slowly transition into a life as a local or an expat.
With a growing amount of remote work and digital income sources, we’re becoming more location independent. Digital Nomadism is about making better use of that independence and growing in popularity.
Read the full article here.
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However, there are some misconceptions regarding Digital Nomads that we’d like to share:
- They’re all are freelancers
- They’re all software engineers
- Their jobs must be fully digital
- They only work four hours a week
- They only care about passive income
- They don’t have to pay taxes
- They’re on a never-ending vacation
- Working while traveling is easy
- They all travel fast and to many countries
- Being a Digital Nomad is easy/hard
- Being a Digital Nomad is cheap/expensive
- Being a Digital Nomad is just a phase
- They disconnect from family & friends
- They don’t contribute to their local environment
You’ll often come across these and other misconceptions, so don’t believe everything you read and hear. Do some research and ask questions!