The Things No One Tells You About The Digital Nomad Lifestyle
Last Updated on March 8, 2023 by Bert-Jan Schilthuis-Ihrig
The digital nomad lifestyle is the dream for a lot of people that I meet. And rightfully so – there’s so much to gain pursuing a life filled with new cultures, freedom and travel.
But of course it can’t stop there, with just laptops on the beach and drinking out of coconuts. For digital nomads, the lifestyle comes with it’s whole own set of difficulties and challenges.
This week I did a poll on my Instagram stories asking people if they would be digital nomads if they could. The response was an overwhelming 97 percent YES.
I’ve lived the ups and downs of the digital nomad lifestyle, so I want to let you in on some insight that I wish someone has shared with me.
My “why” for leaving the 9-5 world
I vividly remember a conversation that I had right after I graduated from university. I was flabbergasted that all of that work pursuing my degree and a good job out of the gates was for this: Sitting behind a computer all day until it’s time to go home and then do it all again tomorrow.
At first, it felt devastating. Almost all of my time was spent in the rat race, chasing the cheese. I desperately told my mentor:
“There is no cheese – money won’t buy my life back that’s spent fading away in my cubicle”
I tried to squish myself into the mold, a phase which I now have affectionately nicknamed “corporate Kayla.” I chopped my hair off, curated a business casual wardrobe and told myself that wanting to have fun (fun – so frivolous!) was not what I had worked for in college.
📌 Save for later! 📌
Thus, I spent a few years behind a desk. And even working at some jobs that I really enjoyed! But no amount of enjoyment for the tasks at hand could outweigh the numbness that I felt towards the way I spent the bulk of my time.
This quote by Annie Dillard haunted me daily:
“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”
– Annie Dillard
Now, this isn’t putting down anyone who has a desk job. The light bulb moment that I want to share is that you have the option to choose another recipe if this one isn’t for you.
And to be honest, I’ve had desk jobs that I’ve loved and thrived in. It’s possible I’ll end up back there again someday, but on my terms. This time off the beaten path has changed everything about how I approach life, and continues to change me every day.
Things No One Tells You About The Digital Nomad Lifestyle
1. It’s an emotional roller coaster
A structured job provides you certainties that are always there. There’s always someone who will tell you what to do if you’re not sure. You never have to worry about everything. Someone will pay the electricity bill. If the whole company were to go under, you’d have a group of people to go cheers unemployment with at the bar across the street.
With the structure of typical employment removed, you can do anything. You can start every morning with hours of meditation or long hikes. Read an entire book cover-to-cover every day.
Become a nudist. Adopt a nocturnal sleep schedule and do all of your activity at night, naked.
The magnitude of choice is both exhilarating and completely overwhelming.
It took me months, maybe even longer, to find a balance. It’s been more than 2 years since I left my desk job in Chicago, and I still experience ups and downs.
2. You’ll experience soooo much growth
If I had to pick one word to summarize this phase of life (leaving convention behind and trying something alternative), it would be: growth.
Just the fact that you’re thinking about pursuing the nomadic lifestyle shows growth.
Pursuing and executing that lifestyle will change every cell in your body (at least, it’ll feel that way).
It takes courage to seek a free-form life, where you figure out making money, your schedule and your location in the world.
The nomadic lifestyle means you can work from anywhere. But where do digital nomads work? Most digital nomads fall into one of these 3 categories:
- Working online, from wherever home is
- Working online while traveling
- Utilizing coworking spaces either at home or abroad
One and two are the most common. Digital nomads who work online and are location independent in the long-run usually experience a mix of all three.
This point is for the dreamers who fit into category #1: it will take work to socialize.
And by “socialize,” I mean seeing another living human ~in the flesh.~
When you work from home, meeting new people takes work. Heck, even seeing people, any people, can be an accomplishment some days.
For many digital nomads this is even more labor intensive. Every time you move to a new country, you don’t know anyone and you have to consciously put yourself out there.
I hit digital nomad rock bottom when I had just moved to the Netherlands in 2018. It was the dead of winter. I was in the middle of a big freelance deadline. And I hadn’t spoken out loud to someone other than my husband in d a y s .
On the upside, many cities have coworking spaces filled with people keen on connecting with other remote workers. The thing is that you still have to go.
Truth be told, this might also happen to you while traveling (category #2) too. Depending on where you’re at in the world, there may not be any other backpackers around.
I traveled through South America in the low season, and there were many occasions where hostels were completely empty and no other backpackers or digital nomads to be found.
4. Most people won’t get what you’re doing
There have been many occasions where I’ve shied away from the conversation about having a nontraditional working life. I pick my battles when it comes to explaining my lifestyle.
So you don’t like working?
Wouldn’t you be happier if you had more money?
I just can’t imagine not having a career.
And it’s not their fault – we’re a part of a society that rightfully places a lot of value on work ethic and career. The idea that you can be both non-traditional and still be working hard can take some adjustment for some people.
A short conversation about what digital nomads are and do will usually help people understand. I was lucky to have exceptional support when I transitioned into the nomadic lifestyle.
However, I think it’s important to brace yourself for some negative reactions from people in your life.
5. You have to learn to live without certain things
Many people taper their transition into the digital nomad lifestyle. I think for most people, this transition includes a dip in income and some very low-budget living to get by.
My digital nomad lifestyle transition went like this:
- Save up some money
- Quit job, move out of apartment
- Stay with my parents and couch surf in the US for a month while building up my online work
- Fly to Mexico with a one-way ticket and work online from hostels as a I travel
In the long run, it’s completely realistic to have lower expenses and more wealth with the digital nomad lifestyle. But you shouldn’t expect a sacrifice-free transition. Some staples in my life that I had to sacrifice at first to make this lifestyle happen:
- my La Croix addiction
- going to the bar
- eating salmon
- buying clothes
And to be honest? After living the location independent lifestyle, I just never went back to buying those things. Once I learned to live without them for so long, I never needed them again.
6. It’s completely possible to make it happen if you make changes to your lifestyle
Maybe quitting your job and joing the growing community of digital nomads, starting your own business or simply diverting those 40 hours a week somewhere else sounds like a pipe dream now. But it may not be that far out of reach.
After all, if other digital nomads are doing it all over the world at this exact moment, why not you?
There are two typical paths people take for finding location independence:
- Having a typical full-time job in your field, just online. This could even be the job you have now, but doing it remotely. You’d have a normal salary and normal working hours.
- Working online, but taking a step back from full-time work. This could be working freelance, teaching English remotely, blogging, etc.
Most digital nomads I’ve met fit into category #2.
Where to begin with the digital nomad lifestyle?
Minimize expenses, save money, teach yourself to budget and learn to live without things.
In a nutshell, that’s what matters most about getting started living without your normal income. And you can start doing those things today to start making your dream of becoming a digital nomad a reality.
The basic principle of getting started living without your 9-5 job: if you can drastically reduce the money going out every month, than you can live off of much less.
Is leaving the 9-5 world for you?
What made you read this article? Are you considering leaving your desk job, trying to work for yourself, or becoming a digital nomad?
I’d love to hear! Shoot me an email at [email protected] to let me know 🙂
theminismallholder
Kayla, this is a really interesting article for me right now! I think my greatest fears come from point number four. All of our friends are traditional in their way of thinking. We want a more sustainable lifestyle and I think the transition is on the horizon! Thanks for your tips, Alex
Kayla
theminismallholderThank you for your response Alex!! Even amongst the most open-minded people I think there is usually some push back at a lifestyle change like being location independent. It’s funny how in the beginning of the journey, it seems so daring and outrageous and then before long you meet so many other people doing the same thing and have tons of support 🙂 good luck with your transition!!
Backpacking Security: How To Avoid Theft While Traveling - Writing From Nowhere
[…] You may also like: The Things No One Tells You About Being A Digital Nomad […]
Rosie (@greenrosielife)
Being a digital nomad is not for me – I am a total home bird and actually travel makes me anxious. Soooo, I did things the complete opposite was round and now live in a smallholding working towards a more self sufficient and sustainable lifestyle. AND, to help fund this I run an eco-friendly gite (holiday home) so digital nomads can come to me instead! I know that before Covid-19 some people thought we were bonkers changing to this lifestyle but I know at least some of those have changed their attitude now!
How to Become a Digital Nomad - Sights Better Seen
[…] may also want to check out this post from Kayla of Writing from Nowhere about the things no one tells you about digital nomad life! You can also read my post about the pros & cons of digital nomad life. Both articles should […]
Lifestyle Deflation: How To Afford Your Dream Lifestyle -
[…] expensive way to live. Way more expensive than lifestyles that are perceived as luxurious, such as traveling full-time as a digital nomad or living […]
Want To Become A Digital Nomad? Do This Now -
[…] The digital nomad lifestyle is challenging, exhilarating, and above all: totally worth it. I talk more about the challenges you face when you become a digital nomad in this blog post here: 6 Things No One Tells You About The Digital Nomad Lifestyle. […]
Why Start An Online Business: 5 Reasons To Go For It In 2021 -
[…] cabin in the woods, a hostel in on a Caribbean island (where my digital nomad journey started) or your kitchen table: all you need is a laptop, an internet connection and Google and […]
Remote Work Habits Learned As A Digital Nomad -
[…] Maybe you work remotely from home but are dreaming of tapping away on your laptop from anywhere else. Traveling full-time while working is a very different tango than just working from home. I share more about the peculiarities of the lifestyle here: 6 Things No One Tells You About The Digital Nomad Lifestyle […]
6 Ways To Invest In Your Remote Work Mental Health This Week
[…] you’re working remotely and living the digital nomad lifestyle, this comes naturally: my laptop could’ve never beat out this sunset in Ometepe, Nicaragua. We […]
How To Survive Remote Work Life In 2021 -
[…] work lifestyle comes with difficulties. Those difficulties were never laid barer than in 2020, when even the most enthusiastic amongst us were worn down by the bleached existence of pandemic remote […]
Hard-To-Swallow Pills Of The Entrepreneur Lifestyle » Writing From Nowhere
[…] been living the entrepreneur lifestyle for a long time, this can still sneak up on you. I started on my journey in 2017, but still just in 2021, I was snubbed by this hard-to-swallow-pill […]
What The Nomad Lifestyle Is Really Like & How To Live It » Writing From Nowhere
[…] ah-ha moment that you want to leave normalcy behind and pursue the digital nomad lifestyle may feel like a strike of […]
An Online Biz Could Be Your Answer To Everything, But Hear This Out » Writing From Nowhere
[…] comes with difficulties you’ll need to overcome, like any lifestyle, but I’m convinced it’s one of the most exhilarating ways to […]
Digital Entrepreneur FAQs: What You've Always Wondered » Writing From Nowhere
[…] in 2017 – I was freelance writing as I backpacked through Latin America (also known as the digital nomad lifestyle). Freelancing was a nice gateway job into being a digital entrepreneur, but it didn’t suit my […]
Write For A Digital Nomad Blog in 3 Steps » Writing From Nowhere
[…] is also known as the laptop lifestyle, or the full-time travel lifestyle. If you can make this happen for yourself, it’s the most invigorating way to […]
Full-Time Travel Tips To Sustain The Travel Lifestyle » Writing From Nowhere
[…] what you really want to have. A tip I was given (and listened to, but shouldn’t have) before my first digital nomad trip in 2017 was to only bring clothes that I wasn’t attached […]
Weight loss tips
Excellent post. I absolutely appreciate this site. Stick with it!
Employee
The best part of being a digital nomad is finding new communities of like-minded people. Being part of a community is not only good for business but also good for our well-being ! Working remotely shouldn’t stop you from doing that. Not only will socializing make you happier, but it can also connect you with potential clients and job leads. As a digital nomad, this can be a crucial part of your success. Check out co-working spaces, cafes with good WiFi, and meet-up events to find your community and meet like-minded people.
Bert-Jan Schilthuis-Ihrig
EmployeeSo true! Thanks!
slot 3 cat 2020
Heya! I’m at work surfing around your blog from my new iphone 4!
Just wanted to say I love reading your blog and look forward to all
your posts! Keep up the outstanding work!
nomads
This page certainly has all the info I needed about this subject and didn’t know who to
ask.
fafaslot
Usually I do not learn article on blogs, however I would like to say
that this write-up very forced me to check out and do it! Your writing style has been surprised me.
Thanks, quite nice article.