DEV Community

Cover image for Digital Nomad: the Golden Ticket?
Maxence Poutord
Maxence Poutord

Posted on • Originally published at maxpou.fr

Digital Nomad: the Golden Ticket?

Last year, I joined the so-called Digital Nomad movement. If you never heard about it, I am combining remote working with travelling. I really like this lifestyle because it gives me a lot of freedom and flexibility.

However, when I get back home or when I read articles on the internet, I realise that my life is far from what people think.

The idea behind this blog post is to debunk some myths about the digital nomad movement.

Myth #1: You work from the beach

Let's start from the beginning. When you Google the term "Digital Nomad", you will get this:

digital bullshit

It looks fantastic right?

Sorry, I have to stop you right now. This is complete bullshit and most of these pictures do not represent the real life of a digital nomad.

Look. The first posture is probably OK for an occasional usage of laptop. But if you take the habit to work like this, get prepared to end up with RSI/back pain/etc.

Another thing: the brightness. If in the middle of the summer you can't see your smartphone, don't expect to see your laptop screen in the middle of the beach. And I'm not gonna talk about the heat generated by the sun on your MacBook, neither the sand on a ~1.500 USD laptop... or sunglasses usage to see a screen (spoiler: you can't see anything)!

Thanks to the social media, some self-obsessed pseudo-influencers try to sell you a dream... a dream that they don't even live!

digital bullshit

As you can see, I don't have a lot of sympathy for people who fake their life ;)

Myth #2: You must be rich

Let's talk a minute about money, even if it's a controversial topic. Because, it's something I heard a lot, and I think there are a few misconceptions.

You don't need to be rich to live where most people spend their dreamed holidays.

The most commons destinations for nomad are actually quite cheap to live. For example, in Bali (Indonesia) you can easily live with $1.300/month. In Chiang Mai (in Thailand), you can live with $900/month...

How much does it cost to live in NYC, Paris or London?

Choose your destination according to your wallet. I've met on the road persons who make between less than 15k to a 6 digits yearly income salary.

Myth #3: You can work from wherever you want

I personally consider every place in the globe with a chair, a table and a decent WiFi as a potential office.

But, there are laws. What I want is not necessarily what I can get.
The vast majority of nomad enter in countries on tourist visa. Which mean, you are supposed to be on holidays. In other words: you are legally not authorized to work.

If you are working for a foreign company and your job has nothing to do with the country in which you are, it's okay (but still illegal). But it's another story if you are a travel blogger, english teacher...

And trust me, getting problems with immigration is the last thing you want!

Myth #4: You are constantly travelling

When you have the freedom to be wherever you want, you might be tempted to change city as often as you change your underwear. That more or less what I did at the beginning.

A few weeks ago, I faced something I never had before. I landed in Ho-Chi-Minh City (Vietnam) for the very first time. When I arrived at my apartment, I felt really bad. After a short introspection, I realized that in less than 60 days, I visited 4 countries and 6 cities. I was like Bill Murray in Lost in Translation: completely lost.

lost in translation cover

Moving too fast is the best way to get a "nomadic burnout". It happens when you travel too fast. Connecting with people, learning the local culture, facing language/culture barriers, trying not to get scam... is very exhausting.

Most of the nomad I know, use to stay -at least- 2 or 3 months in each place.

Myth #5: You won the Golden Ticket

Golden Ticket

... I also heard "you are living the perfect life!".

Don't get me wrong. I am not here to complain. I'm not saying I am not enjoying my life. No. I love it.

But, please: don't be naive! Every situation comes with its upsides and downsides. In this post, I mostly focus on some cliches related to this lifestyle. There are also a few others downsides I didn't mention like:

  • Mental health issues: another underrepresented but important topic. Mostly because it's always better for our ego to post a picture on the beach rather than talking about our problems. When you live on a paradisiac island, people think you can't complain and you become more isolated.

    If you want to read more, Tim Grassin wrote this awesome post.

  • Loneliness: Let's be honest: dealing with loneliness is one of the hardest parts of being a digital nomad. It's a constant fight. You meet new people on Meetup/Facebook/Tinder/... and a month after, you go separate ways.

    Building connection becomes harder when you grow up. It's even more when you're moving every few months. By the way, it's also the reason why I'm always moving to cities with an existent digital nomad scene.

  • Remote working. Being a part-time remote is challenging. But, 100% remote is another level. It requires a lot of discipline. When I switched to 100% remote, I realised how I underestimate this aspect. You can't postpone a meeting because you're not in the office today (and you will be next week), you don't know if your colleague is joking or not, overworking, managing interruptions, communication issues, etc.

    Remote working requires hustle and grit.

    Tips: Always double-check your environment before turning on your webcam πŸ˜‰

  • Administrative nightmares: I'm French working for an Irish company, I own an Irish Phone number and I spend most of my time in South-East Asia living in short term accommodations (changing once or twice a month).

    You can't imagine how many problems I faced with web forms πŸ˜„. Also, forgetting a wallet in a taxi or losing my phone (linked to my bank) because I got drunk last night can lead to serious problems.

  • Timezone hell: The vast majority of my colleagues work in Ireland. Right now, I'm in Thailand, ahead of 6 hours (7 in winter). When my colleagues start their workday, mine is about to end. But it could be worse. I've met people working with 12h diff!
    timezone-hell

  • And also: unreliable WiFi, power outage, taxes, health insurance, etc.

Sum up

I didn't win THE golden ticket, I won MY golden ticket.

Despite all these downsides, I really like this lifestyle. It completely fits me and I think it worth the trouble. Having the freedom to work and travel is an incredible privilege.

I wouldn't go back to a normal sedentary life... for now πŸ˜‰


Thank you for taking the time to read this post. I hope you found it useful! If you liked it, please give it a ❀️ or a πŸ¦„! Also, feel free to comment or ask questions in the section below :)


Originally published on maxpou.fr.

Top comments (11)

Collapse
 
scottydocs profile image
James.Scott

Nice post! I would love to do something like this in the future. I had a couple of questions:

  • Was it difficult to negotiate a remote position with your current company?
  • Do you they require you to work a certain number of hours that overlap with theirs?
  • Where are you planning to travel after Thailand?
Collapse
 
maxpou profile image
Maxence Poutord

Thanks for the feedback James.

To answer you:

  1. As you might guess, I don't think I'm allowed to talk about it here. I started with Europe. To stay on the same timezone. After a few month I moved to SEA. I also told them that if something goes wrong, I can go back in the office.
  2. Nothing contractually written but I like to keep synchronous contact with my colleague. I usually overlap for half day. Sometimes I have meeting on the evening.
  3. That's a good question. I've no idea! For 2020, I'm hesitating between 2 completely different destinations: Japan and Budapest!
Collapse
 
scottydocs profile image
James.Scott

Interesting... I hope more companies adopt the remote blueprint established by the likes of Shopify, Gitlab etc. Although I do see the value in having an office presence - I think I'd missed the social interaction and working in a team if I did remote for too long.

Budapest is really cool! Probably my favourite European city. Would highly recommend it.

Thread Thread
 
maxpou profile image
Maxence Poutord

You can still have social interaction with your colleagues through Zoom/Skype/Slack/... and if you need real human interactions (without screen), co-working spaces are usually a good option :)

Thanks for the recommendation James :)

Collapse
 
cldellow profile image
Colin Dellow

I didn't win THE golden ticket, I won MY golden ticket.

That right there speaks to me so much! I've done stints of trying to be productive while travelling and, for me, it just doesn't work. My workspace at home is set up just right for me to be effective. When I try to recreate it for a week or a month in a foreign place, I can sometimes come close, but never quite match.

Thanks for putting it like that!

Collapse
 
maxpou profile image
Maxence Poutord

Yeah getting a routing is important for a lot of people! Thanks for the feedback Colin :)

Collapse
 
_bigblind profile image
Frederik πŸ‘¨β€πŸ’»βž‘οΈπŸŒ Creemers

Very interesting post!

So given that many of the clichΓ©s aren't true, what keeps you living the digital nomad lifestyle? What do you enjoy most about it?

Collapse
 
maxpou profile image
Maxence Poutord

Thanks Frederik!
I'd say the best thing is to be able to work from wherever I want in the globe. So I don't need to take holidays to travel :)

Collapse
 
alanhylands profile image
Alan Hylands

The clip of the kids walking in on their dad on the BBC interview never fails to make me laugh. All remote working parents will no doubt agree that it's a very real operating risk every time a video conference begins!

Collapse
 
zyzmoz profile image
Daniel Cunha (he/him)

Interesting post! I'm not into the digital nomad lifestyle, but I do think about going remote next year. So, do you have any advice or tips on where to look for a remote position?

Collapse
 
maxpou profile image
Maxence Poutord

Getting a remote position is super hard. Lot of remote position got hundred of application. You have to polish your profile and make it attractive for companies.

Another option can be to start your own business or kinda consulting company (β‰ˆ freelance). I met a few people doing it.

Good luck Daniel!