As a new way to live and work, spending time as a digital nomad can be an extremely rewarding experience. You don’t just get to travel to new places, you also get to expand your mind, constantly feel new flows of inspiration and, most importantly, eat fantastic new foods. As enticing as this lifestyle can be, however, there are mistakes that newcomers can make when jumping in too fast.
Enthusiasm is a positive emotion, to be sure, but a lack of preparation won’t just hurt your work, but damage or even ruin an overall experience. Luckily, there are a few simple details that, when focused on, can leave potential nomads far better prepared.
Put the Internet First
As a digital nomad, your lifeline is going to be your laptop, and your Internet connection. In the modern age, you can usually find a place with a great Internet connection no matter the city, but not all options are equal, and not all are advertised honestly.
For a start, most booking websites will allow you to sort by Internet availability, and most places will offer some kind of free Wi-Fi access. You’ll also want to check Wi-Fi speed and reliability, which can be done by both looking at reviews and asking the hosts whenever possible. Though some locations might boast a high-speed connection, poor infrastructure and planning can leave you in a Wi-Fi dead zone, or a place rife with constant disconnects. Luckily, reviews will often point this out.
In addition, you’ll also want to have a backup ready in case the hotel’s Internet goes down, which is an inevitability if you travel for a while. To this end, you’ll want to ensure that you have a mobile connection with SIM that is suited to the country you’re in. Infinite data plans that cover multiple countries are one possibility, though it’s generally cheaper overall to buy a country-specific one on arrival as the cheapest option. This way, if a hotel’s Internet fails, you can turn to a mobile hotspot to keep you connected.
You’ll also need to check the international availability of the online systems that you use for work and fun. Some work database systems, for example, can have issues when connecting to IPs originating from overseas. To bypass this issue, the best approach can be to invest in a VPN service to trick a working system into thinking your connection is coming from the right area. Just be aware that not all VPNs have servers in all countries, so check around the different options like NordVPN, SurfShark, and IVPN to ensure you’re covered before you invest.
Entertainment systems can be a little trickier since the best approach is usually to use a system native to wherever you go. Take online casino players for example, for a traveller to the UK. In this case, it would be best to sign up for a new online casino as you arrived, such as Buzz Casino or Electric Spins. This will ensure there are no complications with availability, with the bonus of players on new sites getting access to welcome features like free spins and deposit matches.
Know Your Office
The dream of digital nomad work is to be able to kick back on the beach with a tropical drink under an umbrella and breeze through your day. Though theoretically possible, this kind of dream can conflict with working reality. In the real world, inspiration exists a hair’s breadth away from distraction, if you haven’t mastered riding this line, your productivity can suffer.
Finding the right working environment for you is a highly personal thing, and it’s something that can only be uncovered through introspection and experience. Take a few relaxed days with small workloads to see how different environments work, and understand that regular mood shifts can massively influence effectiveness each day. Some digital nomads prefer to start their days in their hotel rooms and get their work out of the way, using the rest of their free time to experience a location, and there’s nothing wrong with this approach.
Live Ahead
Living pay-check to pay-check is already difficult enough if you live in a fixed location, but for a digital nomad, it’s an essential non-starter. Travelling means understanding that expensive complications are a matter of time. Without money in the bank, these can leave you without food, travel, or the ability to keep your visa updated.
Addressing this issue means always keeping enough available to solve unexpected financial issues, while also having enough money for a quick flight back home. Since booking quick flights is generally much more expensive than booking far in advance, you’ll need to plan ahead to ensure you have the finances to be covered no matter your country.
Looking ahead also applies to booking hotels and airfares, with the caution that you need to be somewhat liquid if plans change. Many great Airbnb’s are only free many months in advance, so prepare long before you go to get the best deals. Also be sure to look at booking location ratings closely as while it can be possible to get refunds from non-refundable places in case of an emergency, this is up to the goodwill of the proprietors.
Whether for a few months or a new way of life, living like a digital nomad can add enormously to personal growth and an appreciation of the world. That said, it’s never as easy as social media can make it look, and each person will have to go through a teething process to learn exactly what works for them. Be prepared, however, and the lifestyle can offer some of the most fulfilling experiences you’ll ever go through.
