Digital Nomads: Are They A Blessing Or A Curse?
The rise of Digital Nomadism has swept up many nations, with an increasing number of countries offering specific visa’s to cater to the needs of the modern, remote worker; one who values flexibility and adventure over stability and traditional values, such as owning a house or starting a family.
In this blog post, I want to look at the positive and the negative effects of digital nomads on economies and the countries they inhabit, as well as understand what can we consider as a ‘good’ Digital Nomad? And also, what could be the way forward to some of the challenges that digital nomads bring?
Let’s dive in! 🌊
The Positives
Economic effects
Digital nomads bring a lot of positives to the table. An obvious one is the influx of investment in a given economy, which means more business for locals, meaning more money for locals. As such, more businesses open and flourish, there are additional jobs for locals and they can earn money from the often wealthier digital nomads.
Think of new co-working spaces opening up, as well as many other hospitality businesses (cafes, restaurants, hotels etc.) that are able to take advantage of the foreign investments.
Other things that may improve in the longer run because of digital nomads is the infrastructure of the country, which benefits virtually anyone living in the country - think of better internet connections, better public transportation and better roads.
Social effects
Closely connected to the positive economic effects, there are social benefits that can arise too - where the local population is introduced to new skills, knowledge, different languages and foreign cultures.
Digital nomads often bring specialised knowledge and skills, and some of them share and engage in mentoring and teaching others. This in turn can help locals develop new and specialised knowledge, which will help them in finding better jobs.
Another pro is the promotion of rural and less well known places in a country. This depends of course on the country actively promoting these areas to digital nomads, but if done right, it can help these places flourish and bring new jobs and opportunities to them.
The Negatives
An influx of money is often a good thing, but if there’s too much too fast, it can lead to negative consequences also: higher prices for virtually all commodities in the market, such as rent prices and other good & services.
This might be okay for the digital nomads and expats living and working in a given location, but for locals, whose income most likely wasn’t as high to begin with, will strongly feel the inflation effects. And local incomes may not rise as fast as inflation does. This is happening for example in places such as Portugal and Spain, where rents have risen drastically, but national income levels have not been rising in the same proportion, pricing locals out of the market. This is obviously not only because of digital nomads, and can be attributed to the rising amount of tourists, but it does play a significant role.
Socially speaking, when digital nomads come into a country but don’t engage with the local population, an ‘ expat bubble’ may form and the positive effects of knowledge sharing is not taking place. This can lead to the two groups becoming alienated from each other, and resentment may build on both sides.
Is there such a thing as a ‘good’ digital nomad?
What is a ‘good’ digital nomad, really?
It might be one who respects the country’s culture and tradition, makes sure that they buy from local shops (and not big, international chains, for example) and try to integrate with the locals, by learning their language, for instance, and being respectful and open to their traditions and customs. They are, after all, merely a temporary guest, as they usually don’t stay longer than a few weeks or months.
As mentioned previously, a digital nomad that engages in knowledge and skill sharing, for instance by teaching or holding a talk, is something that can benefit locals as well.
A digital nomad’s perspective
My favourite thing to do: work from a specialty coffee place!
I myself, as a remote worker, obviously do take advantage of traveling to cheaper places to stay there for a few weeks to months, because traveling is my passion and I love exploring new cities and countries, and learning about their culture and traditions. I definitely consider myself fortunate to be able to do this and that I can work from virtually anywhere.
Therefore, with writing this blog post, I’m being a bit of a devils advocate to my own lifestyle. I’m coming to terms with asking myself if this lifestyle is ethical? Am I traveling responsibly? Is it fair that I earn more than the locals of the country I’m visiting?
At the end of the day, what I’m doing is engaging in lifestyle arbitrage (or sometimes also called “Geoarbitrage”), where I take advantage of the lower prices in another country, that allow me to have an improved lifestyle with my income and purchasing power.
In my honest opinion, I think anyone who is able to work remotely and travel while doing so, should go for it and do it. Of course, you should do it responsibly and always with the utmost respect to your hosts traditions and culture (I absolutely despise those people who travel to other countries and somehow think they are above the rules! ).
And ultimately, I think the positives I mentioned at the beginning, outweigh the cons. As long as you show respect, interest and appreciation to the country your visiting, I believe that it’s never a bad thing to travel.
What’s the way forward?
There’s no doubt that this is a complex societal and economic challenge we are facing in this day and age.
While the benefits of digital nomads to an economy are plenty, if not properly managed, it can also bring ruin to the locals, where spiralling prices can make a city unliveable for the local population (such as what happened in Lisbon) and the digital nomads living in their own little bubble, alienating themselves from the the very population of their host country.
I do strongly believe that ultimately, the positives outweigh the negatives, as long as there are policies and measures in place that can curb the issues that can arise with attracting digital nomads and remote workers.
For example, when implementing a digital nomad visa, countries need to make sure that they have enough housing available that could accommodate an influx of remote talent. A great example is Bangkok, where, even though prices have increased over the years, there are still plenty of housing options available across different budgets. Yes, there are expensive and luxurious condos, but you still have cheaper housing options, that are very decent too.
Another option is to promote rural areas or cities that have traditionally not been visited much by tourists. This can help ‘even out’ the strain on crowded and very popular (touristic) places. For instance, the city of Fukuoka in Japan is doing a lot to attract digital nomads (by organising this cool event for example), because cities such as Tokyo and Kyoto are already overrun with tourists. But there are so many other beautiful places in Japan, such as Fukuoka, that could benefit from money coming from tourism and digital nomads.
Conclusion
I often say I’m an optimist, but I really very much believe that the Digital Nomad lifestyle is a way to bring people and communities closer together.
Most digital nomads I know travel because they want to experience the culture, meet the local people and want to learn about them and their customs. It’s about having a open mind and a willingness to understand another culture and way of life. In the current climate of extreme polarisation, I think it’s more important than ever to have this open mindset, and to be curious and to want to understand.
This is the way forward for our society - bringing people, cultures and nations closer together ❤️
