Is The Digital Nomad Lifestyle Sustainable for the Long Haul?
For many people, the Digital Nomad Lifestyle is, or would be, a dream come true. Picture yourself working on the beach sipping a fresh coconut, meeting fun and likeminded people and having the freedom to do your job the way you want to and not stuck in some 9 to 5 office.
In this blog post I want to contemplate what it means to live this lifestyle in the long term - are we able to live like nomads all our lives? I want to share my own perspective and experiences as well on this topic.
At the end of the blog post, I want to share what I think is the best solution - keep reading to discover what that is 😉.
Livin la vida loca aka digital nomad lifestyle
But first, what exactly is a “Digital Nomad Lifestyle”?
If you are a digital nomad, you can do your work remotely and from anywhere basically, as long as you have a laptop and an internet connection. This could mean that you work for a company that allows for remote working, or it may be that you have your own business.
Digital Nomad’s are technically always on the move and usually base themselves in a (often cheaper) country, that is not their home country, for several months, before moving on to their next destination.
Some digital nomad hotspots are Thailand, Bali, Colombia, Mexico, Spain and Bulgaria, just to name a few. A lot of countries, seeing the benefits of this kind of work brings to their country, have started offering Digital Nomad Visa’s. In fact, this is a growing trend, and more and more countries are offering this kind of visa to digital nomads, since this lifestyle is on the rise, see also this Harvard Business Review article.
The good & the bad
What’s so amazing about the DN lifestyle
Obviously, this lifestyle sounds very exciting and it is definitely an amazing way of life. Because of the freedom and flexibility of your work situation, you are free to work from anywhere, whether this is on the beach or up in the mountain - as long as you have a stable internet connection and can do your work, you’re good to go.
It’s not only the traveling that makes this lifestyle and good deal - it’s also the flexibility and the freedom to do your work whenever you feel most productive and are not tied to a fixed 9 to 5 corporate working life.
This whole package makes for a enriching life experience that will probably open boundless possibilities later in life too. You meet other likeminded people during your travels and experience new cultures that an office job could never give you.
…and the ugly
It’s not all sunshine, unicorns and rainbows of course. There are some difficult aspects to this kind of lifestyle too. For instance, the constant moving around is tiring after a while as it’s difficult to establish a routine.
You’re basically living out of a suitcase all the time, and this can be mentally draining and exhausting.
What’s more, is that it’s quite hard to make lasting and meaningful connections with others because everyone is always constantly traveling and is either arriving or leaving. You’re also often far away from your family and friends from home, which can make life on the road quite lonely at times.
And then you of course have all the practical downsides, such as not finding decent internet connection, not having a good and ergonomic workspace and being distracted by whatever beautiful location you’re currently at (but that’s not really a downside 😜).
💡 Read my blog post on remote working challenges and how to overcome them.
Is it sustainable in the long run?
There’s no yes or no answer to this question: it really just depends on what kind of person you are and what you value in your life.
Some people love the freedom and the excitement to travel constantly and experience new things. They are able to deal with that level of ambiguity, whereas other people have the need to establish a routine at some point.
Some people may find it hard to constantly adapt to a new rhythm and environment, while others may thrive in this kind of setting.
As you get older, I do find that you do start to value some more consistency in your life, especially with friends and family, after all, that’s just being human. But everyone is different and whether the digital nomad lifestyle is sustainable for you in the long haul is entirely up to you.
My own experience
I can share some of my own experiences of living life as a full-time digital nomad.
It was the year 2016 and I gleefully jetted off to start my own digital nomad adventure. For a year I traveled with my partner across South East Asia while working as a freelancer. Even though I absolutely loved the experience, I thought after a while that the constant travel was quite exhausting.
I returned to my home country in 2017 and decided to stop traveling as a digital nomad, at least full-time (read this blog post for more on why I’ve done that). The ‘constant living out of a suitcase’ part was a big factor, although there were also some other factors that came into play, like not having a stable job, which made the situation a bit more stressful for me.
Remote working is here to stay
Whilst the digital nomad lifestyle may not be a sustainable way of life for everyone; we do know for a fact, however, that remote working is here to stay. Like it or not, companies need to adapt to this new way of working, which benefits so many people out there. 98% of people will want to work from home at least some of the time, according to this Forbes articles.
Companies are already adapting to this new normal with more and more organisations offering remote work as well as policies to be able to work from a different country for at least a few weeks a year.
With the rise of more and more remote jobs available, it means that more people will have a chance to become some sort of a digital nomad if they want to, which is exciting!
The Rise of Part-Time Digital Nomading
Everyone is different and has different preferences, but I think I’ve found a perfect balance for my own life that I think offers the best of both worlds.
I like to call what I do Part-time Digital Nomading.
For me this means having a home base in your country of choice (which could be either your home country or a different one), and traveling for 2 to 4 months a year. Personally, I think the sweet spot if 2-4 months a year, but obviously, if you want you can also go away for 6 months - it’s all up to you!
I believe this really is the best combination: you have a home base, meaning you have that level of ‘safety’ of having your own place, friends and maybe family close by. Yet you still have the possibility to travel a few months a year to satisfy your thirst for adventure!
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I hope this article has been somewhat enlightening when it comes to the digital nomad lifestyle and if it’s sustainable for the long haul. In the end, it all comes down to your own preferences of course - and in this article, I also wanted was to share some of my own experiences so far.
If you have any questions on this topic, feel free to drop me a comment below!
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