What life as a digital nomad really means (and the surprising doors it opened)

For the last 3 years my wife Tamar Goren and I have lived life as "digital nomads". It is obviously a broad term (some estimates say circa 35 million such people exists but don't ask me how they are counted :-) but the core of it is that you can technically work from anywhere, whether for an employer or multiple clients.

In that process we have visited, lived in and worked from circa 70 cities around the world (with a heavy biased between Africa and Europe). And learned a lot about the reality of being a digital nomad, what it took to become one, what we wished we had known before and - perhaps more importantly - what surprising doors it opened. I hope you enjoy this share and find it useful. As with all my posts, remember it is a personal experience so take it as inspiration for your own journey rather than a absolute list :-)

To be clear: I differentiate a "digital nomad" from someone working from home or hybrid. The difference is quite substantial as you'll see below.

You're not on holiday

Perhaps the most difficult thing on a personal level is rembering that you're not on holiday. Usually when you go to a new place you spend a lot of time seeing the sights, visiting places and experiencing the magic of your destination often relatively quickly. You're literally surrounded by temptations. Let me paint the picture for you: imagine you're visiting the city of Rome for the first time and instead of doing all the breathtaking sightseeing you head to a coworking space to work. Over time you will see places etc but that's not the reason you are there and this is a mistake we did at the beginning (oh, I'll just work a little harder later or get up earlier... etc. Doable once in a while but not sustainable).

In some ways you actually see less overall than a tourists does, but you do get to go deeper into culture and events than a tourist would. You get to meet really interesting people, build friendships and hear their stories as they open up to you and trust you. It is an amazing experience. It is akin to seeing the colosseum in Rome vs spending a day with Romans in a park hearing the stories, understanding the culture, eating local food and just connecting. Both are wonderful, but the latter is unforgettable.

Planning for it

We didn't wake up one morning and decide it. We always knew we wanted to visit places and people around the world but weren't sure how to do it on a practical level and also from an affordability perspective (as we didn't know what the cost of life would be if you are constantly moving around). But we did set the intentions (I think we said sometime along the lines of "3 years from now we will start living everywhere"). Making a decision (with a rough timeline) made us start also to look at what we own (homes, fixed assets incl a hotel, furniture, clothes, etc) and start to free ourselves from it. We also started looking more at opportunities that fitted into a digital nomad's lifestyle: on a practical level - for example - it meant not taking on projects that required you to be physically somewhere). It is very much akin to the blue car syndrome: if you are thinking of buying a blue car you will start noticing blue cars everywhere. I kind of wish I had done this kind of focusing / channeling what I was seeking earlier on in life, regardless of the digital nomad adventure or not. Very powerful. Energetically you just start attracting more of what you seek and less of what you aren't prepared to do.

Learning to work on what really matters

Organising your time around tasks that can be done in specific circumstances become the real magic sauce. No matter how brilliant you are, you are out of your routine. At home you have a car, gym, friends, routines, shops etc that you don't even think about anymore. Living as we do it is inevitable that you will have more distractions, no matter how hard you try. I get around this by organising my tasks, projects and to dos according to the working environment I have around me. Using something as simple as a free Trello account, everything I have to do or am working on is categorised around whether I am on the road, in the bus, at my coworking desk, in a train, at home, etc. So for example, let's say I need to read things, I keep that for when I am on the train or bus. If I need to make calls I try and keep it for when I am walking in nature (I literally have a schedule of calls to make, as I walk with a headset), etc. That way my work is categorised according to my working environment.

Networking

This one was an interesting one and it kind of depends on you and your work. At home one tends to be known and have a reputation and network you can access, which almost disappears when you start going to live in new places where you do not know anyone. There are two types of networks you need:

• The practical (do you know where I can find help to do something) guidance network for everyday life. This is easy to achieve by being friendly, smiling and just being nice. The more "out"of a major city you are the more friendly the people are. It is always a tad daunting (for a day or two) when you go to a small village cafe' at first as you're the odd one out, but after 3-4 visits you're part of the community. So just be patient. People are so kind and friendly overall it is astounding. It will restore faith in people, especially when you go outside big cities.
• The strategic/working networking. This took some getting used to. I have the fortune of having built a reasonable reputation in some areas which when you move to new cultures is literally gone. Surprisingly it wasn't as big a deal as I thought it was. It does mean it takes a little more time to find the right people and resources to approach, but it also heralds a whole new set of opportunities that maybe you didn't get to because you were associated with another role and expertise field. This is specifically to me, but I found reaching out on linkedin to people enormously powerful. I met some incredible individuals, some of which we even did projects together. Reaching out can be as simple as "I saw you're involved in project X. That's something I'm really interested in as I was involved in a similar initiative back in the days. I just moved here and - project aside - always happy to meet new people. If you have time for a coffee one of these days let me know".

Security and safety

Everything we own fits in 2 suitcases. All our data is backed up and heavily secured and we have digital copies of everything. So far we have been lucky but if someone were to take our stuff so be it: it's just stuff. A little inconvenience and you're back on track. On a physical safety side, no matter how safe the country or city you always feel a little out of place at first. That's normal. Just keep your eyes open and use common sense.

Asking yourself what matters to you

I think this was the most amazing part of our journey. It is so easy to fall into a routine... work, home, gym, kids, friends, usual places you go to, etc. Not that routine is necessarily bad, it is just that it - at least for us - doesn't really allow us to grow as individuals. This journey has not always been easy or comfortable, but we have grown so much. We learned more about who we are, what really matters (possessions are now just that - things), what a "home" really means, how to be more effective and efficient and learning to adapt. We stayed in tiny places and big places. Some in better conditions than others. Some brilliantly located and some more in the countryside. Instead of complaining that it would take 2 hours to get to shops and back from the countryside you adapt and use that time to have amazing chats with your partner, listen to podcasts, make calls and catch-up with old friends and colleagues. You also get perspective in the bucketloads: suddenly what felt was so important when you lived in one place is almost ridiculously unimportant. You quickly learn that the world is so beautiful and full of amazing people and place, irrespective of wealth and sophistication.

Expenses

At the beginning we were spending more than we did at home because we didn't understand that we weren't on holiday. After a while that changed. Overall food costs are the same as at home. Rental expenses are roughly the same with a caveat: we often use housesitting offerings (someone has a house they need someone to look after for 2-3 months, sometime with pets). So you get a home for free. But you do have to stock up on things so you end up spending more.

As part of our becoming more sustainable in our life, we decided not to get a car. Sometime it is really annonying, but 85% of the time we love it. This has reduced our expenses enormously ( I underestimated how much budget a car takes from your income... incl fuel, maintenance, etc). We now use public transport which has made us consume much more podcasts, etc which increased our personal and professional growth tremendously. In an age of "getting there quickly" slowing down can bring enormous opportunities to learn, think, brainstorm etc. As Amazon founder Jeff Bezos suggests, do not underestimate the power of loitering!

Logistics

This oddly enough was the biggest 'challenge', especially when considering that:

1. We decided to be environmentally conscious and not use a car (for the record: we do sometime rent for the occasional logistic solution, but it is once every 3-4 months). For the most part our transport is bus, trains and walking (a LOT... many of my meetings are done while I am walking).
2. We do not know the public transport systems of the places we live in. This takes some getting used to. Some cities and areas are well organised and some are haphazardously organised.

Moving home (every few months - sometime after 2 months and sometime after 6 months) by public transport means we need to be really lean with what we carry with us (right now literally 2 large suitcases on wheels and two big rucksacks). That makes us buy less and has a big impact on our monthly expenses (as a side benefit).

Trains are an absolute pleasure. Getting used to the bus transport system takes some getting used to and by the time we are used to it we change city :-) . It isn't ideal but you work around it. Sometime it is just a mental shift... instead of thinking "by car it would take me 20 mins but by bus - incl walking and waiting - it would take me 1h" we think of the longer bus journey as an opportunity to catch up on podcasts, courses, etc.

Having a home

This is such an subjective view but in our case not having a permanent own home made us realise a few things:

• Home (for personal use) are a major financial drain once you factor in not just maintenance, security, taxes, etc but also the fact that you have space much you buy more things for your home.
• Staying (or renting) other places reduced the time we spend on home maintenance and support. The plumbing issue or roof problem is now the landlord's and not yours. Do not underestimate how much time you invest in your home.
• Not having your own home makes you much more open to embracing new opportunities. Want to and live in a new region? No problem (at least not the ones you would have if you had a permanent home).

There are moments when we wish we did have a home. Something really small that we can lock up things (think summer and winter clothes, memories, etc).

But on the whole we absolutely love not being tied to one place. This of course might change over time... but living in the now is such a pleasant experience :-)

Having a place to work from

How you work shapes the environment you need. I personally love semi noisy environments (coffee shops, coworking spaces, etc) so moving around is easy. For someone who needs 2 screens etc this might be a challenge. Coworking spaces are thriving around the world (e.g. In Rome, the coworking chain space Talent Garden offers for as little as EUR 30 a month a seat). In smaller towns the coffee shops usually are quite ok with you working outside peak hours. I wish more restaurants would allow people to use their spaces outside of meal hours.

Family

We don't have children so we live the life reasonably selfishlessly. You have to decide how to live but if your kids are out of the house go and have the life you want! What we do miss a bit is seeing old friends and family that is in one place. The more you travel the more interesting the world becomes so going back to where you used to live isn't that appealing other than seeing the friends.

One interesting challenge has been when friends and family comes to visit you. Wonderful but you really need to remind them that you are actually working and not available all the time. Sounds simple but it proved quite a challenge! Best advice? Let them do their own thing and meet evenings and weekends or your productivity will go down the drain.

Perspectives

You know when you read an interesting book, listen to an amazing lecture or discover a new way of doing things and then come back to your life and see your world with new perspective?

Being a digital nomad is that on steroids.

You are CONSTANTLY stimulated. It does take time to get used to not having a classic routine. I think Tamar and I really found our gears after circa 1.5 years in the lifestyle... as your portfolio of experiences increases you understand better how to find things, settle in, open networks, what infrastructure you need and what makes you happy (e.g. for us we love living in nature and try to steer clear of large cities). Internet on the whole hasn't been a major issue (aside from one or two places).

Once you find your rythm be warned that it will be really difficult to go back to your old self. You will have grown so much - for yourself and how you interact with the world - that going back to the old friends will be challenging experience in the same way that two tennis players who played with each other for years feel when one goes away to a training camp and comes back to play with their old patner, only now armed with more perspectives. That's not a statement of judgement but just one that comes naturally when one has accumulated more experiences and perspectives.

Concluding words...

If you're a person who is excited about this big crazy beautiful world then this lifestyle is made for you. It isn't always smooth or easy in the same way enrolling in a really awesome course isn't. As our friend Jonti often says: real growth is never easy or pleasant.

If you see this experience as an opportunity for growth you will absolutely love it.

How to start...

1. Nothing is set in stone for life. You can dip your feet into the lifestyle and try it out (at least 2 years is my advice otherwise you'll quit after a few months).
2. Start planning for it at least 2-3 years before you make the jump (unless you have already the skills and opportunities) to work
3. Get the relevant permissions (digital nomad visas if required which are easier today).
4. Don't keep a home AND do the lifestyle. It will be double costs and will exhaust you financially.
5. Start in your home country perhaps... we did it for a few months and loved it as there was a degree of cultural familiarity in the travels etc which allowed us to get used to the new temperature and mobility :-)
6. Find the jobs you'll need BEFORE you jump into the lifestyle. I didn't. It worked out but I would do it differently.
7. See this as an adventure and make memories.
8. Keep a photo diary (we use google photos to share our travels with friends as we don't like social media tools like IG, FB etc.). If you want to get a sense of our adventure just send me a message and I will gladly share the link :-)
9. If you lack the skills to be a digital nomad then maybe rethink what skills you need. Digital nomads are virtual assistants, trainers, administrators, etc. You can also work on ships if you want to see the world (eg https://career.costacrociere.it/ with lots of jobs, for artists to functional staff).
10. But most importantly: FIND YOUR OWN path. This article is here to serve as inspiration and not a how to guide. It is to remind you that we live in an exciting world full of opportunities.

Yours

York