Maybe I don’t wanna be a Digital Nomad

Posted by mcsilly On May - 19 - 2009

Allow me to insert a more personal post on this Flashpacking Blog. It has to do with Flashpacking as well, of course.
The thing is.. maybe I don’t want to be a Digital Nomad. I know I am a nomad and that is not too likely to change, but maybe I want to be a slower, employed nomad instead of a digital one.

maybe it takes more effort...

There’s a lot of blogs and websites out there telling you how to “live your life making money online”:

How not to be location dependent; how to be an expert in social media, blogging, viral stuff, ebooks; how to be the ultimate digital nomad.

Many of them are very well done, and sure their authors make a very decent living out of it. But I’ve also seen a lot of bad ones, the “make a trillion online in a month” ones, where they show you proudly some Adsense receipt and ask you to give them your email address (if not also some of your money).

Well all this made me think that maybe a lot of what we see online is just a more advanced, refined version of the old crappy MLM and affiliate sites. I’m not saying this out of disillusion because I’ve tried and didn’t work for me. After all I’m living in a very affordable place at the moment (Budapest) and I’m making some little income. I could continue doing this is some place that I love and that’s even cheaper (like Thailand or Indonesia).

But as I’m trying to find out my next destination (and occupation) my thoughts go more or less like this:

I am a bit bored. It takes a lot of work, and it’s mainly work on your own: your laptop, you, and your virtual or real friends online for a chat even now and then.

If I have to spend 10 hours a day on my laptop on my own making little money (that can indeed allow me to live in some place), wouldn’t it be better then to spend only 8 hours a day in a company and make a lot more money (that would allow me to live anywhere I want)?

Then of course there’s the travel bug.

Indeed. Flashpacking around the word. Move from one destination to another, see and experience as much of you can of this old world. Well how about being a slow, employed nomad instead of a digital one? After all if you want to really get to know a place you have to live there, right? What better way to know a country than to really live there, work there, have friends and colleagues there? And then you can always use your holidays to see the neighboring countries.

In my case for example I’m thinking of moving to Singapore. Lovely place to start a new life, but quite expensive. A “real” job there would allow me to get to know the place a lot better than the impressions I had in my many visits there, and then.. well Thailand, Bali, Lombok, Vietnam, Philippines, you name it, just two hours away.

Does a more "normal" job (even an office) means less travelling?

Does a more "normal" job (even an office) mean less travelling?

Don’t take this as a personal rant against Digital Nomads or “live free and make money online” websites. After all that’s what how I’m making my income at the moment. Take it as an honest brainstorming aloud, me trying to decide my future, and at the same time sharing my thoughts and hoping for some input.

Some of the resources that helped me get to this point (I cannot call it a conclusion yet) are:

What all the “Get Rich” Blogs don’t tell you but what you should know

I think @ChristiaanH point there is actually that you should act rather than just read, but combined with other readings it remembered me how there’s definitely an incredible abundance of people telling you how to get rich online.

What Should I Do With My Life?

Some good and more practical answers from @JetSetCitizen to the usual Lifestyle Design stuff we read everyday.

8 Reasons Why You Should Work in a Foreign Country

From the same author. Probably that’s simply what I’d like to hear right now, but this post, especially point 3 (You can travel more) and 8 (Did I mention? You are in a foreign country!) sounds very convincing to me.

What do you think based on your experience?

Isn’t that ironic that my thoughts of not wanting to be a Digital Nomad anymore came from tweets and blogs, and that I’m now asking your opinion online?

Please share your thoughts (comments section below, twitter, contact form, any way is appreciated). I’m not asking your opinion to get this post popular or to get backlinks, I honestly think this (almost ex-)Digital Nomad here would need to hear more opinions before deciding what to do. Thanks a mill, fellow travellers, digital nomads and corporate employees out there.

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Flashpacking Philosophy

Kim

Great article. It seems like there is a very definite "us vs them" mentality in the travel bloggersphere and I have read some very pointed posts as to why LIP is the ONLY way to do things. Each person will have a method that suits them best. I like the structure of a job and knowing that my work happens when I'm at my desk and I can leave it behind when I'm on holiday (one LIPer commented that they had about 5 days in the last couple years of PROPER HOLIDAY ie not logging on and checking up). I am part of the infrastructure (I work in banking) that allows them to live in another part of the world to where they are paid and I "consume" some of their services. I'm not sure I'd do well as LIPer, but don't begrudge them their joy with their decision.

ps - If you're in SG drop me a line and perhaps we can connect.

facebook-659277041

Thanks for your candid post. I find the idea of a digital nomad attractive for all kinds of reasons but one: how much do the current work nomads, i.e. people who work for different international companies and work a couple of years here, then elsewhere, let alone real digital independent nomads contribute significantly to betterment of any place? Having worked in a global corporation and having spoken to people who never settle down anywhere, I have observed that such people barely ever develop a deeper engaged relationship with the place they currently work and live in. They usually don't care about what's going on in the place with environment, local politics, neighbours.... this sort of caring develops after some significant itme of being in one place. Think of how many G...ers in Dublin really cared about what was going on there outside of clubbing, pubs and some culture. I believe that if changes for better are to happen anywhere, you need a lot of engaged locals who feel for and know their place. With a bunch of disconnected international managers who usually just take and don't give back to the place they currently work in, no or little change is possible.

Cody McKibben

Good article! I look at it like this: you can be employed, you can freelance, you can be a business owner, but if your work is enabled by online tools and remote collaboration, then that puts the "digital" in digital nomad. Some people like to live abroad and teach English for example, for a year here and a year there. Some people like to remain constantly on the go, spending just a month or two in each destination. I'm an advocate of slow travel though, and I've been working on running my business from Bangkok for about 8 months now. I agree with you about getting to know a country better, and developing friends and colleagues wherever you choose to go. It makes this temporary place feel like home! :)

Thanks for a great article!

CathD

Hi Andrea,

Great to have these sorts of discussion, isn't it? And I love that you're willing to start the discussion from a place of uncertainty. I think we're all uncomfortable with uncertainty, so we grab for the first thing that looks like an answer. Yet we're living in a world with more info, change and uncertainty than ever before - I think being able to tolerate uncertainty (and feel happy in spite of not knowing), and giving up the attachment to the idea that there are right and wrong decisions - for me that's an important life (& happiness) skill in this era. And uncertainty is a breeding ground for great ideas and personal shifts, so stay there if you can...

My thoughts about your decisions and my own: you could be happy anywhere. Being bored/ lonely/ under-stimulated/ over-stimulated/ or whatever else is about who you're being, rather than what you're doing or where you're living. A lot of LIPs/ nomads think that moving to another country will bring them happiness. Happiness is just a feeling and you can create that anywhere.

Knowing that there's no wrong decision, and that you can be happy anywhere, what would you choose to do, and where would you choose to live... for now?

Thanks for sharing,

Cath

NuNomad

I couldn't agree more with this entry. In fact, one of the things we're passionate about at NuNomad is letting people know there are many ways to nomad the world. You do not have to have a web empire to fuel your spending. In the interviews I've done with nomads at our site I've tried to present a variety of people including trapeze artists, writers, film makers, biofuel enthusiasts, etc. all who are living a nomadic lifestyle. Personally, I do so as a professional executive and business coach. You are only limited by your own creativity!

Corbett Barr

Hi Andrea, this is a great post.

I completely agree that being a digital nomad isn't for everyone. It can be boring, as you pointed out, because you're often working alone. It's also hard work (especially in the beginning) to get online businesses set up and profitable. No one will be there to help you at each step along the way (although the 1000s of websites you mentioned will gladly offer advice, for a fee). The fact is that the majority of the "make money online" websites are indeed scams.

The broader point I like to talk about is lifestyle design. Flashpacking, being a digital nomad, and location independence are all different and unusual types of lifestyles. That doesn't mean they're for everyone. I much prefer living in one place for an extended period of time, so I can really settle in and get to know the culture.

What is for everyone is evaluating what you want from life, and not accepting the status quo lifestyle just because society wants you to. Creative people are finding ways to live an exciting life without accepting the usual rules.

Cheers,

-Corbett

TuxinBackpack

Cheers Corbett. I couldn't agree more on the importance of evaluating what one wants from life and being able to break the status quo, and to do that in the way that you really feel. Thanks for your input!

WildJunket

hey McSilly, you're thinking of moving to Singapore! Way to go! Fill me in on your plans. I might be leaving Singapore soon, but I sure will love to give u some tips ;)

TuxinBackpack

Hey Nellie, working on papers (EPEC) as we speak. Absolutely love Singapore, and this time want to come over to stay! Will def keep you posted. Thanks for stopping by!

Peter

I think it depends on what you are working on as a digital nomad. I could imagine, that as a software engineer you can get into smaller projects, earn quite well and live the nomad life.
Otherwise I am of course sad that things didn't work out in Budapest as you wanted...

TuxinBackpack

Thanks Peter. It will be indeed hard to leave Budapest now that the glorious weather has begun and the city is blooming so much.. unless of course the destination is even warmer :)

Technomadia

My advice? Don't worry so much about what the labels are that apply to you. Live your life how you want it, strike your own balance and don't worry if you don't exactly fit a definition or if the life you feel a calling to doesn't match the life you thought you were embarking on.

I think being a digital nomad (or 'technomad' as I prefer to refer to myself) doesn't mean you have to make your income online. It just refers to utilizing technology in your travels. Or maybe that's a distinction between digital nomad and technomad?

The work projects that my partner and I pick up range from being in a place for a while to be onsite, and doing work remotely. Some of it is more tech based than others, and very little of it is income derived from online social networking activities. We're nomadic by definition because we don't have a physical fixed home and we're mobile abled. And we're 'techno' because we use technology heavily in our mobility (and not just tech that keeps us online.)

- Cherie - http://www.technomadia.com
(@Technomadia on Twitter. We're Chris & Cherie - we're currently traveling, living, working and playing in the US via a small solar powered travel trailer).

TuxinBackpack

Thanks a lot Cherie. I'm definitely not worried by what label would apply to me, it's more a matter of should I go back to a "normal" job or not.. but being a geek and a traveller sure there's something else there that can be done apart from making your income online (which i'm finding a bit tiring, and preventing me from seeing things around me and from getting a tan,hehe) Good to know you guys found your way and are just doing that. Thanks for stopping by.

Miss Expatria

My heart goes out to you, first of all. Big decisions like this are, well, big, and it takes courage to open up the arguments portion to the general public. Right on.

When I first started this life I live now, I wanted to live in Rome and that was it. I convinced my bosses to let me go virtual, and I took the job with me to Rome. I did that with 2 corporate jobs total, and it worked out great. I also have a friend who just recently finished a year and a half in Berlin doing the same thing.

But I had to work on East Coast time, and there was always a part niggling at me when I would log off and know that there were still fires to be put out on the other side of the world for another few hours.

I stilll want to live in Rome (full time; now my base is in France). But... Barceloneta is so freaking cool. I wanted to stay in Levanzo when I was there earlier this month. Venice is my dream city. And, of course, I'lll always have Paris.

I tell you all this because, like you, I cannot decide where I want to make my base. I'm not a digital nomad, at least by my definition; I have a place i call my home, even if it changes every so often. But I know that I am not ready to "settle down" in any particular place because I still can't make up my mind.

People like us, I think, when they come to the kind of realization that you are now, have to think of the place first - and then make everything else fit that goal. I think that once we live this kind of life, no matter how much we think we want to "go back" to another kind of life, there is no going back.

Of course, on the other hand, it would be nice to visit a place and NOT be schlepping the laptop and needing to log in a couple times a day to check on things. But to sit in an office? To have to answer to bosses? To not be able to sleep in, or take a nap, or choose my own hours? Nah.

On the 19th hand, if you can find a great job with decent hours that lets you work from anywhere, and is full time with all the trimmings, FREAKING TAKE IT. But... job security is a thing of the past, and I think in this day and age you'll always be looking over your shoulder.

Rambling. Email me if you want to discuss in a way that's not rambling. LOL

TuxinBackpack

Thanks for your kind words. Opening up to the public was actually pretty easy, as I knew between my readers and twitter friends there are people like you, who have been there (or near) and can give great input to the deciding process.

From your words I get confirmation of what a girl I have never met before told me few days ago in Portugal: what's wrong with not having a life passion for a job or for a place? what's wrong in changing every now and then? And I do agree that for people like us it's difficult to decide where to make our base, and when it comes to the next destination we think of the place first. Singapore just keep popping in my mind, even if I don't know how I will make my living there yet. Very comforting also that job security is a thing of the past, as you can tell that's the least of my worries :)

Miss Expatria

I think at the very least, we have the luxury of plopping down for a few months somewhere and testing it out. Take advantage of it!

John Bardos

Greetings Andrea,

Thanks for the the mention in your post!

I think one thing that most of the “live free and make money online” websites don't mention is that being successful in an online business is also work. Sure it is possible to make a thousand or even thousands of dollars per month online, but your income is entirely dependent on how hard you work. Any internet business is also a job that you have to put in lots of hours if you want to start and continue making money.

The question is do you want a job in front of a computer screen or a traditional job in a foreign country? It is nice to be your own boss, but there are merits to getting a job while traveling as well. Working for a foreign company will let you learn far more about the culture and your co-workers than you ever could locked up in your apartment typing away on a computer. You will also meet people that can assist you in getting set up in the country. Also, for long term stay, employment is the often the only option for getting renewable visas.

I am an entrepreneur and believe in the merits of starting businesses but jobs are not always bad, especially if the job happens to be in a foreign country. My recommendation would be to do both. Get a job if you can and continue with your internet ventures.

All the best!

TuxinBackpack

Thanks a mill for your input John.

I admit that being "locked up in your apartment typing away on a computer" is what I'm doing at the moment rather than go and meet people here in Budapest.. What i was actually thinking for Singapore is exactly doing both things: "normal" job, that will allow me to know better people and culture, and still keep my blogs just for the passion.. imagine, I could even remove all ads when I have some other source of income, and blog only to share ideas.

So thanks for your recommendation. Highly appreciated!

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