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) 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.

When traveling around – especially if in a country where you don’t speak the language – it’s easy to end up chatting to people who speak your language. Quite often they are visitors like you (doesn’t matter if flashpackers, backpackers or honeymooners) or foreigners that live there, expats.

While visitors, especially tourists, are often over excited about the place and can’t wait to share their fantastic experiences with you (oh, you must absolutely do that!), expats are more relaxed and often not too bothered to talk to yet another visitor like you.

So keeping in mind that talking to the locals would be the ideal solution to get to know more of a culture, here are the 10 reasons why expats are a better chat than tourists while traveling:

1. Expats just know more about the place, in any aspect. Simple and straightforward: they’ve been there way longer than any temporary visitor.

2. They’re not afraid to criticise some aspects of the culture so can be more objective regarding the place. They’re no longer super-excited to be there and looking only at the good things.

3. Their contact with the culture it’s just real. It comes from everyday life, not guidebooks. No other way to put it.

4. Expats can give you tips on off the beaten track. Whether a bar, a temple, shop, etc., including where to get real good local food (at local prices). Not just touristic spots.

5. They can translate and teach you some words in the local language. Not simply “where is the station” but more everyday (often slang) sentences, that will help you to connect more.

6. They know and can teach you how to “survive” being a foreigner there. Depending on the place, how to avoid scams, places that pretend to be real but are just for tourists or simply how to fill an application.

7. They can be introduce you to their local friends. That way you can end up at a local party or event, join a new network, see a part of life there that would have never seen as a visitor.

8. Expats know what’s the real price for everything you’d like to buy. They live there after all.

9. They can tell you how to relate, be friendly and respectful to the people living there.

10. Expats can give more insight on a country. They are familiar with local news: a minister arrested for corruption, a tourist attacked there, a traditional festival coming up.

So what do you think? Any reason to add, or any reason why visitors are a better chat than expats?