reddit digital nomad Archives

Digital nomads are people who are location independent and use telecommunication technologies to perform their job. It is often used to describe people who are living or traveling abroad while working.

These people work remotely from foreign countries, coffee shops, public libraries, co-working spaces or recreational vehicles. They use wireless internet, smartphones and voice over internet protocol (VoIP) or cloud-based applications to keep in contact with clients and employers.

Digital nomads are usually young people and can be found working in industries including marketing, design, IT, writing, media, tutoring as well as consulting. There are several reasons why people want to be a digital nomad.

Maintains work-life balance
Helps enjoy the freedom
Allows you to travel
Avoids office politics and distractions of a traditional work environment
Gives you an opportunity for a flexible schedule
Provides flexible days off
Offers less stressful working environment
Freedom to live and work where ever you want
Eliminates the need for dressing up for work

The following are seven simple steps that will help you become a digital nomad

1. Reduce your expenses

If you are planning to travel the world and live as a digital nomad, the first thing you have to do is to reduce and eliminate as many of your expenses as possible. This includes things like gym memberships, subscriptions and any other additional debt obligations you may have.

One of the reasons for this is the expenses will weigh you down when you are on the road. Other reasons are if you are a digital nomad, you will have to keep your pack as light as possible.

So, you will have to get rid of junk and material things that may not serve an important purpose in your life. If you have to go weeks or months without a steady income, then you will be able to manage this difficult situation successfully.

You need to think about selling your car and moving all your stuff into storage of your rental home. Go through all your junk and do a garage sale. This will help you to simplify your life before heading out. You may not know when you will return from your journey;therefore it is important to do your best at the outset before you leave.

2. Decide on an ideal destination

You have to decide an ideal destination as a digital nomad. You need to plan about: where you will be going? What will be the cost of living in that destination? How much will it cost you to rent an apartment or eat out at a restaurant?

You need to decide not only the destination, but also prepare yourself a budget based on that destination. Also you can use numerous resources to decide the ideal destination as a nomad. You need to do broad research before setting out. This will help you get to know what you have in store for yourself.

3. Recognize your skills

You need to identify your skills that will enable you to work remotely and help you earn money online. In addition, you need to develop the right set of skills that you can use to work online. You should be able to type and use a computer as well as the internet.

Building your knowledge and skills from things you have studied or worked on in the past will help increase the chances of landing a higher-paying remote work.

You need to make sure that you have remote work skills to land a remote job. If you are a developer,then you need to look for jobs building the front or back end of websites. For native English speakers, teaching English online will be an ideal option.

Most digital nomads begin by finding remote work or freelance jobs that will allow them to start earning a small income. When you work from a vastly different time zone, you need to be flexible enough to work when you have the time and not constrain yourself to 9-to-5 hours.

Once you secure your first source of income, you must decide whether you will develop that income stream into a larger business or you will find several similar jobs to make more money.

4. Become a freelancer

After identifying your skills, you need to find a job. For this, you need to search through remote specific job sites. Currently there are lots of sites online that post only jobs that are remote or location independent. Most of these sites allow you to search by industry or skill.

5. Start to build your business

After becoming a freelancer; you can start building out your business. If your job is good, there will be no difficulty for you to get referrals for new clients. As a result your income streams will grow. In order to market your business and increase your reach and reputation, you need to create your own website and business cards.

As you are working from different parts of the globe, you need to schedule the work and gigs in the right time zones. A writer or a social media expert can build a marketing business that will help business and blogs to get larger audiences and more customers.

6. Set goals and plans

When you are living as a digital nomad, it is important to set goals and plans and follow through with them. You need to get really clear on what you want, where you want to go, how long you will stay and what will you do when you are there. And its also necessary to make a plan, get organized and have a to-do list.

You need to have backup plans as well or alternative passive income streams in case you fail at one path and want a safety net while you reset your plans. These plans should not only revolve around your income as a remote worker. You must address everyday aspects of healthy living such as healthcare, insurance and local laws and regulations.

As you are going to live in foreign countries, it is necessary to do some research to learn any new rules. You need to make sure that you have the right support in case you get sick or injured while exploring.

7. Be a part of digital nomad community

To be a digital nomad; you need to join a community. By joining the community, you will get access to a network of like-minded individuals. You need to communicate with others who are already living the digital nomad lifestyle, as their first-hand experience will help you not only in the planning stages, but also when you first arrive.

The community will allow you to learn new skills from other community members or help you get tips for working online or selecting a new home base. It will appreciate you when you make progress and lift you up if you encounter any difficulty along the way. Moreover, it helps you get the answers to the most pressing questions about living and working as a digital nomad.

Conclusion

If you want to be a digital nomad or become location independent, you need to start working toward that goal. This will help you to get started much faster than you think. With hard work, you can be a digital nomad in just a few weeks and have a full-fledged business in one or two years.

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