In the Deepest Ocean
The Year as a Digital Nomad
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My amazing wife, Bec, and I have started an adventure this week for the year. We will travel the world (well, Asia and Europe planned so far) and live the Digital Nomad life. There are so many unknowns ahead of us that it is somewhat disconcerting to write about it, however there is also so much that excites me about the year ahead.
Digital Nomads are those who work via the Interwebs, using tech to do their job remotely in co-working spaces, apartments or coffee shops. ~Wikipedia
I plan to post regularly this year and share some of the things I have learned and some great cafes along the way.
FAQs
I have compiled a short FAQ list to get this all started and at the end I have a few links for how to keep in touch and follow along.
Where are we going & why?
We have only booked the first four months so far, our main region will be Europe but we are starting in South East Asia as we are scared of cold weather. First off (where I am now) is Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam — we have stayed here before in 2015 and loved the hectic but vibrant large city and the amazing food that abounds.
Our second stop is Chiang Mai in Thailand, after just four days staying there last year we know we wanted to make a longer trip work somehow. These two stops will be roughly five weeks each and then we have two short stops in Cambodia then London where we are there to see some great tourist sights. Once we get to mid-April, we will be staying at Split in Croatia and cannot wait to explore the amazing coast and old city there while working.
What will we do for coin?
Bec has been able to continue to work for the same company — a College in Brisbane, Australia — as a graphic designer four days a week this year. I have one day a week with the same organisation and a few regular consulting gigs lined up, seeking a few more throughout the year. Bec does graphic design and I do a mix of website/knowledge management, SEO, G-Suite (Google Apps) & software development. With this kind of work we are fully able to be productive the same anywhere in the world with good Internet. I am a big fan of the cloud computing world and am really excited to see how to use new software and technology while working from different places week to week. We also will not be living in expensive hotels or eating at expensive restaurants while we travel, our aim is to live simple and make meals in our apartment where possible.
Why Would We Leave Brisbane for So Long?
To be honest, no one has actually asked me this and all our friends and family have been so supportive, but I have surely asked myself this question a lot along the way. I love Brisbane — our hometown in Australia — and will really miss it while away this year, along with our Church, family and friends. However, since our first overseas trip in 2013 with Bec, we have wanted to travel more and more. We love exploring new places and do not tire of finding new cafes. It is incredible to be in other cultures and languages that are so different from where I have grown up. Working remotely makes this possible for a longer period of time, plus I can wear shorts to work.
Have You Got a Travel Agent | Round the World Ticket?
I had a friend ask me if we had a travel agent and I said yes — the best I in the world — my amazing wife. She is so good at trawling through endless Airbnbs, bookings.com, Agoda and Google Flight options to get the best price on what we want. I am so thankful that she is alongside me in all we do and could not imagine a world without her. In regards to tickets, we have elected to keep it less structured this year and we could not find a round the world ticket that would give us the freedom we needed.
Where Will We Work?
We always have our apartment — with internet speeds better than back in most in Australia — as our fallback place to work. We have intentionally booked places with slightly more space than just a bed and kitchen for that reason. This will be a learning curve, but mainly we plan to work from cafes and if needed we can hire spaces at local co-working locations.
Keeping in Touch
I can receive text messages to my mobile number but the best way is Telegram or mail@lb.ee.
I have started posting to Instagram again and of course follow along on my Medium publication.
Shameless plug. My website has some past projects info if you would be keen to get me to do some contract work — http://lb.ee/
Travel Dashboard
I have been mucking around the last few days with a new programming language (Elixir) and have put together a fun Travel Dashboard with some stats & info about our trip so far.
It is a basic work in progress but was fun to put together, let me know what else I should add.
Final Notes
I would love some feedback on this post (comment below), let me know what other questions you have and I will include some in future posts.
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