What they didn’t tell you about being a digital nomad.
A quick round up of difficulties faced during my 3 month test run into digital nomadism.
We are all witnesses to the rise of the digital nomad as a lifestyle choice. Every thing I read makes it sound amazing. Travel the world working on a laptop and living out of a backpack for as long as one pleases. There’s a huge amount of articles out there romanticising the beauty of being a digital nomad. After immersing myself into living like a nomad (in Nepal, Chiang Mai & Bali) I feel they aren’t telling the whole story. Based on my experience heres what they so conveniently left out.
Wifi.
Wifi is not as abundant as you would like it to be. Depending on where you are its pretty difficult to find a stable let alone fast connection. If your experience was anything like mine you will most likely spend an annoying amount of time trying to find a wifi network that keeps you online and has a decent down/upload speed. Keep in mind the time it takes to travel to the coffee shop only to be welcomed by non functioning wifi. This has happened multiple times during my first three months especially when finding your bearings in a new space. And although we are starting to share more information about great coffee shops to work on nomad blogs and foursquare. Believe me, they are no indication that essentials like wifi will work.
Its you and the students.
it only makes sense that the places in a city or town that you can get work done is going to be swamped by the classic demographic of those in need of good coffee and fast internet, students. This was most apparent in Chiang Mai & Bangkok. Coffee shops or cheap coworking spaces where impossible to get work done with the swarms of nervous talkative students. To be fair, I don’t have the latest noice-cancelling earphones but dont think that should be a necessity in being able to get work done. Pretty sure most nomads encounter this and its frustrating to once again lose time trying to hunt down a more quiet spot. Again, its not a bad thing but definitely an inconvenience that I’ve never heard mentioned.
Damn you foursquare.
Its hard to focus on work when eating out 3 times a day seems like a normal thing to do on the road. This is probably due to my inexperience living like a nomad but had to learn to control my urges when it came to cheap (amazing) food. Asia makes it all too easy to spend a few bucks on amazing dishes. Believe it or not this can deter you from work. Food becomes an amazing distraction. At one point I probably spent three and a half hours daily in restaurants. I’ve been able to limit myself to two meals lately which thankfully meant a rise in productive time.
(** And on a sidenote my foursquare hate is actually love. Its been an indispensable tool in finding the great spots in each location!)
Coworking prices.
The ideal working situation is the quiet working environment in a coworking space. Since its catered to the growing nomad community some charge ridiculous prices. For example one I visited in Bali which cost 5$ an hour?! Thats what a good meal costs here. Its ridiculous. Totally defeats the purpose of a coworking space and automatically makes it a non issue for me. Thanks but no thanks. Renting a desk at a coworking space shouldn’t be more expensive than the guesthouse you’re staying in.
8 Hour Days?
I don’t doubt that there are those that get 8 hour plus days as nomads. Got a lot of admiration for them because I don’t see how you could consistently clock in that much time with the inconsistencies found in being a digital nomad. Unless of course you limit yourself to the best coworking spaces in each city and don’t have to deal with the wifi, students, unstable internet and alike. And even then my experience has been that each individual takes a week to get into a routine. Making those that travel from place to place each month prone to the unproductive weeks that come with relocating to another location and getting settled.
These have been the downsides in my last three months working from Kathmandu, Chiang Mai and finally Canggu in Bali. What I’ve taken away from this is that I worked best in Bali where my Homestay room and garden was big enough to comfortably work in. This takes away the constant struggle to find a decent workspace and allows me to leave for food or surfing and get back to the room to get work done.
I’m curious to hear what your experience has been and it would be refreshing if articles about nomadism didn’t sugar coat everything and mentioned the downsides as well as the amazing sense of freedom and vitality that comes with it.
In conclusion, this isn’t meant to bash a lifestyle that I really love. Its just me expressing personal difficulties and understanding how I can overcome them to reach a level of productivity I had working at a desk in an office all day.
