5 Things to Consider Before Becoming a Digital Nomad

The landscape of work has completely changed over the last decade. As connectivity has developed, the need for employees to be chained to the same desk five days a week is disappearing. Increasingly, time spent in permanent offices is more useful socially than it is logistically. This development has given rise to a new breed of worker: the digital nomad.

With the help of laptops and increasingly flexible working environments, digital nomads work remotely — whether as constantly moving travellers or as settled professionals who simply don’t like being tied down by an office. It is estimated that more than there are 4.8 million in the US alone, with the tech scene in particular populated by nomadic workers. It’s a new and arguably imperfect way of working, but the opportunities provided by a relaxation on what it means to work for a company are vast. We took a look at some of the problems and curiosities that digital nomads face in their working lives.

Using the Right Tech Is Vital

Technology has come so far that the old adage about being able to work ‘wherever there is a Wifi signal’ is no longer strictly true; 4G is sometimes faster and is available almost everywhere.

That being said, every digital nomad will know that getting your tools right is a key part of working remotely. The Google Suite, for example, is indispensable for anyone who works remotely but needs to regularly collaborate with disparate colleagues. Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Calendar — all of Google’s tools have been designed with collaboration in mind.

Slack, similarly, is perfect when a team is spread out across a number of different locations, catering for both watercooler chat and professional conversation. If you struggle to keep on top of all your responsibilities and tasks when you’re not in a room with your coworkers, Trello can help put everything in one place and can, crucially, also be shared across the whole team.

Life Can Get Lonely On the Road

As liberating and, in many ways, idyllic, a lifestyle as remote work sounds, there are a few key downsides to consider. One is loneliness. Fixed offices are inherently sociable places — for Gen Zers and millennials, 62% reported that they had made close friends at work. Digital nomads can miss out on this, often working solo and communicating with coworkers only over apps like Slack and Skype.

Freelancers have experienced loneliness since way before the invention of the laptop, though, and the lifestyle even suits some people’s style of working. There are a number of digital nomad communities popping up to provide support and advice from like-minded nomadic workers, too.

If you use your nomadic status as an opportunity to travel around as you work, then you encounter the same problems that perpetual travellers have always faced. For one, you will miss out on social and life events back home, and maintaining all your friendships remotely can be difficult. Equally, unless you share your experience with someone living the same lifestyle, you will often be alone on the road. Digital nomads who travel around will invariably tell you about the fear of missing out that comes with never being in one place for very long, and it’s certainly something to be aware of.

People Will Envy Your Life, but Not Understand It

For people who have been tied to a desk for most or all of their careers, the life of a digital nomad can be appealing. The ability to choose where (and, often, when) you work is a level of flexibility most people have never experienced. Your friends will be jealous of what appears to be a carefree and varied lifestyle, but will often be insensitive to the difficulties of it.

One of the most frustrating things both freelancers and digital nomads find is that people assume they are free all the time. Without set working hours or a set location, some people will look and see something that isn’t a ‘real job’, and will try and book you in for favours or social engagements even when you’re hard at work. Saying no can be difficult, but it’s important for all remote workers to make sure those around them understand that working as a nomad is far from being one extended holiday with the odd hour of work thrown in.

It’s a Wonderful Life

For all the frustrations and complications of life as a digital nomad, the benefits can make it an incredibly enriching way to work and live. For those that travel around, the lifestyle marries career advancement with exploration, while even those that stay in one city benefit from the unparalleled flexibility it offers.

In a recent MBO Partners State of Independence Research Brief, some 27% of ‘traditional’ US workers said that they might become digital nomads within the next two or three years, with 11% saying they actively planned to. Wages vary massively, as do the demographics making the lifestyle their own, but it is a trend that will only increase as technology improves to cater for it and those at the top become more comfortable with the idea. Whatever you think about technology’s blurring of the lines between private and professional life, the ability to work with almost unrestricted flexibility is an enticing, excitingly modern development.

You Will Need a Base

Unless you plan on relinquishing your worldly belongings and taking to the road, it is still vital that digital nomads have somewhere they can return to and use as a base. The lifestyle of travelling the world and working from hammocks in the sun just doesn’t apply to a lot of people who still classify as digital nomads — the experience is much more like travelling from coffee shop to coffee shop in search of better WiFi.

Nomadic employment no longer applies only to coders or copywriters — it is becoming a common work style for people across industries and at different stages in their careers. You may need to entertain clients and need an environment in which you can pitch ideas, or you might need somewhere quiet to get more technical work done.

To cater for a group that needs a base but also needs flexibility, coworking spaces have been popping up in tech hubs across the world. Primalbase is a good example of this — our token holders are entitled to access to any of our growing list of tech-focused coworking spaces. Whether our members find themselves in Amsterdam, London, Berlin (and soon to be New York and Singapore), they know they have a place they can use as a base for as long as they like. Stop in while you’re on your travels and check one out today.