Frequently Asked Questions about My Digital Nomad Life
My lifestyle is different from the norm and people tend to have a lot of questions about it. If it weren’t for other digital nomads before me successfully and sustainably living this lifestyle and writing about it online, I don’t think I would have even thought it was possible to become a digital nomad. (For example, Gigi Griffis wrote the incredibly comprehensive post ‘Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about My Digital Nomad Life’ that inspired me to write this very post.)
So now it’s my turn to answer some Frequently Asked Questions about my lifestyle for those who are simply curious as well as those who want to follow in my footsteps.
Contents
Love & Community
How are you planning to meet a nice Jewish boy?
Do you get lonely?
Health
What about health insurance and healthcare?
Money & Work
How do you make money?
Are you just constantly on vacation?
How do you stay focused?
The Logistics of Being a Digital Nomad
When are you coming home?
How much stuff do you travel with? (And how do you live with having so little??)
How can I do what you do?
Travel
What are your favorite places you’ve traveled to?
How do you decide where to go next?
What destinations are on your wishlist?
Is it safe traveling as a woman alone?
How do you get by without speaking the local language?
Love & Community
How are you planning to meet a nice Jewish boy?
I don’t know! I’m not worried about it and you shouldn’t be either.
As for dating in general, it is hard while living a location independent lifestyle. But I reckon people struggle with the dating game no matter where they live or what they’re doing.
Related:
What I’ve Learned About Sex and Romance from Travel
We Need to Talk about Tinder (a 2013 gem from when the app first came out)
Do you get lonely?
I’ve experienced loneliness while traveling and living abroad in the past so I try to be intentional about where I go and where I stay.
For example, in Koh Tao, I chose to live in a private room in a hostel. In Chiang Mai, I stayed in a coworking and co-living environment. In Sri Lanka, I traveled in a group of other digital nomads.
Social interaction and the larger feeling of being part of a community are essential to staying mentally healthy for me.
Similar to the dating thing, I think loneliness is something people struggle with whether they’re a digital nomad or living a more traditional, stationary lifestyle.
A social problem I’ve encountered that is unique to being a digital nomad is the fatigue of constantly having to say goodbye. It can be painful to connect with people and create a social circle and inevitably have to say goodbye, over and over. Even if I stay, my nomad friends will leave eventually. This is hard.
Health
What about health insurance and healthcare?
I was insured under a plan from the ACA when I was living and freelancing in the States. For the first two years of digital nomading abroad, I forewent health insurance. I simply paid out of pocket for any healthcare expenses both abroad or while in the States visiting.
I calculated and I spent approximately $1130 for healthcare needs, including dental and vision, in 2018 between Thailand and the US.
In 2020, I got Cigna Global health insurance.
Related:
International health insurance for digital nomads: Comparing the best plans
Tools to manage your mental health while traveling
Money & Work
I don’t get it – How do you make money?
My main source of income is my freelance work. I am a content marketing strategist and copywriter; this means I strategize and write/create content and copy for businesses to help them generate more leads and sales online.
I also make a few pennies here and there through my blog (yes, this one), mainly through affiliate marketing. I link to brands and businesses I have used and loved and if my readers buy something through my link, I get a small commission at no extra cost to them.
Related:
How I Made $5k in My Fourth Month as a Freelance Writer
Seems like you spend a lot of time at the beach though. Are you just constantly on vacation?
No, no, no NO. The first year I started freelancing, I had to make a concerted effort to plan a vacation from work. Otherwise, I was basically working 9-to-5, if not more. When you have a lot of projects on or are hustling really hard as a freelancer, you may find your work bleeds into everything you do. It’s hard to escape it or to manage your time when there’s no one overseeing you and you can do work from your couch in your pajamas if you want. It’s honestly not very healthy.
Once I moved to Thailand, I endeavored to have more balance in my lifestyle. And I was able to do this since the cost of living was relatively low and I had saved up an emergency fund that took some of the financial stress away. I followed the natural ebb and flow of my projects and worked when I needed to and had deadlines and otherwise spent time hiking, snorkeling, tanning, hanging out with friends, living my life etc.
Overall, as time has gone on, the meaning of ‘work’ and ‘vacation’ have simply changed for me. There isn’t as much of a line of demarcation. I seek to balance work and leisure in my everyday life and find when I do that, I don’t crave a vacation the way I have in the past when I’ve worked more traditional jobs.
View this post on Instagram
How do you stay focused?
Oh I’m the worst procrastinator. (Just see my post the 7 Habits of Highly Unproductive Freelancers to see what I mean.)
Otherwise, the external motivation of knowing you’re getting paid to do a project helps. Deadlines help. Also caffeine sometimes.
The Logistics of Being a Digital Nomad
When are you coming home?
I don’t currently have any plans to move back to the States. Of course that doesn’t mean it will never happen. For now, this is the lifestyle I’ve chosen. I love visiting the States though.
Reflecting on 10 Months Abroad and Leaving Koh Tao
How much stuff do you travel with? (And how do you live with having so little??)
I travel with a carry-on sized bag for overhead storage (either rolling suitcase or backpack depending on where I am in the world) and backpack/satchel for under-the-seat storage. Sometimes I check the bigger bag anyway because I don’t like carrying only 3 oz bottles of liquids. It’s annoying.
In terms of living with less, I suppose what I have is the equivalent of a capsule wardrobe. It makes my life easier to not have a ton of choices of what to wear on a daily basis. That said, I tend to enjoy replacing items or buying new little things like earrings or nail polish every now and then to spice things up. (I can get very sick of my clothes and feel the need to express myself differently as time goes on.)
I am lucky and grateful to have access to my parents’ house in my hometown of Atlanta. I still keep lots of stuff I’m not currently using there (e.g. all my winter clothing when I’m in tropical places).
Related:
How can I do what you do?
Oh man, this is a tough one. There is no one path to successfully becoming a digital nomad. And honestly, from what I can tell, most people who attempt it either give up or aren’t really making enough money to live comfortably. That said, here is the skeleton of advice I would give to someone who wants to travel and work from their laptop:
- Do NOT quit your day job. Start your digital nomad business on the side and get it up and running smoothly before moving abroad.
- Explore all the options to work online and travel. For example, there’s freelancing (writing, web development, social media, virtual assistant, and more…), teaching English online, Amazon FBA whatever that is, having a full-time remote job…
- Grow emergency savings. I recommend putting away 6 months of emergency savings in case it all goes to shit.
Related:
7 Things I Wish I Knew Before Becoming a Digital Nomad (my guest post on the Digital Nomad Society blog)
Lessons I’ve Learned After 2 Years As a Digital Nomad
Travel
What are your favorite places you’ve traveled to?
This list of my top 5 favorite places I’ve traveled to is still pretty accurate. Also Japan.
How do you decide where to go next?
I’m not naturally inclined to be very nomadic honestly. I’m more interested in staying somewhere for a long period of time. That said, I consider the following when deciding where to go:
- Weather – I tend to prefer warm, tropical weather.
- Beach – I feel very at home on islands.
- Cost of living – I look for a low cost of living so I can save or spend my money elsewhere besides on accommodation, food, and transport.
- Community – Even if I can’t be around other digital nomads, I prefer for there to be some sort of backpackery community around so I can make friends and not be lonely and sad.
What destinations are on your wishlist?
Here’s a rough list in some sort of order…
To live:
- Lisbon
- Mexico/the Caribbean
- The Canary Islands
- Tel Aviv
- Sardinia
- Greece
To holiday:
- Hawaii
- Italy
- Puerto Rico
- Costa Rica
- Dominican Republic
- Jordan
- Kyrgyzstan
- Cuba
- Philippines
- Croatia and Slovenia
- Bhutan
Places I want to go back to
Is it safe traveling as a woman alone?
I think it depends on where you are. So far, the only place I’ve felt extremely unsafe as a woman traveling solo has been India. I anticipated Sri Lanka might be similar and made sure to travel in a group. It’s good to know your tolerance for risk (mine is quite low) as some women have traveled through India solo and thought nothing of it, while I left India altogether because I didn’t want to be alone there.
Of all the places I’ve been in the world, I’ve felt the safest on my own in Southeast Asia and specifically in Thailand. Like safer than I feel in most parts of the US.
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How do you get by without speaking the local language?
I’ve been based in Thailand for the majority of my time as a digital nomad. I have some basic Thai under my belt – words I picked up during my teaching days and then some. You could probably do just fine living in Thailand without Thai though as most people speak some English and are extremely kind and helpful if you ask.
I can’t even think of where the language barrier was really difficult, though I’m sure I must’ve struggled somewhere in the world! I am grateful to be a native English speaker as this is a pretty universal language.
