A lot of people romanticize the idea of being a digital nomad, and in many ways, it can seem like a dream. After all, who wouldn’t love to travel the world working from their laptop on the beach sipping Mai Tais?
That’s not exactly what life as a digital nomad is really like, however. It takes a lot of planning to be able to live and work as a nomad, and if you’ve never traveled for long periods, you have to be ready for the challenges that come with being away from home for a long time. Let’s take a look at whether you’re truly ready to become a digital nomad.
Do You Have Enough Money for Emergencies?
Before you leave, you should make sure that you have enough money to cover at least six months of living expenses wherever you will be living. You don’t need that much to survive, but this will take away a lot of the stress that comes with keeping or finding work in a foreign location.
How About Homesickness?
You may not assume that you’ll get homesick, but you can’t go based on assumptions when deciding on something as important as living nomadically. If this is your first time around, it would be a good idea to go on a prolonged trip alone first. Make it at least two weeks and see how you feel. If you instantly get sad and feel the need to call friends every day, then you might have trouble making it as a digital nomad.
Have You Arranged for Logistics?
If you’re running a small business, you still have to account for your domestic clients and be able to attend to them. You will also have to coordinate things like meetings with other members of your team who may still be at home, and things like mail as well.
Managing mail can be a headache if your home address and business address are the same. This is why it could be a good idea to start looking at an online mail address. A virtual home address like the ones you can get from https://physicaladdress.com/ will allow you to manage, read, and discard any mail that you get from your laptop or mobile from anywhere on the globe. This will greatly facilitate your work and make you look more stable as a business, which will benefit you.
Have You Done Enough Research on the Area(s) You’re Thinking of Visiting?
You need to plan your itinerary well in advance before leaving as you don’t know whether or not you’ll run into trouble trying to get to or work in a country. You also have to know how difficult or easy it will be to move from one country to the next.
Some countries may require that you give them a full rundown of the places you intend to visit, for instance. Some countries will have long procedures for people who want to work independently, while others will have rules limiting how long you can stay. Some of these countries may force you to leave after your time is up while others will allow you to renew your visa easily. These are all things you have to know before you leave.
Only once you’ve answered all of these questions will you be able to tell if you were made to be a nomad or not. Try to get as many accounts as possible from people who are living this lifestyle, learn as much as you can about the obstacles you might have to face, and try testing the waters first so you can get a real idea of whether you’re ready to make the jump.
