Being a digital nomad traveling the world and working from anywhere is a great life, but there are certain mistakes you will want to avoid! Get it right and being a digital nomad can be a very rewarding, fun, and fulfilling experience. Below are 10 tips to help you avoid these common mistakes.
Table of Contents
1. Over-Traveling as a Digital Nomad
One of the top mistakes I see digital nomads making is the feeling some nomads have that they have to keep traveling constantly.
Some people I have seen move far too frequently, almost as they are backpacking, but they call themselves digital nomads.
Backpacker – If you are just looking to travel for a few weeks or a month or two, then you are probably a backpacker. In other words, travel is the absolute prime objective.
Digital Nomad – with digital nomads, the passion for travel is certainly a key ingredient, but it is also as much as working as you experience living in new locations.
Pro Tip: You will find that you get the most out of the digital nomad experience by trying to spend at least one month in a given location. This will give you the time to really learn about the community, to properly network with others, to get some good work done, and to save some money for your future transport and travel costs.
2. Spending Too Much Money and Not Budgeting
Building on the previous point, the temptation to travel too much greatly increases the travel costs, i.e., as soon as you start booking flights, trains, and other forms of transport.
Then add on airport transfers and so on and costs begin to rocket.
It is essential to budget carefully as a digital nomad and one of the easiest ways, apart from reducing travel costs, is to choose the locations carefully.
Affordable places with a low cost of living are a central ingredient in terms of what digital nomad locations are about.
Choose the right type of location and you can really live quite cheaply and affordably as a nomad.
Very cost-effective locations that are affordable and that have really good digital nomad communities include:
- Bansko, Bulgaria
- Thailand
- Bali
- Costa Rica
- Mexico
Pro Tip: Managing your expenses and costs as a digital nomad is key, as expenses such as getting from A to B, and for eating out can easily build up. Stay in one location for a month plus as a digital nomad and you can greatly reduce costs. Get to know the best local supermarkets and markets and local transportation systems.
3. Not Developing the Right Social Networks
Another of the most common issues that you will hear many experienced and long-term digital nomads mention as an issue, is loneliness!
You might be asking yourself, how can you possibly get lonely when you are staying in a digital nomad community and using a coliving and coworking space? You are surrounded by people right?!
You might mix with a lot of people as a digital nomad but the key is making meaningful friendships and relationships.
There are several ways in which you can proactively develop your ability to develop these friendships, and it does not necessarily make a difference if you are introverted or extroverted by nature.
Pro Tip: We have written a separate post on How to Make friends as a Digital Nomad for you to read!
4. Failing to Create a Realistic Work Schedule
At the core of being a digital nomad is working.
The whole idea is that you will work whilst spending time in interesting and fun locations around the world.
Likewise, the idea is also that you will meet new and interesting people and experience so many new things.
Unless you are one of the very few who are already financially secure, then working is central to the digital nomad model.
Indeed, it is for this reason that coworking places starting to pop up around the world.
The problem often is that the social life can be so darned good and so it ends up being a great advantage but also it makes it hard to focus on work 🙂
Pro Tip: Be realistic with the work hours and what you expect to get done. You might not want to do a 9-5 type work existence but these types of hours do work quite well if doing the coworking and coliving thing.
On weekends there tend to be various activities such as hiking, beach trips, city tours, etc. (depending, of course, on the location). I normally work 11 am – 6 pm and spend an hour in the gym some lunchtimes.
It can be worth working from your accommodation/room one day a week to really get work done without interruption. This works especially well if you are staying in an Airbnb where you have the full apartment to yourself.
5. Working Too Much
Conversely, some digital nomads work too much and they thus fail to really get the most out of the coworking experience.
It is NOT always easy to find work that you can do digitally and from anywhere so the pressure can understandably sometimes be on when trying to live the nomad lifestyle.
It’s all about balance and planning and not forgetting why you chose this lifestyle of travel and work in the first place.
Do not lose sight of what being a digital nomad is about and work hard (for a set number of hours) and then enjoy.
Pro Tip: Create a definite schedule and work efficiently. If you need to, go to a quiet space and work. Make use of the social activities and events in coworking and coliving spaces.
6. Not Being Realistic about the Digital Nomad Lifestyle
Just like anything in life, there are ups and downs, great times, and maybe a few hard times.
One of the biggest issues, as I suspect you are already aware, is the issue of consistent income and enough to fund the nomad lifestyle.
Likewise, issues such as these have to sometimes be dealt with:
- Getting ill abroad and dealing with medical facilities in a foreign language
- Having to survive on less money than you would like to
- Losing an online client and wondering how you can continue this lifestyle
- Worrying about visas and work permits
The good news is that, if you are working in a coworking and/or coliving environment, then you will tend to find that there is always someone to help you or to guide you!
For every question and every issue, there is an answer and this is the strength of the coworking and digital nomad community.
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7. Failing to Have a Backup Internet Connection
Some of the most interesting locations from which to work are not always the best connected when it comes to WiFi and the Internet.
Certainly, if you choose a coworking space in the location you visit, then one of the core facilities is normally high-speed or at least a decent-speed Internet connection (see our post on what a coworking space is).
There are other solutions to ensure that you have good enough internet speed to ensure that you can work online.
Solution 1: Glocalme (or a similar service)
The way Glocalme works is a very simple way to find WiFi access in most parts of the world.
You simply use this device to purchase data for the specific location you are traveling or working in and this device will provide you with decent-speed WiFi.
Solution 2: Use Your Smart Phone as a WiFi Hotspot
It is getting increasingly easy to get connected worldwide, with most network providers providing data plans for traveling abroad.
Many networks allow you to use your phone abroad and to use your normal data allowance but for a standard extra fee.
Check with your cellphone (mobile phone) network as using your phone as a WiFi hotspot can be the easiest solution.
8. Lacking a Routine
One of the issues that we have experienced as a digital nomad when abroad is making sure that we exercise and eat healthy as well when we are abroad, as we do when at our UK base.
Valeria is Italian and loves to cook, just like her mother, grandmother and great-gran did.
Living in a coliving space with a shared kitchen or renting an Airbnb though it just feels harder in that it takes time to get into a rhythm, i.e., to get used to where things are and to want to cook great and healthy food.
With fitness though as a nomad, there tend to be some great opportunities to try new forms of fitness.
In Bansko, for example, hiking and mountain biking in the summertime, or cross-country and downhill skiing in the wintertime there, are great ways to keep fit.
The key though is routine. This does not mean you have to fit into a 9 – 5 box (the reason you might have left your previous job at home to start with).
It does mean though trying as soon as possible, in each new location, to develop a sense of routine.
Try to allocate certain days for fitness and seek out the local gyms, outdoor leisure opportunities, or fitness and sports-related groups in the local area you decide to spend time in.
Likewise, get to a supermarket as soon as you can and start eating healthy from the start.
9. Not Properly Researching the Destinations
If being a digital nomad is going to work for you, you need to get it right when it comes to choosing the destination/s you will head to stay and work.
It might seem obvious to say, but many nomads we have talked with who didn’t enjoy where they were, clearly had lost sight of what they were really trying to do in the first place.
Be true to yourself! What are you really looking for?
If the whole point of becoming a nomad is that you want to spend more time by a beach, then forget the likes of Bansko Bulgaria. Choose a location such as Bali, the Thai islands, the Mexican Coast, or the Canary Islands.
If having a real strong nomad community is your prime goal and you are happy to live inland by the mountains (and you enjoy skiing) then Bansko, Bulgaria is a great option.
Remember that cost of living is central to being a digital nomad, meaning that the most popular nomad locations tend to be fairly cheap places to live.
Examples are Bali, Costa Rica, Bulgaria, and Thailand.
On the slightly more expensive side are locations such as the Canary Islands (Spain), the United States, Canada, Germany, and the UK.
Pro Tip: Write down three to five bullet points regards exactly what you want from being a digital nomad (in terms of the place/s you will stay in). Let these bullet points dictate your final location!
10. Lack of Preparation
You need a certain level of preparation, as being a digital nomad is not quite like being a backpacker who is just traveling.
With WFA (Working from Anywhere) as a digital nomad, the key is that you plan to work digitally online and, for most of us, this means developing your own business online (see how you can get started here), or you need clients.
In addition to work/clients you will need to plan for the following:
- Digital Nomads Insurance cover
- A way to manage your finances, i.e., to manage you bank account and credit cards from abroad (having family who can help from home can be a great solution)
- Having the right equipment as a digital nomad (we’ve done a post here on that)
Digital Nomad Resources
I have been traveling for many years and have come to use a lot of travel sites and resources for booking my trips. They represent the companies that I often use and have served me well and they are the first ones I use when booking new trips.
- Booking.com – they tend to provide very competitive prices and the reviews are easy to view, and they normally have something available wherever in the world I am going to. They also now provide airport transfers, local attractions, and flights.
- Safety Wing Travel Insurance – Safety Wing has become one of the leaders in travel insurance, especially for remote workers and digital nomads as they provide cover that includes for long-term stays.
- Get Your Guide – is the site on which I normally book tours (I love to visit the local sports stadia, aquarium, royal palace, and some cultural attractions). With get Your Guide they have excellent customer support and have a wide range of tours.
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