Thanks to the perks of the digital age, we are now bestowed a luxury of traveling the world and making money using our digital-savvy and putting our formal or informal education, skills and talents to use. As a creative writer and a true wanderlust, I feel beyond blessed that I am able to live this kind of life. My work has enabled me to travel a great portion of Europe, explore more of my native Australia, whisked me off to French Polynesia, spent six surreal months in New Caledonia and have even experienced the charms of the great north – the cold by celestially beautiful Canada. So, as someone who has had the incredible opportunity to work from almost anywhere, I feel compelled to share my story, so that all the talented wanderlusts out there can realize that there is more to life than just sitting in one place.
The more than bearable lightness of being
Travel enriches the soul, calms you and is proven to fend off negative feelings of depression and anxiety and it makes you feel like you can breathe after being underwater for what seems like an eternity. As much as I love my hometown, I never really felt like I belong anywhere, and at the same time, I have this aching feeling of belonging everywhere. I knew I needed to see as much of this beautiful world as possible, but as a true geek, I wasn’t just ready to up and leave before thoroughly doing my homework first.
Before the perks comes the research
As I wrote in one of my previous articles on the subject, before you embark on this amazing adventure that allows you to combine work and insurmountable pleasure, you need to check out the list of the best countries so you can kick off your digital nomad life on a positive note and not end up disappointed and broke. In order to experience all the perks, before choosing a country, make sure you do your due diligence and choose the countries that are cost-friendly, have a good exchange rate, a good online payment system and probably most important thing of all – great internet access. Additionally, reading some of these travel books or travel magazines may help you realise what to expect while on the road and to learn more about the destinations you are visiting.
Eyes wide open
Immersing yourself in other cultures, mingling with locals, picking up new phrases, trying delicacies you never thought you would either get a chance to or dare try, making friends with both locals as well as entering a great network of digital nomads – what could be better than that? It may sound corny, but with the right attitude, you can truly become a citizen of the world, break barriers and stereotypes. Every person I’ve met who is in the ‘same boat’ as I am has never looked back, and wouldn’t trade this life for anything in the world. Once you get in the swing of things, each new destination becomes a new home, so whether you’re digging your toes in Bora Bora or watching Aurora Borealis in Canada, you have this strong sense of being a part of something far greater than yourself.
The glorious freedom
If you’re a creative writer, a software engineer, a travel blogger or anything else that requires you to only have a solid laptop and a great internet connection, you can become a digital nomad. Now, even though you may work for a number of clients, being far away from a stuffy office and out in the world, provides you with a sense of independence and freedom that is incomparable to anything else. Since I started my nomadic life, I have not for one second felt anything but freedom and joy, and I could never again imagine myself working in an office or any corporate environment. Yes, there is always a touch of financial uncertainty, but if you’re truly good at what you do, you will always make a great living, see the world and answer to no one but yourself, and for me personally, one can never put a price on that.
The sense of being better every day
Finally, when you have so much life experience, not only do you have more to write about and create content that is constantly better than your previous work, but you also feel driven and motivated to be the best you can be, and not only professionally. When mingling and immersing yourself in so many different cultures, you’re compelled to become a better, more considerate, tolerant and liberal person, and I for one firmly believe that that is the biggest perk, lesson, benefit or however you wish to call it of being a true digital nomad. Also, you get the chance to learn how to live sustainably as a digital nomad and reduce your environmental impact while enjoying a location-independent lifestyle.
Listen to your gut, is it craving adventure, independence? Is your adventure sense tingling? If you have the talent and the desire, with a little research and help from fellow nomads from all over the world, you too can live your dream. I know I am. It took a while to adjust, but here I am. Thanks to all the bloggers out there who I’ve collaborated with and all the amazing people who I’ve met on my endeavors, I am the person I am today – free-spirited and ready to take one chance after another. It never would have happened if I had stayed put, so what are you waiting for?
