what is a digital nomad minimalist and how to become one

Dear America,

I hate to break it to you. But after a shitty ass 2020, thousands of people want out. Like now. Actuallyyy, more like yesterday. And these peeps are all on Google right now wondering what is a digital nomad for goodness sakes! 

Well folks, you've heard the tales, seen the insta snaps, envied the lifestyle. Today I am going to give you a sweet and simple breakdown of exactly what a digital nomad is so you can have this question answered once and for all...to of course figure out if this lifestyle is meant for you too!

WHAT IS A DIGITAL NOMAD?

Let's get straight to the point shall we!

I want to approach this from a minimalist point of view.

The bare essentials of nomadic living.

A digital nomad, in my humble opinion (from over 9 years experience mind you) is the the enviable person who earns a living while working online or at least from a portable and mobile devices, (laptops, smartphones, etc) and is not limited by a specific working area or location.

Hence the now famous term: LOCATION INDEPENDENT.

This magical unicorn can then decide with all their freedom and might (and frankly, a whole lotta privilege!) to just up and relocate to a location of choice while never hindering their working abilities, thus avoiding a fixed business location. If they so choose.

You'll discover that the majority of digital nomads and location independent workers (not to be confused with remote workers...can you guess why?) will opt for this because they get to travel all over the world and still earn a comfortable living through their online work.

The salient difference that distinguishes a digital nomad from a remote worker...drum roll please... is merely the fact that, unlike a remote worker, a digital nomad doesn’t really have a home. Ok that sounds kind of mean right! Let's say instead, they do not really attach themselves to any singular home base. They choose to roam from place to place due to personal reasons. Because of a whim. Because they can. More power to 'em!

One morning a digital nomad could wake up to the rising sun in Athens, Greece and by sunset hop...skip...and fly their tush over to the forests of Costa Rica. Never missing a beat. Zoom meetings complete. Emails sent. And paycheck earned. Like a boss.

The digital nomad community, and boy are they a wondrous community, make use of any and all emergence of technology to carry out their tasks. This of course aids in ensuring they are capable of being location independent. Subsequently, it can be assumed that such technology has eliminated the need for their physical presence in their company or office to begin with, which is usually the jumping off point for this lifestyle. Ya know...the whole storming into their boss' office to declare: "I'm out! Peace!"

Or, something like that anyway.

The beautiful fantasy that becomes actual reality in all this is that the time they stay in a location is dependent on their own needs as they can choose to move to another location at any time. So I mean, this might be the most self-centered parallel universe in humanity. If you're into that kinda thing. Just sayin. (#nojudgement)

HOW TO DECIDE TO BECOME A DIGITAL NOMAD

These nomad bosses consider many factors before settling in an area, so if you are notoriously bad at making decisions (aka what's for dinner tonight? yahhh, see, my point exactly) then maybe this lifestyle is not cut out for you.

Decisions and options can range greatly. Everything from the type of weather they most desire, reliable internet service for obvious reasons, and the cost of living or quality of life as compared to their home countries.

In most cases, they look for areas where they do not need to obtain Visas of any kind, whether holiday or work permit. If they do indeed have to get a Visa, it should be in an area where it is easy to renew or acquire one. Although let's be very clear, border jumping is a nomad-wide phenomenon and you will surely come across this experience soon enough.

As you can see, all one needs for such a lifestyle is a passport, phone, laptop, impeccable internet connection and motivation.

A few other things sprinkled in for good measure like maybe a savings and a rock solid mindset, or at least thick skin...but you can worry over such trivial matters later on!

WHAT DO DIGITAL NOMADS DO FOR MONEY?

There are a plethora of ways through which Digital Nomads make money to sustain their livelihood.

For instance, some undertake carrying out online freelance jobs available.

They can also tutor and teach languages or courses all while traveling, as this is done through webcams and established online platforms by the boatloads.

In addition, some have blogs, such as myself, that earn them money and with the potential to clock in the elusive yet highly treasured passive income.

Even still, there are endless other sources such as those who rent out their homes, cars, or spaces. These are highly lucrative ways of making money if you put a little elbow grease in from the jump.

Most of these digital nomads come in all shapes, sizes, and creeds so this is not a club defined by exclusivity whatsoever. Let that be a motivation for your inclusion and sense of belonging. Moreover, nomads and location independent workers are adept with valuable skills such as programming skills, writing, graphic design, digital marketing or even architecture-related skills.

WHAT'S SO GREAT ABOUT DIGIAL NOMADING

Well, there are a variety of benefits accrued from this type of lifestyle.

For instance, some digital nomads tend to avoid tax payments completely by becoming non-residents at home and moving from place to place. However, there are instances where these Nomads pay the tax at home while also in countries they temporarily reside. It all depends on how crafty you get, how much research you do, and who you hire locally to give you the down low such as expat accountants or relocation lawyers.

Lest we not forget, that if quality of life for you equals quality friendships and relationships, you'd be surprised to know that this lifestyle has gifted me the MOST amount of friends easier and faster than I ever could attract living in my home country of America.

With numbers climbing every single day, in the number of digital nomads in the world, a new subculture has been born. You’ll now find nomad conferences and international meet-ups, nomad cruises, and even nomad trains. Co-working and co-living options sprang up all over the world.

WHERE CAN I BECOME A DIGITAL NOMAD?

Several European countries have paved the way for foreign remote workers to Europe. Furthermore, with the COVID-19 pandemic, companies have opted to offer full-time remote work.

That's good news. Yippee!

This has, however, limited the movement of the Digital Nomads. There are cities in Europe that favor the lives and presence of nomads, such as Budapest, Hungary. It is among the preeminent cities when it comes to cheaper living conditions. The city has advanced technology and several work-friendly cafes.

The Digital Nomad lifestyle in Europe is quite luxurious, if I say so myself, especially in Lagos, Portugal, where you can work just as efficaciously from a beachside café while enjoying the ambience of the ocean view. Lest we not forget hundreds of years of supreme culture, arts, food, and architecture as a bonus.

Europe has indeed become an attraction and hotspot for digital nomads due to its favorable conditions. So if anyone makes you feel like you can only become a digital nomad in Southeast Asia, just let them know you have other plans.

In retrospect to this, countries such as Estonia have taken the responsibility to support such innovative business activities. Estonia has become the first country in the world to issue a Digital Nomad Visa, which allows the nomads to legally stay in the country for up to 365 days. With such provisions, the emergence of Digital Nomads in Europe is inevitably going to face exponential growth. Mark my words.

It is with no doubt that the freedom that this exciting lifestyle grants people is incredible. In future, more and more everyday people like you and me will venture into this fantasy and never look back. But you may be wondering still...

WHY DO PEOPLE BECOME NOMADS?

Ahh, the age old question.

Well I can only speak for myself, though I've found many a stranger to agree. Since returning home from my first solo travel trip ever years ago, I immediately fell prey to the "system" yet again. 

And I think you know exactly what SYSTEM we fellow nomads speak of.

Back then, luckily, the love of my life had seen the light and decided the system didn't work for him either. So there we were, in a crowded one-bedroom apartment ready to take off and travel the world, leaving everything behind. This is how my minimalist digital nomad journey began...

***

Frankly, I was a little fed up. I live in a country (Americuhhh) where I wake up every morning for the sole purpose of paying bills and taxes.

That's it.

 Where my government officials wake up every morning to serve people, so long as those people deal them eight-figure checks under the table. 

Where capitalist conglomerate CEOs wake up every morning to ensure they're creating the absolute healthiest foods, safest drugs, and the most transparent companies on Earth. If they happen to turn over a tiny profit of 13.6 billion dollars, then hey, that's just a bonus. 

Please sense the sarcasm.

And who can forget the drones! 

Oh. No. No no, not the fly by night kind. 

The 9-5 kind. You know the ones. 

The sluggish drones who also wake up every morning complacent, fearful, and unfulfilled; plugging in hours at a job they loathe while penning a blog at night they hope will make them rich, perpetuating relationships they dream of having the courage to end, making bucket lists they have no business creating in the first place, and envying the lives of prettier, skinner, more famous [enter names here] while never acknowledging that [enter names here] detests their own lives too. 

Lindsay Lohan with a side of Amanda Bynes anyone?

So surely it comes as no surprise that I am just friggin fed up. 

I've had it up to here with ungrateful drones complaining about this flawless patriotic system America has bestowed upon us. 

Like those shameful grease-laden fast food employees I hear went on strike, demanding an increase to their minimum wage salaries. 

Such greed! 

Have they no idea that $7.25 an hour is MORE than enough to for a family of 5 to master the art of minimalist living in a luxurious tent from Walmart, (it's called glamping...hello!) eating canned beans, canned fruit, and canned spam while sending their kids to FREE public school? 

For heaven's sake, what more do you need? 

Apparently a lot more, because these social leeches are claiming our great nation is nothing more than a depressed, obese, over-consuming, egotistical masochist with its head up its ass. 

Last time I checked it was not our heads up our asses, it was our genitalia on Twitter. (I'm talking to you mayors and governors!) Fact check please.

All jokes aside, of course I agree with them. How is this THE land of dreams when hourly wages are less than ten bucks and a visit to the hospital costs a kidney. I mean literally!

But as a hedonistic adventure-seeking prophet, I am willing to oblige these complaints and see if the grass really is greener on the other side. As of last month, I've been shedding ALL material possessions to prepare for the most frugal and minimalist round-the-world journey known to man. And I want you to come. And so, I created this blog.

THE CONCEPT OF HOME

Perhaps the reason millions of soul-deprived square pegs are so complacent with their chosen lifestyle (and yes it IS a choice because we may be born of the system but we are no hostage to it) is because they have misunderstood what a "home" is. 

A home is not something you completely replicate from the pretentious pages of BH&G Magazine or Architectural Digest. 

You wont find it on the house tour section of The Glitter Guide, where overpriced home furnishing accessories go to die. 

As a native New Yorker who wears her birth city like a badge of honor, even this infamous metropolis is not my home as much as it is a comfort blanket hovering over a land mass of familiarity. 

This concrete jungle so many yearn to move to has no family that would shelter me, no best friends to throw me a fit-for-TV surprise birthday party (or even show up to the one I threw for myself!) and certainly has no zipcode I can comfortably afford to dwell in (though I don't blame minimum wage, I blame real estate tycoons not green lighting rent-free condos for fledgling lifestyle bloggers...ahem.)

No, instead I find that home is - in its most simple form - a place where I safely rest my head each night, engage in a give-take relationship with the environment around me, and feel interconnected with a socially stimulating community of people who know me by name. This type of minimalistic home is ideal, and belongs wherever I am, whether for a month or a year, in California or Thailand.

SETTLE FOR ORDINARY - EVERYONE'S DOING IT

But don't be fooled. Confusing a tastefully appointed house for a true home is the least of a drone's problems. 

Somehow, at some point, we're all led to believe ordinary trumps extraordinary when you're seeking a traditionally stable life. 

Financial security? Check. Unnecessary master's degree (because who are you kidding, you'll graduate still making $30K a year in an unrelated field anyway)? Check. 

Irrefutably predictable daily routine? Check check...pass the damn check! 

Personally, I loveeee a lackluster hustle + grind. Variety is for the insatiable, and excitement is what killed Evil Knievel anyhow. 

But I guess 60 years of wiping your butt with cheap tissue in the same rickety bathroom does not a happy camper make. Allegedly spoiled brats in the Mediterranean are making us look bad, with their daily siestas and government supported paid vacations. Duly noted.

Lest we forget the notion of settling down, the very sound of which has been propagated to conjure up the image of a silver platter en route your way- so long as you claim to the universe aloud that you are ready to settle down. Well, I was ready to settle for any damn thing since the age of 23 and I'm still waiting for Oprah to grant me a dream life. 

And a car. 

I reckon, however, that anything with the word settle in it should be filed away politely. 

If I am going to set out on a quest to see what all the fuss is about on the other side, settling down is exactly the opposite of what I need. 

Admittedly, I'm a bit nervous. 

American history textbooks have taught me that we are the best. 

THE BESTTT!!

Venturing into third world countries like France, Italy, and Greece (oh have they been upgraded to second world now? text book update please!) is on the wrong side of my comfort zone. 

And why shouldn't it be? We've been well trained military-style to put fear above all else until it consumes our lives like a cancer. 

Be realistic! Be cautious! 

Wait for the right time because tomorrow is definitely guaranteed. 

Shelve your true dreams just a bit longer. 

But the little secret no one tells you is that cutting the umbilical cord that chains you to home can make anyone apprehensive and doubtful, but it also has made me the most exhilarated and euphoric little miss minimalist nomad I've been in almost two decades. This all before even booking my flight! I feel like a teenage boy planning the last night of his virginity. 

Now THAT is something worth waking up for. #amiright

PS- Need some mojo? I'm currently reading Slow Your Home and it has done some MAJOR stimulating of my mind, awakening me to my fear, and pushing me over the hurdle so I can travel the world fearlessly like so many other bloggers, as well as the saved-my-life 30 Day Clutter Bootcamp from Minimalist Packrat.

What will you be waking up for tomorrow? And the morning after that...

Tell me in the comments if this life sounds good for you!

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