What is a Digital Nomad? How They Make Money and Travel
The future of work is changing. Jobs exist today that would’ve seemed unimaginable just a decade ago. Think online therapists working with clients across borders, remote customer success reps based in beach towns, or content creators building full-time businesses from their laptops. What we do for work, how we do it, and even where we do it is shifting fast.
If you’ve heard anyone talk about the future of work, you’ve probably heard the phrase digital nomad tossed around too. So what is a digital nomad, exactly?
A digital nomad is someone who works remotely from their laptop while traveling or living in other countries. Since their work is done entirely online, they can work from anywhere in the world as long as they have a laptop strong and reliable internet.
What is a Digital Nomad?
Digital Nomads Are Similar to People Who Work From Home, Except They Travel a Lot. Think of digital nomads like professionals who work from home. Instead of working from their house where they have a laptop and an internet connection, they just bring their laptops with them wherever they go. It’s the same thing as working from home, except digital nomads work from different locations around the world.
There is always controversy around what “digital nomads” should be called and what the exact definition is.
How Digital Nomads Make Money Online
Ah, the infamous question, “How do digital nomads make money online?”
Here are some of the ways digital nomads are earning an income remotely from their laptops:
They have legitimate full-time remote careers with companies that are remote (also known as distributed or remote-first teams)
They are freelancers. Think marketing, copywriting, developers, and virtual assistants
They are entrepreneurs/ own a company
The most important thing to realize is that these remote workers have legitimate, real, professional careers - they just do them remotely instead of at a cubicle.
How Digital Nomads Leverage Technology to Work Remotely
Now, you get that digital nomads earn an income remotely from their laptop, but you may be wondering...
What about client meetings? Digital nomads use tools such as Zoom video to have real-time calls with clients or colleagues.
What about communicating with coworkers? Most distributed teams will use Slack, which is essentially a very organized chat messenger platform. This makes sure everyone can stay connected daily
What about files and paperwork? Instead of using paper and pen, digital nomads use digital files (which are easy to manage and have less environmental impact, by the way).
Digital nomads are simply working smarter, and in my opinion, more efficiently.
That being said, it’s important to understand some of the basics of getting started as a digital nomad, especially if you’re considering becoming a digital nomad.
Where do Digital Nomads Work?
I remember before I first started working remotely, I thought I would be working from a laptop in bed. I didn’t realize the abundance of incredible cafes and beautiful coworking spaces around the world. It even helped me discover the top coworking spaces around the world (that you’ve probably never heard of). It truly makes for an inspiring work environment. So really, you can find digital nomads working from anywhere that you can find an internet connection.
Limelight Co-working Space in Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
Work Visas for Digital Nomads
Disclaimer: Before I dive into this, please note this is NOT legal advice and is not to be taken as legal advice. Always seek a professional for legal guidance. What I am sharing is simply my experience of what I witnessed in the digital nomad community. Visit VisaHQ for more details on visa requirements.
In the past, people had to be physically present to work, so working abroad was a very black and white concept. You’re either working in a different country or you’re not. But now that people can work remotely from their laptops, it becomes a bit of a grey area.
When you work at a restaurant, hotel, or even if you’re a photographer, your job requires you to be physically present, and as a result, if you’re working in a different country, you could be considered “taking away” work from locals. Whereas working from your laptop can be considered as not working physically in another country, especially when your clients are not based in the country you’re currently in.
All of this, in terms of visas for digital nomads, is still a huge grey area that needs to be addressed. For the most part, as long as the remote company you work for or your clients aren’t in the same country that you’re traveling to, it seems to be ok. And what I mean by “seems ok” is that there haven’t been too many issues reported for people who are working remotely from their laptops.
Rules and regulations are still being developed around working remotely as a digital nomad. Countries like Estonia are working on the world’s first digital nomad visa to address this, which was something I was excited to be involved in.
So, how do digital nomads stay in a country for a long time?
When traveling, tourists are typically allowed into a country for 30, 60, or 90 days. Depending on where you’re from, you may or may not need a travel visa to enter the country. Again, VisaHQ is a great resource to find out if you need a visa.
Digital nomads tend to go by the same guidelines. They’ll stay in a country for the allowed amount of time that tourists are allowed to stay for, then they will leave. Some digital nomads return to a country shortly after leaving, as there doesn’t seem to be any rules in place for how long you need to leave the country before you come back. Again, this is a huge grey area.
Internet - the Lifeline of Remote Workers
Now let’s jump over to internet connection for a bit because a digital nomad it’s critical to your job. When I first started, being from Canada, I assumed the internet worked more or less the same around the world as it does in Canada. That was a very wrong misconception.
Internet quality and reliability vary depending on the country you’re in. Not all countries have good or reliable internet, as sometimes their internet will constantly cut out, and the speeds will bring you back to the “dial-up” internet days.
If you’re trying to find a good “starter” location as a digital nomad, consider the Top 10 Cities to Live in as a Digital Nomad. The locations listed are cities that have:
Good internet
Are fairly safe
Affordable, where the cost of living is much lower than in countries such as America
Warm weather
A good digital nomad community
There you have it. Digital nomads are a REAL thing, and they have REAL jobs, just like the rest of us.
Grab my free Beginner’s Guide to Remote Work to learn about digital nomads, remote job types, legalities, and how to land your first remote job.
