Everyone who has ever traveled through the world knows that digital nomads are out there. But if you haven’t met them, or know very little about them, you might be surprised to learn exactly how many of them there are and what they do on a daily basis.
We all know that traveling the world and living in different places is an essential part of modern life, but there is more to this experience than just staying in one place for months on end. Digital nomads are people who travel the world for various reasons, whether it is to find a better job, find a new culture, or go on a vacation.
Being a digital nomad means you are independent, flexible and don’t have a fixed address or office. You may work from a hotel room, a cafe, a coworking space or your home. You may meet people from all over the world on an ongoing basis. You are free to travel and relocate whenever you like, and you can get a good deal of work done across various locations.
However, there are many myths about digital nomads. Some are simple and widely-held misconceptions. Others are more complex and can take some studying. In this blog post, we dispel the most common myths about digital nomads and explain how they work.
You must be a Super Rich to become a Digital Nomad
Growing up, I had dreams of traveling the world and living the modern nomadic lifestyle. I was raised in an incredibly close-knit family, and we spent a lot of time traveling. Like most kids, I was acutely aware of the career opportunities that are available to those who travel, and I knew I had to get out of my hometown to see new things. While I was aware of the financial risks of becoming a digital nomad, I also felt confident that I could make it work.
Many people think you must become a super rich or super wealthy person to become a digital nomad. However, this is not true. Most digital nomads are just a normal people like me. We don’t necessary to be a super rich person. But all we do is to have at least one location independent income that allows us to make a living while traveling the world.
Although the decision to become a digital nomad is not one to be taken lightly, and does require quite a bit of investment in time, money and energy, it does not require a ton of money. However, it does require a certain amount of comfort with being isolated from your home and family, as well as having a secure income that will allow you to live comfortably and not worry about money.
Digital Nomads are only for Young People
It is a common misconception that one must be young to enjoy the benefits of living a digital nomadic lifestyle. Not so. The reverse is true as well: although the lifestyle is not for the elderly, they can definitely enjoy the perks of a digital nomadic lifestyle for at least part of their lives.
Digital Nomads always on Vacation
The fact that you are reading this means that you are a digital nomad. The vast majority of digital nomads are not working 24/7.. they are working from all over the world, and having the freedom to work from anywhere in the world is a dream come true. The problem is that for many digital nomads; the dream is just a dream. They are not able to take full advantage of the benefits of being a digital nomad.
One common misconception is the digital nomads are always on vacation. It,s not true, we are like most office worker that work at least 40 hours a week. Most of us even work harder and work longer than we ever had before. However, we had the advantage is we don’t limit to any place we can work and we are location independent.
Digital Nomads work from the Beach
Digital nomads are people who undertake a lifestyle of working remotely, living in several places and generally doing work from home. Some are travelers, some are entrepreneurs, some are freelancers, others are self-employed, and some are just plain digital nomads.
Working on a beach sounds like a dream come true, but to be honest, no matter how beautiful the location, digital nomads hardly work on the beach. I know many of you have seen the photos of digital nomad working from the beach, however it’s not all that true. The main reason digital nomads don’t work from the beach is that it’s very hard to see the screen and get a good and reliable internet. It’s also very hard to stay focus and maintain productivity while on the beach. But they do work from the cafe beside the beach.
Digital Nomads are backpacker
Since its inception, there have been a number of myths and misconceptions surrounding the word “digital nomad”. Many people still believe that digital nomads are full-time backpackers who hop from country to country with a laptop and a backpack on their back. While some digital nomads are indeed full time travelers, many others are simply people who use digital tools to work from anywhere in the world.
Digital Nomads are funded by Mom or Dad
Many people think that if digital nomads aren’t rich, their mom or dad must be the people giving fund to them. This isn’t true. Most digital nomads have their remote jobs or business that allow them to travel while making money online.
Digital Nomads Don’t Pay Taxes
This is one of the biggest misconception about digital nomad. Although digital nomads have the advantages of working everywhere in the world as long as they have their laptop with them and good internet connection. Most digital nomads pay taxes to their home country or to the country in which they reside. Tax evasion is totally illegal, you should not avoid pay tax but you do can seek for advice from tax agent to reduce your tax.
Being a Digital Nomad is Easy
Many people say that being a digital nomad is easy. However, this is not all true. Being a digital nomad commonly must need to have a job that you can work remotely. It’s common they have come skills that allow them to do so. Most digital nomads work harder than before they work in the office.
Being a Digital Nomad is Hard
Being a digital nomad isn’t that hard too, but it’s commonly harder than getting a regular job. Even digital nomad lifestyle has popular for many years, it’s still not as easy as you think. While it’s also not that hard as you think, it’s now getting more and more common. There are also more remote jobs opportunity out there these days.
Digital Nomads are living in the DREAM
If you’ve heard of Digital Nomads, you’ve probably heard the term “living like a local”. Nomads are people who choose to live a life of traveling and working remotely, but it’s a lifestyle that’s still not easy for everyone to accomplish. Packing up and moving doesn’t always happen for everyone, and for those who are serious about working from the road, time is often a limiting factor when trying to arrange life around work.
Digital nomads’ lifestyle is many people dream of, however the true digital nomad aren’t living in the dream. They are realistic people that put their effort to make the dream comes true. They work harder and maintain their skills in good level to make sure they can make money online while traveling the global.
Being a Digital Nomad needs a lot of Money
Many people say that becoming a digital nomad needs a lot of money to do so. This isn’t true. All you need is to have some saving and a remote job that allows you to travel while making money online. We know most digital nomads are from United States or European countries. The cost of living there is very expensive, but in many places in Asia. The cost of living is relatively low. For example, you can stay a good month with only USD 500 a monthly cost of living in the country that is very cheap like Thailand or Vietnam. But if you are moving to those expensive countries, it’s unrealistic and not sustainable to living in digital nomad lifestyle.
Digital Nomads only work a few hours a Week
This is the misconception for most people. The reason is that there is a popular book for digital nomad call “4-hours Work Week”. If you have time, you can take some time to read about the book or video on internet. Most digital nomad like all the office people, many people work 40 hours a week and most of them work even more than 40 hours a week. So, digital nomads aren’t those people who don’t work or just work a little and travel the world.
Only Techie can become Digital Nomads
A lot of non-tech people ask me how they can earn money while living in another country. They want to know how to get a visa to live in a country where they don’t speak the language, get a job that pays enough to live on, find affordable accommodation and what not.
The first thing you notice when you’re travelling is that there are many people who are living their lives differently. To put it simply, “digital nomads” are people who travel around the world to earn income from freelancing or working remotely, but they’re not traveling to escape the responsibilities of being a part of a local community, they’re traveling to work from anywhere!
Since the pandemic, there are more and more remote companies looking for remote workers that aren’t only for techie people to work in their company. It can be a virtual assistant, UI/UX designer, remote HR and content creator.
Digital Nomad life is Super Exciting
Digital Nomad lifestyle is super exciting for many peoples. Most people only see the good part or what people want them to see. However, digital nomad life is super exciting can be true and not true. Becoming a digital nomad and living anywhere is a dream and super exciting. But, if you don’t have a reliable skill they allow you to make a living it can be a nightmare if you lose your job. This is why savings and a reliable skills are important. You have to make sure your skill set is always up to date and doing a good job while traveling.
Digital Nomads can’t have Kids
Having a kid while traveling the world can be challenging. However, it’s still possible to have kid while traveling. They are many digital nomad bring their kid and traveling the world while making a living with internet.
Digital Nomads are Western Privilege
I know when you research about digital nomad on internet, you only seen western people that are doing it. However, digital nomads are western privilege aren’t true. It’s for everyone. The truth is anyone who able to work while making money online can become a digital nomad.