The digital nomad life is something that most people DREAM of being able to live.
Being able to work anywhere, for however long you want while sunning yourself on a lovely Spanish beach. It’s something that when you tell people about, they instantly WANT that same thing, but is is always good?
What about the downsides and risks of being a digital nomad?
Why aren’t they talked about as often?
All we see these days is people posting on Reddit or social media about how awesome the nomad lifestyle is and how it’s the best thing ever.
But is it? In this post, I’ll go over some of the main downsides and answer the question, ‘Is the digital nomad lifestyle overrated?’.
Definition of a digital nomad
The official definition of a digital nomad is someone who works remotely from their laptop. This means they can travel anywhere, for however long they want, and just work from their laptop. They don’t need to go into an office in a particular country, they’re ‘free’.
It’s a very fast-rising trend among workers in 2019.
More and more companies are starting to offer remote positions because it’s been shown to make people slightly more productive, and less likely to LEAVE a job.
It gives more satisfaction and job fulfillment.
No longer do people feel trapped in the office, craving a vacation.
The lifestyle IS a vacation in many ways.
Of course, you still have to do actual work, but you get to choose where you do it from.
You might be familiar with the exciting freedom that you get when you take one day off work and work from home?
Maybe the trains were all cancelled or the snow locked you in, you called your boss and they said ‘just work from home today’.
I remember the first time that happened to me, and a lightbulb went off in my mind. I thought ‘If I can work from home for one day, why can’t I do it all the time?’.
I started wondering why I couldn’t not only work from home, but work from any other home.
In any other country. Valid questions, and if your work is online over the internet, there’s no reason you CAN’T do that. But is the lifestyle overrated?
Is being a digital nomad overrated?
Well, it just might be. There are many reasons why the digital nomad lifestyle might just be overrated.
I still LOVE it and wouldn’t change it for the world, but these are some things to think about if you’re just starting to become a digital nomad.
1: You’re very reliant on the internet connection
Here’s the deal:
Being a digital nomad requires you to WORK from your laptop.
That means you’ll need to have a laptop that works, and ALWAYS have a strong internet connection.
If the connection drops out, you’ll stop working. This can be SO annoying and even cost you money and eventually, your job.
If your job requires you to be online or video calling, for example the internet is CRITICAL. Let’s say you teach languages online.
If your internet connection drops during a lesson, that’s a bad review. There are a handful of bad reviews, no one wants to hire you, and your income is gone.
This is why it’s SO important to build your own personal, passive income, which I’ll get onto in a second (at the end of the article).
But for now, just consider that you’ll be VERY reliant on finding good internet. Now you might be thinking ‘Oh that’s fine, how hard can it be?’.
Well, it depends where you’re traveling to.
Some countries are better than others but even in the most luxury accommodation in the best country, the internet can STILL go down when you least expect it.
This is why it’s best to find a job or income that doesn’t rely on you having a strong internet connection.
For example, let’s say you’re a blogger. If the internet goes down, it doesn’t matter. You just keep typing offline and then upload when the connection’s back.
The same goes for things like video creators. You only really need the internet to upload.
But for language teachers, consultants who video call, and people who need a constant online connection, the internet is a big factor.
2: It can get lonely
The nomad life isn’t for everyone. You can get very lonely when you’re on the road, and this feeling doesn’t really get any easier with time. Of course, it depends on a few things like:
- Where you’re traveling and for how long
- How close were you to your friends back home?
- How many new people do you meet when traveling
But it can be easy to get lonely. The best solution for this is just to book yourself into a co-working space, or a hostel for a week or so.
This pushes you back into society and forces you to socialize with people you might not have done otherwise.
3: Relationships become difficult
Maintaining a love life while being a digital nomad can be VERY challenging, unless your partner travels with you.
Long distance relationships are always difficult, and they’re even more difficult when there’s the added pressure and influence of an influx of exciting people around you all the time.
It can be easy to put your relationship back on hold or even want to end it.
That being said, if you travel WITH your partner, it can be very intimate and bring you even closer together.
Think about this before you decide to become a digital nomad if you have a relationship already back home.
4: Taxes are a struggle
Taxes are annoying in every country in the world, but they’re even more confusing when you’re moving between various countries.
You should really work out how and when you’re going to pay taxes, and where you NEED to pay them.
If you’re a US citizen for example, moving to Thailand for a year doesn’t make you exempt from US taxes. You still owe Uncle Sam just as much as you did when you were back home.
And working out your tax obligations can be annoying, time consuming and if you get it wrong, very expensive or even illegal.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that just because you’re in a different place physically, you owe no taxes. You still owe them!
Check out our guide on digital nomad taxes and how they work to learn more
5: Things can go wrong
Sometimes, things you never would have thought could happen, will happen..
Things can go wrong at any moment. For example let’s say you’re in a tropical destination:
- You could get stung by a hornet, and have to go to hospital
- Your insurance could run out or not cover the treatment you need
- You could break your arm and not be able to type or work
- You could get lost, or lose your belongings
- You could get robbed and not have a phone to solve the situation
- You could lose a tooth and need dental work, but not have any good dentists nearby
And so on and so on. There are lots of problems you could run into, and the truth is they could happen at any time.
You have no idea when or how many of these issues you’ll run into. Imagine if you lost your laptop for example, what would you do?
If you have lots of savings, it’s fine because you can just buy a new one and move on.
But what if you had personal documents on there, or you had your hard drive stolen? This could be a real problem that could seriously affect your business.
This is why it’s important to back up all your files and have a solid fund of savings for emergencies.
One completely unexpected thing that happened when I was traveling through South East Asia was a cockroach infestation. Now I know to expect them and how to deal with them..
But at the time, I was stressed and unable to sleep because two nights I woke up with a huge cockroach crawling on my neck.
This then made me super tired and sleep-deprived and I was unable to focus on work during the day.
6: You might get homesick
Getting homesick is a very common problem that digital nomads face more often than you’d think.
You’re away from home for often long periods of time. Sometimes you’re gone for up to 6 months or a year.
The homesickness can come at random times as well. You might be fine for a month, and then you have a BAD month..
Let’s say you get stung by some wasps, the heat is unbearable, the internet connection drops and you just want to go home to your comfortable house.
That can be hard. If you have a bad day while you’re on the road, it can feel like you’re trapped and you just want your own home.
If you don’t maintain contact with your family it can be hard, you can miss them. This is especially true if you don’t keep in contact with them via Skype.
Is it worth the risks?
In my honest opinion, the digital nomad lifestyle is ALWAYS worth those risks.
The things you’ll do, see and experience are well worth the risks like finding good internet, getting stung by wasps or missing your home.
Those things fall away in the face of a years worth of incredible travel memories.
I have hard drives full of beautiful photos and videos, memories of my trips and adventures.
For a good example, check out my post on asia (linked above) or the Iceland adventure pictures. Beautiful memories that I wouldn’t trade for the world.
I couldn’t put a price on those experiences. When I think about it, I probably wouldn’t take a job paying 10 times what I earn now if it meant I had to be stuck in an office.
I told myself I’d never get another job once I made the switch. I’ve since changed my view. I think if things went south, I’d probably get a job, but it would be a remote one!
I’d get a digital nomad job and just continue traveling and working from the road.
I’d do that until I’d built up my own project income to a point where I could sustain myself.
I would immediately start trying to become a digital nomad if I lost everything. It’s my lifestyle, and I love it more than anything.
Even if sometimes I don’t want to travel, I love working for myself and fro my home so I can choose whether to travel, or to work from home for a month for example.
That freedom is something no amount of money could change my mind about.
How to become a digital nomad
So if you’ve read this and still want to become a digital nomad, there are several steps you could take.
- Focus on building your skills and making yourself more valuable
- Look for digital nomad jobs online or on sites like Upwork
- Read our guide on how to become a digital nomad
But also, make sure you think about the best way to do this.
For example, you could get a job. that would give you the remote income but if you LOSE the job, you’re still just as stuck as you were before.
It’s better in my opinion to have a job that gives you PASSIVE income or an income source that’s passive.
This means you do the work ONCE and get paid for life.
Passive income can be anything from investments to creating and selling an ebook, but there are many ways of doing it.
To get started creating it, I’d suggest reading my passive income ideas list or checking our the digital nomad bootcamp.
The digital nomad bootcamp teaches you how to take a passion or interest in something, and turn it into a passive income business.
It shows you how to make $4K a month PASSIVELY from an information marketing business.