Prior to the advent of the digital nomad, there were expatriates.
The phrase “expat” is typically used to denote people who move to a foreign land, normally for job-related reasons, but elderly individuals who decide to live in another country are also frequently classified as expats. Expatriates often move due to their job necessitating them to be in a different place. It is likely that the organization will have a workplace, fellow workers, and the necessary equipment in their fresh place of residence. They will likely explore the world on their travels, however, they typically have one place in particular that serves as their primary place of residence or the starting point for their adventures.
It should be noted that the term “expat” carries a bit of baggage, considering that individuals from wealthier countries who choose to reside overseas are labeled as expats, while those from other nations electing to stay in places like the US or Europe are referred to as immigrants.
Rather than being based in one location, digital nomads are employed remotely and typically for an organization back in their homeland. The freedom to travel is provided by not needing to remain in one spot while they work. The locations they journey to are usually not related to their job. Digital nomads are usually known as individuals who travel often and rarely stay in one spot.
What if you are a worker based in a foreign country, but opt to remain in the same spot for any reason? It could have been in the stars all along, or perhaps a place just hit your heart in the right way, and you kept coming back until it felt like you were home.
People who span two different lifestyles, living in both the physical and digital world, are often referred to as digital expatriates. They have a foot in both the digital nomad and expat camps. Let’s take a look at some of the distinguishing qualities and benefits that come with living the digital nomad life.
Advantages of the Digital Expat Lifestyle
Accommodation is cheaper and more flexible
Living arrangements can be one of the most difficult aspects to contend with for travelers who work remotely. Securing a place to stay in the near future often means being charged more than usual, utilizing lodgings with other people, and not having the capacity to customize the space you are staying in.
As a digital nomad looking to settle in one area for a long period of time, you benefit from being able to locate accommodations like a native. Typically, this results in significantly lower prices and gives you the opportunity (and permission) to customize your space.
It appears that you have a good kitchen in which you can cook and store food, as well as a chance to get familiar with the nearby grocery stores and eateries.
It is easier to maintain your life infrastructure
Digital nomads have to identify services and systems that are suitable for their constant movement. This typically translates to costly trip insurance, pricey global medical insurance, high-end multi-national banking tools, etc.
Digital expats have the ability to accomplish tasks in a cost-efficient and effective manner. They can put their money into health and property insurance programs that are based in their area, start accounts in local financial institutions, and just focus on exchanging funds between their chief money types, rather than trying to access money in multiple different countries around the world.
You can still travel
Although you may have decided on a place you mainly live, being a digital expat and doing work remotely means you don’t have to be there the entire time (or even the majority of time). If you’re feeling like you would like to take a trip that lasts a month, you can don your digital nomad apparel and hit the road for a bit.
This is one of the great benefits that come with a digital expatriate lifestyle as opposed to a regular expatriate one. Expats usually have to live according to a precise schedule, making it just as difficult to get time off as it is for everyday workers to do the same back at home.
No matter if you are living abroad full-time or hit the road as a nomad, it’s important to make sure you are covered by travel and medical insurance for every destination. Check out SafetyWing’s coverage packages for digital nomads.
You can form closer relationships
Digital nomads commonly battle against feelings of being alone and disconnected. Moving quickly from place to place often leads to shallow relationships. Digital nomads may try to stay connected with family members from far away, but this type of communication does not replace the in-person connections that are necessary for good mental health.
In addition, if digital nomads are moving around various nations in which various languages are spoken, unless they are knowledgeable in multiple languages, the language difficulty typically restricts who they are able to communicate with.
Those who live and work digitally are likely to focus on one place, so they will likely only need to learn and become proficient in one language. They use their time to create connections that are more profound and gratifying, which is beneficial to their wellbeing and emotional wellbeing.
It is easier to maintain a routine
Although the goal of digital nomadism is to overthrow the standard routine, you may recognize the advantages that having an established order can bring when you’re traveling.
Constantly traveling around may appear to be an advantage for improving fitness, but people miss out on essential aspects of a healthy lifestyle, like maintaining a nutritious diet, exercising regularly, and having regular sleeping hours. It is difficult to keep up a mental attitude that facilitates excellent work when you are regularly changing places. Developing a customary practice for this mentality is essential.
Digital nomads can devise rituals in their relocated location that contribute to cultivating a beneficial lifestyle and good working atmosphere. In terms of getting tasks done, people typically find that they can complete more in less amount of time. Therefore, digital nomads likely have an abundance of leisure time to take advantage of.
You are still challenging yourself
Individuals may be captivated by the concept of inhabiting a digital nomadic lifestyle as an opportunity to task their skills. They aim to demonstrate that they can make it without help in the unfamiliar.
Being a digital nomad might be simpler than one would expect. However, although the obstacles are dissimilar, they are still tangible and necessitate individualistic thinking, self-assurance, and courage to conquer.
It is difficult to live your whole life in a foreign language and to become proficient in new ways of carrying out activities that could be incredibly divergent. Creating a life for yourself from zero in an unfamiliar neighborhood is quite difficult, especially if you aren’t welcomed and viewed as a suspicious character. Digital expats can make profound relationships, but forming a bond with someone who originates from a completely different environment and has diverse cultural values can be tough.
Tips and Tricks
Choose your first destination
Now we’re getting into the exciting stuff. Selecting the proper location is an important part of what it takes to be a digital nomad.
Accurately follow it and you’ll be devoted to this way of life. Make an incorrect guess and you could be deterred forever.
Ease of access
Examine a nation’s level of accessibility first. That refers to how effortless it is to relocate to a rural area and continue working remotely.
Do you require a visa to enter the country? Can you access the country without a visa for a given period of time?
Are you in need of a digital nomad visa, designed particularly for people who travel often, or a long-term permanent residence visa? Do you qualify for one of those, and if so, what are the necessary criteria?
A great deal of that conclusion relies on your current nation of origin.
People from the US, UK, Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, or any country in the EU that possess a strong passport will have a simpler time entering other countries.
If you are planning to take a digital nomad trip to a nation in the EU, the entry process will be relatively straightforward if you hold a passport from any of the EU/EEA countries or Switzerland.
Individuals from foreign nations are usually only able to be present in the Schengen region for three months before they have to vacate (and stay outside for another three months).
Before selecting a visa program, it is important to have a clear understanding of your objectives in the foreign nation.
Facilities & infrastructure
WI-FI QUALITY AND COVERAGE
Having access to Wi-Fi is certainly essential for any digital nomad.
You can expect good Wi-Fi speeds and unrestricted Internet access in most advanced nations.
Here’s a map of internet speeds around the world.
Be alert to nations like China where the authorities restrict access to well-known websites like Facebook, Twitter and Wikipedia.
A VPN subscription is recommended if you want to be able to access online services with various IP addresses based in different locations.
CO-WORKING SPACES
Working remotely can be a lonely lifestyle.
One way to combat loneliness is to use a shared workspace.
You can subscribe to a daily or monthly rate to gain access to a communal work area with different people who also work remotely and on their individual projects.
Making a habit of connecting with your colleagues remotely is a nice way to stay connected and capture the feeling of colleagues being friendly with each other, especially when you want to take a break from being in your home.
Generally, you have the option of working at the place either full time or just casually going in whenever you’d like. I personally prefer working a couple of days each week at a shared office and spending the remainder of the time working at home.
Having numerous shared work areas is an indication that your new city will generally be outfitted appropriately for digital nomads and remote workers.
Some nations and locales have brought out dedicated digital migrator programs, including the Digital Nomad Village in Madeira.
These ‘villages’ have been created with the purpose of luring remote workers to come to the area, investing both time and money. The set-up typically includes a shared workspace and a range of social activities to attend, with the purpose of connecting with others.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
How important public transportation is to an area dictates the overall quality of life that one can have.
In order to avoid feeling secluded, getting a car ASAP or having access to reliable buses, trains, and metros would be vital.
Choose a spot where ridesharing apps, such as Uber, Bolt, and Lyft, are regularly used and easily accessible.
ACCOMMODATION OPTIONS
It is possible that you will choose either to rent over an extended period of time or to purchase a house or apartment in the place where you are moving.
At first, it would be a good idea to opt for a short-term arrangement so you can become familiar with the location you are nomading in before taking on any long-term commitments.
It is advisable to go to places where you can locate temporary, convenient lodging via websites such as Airbnb or Flatio.
Facebook groups composed of expatriates in the area can be a great way to look for short-term housing (though it’s important to be mindful of potential fraudulent activities).
Do not provide payment until you have had the chance to view the apartment, and the ideal case would be to do so while in possession of the key.
STRONG COMMUNITY
Working remotely can be a lonely endeavor.
Travelling overseas with a spouse or relatives can make the process much simpler. Nonetheless, you should not underestimate the strength of creating new links between people.
Be certain that the locale you pick has a vibrant and enthusiastic group of individuals who share your values.
WIDE RANGE OF ACTIVITIES
Turning into a digital vagabond is an approach to achieve a superior work/life balance. In order to accomplish this, you must carve out moments for enjoyable activities when you are not busy with work.
Changing location to a city which contains a variety of entertaining things to do can help increase the likelihood that you will take breaks away from your laptop.
Have a look at the Facebook and Meetup.com communities for your goal place or city to discover what activities are being organized.
Do you have any particular pastimes that you have done for a period of time, or wish to take up? Make sure your new destination offers potential for these.
Get insured
Getting travel insurance prior to your journey is an intelligent decision.
Certain types of residence visas in Europe necessitate that travelers have insurance that covers unforeseen medical costs.
In order to be eligible to apply for long-term residency in an EU nation, one generally needs to have an insurance policy of a duration of between 6 to 12 months.
After being granted a residence permit, you can then submit an application for admission into the nation’s public healthcare plan.
Those living the digital nomad lifestyle, who often move from nation to nation, must have enough travel coverage to protect them while they are abroad in all countries.
Typically, one has to initiate the plan before leaving their home nation, however, certain digital nomad-friendly prospects can be more flexible.
Check out one of these options specially designed for the digital nomad lifestyle:
- InsuredNomads
- SafetyWing
- WorldNomads
- HeyMondo
Travel insurance will only cover you for short-term stays. If you plan to stay in a foreign nation for an extended amount of time, it may be worth looking into health insurance specifically for expatriates.
Many countries in Europe offer state-funded healthcare, which tends to be of excellent quality. Possessing personal health insurance permits quicker service and communication with English-speaking medical experts.
Top expat medical insurance options include:
- Cigna Global
- Allianz
- William Russell
- BUPA
- IMG
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