Embracing the Nomadic Lifestyle
Overcoming Fear for Freedom
“If your dreams don’t scare you, they’re not big enough.”
When you’re free to roam the world, the hardest question is: “Where do we go next?”
In our last post, we talked about some of the obstacles we overcame and hard work that we did to transition to our new lifestyle of full-time travel. If you haven’t read that post, you can access it here.
This week, we’re explaining a little bit more about what that lifestyle entails and some of the things we needed to consider before just jumping into it. If you’ve ever wondered what full-time work and travel would look like, in a general sense, this post is definitely for you.
What is a Nomad?
A nomad is a person who does not stay long in the same place; a wanderer. That pretty much defines our purpose for the foreseeable future. We want to travel from place to place in search of adventure, freedom, and personal growth. It’s definitely a departure from the traditional lifestyle that includes having a permanent home and a job that requires you to be at a designated location away from home. There are some specific skills or characteristics that make a person more likely to be successful as a nomad. Some of the most notable characteristics of a nomad include the following:
They move from place to place. The length of time between moves can vary depending on location, cost, and other factors. On average, we plan to stay in one location for around 2-4 weeks. We might stay in a more expensive location for less than a week, followed by a longer stay in a less expensive location to balance out costs. With that said, we also like having the flexibility to change our minds. If we’re loving where we are, we might choose to extend our stay. Therefore, while we may have a general idea of an overall path, we won’t likely have our specific destinations planned out in detail too much in advance.
They have a minimalist mindset. Because they are often on the move, nomads need to travel light. We each travel with a carry-on suitcase and a backpack. We can work and school remotely thanks to our laptops and internet connection. Is it difficult to pack for an indefinite trip in such a small amount of space? Absolutely! We would love to always have the perfect outfit for every situation, but it’s not practical to carry so many items.
When packing, we expect more from each item we select. That button down shirt needs to double as a pool cover-up. It also needs to serve as a light jacket to layer over a tank top when we need to cover our shoulders to enter a place of worship. Sandals need to be comfortable to wear for walking, able to take us to the beach, but nice enough to wear to dinner. Boots must be waterproof and practical enough for hiking or there’s no sense taking up so much space.
Ellie recently purchased an iPad and spent months researching and justifying its existence in her backpack. She can use it to help edit blog posts and pictures while getting from place to place, to check out books on her Libby app, and to have FaceTime calls with her friends. Basically, every item needs to be used to its maximum potential or it doesn’t make the cut.
They are able to adapt quickly to new environments and situations. Even though some accommodations might not be ideal, nomads learn to adapt and make their environment work for them. No desk? No problem! We’ll find a table, a counter, or our own lap to set up our office or school work station for the day.
Sure, we’d love to make that recipe exactly as it’s written but we might have to make some substitutions if any of the ingredients aren’t found in our location. Who knows, maybe we will stumble upon something that’s even better.
Are we always brilliant at this? Absolutely not, but we want to show our girls how to joyfully deal with minor obstacles. We know that if they practice this skill regularly, they will be better equipped to deal with more challenging circumstances when they arise.
They generally have no or few attachments. In our case, it doesn’t mean that we value lifestyle over relationships. Actually, it’s quite the opposite. We are on a quest to understand ourselves better, to challenge our beliefs, and to connect with people we would never meet if not for a travel lifestyle.
Traveling together means taking our most favorite people along for the ride. While we love our extended family, they all live in other states and we rarely see them. We are, however, making it a priority to visit them, and some of our dearest friends, this summer before we set off on our adventures.
We learned through Covid that technology offers us many ways to stay in touch. Ellie and I have Bible study partners whom we each meet with weekly online. We plan to continue those meetings while on the road, despite very different time zones. I also participate in an international Bible study group with women throughout the U.S. and from other parts of the world. Our travels may actually give me the opportunity to meet some of these women, in-person.
Rachel meets with a homeschool group weekly via Outschool, and would love the chance to visit a couple of them that are located in the UK. Being able to build relationships with people all around the world is one of our big draws to this new lifestyle. We plan to continue using our phones, along with apps like FaceTime, Zoom, and WhatsApp, to keep in touch with family and friends, wherever they may be.
What is a Digital Nomad?
A digital nomad is a person who earns a living working online in various locations instead of in a fixed business location. They use technology and communication tools to stay connected digitally, enabling them to freely travel while working.
The lifestyle might differ from person to person. It could look like a couple traveling across the country in a camper van. For us, it will be a family traveling across the world while homeschooling, writing a blog, and working on a couple of other business opportunities as we go. The point is that you are able to blend your work, passions, and travels into one lifestyle as opposed to having them completely compartmentalized.
In this post-Covid world where remote work is much more common, a higher percentage of workers have a great deal of flexibility when it comes to where they do their job than ever before. What used to be a life only available to those for whom travel was part of their job (travel agents, photographers, etc.) or those who were self-employed, is now possible even for some who work full-time for an employer.
Remote work falls into a number of subcategories. Words like remote, location-independent, and digital nomad can be a little confusing and sometimes get misused.
Remote work pretty much describes any work that is done away from a centralized workplace. Prior to leaving her job, Elllie fell into this category. Her job was fully remote but she was limited to only the U.S. and only to specific pre-approved states and counties due to the nature of her work. Therefore, while it allowed for lots of flexibility, it wasn’t truly location-independent.
A location-independent worker usually has a home base (typically their own home) with the ability to travel with their job. They can work from different locations throughout their country, or the world, without being tied to an office or specific location. Between travels, they return to their home-base.
A digital nomad, on the other hand, has a remote job, is location-independent, and they have no home base. Instead, they travel full-time, moving from place to place and doing their work from a hotel room, an Airbnb, a coffee shop, or anyplace that they can connect.
How to Become a Digital Nomad
Just like any other life change, there is a process to help transition to a nomadic lifestyle. The first step is to determine if it’s the right fit for you. This is not a lifestyle of endless vacations and extravagance. Working while traveling requires adaptability, accountability, problem-solving, and self-reliance. If you’re easily distracted or need stability, you might not be cut-out to be a digital nomad.
You’ll need to determine how challenging the requirements of your job will become for you while traveling. Then, honestly evaluate your skills and experience in meeting the kinds of challenges you anticipate encountering. Will you be able to manage your work, attend virtual meetings, and hit deadlines even while traveling across various time zones? How well can you deal with complications like technology issues? How will you solve for spotty wi-fi or a glitchy conference call?
Next, think about your finances. Your digital nomad lifestyle will have to take some new things into consideration. Will you still need to maintain housing costs at home? What will it cost for lodging, meals, transportation, and technology access while on the road? Will you need upgraded equipment to ensure a reliable connection while you’re on the road? Will your income cover those expenses or will you need to dip into savings?
Getting connected is also important. This time, I’m talking about people as opposed to technology. You’ll want to engage with others and spend time networking. This will look different for someone who is self-employed vs working remotely for an employer. The type of network you build will depend on the type of work you do. A travel blogger or YouTube content creator will spend time connecting with other content creators and their subscribers. A person building an online consulting business will need to plug in on LinkedIn and join professional networks as they travel. Collaboration is necessary for building a profitable business, so you’ll need to have a strategy.
Lastly, you’ll want to unload some baggage. I mean this in the literal sense. If you’re traveling full time, you will want to live as simply as possible. For us, that means a maximum of one carry-on bag and one backpack per person. This is where it is important to distinguish the difference between needs and wants.
Traveling light means a limited wardrobe, very few accessories, and a minimal package of computer equipment with cloud-based storage for all of your work and personal documents. You’ll likely have to forgo that extra monitor and high tech camera and microphone equipment. You can, however, pack some extra cords, like an HDMI cable, which take up far less space and can help you convert a TV into a large monitor. Traveling light will keep you nimble, making travel days much more manageable, but it will require you to think a bit outside the box.
If you don’t currently have a location-independent job, you’ll need to create your own or research companies that celebrate remote work and apply for a job that aligns with your desire to travel and explore while working. Some jobs that lend themselves to this kind of lifestyle include online language tutoring, customer service roles, computer & IT jobs, data entry, graphic design, virtual admin jobs, and writing jobs.
Pros & Cons of a Nomadic Lifestyle
A nomadic lifestyle, as with everything in life, has pros & cons to consider before jumping into the deep end.
Pros:
Flexibility & Freedom – When you become a digital nomad, you are essentially location-independent. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you are independently wealthy (although, I’m sure that would help). Rather, you create a situation where you don’t have a set schedule for work or school. As mentioned above, this could mean that you are self-employed, but it could also mean that you have a remote job that is super flexible. In our situation, we are using a combination of retirement and personal savings and income generation from self-employment.
Our girls use an online homeschool platform that they can access 24/7. This means that we can work and school whenever it makes sense. Some weeks, that may mean we work and school hard all weekend and enjoy local attractions during the week when they are less crowded. Other weeks, our schedule might not look much different than the average 9-5 of most of the world. (For more information about homeschooling, check out our first post in our homeschooling mini-series here.)
New & Exciting Experiences – World travel offers so many new opportunities to explore. In addition to typical tourist attractions, we like to immerse ourselves in the local culture and meet people who will help us understand the language and the way of life. Not knowing the local language means having to be patient and resourceful. You can’t walk into a new place demanding that everyone stop what they’re doing and help you. Instead, you must make an effort. Take your time, be pleasant, learn how to say “please” and “thank you” in the local language so you can offer gratitude. Often, it’s not the iconic sites that you will remember most but the interactions you have with the locals.
Affordability – We’ve gotten used to the surprised reaction we get when we tell people that we’re setting off on our world travels. We think this happens for a couple of reasons. First, it’s a very uncommon way to live. Second, most people think that it’s very expensive to travel the world. We actually think that it could be a more common lifestyle if people realized that it’s not as expensive as they might think.
The most important thing to remember is that you’re NOT setting off on an extended vacation! This is a new way of life. As such, you need to set a budget and stay within those parameters. You will have a couple of things going for you from the start. Not owning a home means no mortgage or rent to pay. It also means not having to pay for maintenance, repairs, or utilities. Right there, you’ve saved lots of money per month. Now, add up all the money you spend on THINGS. When you have no place to put all the extra things, you won’t be buying them. Impulse buying becomes a non-issue.
Do you have to sell your home to travel the world full-time? The simple answer is “No.” There are lots of people that keep their family home and rent it out or use it as an Airbnb to help offset their costs while they travel. There is even at least one program where you can swap homes with other world travelers. HomeExchange is a social network that matches homeowners with others in different areas of the world. By offering your home to travelers, you are provided with the opportunity to stay for free (or at a reduced rate) at homes provided by others throughout the world. While we find this idea intriguing, we decided that not having a home to worry about was more appealing for our personal journey.
You will find lots of YouTube families & couples that talk about how they sold or donated “everything” before they left to travel full-time. We’ve found that the ones we follow often make mention of having a small storage unit or a family member’s home where they store some items. My point is that it’s not necessary to sell or get rid of everything you own. Having a storage unit (or two) is perfectly fine as long as your budget has those costs built in. This is your journey and your choice, you have to find what works best for you.
Now, if you insist on staying in the finest hotels during peak season, you will find your money running out quickly. Instead, use your flexibility of schedule to visit during shoulder seasons (non-peak times). Using public transportation like buses and trains (where available) can help you save money too. There are lower priced accommodations like hostels (yes, even for families) that can keep your budget in check as well.
This summer, we’re actually trying a new (to us) option. We are currently staying at a very nice home that we found through TrustedHousesitters. For 65 days, we are taking care of the home and pets for another family while they travel overseas together. This win/win situation lets us live rent-free for the duration of our stay, allowing us to adapt to our new nomadic lifestyle and to get some work done. It also allows the homeowners the freedom to travel out of the country without having to hire a pet-sitter or ask friends to check on their home or get the mail. We are enjoying the time spoiling their two older dogs that are so much more comfortable in their own home and on their own schedule vs being stressed out in a kennel for two months.
Personal Growth – We know this journey will help build character and confidence in each one of us. We will be required to be patient and overcome stress and challenges. We will also need to work as a team. We are excited to show our girls how to be BOLD so that they won’t face future challenges in fear but, rather, with excitement. We recently wrote about our family motto “Everything Always Works Out.” This is a mindset that we want our girls to embrace and we must show them by example. Each new adventure is an opportunity to practice problem solving, patience, and the ability to think on our feet.
Creativity – Traveling and interacting with others outside of your comfort zone triggers creativity. When you’re exposed to new foods, languages, customs, and experiences you will naturally find inspiration all around you.
While routines can be helpful, they can also become monotonous and stifle our creativity. Traveling breaks this cycle and pushes us out of our comfort zones. With new sounds, tastes, sights, and smells, our brains begin to process these sensory experiences and make new connections. This heightened sense of awareness might spark new ideas and challenge our beliefs.
In addition to new social engagement and human interaction, travel brings opportunities for solitude and reflection. A hike in a new location, a secluded moment beside a beautiful lake, or hours with your headphones on while on public transportation can give you ample moments for deep reflection to spark creative insights.
Travel in itself is an opportunity to grow and create new skills. A missed flight, an unexpected delay, or a simple interaction that becomes complicated due to a language barrier all pose challenges. Overcoming these challenges requires creativity, problem solving, and adaptability. These are treasured moments that allow you to boost your confidence and become more likely to take on additional risks (without as much fear and anxiety) in the future.
Travel provides daily learning opportunities that create new neural pathways in our brains. The development of new skills and languages and the accumulation of learned facts enhance our brain’s power. Harness this power by staying curious and documenting your thoughts by sketching or journaling, exploring new territories, and interacting with locals to learn their stories and insights.
Make Money – Many full-time travelers have multiple streams of income. In addition to their remote work or businesses, travel itself becomes an opportunity to earn income. People are naturally interested in this lifestyle. They’ll ask questions and some will want to know HOW it’s done. Answering these questions and providing resources (via a blog, a podcast, and/or a YouTube channel) can become a way to earn extra income.
Cons:
Lots of Goodbyes – If you are someone who becomes easily attached, saying goodbye to new friends can be difficult. It can be particularly difficult for kids. We’re dealing with this now as both of our youngest daughters are preparing to say goodbye to their very dearest friends for at least a year. While they will be able to stay in touch through technology, there is a very real fear that their friends will move on without them and no longer need them. We know that we have to lead by example, making regular interaction with our own friends a priority and encouraging them to reach out regularly as well.
Uncertainty & Isolation – The nomadic lifestyle carries with it a certain inherent bit of uncertainty. We meet with jaw dropping looks from people who want to know our itinerary for the next 12-18 months and we tell them that we’re not quite sure. While we have a good idea of our general direction, we are reluctant to make concrete plans too far in advance. Plans have a way of falling apart and the domino effect can mean having to change multiple reservations and flights, potentially leading to lost money. Instead, we will let the flights and accommodations that are within our budget help determine our route.
This constant researching of accommodations, flights, and visa requirements along with weather monitoring and taking care of day to day needs can become daunting. We know that there will be times that we might question our choices or even our sense of belonging as homesickness sets in and we yearn for a “home” that we simply don’t have anymore. These are times where we need to find a place to settle in for a bit. While we plan to slow travel as a general rule, there may be times where an extra few days or weeks might help us re-center ourselves and help us feel more “rooted.”
Cost – Full-time travel can be expensive if you’re not careful. If your idea of the nomadic lifestyle involves never ending visits to exotic locations then you will run out of money quickly. I’m not saying you can’t visit exotic and iconic locations. Instead, you should plan them strategically.
You’ll need to budget carefully and take into consideration what existing expenses will continue and what new ones might be added. If you’re selling your home or giving up a rented home, you will save money on mortgage/rent, utilities, and maintenance. If you’re not, you’ll need to be sure to include those continuing costs and any unexpected costs that may require a professional to address in your absence.
If you haven’t done your research on the cost of food and accommodations in your destinations, those costs can accumulate very quickly as well. We usually try to offset some of those costs by selecting accommodations with a functional kitchen space so we can grocery shop and prepare most of our meals ourselves. In addition, some countries and cities are just more expensive, overall, than others. You’ll need to factor all of these things into your budget.
We plan to spend less time in expensive locations, followed by several weeks in a more budget-friendly destination. Budget-friendly also doesn’t always mean that it won’t have wonderful experiences and sights. For example, one week in Paris might mean spending a month in Normandy. Both locations are beautiful and have wonderful experiences to offer, but Normandy will be a bit friendlier for your bank account.
We’ve also recently been experimenting with credit card points. There are some full-time travelers that swear by certain cards as a means to accrue valuable points that can decrease your costs or make some exotic locations more affordable. We’ve been a bit slower to accept this method because we just don’t like debt and we can often associate credit cards with debt. That said, while we dive into this as an opportunity to enjoy some additional perks, we still pay off any debt at the end of each month and we don’t purchase unnecessary items just to meet a sign up bonus.
As you can see, there is a lot to take into consideration before jumping into a nomadic lifestyle. While we have practiced in many ways over the past few years, with homeschooling, remote work, and extended travel, we know that we are embarking on a journey that will teach us many new things. Is the nomadic lifestyle something you’ve considered? Tell us what’s holding you back from your own Uncommon Family Adventures.
