What Jobs Do Digital Nomads Do? 20 ON THE ROAD TOP DESTINATIONS Become A Travel Blogger 22 FOR DIGITAL NOMADS Top 5 Blogging Platforms 23 Making Your Blog Stand Out 25 Arriving In Your Destination 82 Promoting Your Blog 26 Accommodation 84 Canggu, Bali, Indonesia 116 Making Money From Your Blog 27 Eating & Drinking 86 Lisbon, Portugal 120 Other Kinds Of Writing 28 Choosing Your Workspace 88 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 124 Become An Influencer 30 Tips For Finding Wi-Fi 90 Medellín, Colombia 128 Code Your Way Around The World 32 Connecting With Other Digital Nomads 91 Tbilisi, Georgia 132 Working The Web 34 Getting Around 92 Seoul, South Korea 136 Being Virtually There 36 Work-Life Balance 93 Buenos Aires, Argentina 140 Online Creativity 38 Being A Stranger In A Strange Land 94 Chiang Mai, Thailand 144 Distance Learning Made Easy 40 Staying Connected 96 Budapest, Hungary 148 Learning The Lingo 99 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain 152 WHERE TO GO Ten Ways To Overcome Loneliness 100 Tallinn, Estonia 156 Keeping Healthy On The Road 102 Playa del Carmen, Mexico 160 Healthy Eating 104 10 Alternative Digital Nomad Destinations 164 © GAUDILAB / SHUTTERSTOCK / GAUDILAB © Choosing A Destination 44 Exercise Your Way Healthy 106 Five Vital Attributes For A Digital Destination 46 Personal Safety 107 INSPIRATION: Types Of Digital Hubs 48 Six Apps For Staying Safe 111 DIGITAL NOMAD TALES CONTENTS Getting There 50 Planning For Your Return 112 Alternative Travel Tips For Environmentalists 52 Digital Nomad Tales 168 Resources 174 BEFORE YOU GO Index 180 MAKING THE LEAP Pre-Departure Health Essentials 56 Money & Budgeting 58 Managing Your Money Overseas 60 Are You A Digital Nomad? 6 Getting Paid 62 What’s Stopping You? 8 Tax Tips 64 © LUCIANO LEJTMAN/ ALAMY STOCK PHOTO Ten Perks Of Being A Visas & Paperwork 66 Digital Nomad 12 Work-Friendly Visas 68 GETTY/ IMAGES PYTEL STANISLAW © The Visa Run 70 HOW TO BE A Travel Insurance 71 DIGITAL NOMAD Fifteen Items Every Digital Nomad Should Carry 72 Tech Tips for Digital Nomads 74 Top Trades For Digital Nomads 16 Tech-Safe Travel 77 Using Your Existing Skills 18 Setting Out Your Stall 78 TEN TOP DIGITAL What jobs do NOMAD JOBS Software developer digital nomads do? 1 Remote working is a standard part of development, so it’s a small leap to being a coding nomad. Some jobs seem tailor-made for a Web designer TEACH THE WORLD 2 nomadic lifestyle. If you are already set A WORLD OF CODE A perfectly portable profession, where what matters to clients is results, not on jetting around the planet, becoming where you are based. Travel blogging may have the glamour, but plenty of Remember the days when the only way to learn a travel blogger and writing about your digital nomads make better money, and fund a more something was to traipse into a classroom or pick up Travel Blogger 3 journey seems like a no-brainer. But luxurious lifestyle, by being part of that select group a ‘Teach Yourself…’ book from the local library? No, Writing about your travels to pay for plenty of other jobs and trades slot neatly who speak the universal language of computer neither do we. In the digital age, a huge amount of your travels is a perfect partnership. into the location-independent lifestyle. code. Freelancing is the cornerstone of the software what we learn takes place in the digital space, from Language Teacher development business, and travellers who can online music tutorials to workplace subconscious 4 Thanks to distance learning over the The key criteria for digital nomads is code in desirable languages, such as Java, Python, bias training and videos to improve your knowledge internet, the world is your classroom. being able to do the actual day-to-day C++, Javascript and SQL will find their skills are in of SEO. With a fast web connection and a quality SEO Specialist 5 work from wherever you happen to be demand wherever they happen to be in the world. webcam, you can impart your knowledge to paying Learn how to optimise content for And did we mention web design? Or did you think students almost anywhere in the world. search engines and make money in the world, via the medium of a high- helping companies up their game. that the person who designed your website was speed internet connection. working from an office in Dunstable? Social Media Expert 6 Managing social media accounts is a business that works from anywhere. Technical Support Representative CREATIVE ENDEAVOURS TAKE YOUR JOB WITH YOU START FROM THE GROUND FLOOR 7 You don’t have to be physically in the room to keep tech ticking over smoothly. Blogging isn’t the only creative activity that can Many of the day-to-day tasks that keep a business Launching a start-up might seem like a big step, but Virtual Assistant fund your travels. Many digital nomads turn to other going don’t actually have to take place in the office. household names such as Uber, eBay and Facebook 8 Companies need remote support in kinds of writing – from on-message travel writing Managing projects, supervising social media, doing all began life as one person with tech experience everything from accounts and invoicing to project management. to more prosaic scribing such as writing advertising the accounts – all things that can be done from a and a smart idea. If you’ve got a model for an online copy, authoring manuals for appliances or writing pavement cafe with a fast wi-fi connection. Even business that could revolutionise the way we live Freelance Writer training materials for office tasks you’ve actually one-time face-to-face jobs, such as working as an our lives, you’ll be one of a growing contingent of 9 Writing is one of the most portable left far behind. Don’t forget editing, one of the most office assistant, have moved into the virtual sphere. digital nomads pursuing the same dream. Moving ways of making a living, whether you blog about wellness or write manuals portable professions around. Then there’s the visual In fact, almost anything that can be done in an in a world of co-working spaces and networking for microwaves. sphere: graphic design, videography, photography, office can now be done remotely if you can find a meetups, you’ll have plenty of encounters with fellow layout. If you don’t have to be in a specific place client willing to pay you for the service. entrepreneurs, and the opportunity to share ideas, Graphic Designer 10 when you do it, almost any creative activity can form forge new business relationships, and perhaps even Some simple tech can transform your the foundation of a digital nomad life. build the dream team who go on to become the next laptop into a portable design studio. online superstars. HOW TO BE A DIGITAL NOMAD 20 21 THE DIGITAL NOMAD HANDBOOK Visas & paperwork The traditional digital nomad model is based on something of a legal loophole. Most governments have strict rules governing who can visit and work in the country, but the vast majority of nomadic remote workers travel on tourist visas, bypassing the normal rules and regulations for working in a foreign country. WORKING ON A TOURIST VISA TOURIST VISA CONDITIONS In theory, tourist visas are for holidays only, and Most tourist visas are set up to make it as easy as SHUTTERSTOCK / FOX NICK © anyone working overseas needs a business or work possible for travellers to visit, so there are usually few visa. If you were caught working for a local company restrictions. Many countries offer visas on arrival, often on a tourist visa, the penalties would be severe. for free, and some offer visa-free travel for tourists. ONWARD TICKETS However, most digital nomads work for companies One condition most countries insist on is six months’ outside the country they are visiting, so the validity in your passport beyond the date of entry; if Another thing border officials may ask to see is authorities are unlikely to be aware of your business your passport is close to expiry, get a new one before an onward ticket, as proof you intend to leave the activities unless you draw attention to yourself. you set off. The website Visa List (www.visalist.io) country at the end of your stay. Some people travel What this does mean is that most digital nomads details which countries require a visa; for specifics, on return plane tickets, but never use the return are operating in a grey area of the law. Immigration contact the embassy of the country you’re going to. leg. Others buy a cheap plane or ferry ticket to the rules are generally set up to protect local workers nearest onward destination, and then cancel it for and make sure that visiting workers from elsewhere a refund once they have entered the country; the pay their taxes, and if the authorities discover US site for Expedia (www.expedia.com) allows free you flouting the rules, you could be deported and cancellation within 24 hours. blacklisted. On the other hand, the risks of anyone Making fake tickets in Photoshop (believe noticing that you are working are small, unless you us – people do it) is not recommended, and the become legally resident, in which case you’ll become same goes for websites that promise to knock up liable for local taxes like other residents. a convincing fake ticket, but sites such as Best Onward Ticket (www.bestonwardticket.com) and One Way Fly (www.onewayfly.com) let you ‘rent’ a © 2020, CAFE FLOR, BUENOS FLOR, CAFE JUSTET AIRES/ PH.