A digital nomad is a remote worker who works from anywhere in the world. The number of people who temporarily relocated to a foreign country increased in the pandemic, but for many remains an exciting way to live and work. Workers do it for an average of 2-3 years, but it is a long-term way of life for others.
For the remote worker who likes to travel, the world can be your home office as you set up shop anywhere with a strong Internet connection. Digital nomads, as such globetrotting workers are known, are welcome throughout the world.
Host countries, however, are now developing regulations that pertain to digital nomads so wise globe-trotting workers research their preferred location and make sure that everything is in order for their work life in a new country. Digital nomad visas are a hot trend.
Being a digital nomad is exciting, but a smart candidate for distal work looks at the advantages and the downsides of the lifestyle before stepping on the plane,
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What Is A Digital Nomad?
A digital nomad is a person who makes a living while traveling. Someone from the U.S. might travel to a country such as Bali or Costa Rica and set up temporary residence in an Airbnb, hotel, hostel, recreational vehicle, or short-term housing. Digital nomads work online from cafes or coffee shops, coworking spaces, or their temporary residence or RV.
This lifestyle appeals to millennials, but the pandemic spurred interest in the digital nomad movement. In 2020, 10.9 million American workers consider themselves as digital nomads, an increase of 49% over the previous year. Living and working in another country is exciting
Living and working in another country is exciting. Digital nomads can live and work among people of another culture and experience it more intensely if they were tourists there for a week or two. Despite the vacation-like surroundings, they are not on vacation. Like most workers everywhere who are not independently wealthy, they must work to survive.
Interesting Digital Nomad Statistics
As more people try the digital nomad lifestyle some interesting statistics have emerged. Many of these were compiled from surveys and research papers by Project Untethered, a leading source of information about the digital nomad lifestyle.
- 52% of digital nomads come from the United States, followed by the United Kingdom (8%), Russia (5%), Canada (4%), Germany (3%), and France (3%).
- 70% of digital nomads are women, while 30% are men.
- Most digital nomads are in their 30’s – a change from previous years. Before the pandemic, many of the Baby Boomer generation traveled and worked remotely; in 2019, they made up 27% of the digital workforce. By late 2022, the composition of the digital workforce changed, and Boomers came home in record numbers.
| DEMOGRAPHIC GROUP | PERCENT |
| Boomers (58-72) | 13% |
| Gen X (42-58) | 23% |
| Millennials (27-42) | 47% |
| Gen Z (<27) | 17% |
- Technology has freed many from the office as 56% of workers can do most of their job remotely, while 57% were offered a full-time or part-time remote assignment in 2022
- While being a digital nomad does not work for everyone, an estimated 22% of Americans (36.2 million of them) will still be working remotely in 2025 so employers can cut costs.
- 25 million American workers surveyed planned on trying life as a digital nomad in 2 or 3 years, while 48 million are considering it.
- 70% of digital nomads plan doing it for 2-3 years – even though they originally thought they would do it for less than a year.
- Though the lifestyle has been hyped as a great way to travel, only 24% of location-independent remote workers actually mix work and travel simultaneously. Most visit only 1 or 2 countries, while only 17% visit more than 5 countries per year.
The 16 most popular digital nomad locations are:
- Lisbon Portugal
- Melbourne, Australia
- Chiang Mai, Thailand
- Canggu, Bali, Indonesia
- Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
- Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- Cape Town, South Africa
- Budapest, Hungary
- Berlin, Germany
- Barcelona, Spain
- Las Palmas, Grand Canaria, Spain
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Medellin, Columbia
- Santa Teresa, Costa Rica
- Tulum, Mexico
- Austin, Texas, United States
What Kind Of Work Do Digital Nomads Typically Do?
As digital nomads work online, they do not take jobs away from local people. They are usually either freelancers who work gigs, owners of their own businesses, or employees whose companies give them the freedom to work where they like.
Common types of remote jobs include writing, website and graphic design, data analysis, editing, IT, software development, accounting, marketing, and sales.
The digital nomad lifestyle works best for flexible jobs that can be done anytime, but even jobs such as customer service that have set hours can be done from anywhere with a strong Wi-Fi signal.
Many jobs can be done remotely and often on a flexible schedule. Some of most common jobs for digital nomads are listed in the chart below.
COMMON REMOTE JOBS FOR DIGITAL NOMADS
| Accounting | Healthcare | Quality Analyst | Teacher/Tutor |
| Customer Service | IT | Recruiting & HR | Transcription |
| Editing & Writing | Marketing | Social Media Management | Web Development |
| Graphic Design | Project Management | Software Development | Virtual Assistant |
10 Considerations For Digital Nomads
1. Income Stability
To afford to live in a foreign country, the digital nomad must have a source of income to pay expenses. Certain jobs, as noted above, lend themselves to working from anywhere, but freelance jobs do not always flow evenly. A digital nomad typically has some savings to fall back on if work is slow or just part-time rather than full-time.
The cost of living in different countries may be lower than in the U.S., but those who do remote work can expect to make less. Digital nomad gigs mean no benefits like in traditional jobs and no safety net such as unemployment or workers’ comprehensive in case of an accident on the job.
Many tropical paradises that attract digital nomads are subject to frequent storms that can further disrupt a sometimes meager income.
2. Internet Access
Digital nomad jobs depend on having stable Wi-Fi wherever a person wants to work. About 64% of the world’s population has access to Internet, but the figures vary by country and by parts of the country.
In Costa Rica, a popular digital nomad location, 83% of the people have Internet access while only 17% have it in Ethiopia. In either case, there are parts of those countries that are digital wastelands.
A digital nomad needs to be careful in their selection of worksites. They may be able to rely on a public Wi-Fi network, which lacks security, but they need to plan ahead. No internet means no work!
Better ways to get local internet in different locations include:
Use their smartphone as a Wi-Fi hotspot
- Get a SIM card (local SIM card, Holafly eSIM card, or International SIM card.
- Satellite internet
- Solis portable router
- Unlocked portable router
- USB dongle
- Pocket Wi-Fi rental
3. Loneliness Of The Digital Worker
Being a digital nomad for a few months can be exciting, but long term, it can be lonely. A partner, spouse, or family can be part of the adventure, but more people to support puts more pressure to have more income. Many digital nomads leave family, friends, lovers, and pets at home and either sever connections or try to manage long-distance relationships. They face the challenge of making new connections in a new place.
Many remote workers suffer from social isolation. Living in a foreign country can intensify the loneliness as digital nomad life is lonelier. A new expat knows no one, may not be very familiar with the language and may be regarded with suspicion.
Preparing for digital nomad job involves studying the culture to see where you’d best fit in, be it in Portugal, Thailand, Mexico, or Australia. Connect with online digital communities like Noma Collective or Digital Nomad World to find out more about to expect.
4. Minimalist Lifestyle
Digital nomads must travel light with a minimum of office equipment and personal effects. While they are not working, they must either have their possessions with them or leave them in safe surroundings. If they lose their work laptop due to theft or an accident, they are left without the tools they need to do the job. Even if they have travel insurance, they will lose time as they replace equipment.
Millennials and later generations, viewed as preferring experiences to acquiring things, may be happy with the minimalist lifestyle. Others who are used to spending a large part of their hard-earned money on possessions to enjoy might find nomad minimalism disappointing.
5. No Karens Need Apply
Living in a foreign country often requires learning a new language and customs. Even someone versed in the local language may find it challenging to adapt to speech idioms and to speak English everyday. Ideal candidates for nomadic life must be up for the challenge. Those who burst into foreign countries acting like stereotypical “ugly Americans” or “Karens” aren’t likely to blend well into their new environment.
6. Health Concerns
For those with health conditions, assuring that the destination country has accessible health care is crucial. Many other countries have fine healthcare systems, but a digital nomad with a heart condition, diabetes, or some chronic disease must assure that they can get the help they need in the area where they hoped to settle.
Finding affordable health insurance is a challenge to anyone who is self-employed, especially if they have limited resources. Domestic health insurance may have limited or nonexistent coverage in some foreign countries, so the digital nomad needs international health insurance to cover them wherever they are. This must be set up even before applying to go to many foreign countries.
7. Limited Stay
Even if someone wants to be a digital nomad for the long run, individual countries often will not permit that. Many digital nomads entered the country on travel visas which are only good for a limited time. They may not be able to work legally unless they have a digital nomad visa. Without the proper paperwork, they may need to move elsewhere after a specific period of time, file for residency, or risk being expelled from the country.
8. Domestic Nomads
Being a digital nomad in their own country may not be as exotic as living in Costa Rica, but it can be a change of pace with different scenery. While the lifestyle can be lonely and jobs sporadic, at least someone from their old life is a call or short plane ride away. If they run out of money, they can find a temporary job to make ends meet until their work picks up.
Many digital nomads from abroad find the U.S. has a high cost of living, but they – as well as those from here – go elsewhere.
9. For Disciplined Free Spirits Only
The lure of being a free spirit living your best life in another country (or even in the U.S.) is mesmerizing to many people. What is less romantic is keeping up with laws and tax requirements both in the U.S. and foreign countries.
Some countries such as Croatia offer nomads freedom from paying national income taxes for a year, while those in Bali in Indonesia can live tax-free for five years. No matter what the local tax requirements are, U.S. citizens must pay taxes and Social Security contributions even if they are living elsewhere so long as the U.S. is their tax home base. Even nomads far from retirement should protect their Social Security payments later in life by paying into the system.
A digital nomad needs to connect with an experienced tax attorney or online accounting and bookkeeping service such as Incfile to learn the many intricacies of tax law residing in a foreign country.
Smart independent workers might even reach out to MBO Partners for help with incorporation, contract setup, billing, financial management, payroll, tax compliance, and health and retirement benefit programs.
Finding Remote Jobs
If you are thinking of being a digital nomad, you may already have a job that you know will work abroad. however, if you are looking for one, there are plenty of places to look. While you can start on general job boards such as LinkedIn, you can find plenty of specialized sites as well.
Here are a few to consider:
Once you are emerged in digital nomad life, you should keep an eye on these nomad lists in case your work dries up, or you want more side jobs.
