What is a digital nomad?

You might have come across the term digital nomad before and not known what it means. In this post I'm going to explain what it is, and why it's so great.

A digital nomad is a person who works primarily over the internet, allowing them the freedom to travel anywhere they please as long as they still have internet. Typically, digital nomads are known to only need their laptop and internet. Many different types of jobs can be done online these days, including jobs that were traditionally done from an office desk.

Digital nomads don't have to work for an employer though, in fact, many don't. Many digital nomads are self employed. There are a vast number of ways in which digital nomads can earn money and I will give a few examples below.

One of the most common ways to earn money as a digital nomad is by programming. You can advertise your skills online, and take on projects from clients. In this case, you would generally keep in touch with the client by email, which means that you can work whichever hours you please. If you prefer to go out to the beach in the morning, then you can!

(Photo from pixabay.com)

Some digital nomads run their own businesses. It could be that they manage their business mostly online, but there is a physical aspect handled by someone else who they pay, or it could be that the business is entirely online.

The partially offline businesses often sell products online and have someone else deal with the actual shipping. This can be done through dropshipping or by using order fulfillment services such as FBA (fulfilled by amazon). Or just by hiring an employee to work for you to ship the products.

An example of a business that would be entirely online would be selling software. Since software can be sent as a download and paid for over the internet, there is no need for any physical presence for a business like this. Other digital products could be substituted into this model instead of software, such as ebooks, music, video, digital services. As long as you can earn enough to pay your expenses, you can do it.

Which brings me nicely onto the next point. Expenses. Since digital nomads can travel anywhere, they can choose somewhere with very low expenses. This doesn't by any means force them to live somewhere bad - there are plenty of places where the cost of living is low whilst still being great to live in. For a European experience, there are plenty of countries in Eastern Europe where the cost of living is relatively low. Or for a more tropical experience, many digital nomads choose Thailand, or other Southeast Asian countries.

Choosing a location with a low cost of living not only lets you save money, but I think it also lets you enjoy yourself more. When you can go out to restaurants and do other activities without worrying too much about the price, it is a much more pleasurable experience. Another bonus to being a digital nomad is that you don't have to waste any time commuting to work. Your commute is basically only as long as it takes you to open your laptop.

So, in this post I have told you about what it means to be a digital nomad, and what is good about it. I hope you've found this post interesting. Please upvote if you did like it, and maybe follow me too.