Over the last 5 years, the concept of Remote Work has become more commonplace and many of the associated terms (think Digital Nomad, Location Independent, Work/Traveler, etc) have already become Buzzwords in and of themselves! In the time since I’ve arrived home for the holidays, the number of times I’ve been asked about my ‘holiday’ or Gap Year has been pretty hilarious.🤦🏾♀️ What did strike me though is the number of people who, after learning that I’m actually WORKING abroad, still had some pretty wild assumptions about what exactly that meant… if were able to even fathom what I was saying at all was at all... There are the top 3 myths about Digital Nomad life that I’m here to dispel.
Myth # 1. Digital Nomad Life is Synonymous with Vacation
It’s pretty much a never ending party around the world, right?
So lets this take this back to grade school essay writing for a second. Webster's Dictionary defines a Digital Nomad as…. No I’m just kidding. The concept of Digital Nomading is so new, it hasn't even MADE it into the dictionary yet! So for the sake of this article our working definition of Digital Nomad is the following: someone who uses technology, especially a laptop and a wireless network, to work remotely from anywhere in the world. The operative word in this definition is WORK. Because I was genuinely curious, I’ve gone ahead and thrown in the definition of vacation (and this one WAS in Websters ;)) and a vacation is: an extended period of leisure and recreation, especially one spent away from home or in traveling. It thinks it’s incredibly important to draw a distinction between these two because so many of nomadic hopefuls seem to have a distorted understanding of what it means to become a digital nomad.
In my next article, I’ll dive deeper into the different types of Digital Nomad phenotypes that exist but, generally speaking, most nomads work in either incredibly intensive but self-sufficient roles (devs, entrepreneurs, creatives, etc) or they work as part of teams that are based back at home, wherever that may be. For these nomads, that means being ready to settle in and start your day in Chiang Mai at 9pm in order to stay in sync with your team back in New York. Let your boss try to pull that mess while you’re on vacation in Singapore...probably wouldn't be received so well. This is just one of the hundreds of concessions that Digital Nomads have to make in order to balance their location independent lifestyle with the demands of their professional career.
Myth #2: Only Entrepreneurs or Developers Have Ability to WORK as Nomads
Everyone else is a trust fund baby or something
This is always a really funny one to me. When you’re scrolling through your instagram freed and it seems like everyone BUT you must have some trust fund of millionaire sugar daddy thats financing these trips, more often than not, that is not actually the case. Now don’t get me wrong, there are for SURE thousands of people for whom that is in fact the case...but you would be AMAZED to know the number of people who began their Digital Nomad journeys with little more than half of a saving account, a backpack, and a declaration that they were going to figure out how to make it work as Nomad, even if the HOW in the moment was less than crystal clear.
I have to say, there are for SURE some jobs that lend themselves to the Digital Nomad lifestyle a lot more easily than others. As we saw in the earlier working definition, a digital nomad is someone who uses technology, especially a laptop and a wireless network, to work remotely from anywhere in the world. If your job is already one that is 99% the use of technology, it;s lot easier to make the case to the powers that be; what difference does it make if I’m writing this code here in this cubicle in Denver or in a workspace overlooking the beaches of Koh Tao? Valid point for sure. But the idea I want to challenge is that this is the ONLY way to sustain yourself as a Digital Nomad. In my travels, I have met people who work as online physical trainers, life and business coaches, marketing managers, copywriters, english teachers… even Estimators for large construction companies, Lawyers, and Tax Consultants! Now, If you’re in in home care nurse or something that is inherently incompatible with travel; there's a different discussion to be had as to what matters most to you. The major key here: Whatever preconceived notions you may have around what jobs can and cannot be done remotely, I hope that you’ll take advantage of the free consultations bookable HERE to determine exactly how accessible your Digital Nomad life truly may be.
Myth #3: I Must Start With Friends
This is a really interesting one if been hearing for a while now but its not until reflecting on my past few years of nomading that I can truly appreciate the irony of it. When most people begin their Digital Nomad journey, there is no doubt the journey can be incredibly intimidating. For many, to nomad means, leaving behind your home, your family, your friends, your pets, your yoga studio… I mean, the list can be infinite when calculating just how much emphasis we’ve put into cultivating and maintaining the things that make us happy, that make us comfortable, that we’ve, in some cases, considered quintessential parts of who we are…..and just like that:
poof.
It's us, our backpack of belongings, and whoooooollle bunch of new people, new smells, new languages, and ‘what do you mean you don’t have Wifi?!’s. I can’t speak for everyone else...but when I left for my nomadic journey, my life was pretty rosey. I had the greatest group of loving supportive friends, a beautiful luxury apartment in Boston’s Seaport that I could see the water from, an incredibly generous paying job….and with all of that… I wasn’t happy. I was GRATEFUL but I wasn’t happy; I knew there had to be more.
The first week or so of solo nomad adventures was tough indeed; everything I knew and had come to depend on was gone. But what this did was create the space for me to start asking myself the tough questions. “When its just you...no one to impress, no ‘standards’ to live up to, who are you? What are you about? What are the things you LIKE to do when no one's around to watch? To pat you on the back with kudos or to scold your mistakes?” and boy oh boy. The Taylor that emerged was, without, the most genuine empowered, and intentional version of myself I had encountered to date.
Now you may be asking yourself at this point “What does this have to do with loneliness?” well let me tell you. Have you ever hear the expression of feeling alone in a room full of people? I think we’ve all felt this at some point in our life of another. Here's the kicker; when you know who you are and what you’re about, one of two things happen. Through the Laws of Attraction, the distance you once felt between you and ALL the other members of said room is reduced as like minded people begin to pick up on your energy and SEEK you out. The alternative? you become so clearer you are on who you are and what you’re about that stop ending up in the wrong rooms altogether.😉
So. I just dropped hella knowledge on you guys..but these was a topic I was passionate about sharing!! Wanna talk more? I’m offering free 30 min consults between now and the end of the year. Grab a slot before they’re gone and as always follow my journey via any of the following :)
Ig: @talorwallace
FB: Taylor Wallace
Taylor is a millennial Digital Nomad who has be working and traveling the world for the last two years with no end in sight. Her background is in technology and strategy consulting but her passions lie in the development of physical, emotional, and professional wellness for other location independent entrepreneurs. Check her out at www.thefitfounder.com