Sam Berry

May 13, 2023

My first Digital nomad experience

What is a Digital Nomad?

In the words of chatGPT - “In simple terms, a digital nomad is a person who uses technology and the internet to work remotely while traveling the world. They are location-independent professionals who can work from anywhere as long as they have a laptop and an internet connection. They may work as freelancers, entrepreneurs, or remote employees, and they often choose to live a nomadic lifestyle in order to experience new cultures and environments while maintaining their work and income.”

How to approach employer about becoming a digital nomad?

The approach around talking to your employer can be a tricky one as there are many variables that can depend on it. However with COVID, working remote has become a lot more popular and has shown employers that it’s a viable option. It seemed prior to COVID that working from home was a bit of a “taboo” subject and now it’s more taboo if you asked to work from a whole other country for a few months which highlights some of the positive benefits brought by COVID!

How I approached it

For me, it was pretty simple as an employee I worked closely with had been doing the same for the previous 10 months so they were much more open that I could do the same. My suggestion would be to organise a meeting with your manager and to go in with a plan of what you’re going to say…

Location

Location can make a huge difference especially if you’re someone that has to work closely with a team and keep regularly updated. For me, I work in an software agile sprint team and we’re all UK based so it was a lot more likely that I’d be allowed if I was in a timezone that was the same or similar (1-3+ hour difference), and for first timers I’d suggest doing the same but if you can work in a difference timezone without affecting relations with your team, make sure you explain that in your request.

Why do you want to do this & how will it benefit the company?

Why you want to do it is quite a personal question and can change a lot from person to person, however for me it was very much to work on my soft skills, communication, confidence, meeting new people. As an introverted person I’ve always found talking with new people quite difficult but not long before request to work remote, I went on a solo trip to Iceland where I was forced to get out of my comfort zone and interact with others and boy did it make a big difference - which brings me to “how will it benefit the company”…

Ultimately companies want something back if they are allowing you to do something that’s out of the norm especially as a lot of companies are trying to get people to return to the office. For me it was quite beneficial that my reason for wanting to go was also a positive for the company, improving my social skills and confidence would make me a better employee in many ways, such as helping juniors and graduates, taking the lead on projects and generally just contributing to discussions more effectively.

Popular Digital Nomad spots

There are so many places to visit that are popular among the digital nomad community, a great sight to see which one is right for you is Nomadlist. It’s a site that breaks down almost everything that you need to know about the country/city you’re going to be working, from Cost, Safety, Fun, language barriers to how good the internet speeds are! It varies a lot but a few in Europe that I know are popular are Lisbon, Valencia and Madeira.

Workspaces / Co-working spaces

Co-working / workspaces are a great way to meet new people and keep that “professional” mentality, as I think we all know, working in the same place day in and day out can become mentally draining, especially when you’re eating, sleeping and working in that same place!

There are tons of places around pretty much every city where you can do this, searching online for “coworking near me” or “workspaces in X” will usually bring up a vast variety of places. The prices and offerings can range quite drastically in them.

While in Valencia, I’ve visited a few different coworking spaces, some for around €25/day which pretty much everything you could ask for - lunch, snacks, biscuits, bookable meeting rooms, monitors, standing desks but did also offer cheaper rates if you’re wanting to have multiple days there i.e €250/month for 20 days of the month, when you work it out, it’s quite reasonable. Then there were others that would just give you a nice office environment, a desk, a basic chair and access to the WIFI for €15/day which also had cheaper rates for longer stays!

Meeting people

Meeting people can be hard especially as I mentioned before, if you’re a little introverted like me, however it’s actually much easier than you think. There are lots of apps/chats/groups to join in almost every city you go to full of people that are doing the same thing as you’re wanting to do. To name a few

Meetup.com

Meetup is a great app for finding local events in the city, with the likes of free yoga classes in the local park, hiking 10km up a mountain, learning how to salsa, bowling, beginners volleyball, language exchanges, you name it, there is likely an event for it! Some you will have to pay for, some are free and some just require a donation of whatever you think the event was worth. It’s a great way to find things to do and to meet some really cool people while doing it.

Telegram / WhatsApp

Telegram isn’t an app I’d heard of before I started my journey but it seems to be all anyone every uses. There are tons of chats to join but I would recommend finding the “Whatever City you’re going to ‘Nomads’” from there you can ask about whatever you need and someone will point you in the right direction whether it be another subgroup or just a person to answer your query. There are also smaller companies in them offering local excursions such as hikes, music events, etc which are also a really great way to meet some new people!

Facebook

Facebook groups are a really good way to see what is going on in the local area and there are vast amounts of groups you can join, depending on what you’re interested in. A few I would recommend is a local news page for the city to see what is happening in the area whether it be national holiday celebrations or just something cool going on. Another I’d recommend is again the Nomad group and lastly just a couple of niche ones for things you’re interested in such as hiking, mountain biking, tech meetup etc

What I’ve learnt?

What I’ve learned about my first digital nomad experience is actually an outstanding amount. There are definitely ups and downs with this lifestyle, I’ve met a fair few people over the past couple of months that, sadly, I likely won’t see again and life can feel a bit lonely however I’d argue it is only for a short time, until you meet the next amazing person on a random trip and create some great memories with them.

I’ve also learned a lot about myself, although I’ve only been doing this for a short time, it’s given me a massive boost of my confidence that I know I can do it and if I can do it, you can do it! If you’re someone that is looking towards this lifestyle even if it is a few months of the year, I’d 100% recommend giving it a go, live life with no regrets!.