You’ve heard people praising working from home, remote workers, and especially digital nomads as the dream lifestyles. Living abroad while making enough money to essentially always be on vacation sounds too good to be true. But how does it really work and can you do the same? Read on and find out.
Money
The first thing we all think of when imagining living on an island with nothing but a laptop is “how do people pay for it?” The answer is remote work. Whether you have a full-time job that lets you out of the office for most months or you freelance as a teacher, copywriter, programmer, creative, etc. you can be a digital nomad.
Most digital nomads don’t earn a crazy amount of money, but you should be well situated to make your journey comfortable. A good way to get a foot in the door is by starting with remote working in our own country for at least a year and seeing if it’s the right fit for you. There is a lot of time management involved and for some, that’s something they’d rather avoid.
Borders and administration
Another thing that poses an obvious obstacle is national borders. With tons of different rules across different nations, it might feel overwhelming at first to even know where to begin. Digital nomads usually need some kind of visa to enter a country and each country has its own rules on what criteria people need to fulfill to get in. It can be money, family connection, work permit, or starting a business. Some nomads use tourist visas that last only for a few months to stay in their desired country. Places like the EU tend to be very open while places like the US can have a difficult visa process.
Another thing you need to keep in mind is taxes. Depending on how your income works, you might need to pay taxes in your country of origin and in your new home. Some countries have bilateral agreements to only ever tax individuals once, but this is an exception rather than the rule.
Healthcare
Getting good healthcare is difficult at the best of times, but as a digital nomad, it can be very difficult indeed. Most nomads opt for global health insurance provided by companies like Nomad World. This is especially useful since some countries require you to have health insurance to be granted a visa. Other digital nomads choose to go to the local healthcare providers once they move since they tend to be more affordable.
Where to go?
Not all countries are open to digital nomads. You should definitely begin by looking at some EU member states, especially if you’re an EU citizen. Places like Spain, Hungary, Iceland, or the Czech Republic have laws that favor digital nomads when it comes to visas and taxes (though expect a lot of red tape even here). Outside the EU, you might want to check out Bermuda, Barbados, Mexico, and larger cities in Thailand, Argentina, or South Africa. Wherever you decide to go, make sure you’re prepared, informed, and safe.
