Do you have what it takes to be a Digital Nomad?

Travel is something that I’ve grown to love since my first trip in 2015. I was in my third year of study, applying for every available opportunity when I was selected to attend the 2015 International Student Week Conference in Ilmenau, Germany. I had never travelled beyond the Kenyan borders and here I was, off to explore a foreign land for the first time, ALL BY MYSELF!

My parents were skeptical at first, (we all were, it sounded too good to be true), but once we confirmed its credibility, we were all onboard! I packed up my bags, got myself a fanny pack and began charting my path to what has now become a lifestyle.

Since then, I have been to 15+ countries, spent a month in the Kalahari, embarked on a solo road trip across Kenya and climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro (among other major mountains in East Africa). And so when I pondered on the idea of being a digital nomad, the first thought that crossed my mind was,

‘Why not!?’

Pic 1: 2017 Trip when my friends and I backpacked from Kenya to Zambia/Zimbabwe to visit Victoria Falls (Pic 2)

There are so many reasons to be a digital nomad! Well, other than the financial implications, destabilized structure, exhausting visa applications, discomfort etc, I couldn’t seem to find any logical reason why not!

Instead, all the reasons why I should explore this lifestyle, kept popping up:

‘I’ll get to sight-see & work at the same time!’

‘I’ll meet new people, indulge in a new culture and open my mind!’

‘I’ll save money!!’ (or so I thought)

Sigh…the beauty of being young, naive & carefree.

Long story short, I packed my bags (after months of planning and making a visa application that was granted, but let’s ignore this and pretend that I just woke up and had an epiphany…), and headed for Dublin, Ireland.

It’s been two weeks now and in as much as I am having a great experience, I can already spot some things I wish I knew before I embarked on this digital nomad experiment.

If you’re interested in exploring the ‘digital nomad’ lifestyle, here are some basic tips to keep in mind #DigitalNomad101:

• The timezone difference. Before you travel, take some time and understand the implications of the time difference between your new location & the location within which your working schedule is determined and plan for it. My working schedule is based on the EAT timezone and Ireland (IST timezone) is 2hrs behind. Doesn’t seem like a big difference, right? I thought so too until I realised my 7:00AM is 9:00AM in Kenya and there goes my morning routine. My morning hours are very important to me and so this shift really destabilized my day-to-day structure.
• Travelling while working is harder than you think. Luckily with the current daylight saving time, the sun sets at around 9–10PM IST (i.e. 11PM EAT). With Kenya being 2hrs ahead of Ireland, my workday should ideally end at around 4pm IST giving me between 4–9PM of daylight to move around. Most shops are closed by 6PM IST though, but if sight seeing is the plan, then it’s a win-win situation. However, do keep in mind that, if you work during the day and sightsee every evening, exhaustion is imminent.

Pic 1: Photo taken in Dublin at around 7:00PM IST. (The beauty of daylight saving time) Pic 2: Celebrating Africa Day at a town called Galway

• Stay in the new country for long periods. Travelling while working can get exhausting! Staying for a long period of over 1 month, allows you to sight-see during the weekends, reducing the pressure to cram the weekdays with things to do.
• If you need to travel across countries, be strategic about your travel days, e.g. travel on Friday evening so that you can sight see and relax over the weekend before the work week begins, making it easier for you to plan any mid-week activities, since you’ll already have a lay of the land (i.e. transport system, sights to see etc)

Pic 1: Burren National Park found on the west coast of Ireland. Pic 2: A MUST VISIT SITE: The Cliffs of Moher in County Clare

• Chances are you will NOT save money. Is it possible to save money being a digital nomad? Yes it is, but it’s all dependent on your income, currency and your expenses in your ‘new home’ vs those in your old home. If you come from a relatively expensive country and settle in a less expensive country (eg if I move from Kenya to Tanzania, or United States to Kenya), then yes this is definitely possible (assuming you no longer pay rental expenses back home) otherwise, unless you’re couch surfing, being a digital nomad will definitely cost you money.

So, with what I know now, would I still take up the nomadic lifestyle? I have yet to figure that out, but if I eventually choose to take it up, here are 3 key things I’ll consider:

1. Giving up my rental expenses back home.
2. Staying in a new country for about 2+ months.
3. Travelling to a country where the cost of living is lower than my previous expenses and my currency is way stronger. (or earn enough money for this not to be a major deciding factor)

Working remotely has opened up a lot of possibilities, and being a digital nomad is one of them. Unfortunately, most digital nomads I know/read about come from privileged countries where the currency & passport are stronger than most. I’d love to read more about digital nomads who come from developing countries, have demanding jobs and still make it work. If you know of such people/articles/podcasts please send them my way! But before then, here are my nuggets of wisdom, I hope they help you as you seek to explore a new way of life.

#ChooseToThrive