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Digital nomad

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Digital nomad working from Thailand.

Digital nomads are people who use telecommunications technologies to earn a living and conduct their life in a nomadic manner.[1] Such workers often work remotely from foreign countries, coffee shops, public libraries, co-working spaces, or recreational vehicles.[2] It is often accomplished through the use of devices that have wireless Internet capabilities such as smartphones or mobile hotspots. Some digital nomads travel for years and make their way to multiple different countries while others are only nomadic for a short period of time for reasons such as sabbatical. While some nomads travel through various countries, others choose to work and explore in only one country or location. [3] As of 2020, there was a spike in traditional workers who transitioned into digital nomads, the number grew from 3.2 million to 6.3 million.[3]

The digital nomad community has had various events established to host members of it. The most common types of digital nomads include retired or semi-retired persons (including snowbirds), independently wealthy or entrepreneurs, and (often younger) remote workers. More recently, there is an entire category on Instagram and Youtube of people recording and publishing their lifestyle as a digital nomad. People typically become digital nomads for many reasons, a major one being a persons love for traveling, but other reasons include the quest for financial independence and a career that allows for location independence. Although digital nomads enjoy advantages in freedom and flexibility, and traveling, the lifestyle isn't always as glorious as it seems. Some digital nomads report loneliness as their biggest struggle, followed by burnout.[4] The lifestyle also presents other challenges such as maintaining international health insurance with coverage globally, abiding by different local laws, obtaining work visas, and paying taxes in accordance with home and local laws. People who want to transition into this type of lifestyle must first figure out if their type of work allows for this position, then they must weigh out the pros and cons to figure out if the nomadic lifestyle is suitable for them.

Definition

One of the earliest known uses of the term digital nomad originally was in the 1997 book Digital Nomad by Tsugio Makimoto and David Manners.[5] It is unknown if the phrase was coined in this book or if they took a term that had already existed.[6] The book highlights how modern technology and the continued advancement of it, combined with the humanly desire to travel, will allow society to exist on the move like it did once before.[7]

The foundation of the digital nomad movement is remote work, allowing people to do their work at home or otherwise through the Internet.[8] For nomadic workers, a key aspect to being productive has do with their physical space, therefore being able to manage your space is essential. [9] Though this lifestyle has been popularized for the ability to work wherever you want, such a claim often glorifies and oversimplifies nomadic work.[9] Digital nomads may also sell a number of possessions in order to make travel easier, and may also sell or rent their house. Digital nomads can use wireless Internet, smartphones, Voice over IP, and/or cloud-based applications to work remotely where they live or travel.[10][11] Digital nomads may use co-working or co-living spaces, cafes, house sitting agreements, and shared offices.[12]

Digital nomads tend to travel while they earn money through their online business, clients or employers.[13] This sort of lifestyle may present challenges such as maintaining international health insurance with coverage globally, abiding by different local laws and sometimes obtaining work visas, and maintaining long-distance relationships with friends and family back home.[14] In some cases, the digital nomad lifestyle leads to misunderstanding and miscommunication between digital nomads and their clients or employers.[15] Other challenges may also include time zone differences, the difficulty of finding a reliable connection to the internet, and the absence of delineation between work and leisure time.[16][8]

Online financial services are popular among digital nomads.[6] Teleconferencing software is a common tool for people to use to communicate through voice, text, and video chat across long distances.[6] YouTube and Instagram have been used by digital nomads as a means by which to earn revenue through content directly or indirectly through sponsorship and merchandising without having to have a central workplace or living space.[6] An important step in being a digital nomad is ensuring that all relevant documentation (such as visas and passports) is kept up to date. If you do not, it can lead to legal difficulties when traveling abroad.[17] A solid grasp of any official languages of the countries you are visiting is also important, as a lack thereof can prevent a person from engaging with the locals. It also creates the risk of complication if you have to go to the hospital.[17]

Popularity

The term location independence was coined by Lea Woodward in 2006 as a word used to describe the digital nomad lifestyle.[non-primary source needed] There were "location-independent" workers before the "digital nomadism" label become popular.[6] Historically, one of the first digital nomads was Steve Roberts, who in 1983 rode on a computerized recumbent bicycle and was featured in the Popular Computing magazine.[6] In 1985, a satellite system called Motosat was established, allowing greater access to the Internet.[6] Digital nomads over time gained more ability to live that lifestyle. Such advancements include Wi-Fi Internet and Internet-enabled laptops.[6] The digital nomad lifestyle is rapidly growing in popularity since 2014, when websites ranking cities by cost of living, weather and internet speed to help nomads choose where to live [18][19] and international conferences for digital nomads like DNX sprung up.[20][21][22][23] Since then the movement has coincided with the rise of remote work becoming a viable way to work, especially in technology companies in Silicon Valley. Digital nomad began to become popular with brand names in 2009. National Geographic started the "Digital Nomad blog," and Dell Computers launched a short-lived website called Digital Nomads.[6] A documentary film about the digital nomad lifestyle by Christine and Drew Gilbert, titled The Wireless Generation, earned $37,000 in funding through Kickstarter.[6] A cruise called "The Nomad Cruise" was founded in order to offer a means by which digital nomads could meet and interact.[24]

Virtually anyone can attempt to live the digital nomad life, although certain groups are more representative in the community. These groups include younger people, entrepreneurs, refugees, nomads, people from well to do nations, and more. Digital nomads have been said to be inspired by Tim Ferriss' The 4-Hour Workweek, David Allen's Getting Things Done methodology, and the work of Mark Manson.[25][26]

Certain destinations are among the more popular locations for digital nomads, including Chiang Mai, Thailand, Lisbon, Portugal, Medellín, Colombia, and Mexico City, Mexico.

Bali, Indonesia, is a perfect example of a popular destination due to its low cost of living and reasonably high quality of life.[27] For example, the town of Ubud in Bali became popular among digital nomads after the installation of fiber-optic communication for Internet access.[25] There is also a petition for a digital nomad visa to be presented to the Indonesian government, signed by more than 2000 people and led by social media adviser Olumide Gbenro.[28]

Another popular choice among digital nomads is Cyprus: a European state with low tax, a quick company set up process and beautiful scenery, the island of Cyprus has a growing nomad community.

Other cities include Tallinn, Tarifa, Bansko, Valtellina and Tbilisi due to critical mass and greater acceptance of the digital nomad lifestyle as well a relatively lower cost of living. Cities that have a higher cost of living exist for digital nomads, include Singapore and Oslo. Other notable movements loosely related to digital nomads rising in popularity include Vandwelling. Due to the popularity, opportunities for people to live as a digital nomad in the area exist to facilitate this.[20] In the United Kingdom, certain cities such as Bristol, Birmingham, and Brighton are popular. This is due to the lower cost of living compared to London.[29] Organizations such as Innovation Birmingham exist to accommodate 90 technology companies.[29]

Destinations to Reconsider

Places that many digital nomads desire to travel and have traveled to have now become destinations to reconsider.[30]

  1. Berlin, Germany, has become a hot spot for digital nomads, but it is becoming increasingly expensive, and crime and politics are becoming more prominent.[30]
  2. Cape Town, South Africa, has been reported to be an unsafe location for visitors.
  3. Bali, Indonesia, has been a top-rated spot for digital nomads for years, but due to its increasing popularity, it has become increasingly expensive and crowded.
  4. Chiang Mai, Thailand, is another highly sought out location for digital nomads making it hard to find places to work and an overcrowded area in general.

Cause for the popularity

The digital nomad lifestyle has become significantly more popular in recent years due to a number of factors. Internet connectivity becoming more widespread, even to rural areas, has helped people travel to more areas (digital nomad or otherwise).[8] Jobs becoming less location-dependent (such as graphic designers and writers) in tandem with increasing housing costs have also contributed to the popularity of the digital nomad lifestyle. There are some negative factors that cause people to become digital nomads. These include political unrest in their home countries, a high cost of living where they live, and more.

Many digital nomads tend to come from more developed nations with passports allowing a greater degree of freedom of travel. As a result, many tend to travel on a tourist visa.[31] While it is technically illegal for a digital nomad to work in a country on a tourist visa, many digital nomads tend to reside in locations with a lower cost of living while working remotely on projects outside their country of residence. In most countries, as long as the nomad is discreet and is not taking a job away from a local person, the authorities will turn a blind eye to nomad work. Visa runs are also often common in the digital nomad community. Some nomads have also attempted to legalize their stay by taking up part-time jobs in teaching English as well as taking university courses in their host country. In addition, digital nomads often use their status as perpetual travelers to escape the tax liability in their home countries without immigrating to the tax system of another country.[32] Nevertheless, this practice is considered controversial amongst digital nomads.

This has resulted in the creation of several programs targeted at digital nomads such as the e-Residency in Estonia and a SMART visa program in Thailand. Estonia has also announced plans of a digital nomad visa, following its growing e-Residency applications.[33] Other countries such as Bermuda, Barbados, Georgia, and Croatia have began to offer similar digital nomad visa programs.[34] Some digital nomads have used Germany's residence permit for the purpose of freelance or self-employment[35] to legalize their stay, but successful applicants must have a tangible connection and reason to stay in Germany.

Partnering

Feelings of loneliness are often present in the practice of nomadic lifestyle, since nomadism often requires freedom from personal attachments such as marriage.[36] The importance of developing face-to-face quality relationships has been stressed to maintain mental health in remote workers.[14] The need for intimacy and family life may be a motive to undertake digital nomadism as an intermittent[37] or temporary activity as in the case of entrepreneur and business developer Sol Orwell. Traveling as a digital nomad couple is a relatively infrequent option whose advantages and disadvantages are a discussed subject.

The individual and/or entrepreneurial fulfillment of both members of a digital nomad couple seems a complex goal but may offer synergistic expectations. As a result, there had been an increase in the number of couples living the nomadic lifestyle while building their businesses.[38]

See also

References

  1. ^ Mohn, Tanya. "How To Succeed At Becoming A Digital Nomad". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
  2. ^ January 29, R. Dallon Adams in CXO on; 2021; Pst, 5:32 Am. "The future of business travel: Digital nomads and "bleisure" define the new high-tech take on work trips". TechRepublic. Retrieved 2021-02-24. {{cite web}}: |last2= has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ a b MBO Partners (2020). "COVID-19 and the Rise of the Digital Nomad" (PDF).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ Moss, Jennifer (2018-11-30). "Helping Remote Workers Avoid Loneliness and Burnout". Harvard Business Review. ISSN 0017-8012. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
  5. ^ T. Makimoto, D. Manners (1997), Digital Nomad (New York: John Wiley & Sons).
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Schlagwein, Daniel (December 6, 2018). "The History of Digital Nomadism". International Workshop on the Changing Nature of Work (CNOW). Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  7. ^ Makimoto, T., Manners, D. (1997). Digital Nomad. Wiley. ISBN 0471974994.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ a b c Nash, Caleece (Feb 2018). "Digital nomads beyond the buzzword: Defining digital nomadic work and use of digital technologies". Lecture Notes in Computer Science. iConference 2018: 207–217. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-78105-1_25. ISBN 978-3-319-78104-4 – via Springer.
  9. ^ a b Nash,, E.C.; Jarrahi,, M.H.; Sutherland,, W. (2020). "Nomadic Work and Location Independence: The Role of Space in Shaping the Work of Digital Nomads". Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies. 3 (2): 271–282. doi:10.1002/hbe2.234. ISSN 2578-1863.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  10. ^ Tsugio Makimoto & David Manners (1 January 1997), Digital nomad, Wiley
  11. ^ Mike Elgan (1 August 2009), Is Digital Nomad Living Going Mainstream?, Computerworld
  12. ^ Colella, Kristin (2016-07-13). "5 'digital nomads' share their stories from around the world". TheStreet.com. Retrieved 2016-07-30.
  13. ^ Lamarque, Hannah (3 June 2015). "The Rise of the Digital Nomad". Huffington Post. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  14. ^ a b Meggan Snedden (30 August 2013), When work is a nonstop vacation, BBC.com - Capital
  15. ^ Kong, David; Schlagwein, Daniel; Cecez-Kecmanovic, Dubravka (2019). Issues in Digital Nomad-Corporate Work: An Institutional Theory Perspective. European Conference on Information Systems. Sweden.
  16. ^ "Digital nomads travel the world while you rot in your office". Mashable. 10 November 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  17. ^ a b "Traveling as a Digital Nomad". Scott's Cheap Flights. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
  18. ^ BBC Capital (22 November 2017), The digital nomads working in paradise, BBC
  19. ^ Anna Hart (17 May 2015), Living and working in paradise: the rise of the 'digital nomad', The Telegraph
  20. ^ a b Hynes, Casey. "Why Digital Nomads & Entrepreneurs Keep Choosing Chiang Mai". Forbes. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
  21. ^ Steven Melendez (23 March 2015), Work From Anywhere But Home: Startups Emerge to Turn You Into a Globetrotting Digital Nomad, Fast Company
  22. ^ Rosie Spinks (16 June 2015), Meet the 'digital nomads' who travel the world in search of fast Wi-Fi, The Guardian
  23. ^ Kavi Guppta (25 February 2015), Digital Nomads Are Redefining What It Means To Be Productive, Forbes
  24. ^ Binazar, Ali (November 14, 2017). "My First Cruise: Learning, Friendship and Open Bar on the High Seas". Harvard.edu. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
  25. ^ a b Wang, Blair; Schlagwein, Daniel; Cecez-Kecmanovic, Dubravka; Cahalane, Michael (2018). Digital Work and High-Tech Wanderers: Three Theoretical Framings and a Research Agenda for Digital Nomadism (PDF). Australasian Conference in Information Systems. Sydney, Australia.
  26. ^ Schlagwein, Daniel (2018). "Escaping the Rat Race": Justifications in Digital Nomadism. European Conference on Information Systems. Portsmouth, UK.
  27. ^ CNN (27 June 2016), Want to escape the office? Top 10 cities for digital nomads, CNN
  28. ^ "Digital nomads push for a new visa to work in Bali".
  29. ^ a b "Living and working in paradise: the rise of the 'digital nomad'". The Telegraph. May 17, 2015. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  30. ^ a b Begley Bloom, L (2018). "11 Best Places To Be A Digital Nomad (And The 4 Worst)". Forbes.
  31. ^ Hall, Grant; Sigala, Marianna; Rentschler, Ruth; Boyle, Stephen (2019). "Motivations, Mobility and Work Practices; The Conceptual Realities of Digital Nomads". Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism: 437–449. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-05940-8_34. ISBN 978-3-030-05939-2.
  32. ^ "Escaping the system – My pathway to freedom of tax and bureaucracy". Liberated.blog. Retrieved 2018-06-03.
  33. ^ Morrison, Geoffrey. "Estonia's Digital Nomad Visa Now Available". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
  34. ^ "The Complete List of Digital Nomad Visas". The Anywhere Company. 28 August 2020.
  35. ^ "Residence permit for the purpose of freelance or self-employment - Issuance - Services - Dienstleistungen - Service Berlin - Berlin.de". service.berlin.de. Retrieved 2018-03-02.
  36. ^ Wang, B; Schlagwein, D; Cecez-Kecmanovic, D; Cahalane, MC (2018). "Digital Work and High-Tech Wanderers: Three Theoretical Framings and a Research Agenda for Digital Nomadism" (PDF). acis2018.org. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  37. ^ "The Ethics of Being a Digital Nomad: How to Live It Up While Doing Your Part | Ethical Digital". Ethical Digital Marketing Blog. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  38. ^ Kadet, Anne (2021-02-16). "Manhattan Couple Ditch Apartment, Buy RV. Was It Worth It?". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
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