What Is A Digital Nomad?

I first stumbled upon the relatively new concept of “digital nomads” by reading blogs when we were in Peace Corps and was instantly fascinated.

After we completed our volunteer service, we spent the remaining 8 months of 2014 testing out the digital nomad lifestyle for ourselves.

Eventually, we deemed that initial experiment a success. Today, the term “digital nomad” is one of the best ways to describe this unconventional life of ours.

Updated: 2023. Originally published: Feb 2016.

Definition of Digital Nomad

A Digital Nomad uses online (or “digital”) tools to work from wherever they choose. This kind of work has also been referred to as “location independent.”

Digital nomads are individuals that leverage wireless digital technologies to perform their work duties, and more generally conduct their lifestyle in a nomadic manner. Such workers typically work remotely—from home, coffee shops, public libraries and even from recreational vehicles to accomplish tasks and goals that used to traditionally take place in a single stationary workplace. -Wikipedia

Different Types of Digital Nomads

• Freelancers who write, code, coach, run social media campaigns, etc. for their clients online
• Professionals who provide online/remote services including things like legal help, accounting, or even counseling
• Entrepreneurs who manage their team using online tools
• Employees who work remotely within a more traditional company
• People who create and sell digital products like e-books, guides, online subscription services, etc.
• And sometime it’s a combination of the above

Our Favorite Benefits of Being Digital Nomads

• More freedom to follow our own life script, for life to look more and more the way we want it to
• No more commuting in traffic and wearing uncomfortable work clothes
• Typically there’s more freedom to create your own work schedule – no more 9 to 5
• Fewer bills and less need for material things, so we have more money to spend on experiences
• Less opportunity to accumulate and get bogged down by tons of extra “stuff”
• Experiencing new places – variety keeps life interesting
• Ability to save money by living in places with lower cost of living

Living Outside the Box

Most of us are used to a world with a 40-hour workweek. The system we’re familiar with allows for weekends off, public holidays, and one or two weeks of vacation (maybe more if you’re lucky). We’re used to people living in one place and commuting to work.

But we’re not doing any of these things.

Being Digital Nomads, we’ve chosen to step outside of these constraints. We still work, but our work is not tied by office hours or geographic location.

With this kind of lifestyle, we rarely take vacations because, well, … we don’t need to.

Instead of working in one place 50 weeks of the year and traveling for 2 of them, we work while we travel.

It helps, too, that neither of us works “full time” (according to the American post-industrial standard). This is an intentional choice to live more slowly and simply.

Among the many things we learned in Peace Corps, the slower-paced, people-centered life is one of the biggest lessons we hope to keep living out. Therefore, we intentionally leave flexibility in our schedules to be available to friends and family.

A Different Kind of Work

In a way, being of service to people who need extra hands, is part of our “work.” While technically unpaid, we exchange our time and energy for other benefits – like housing, meals, and the opportunity to experience different places.

You can read Michelle’s book to learn more about how to leverage unconventional exchanges around the world.

One of the biggest (and most disappointing) misconceptions about Digital Nomads is the perception that we’re on a near-constant vacation.

There are really two misconceptions behind this:

1. People tend to equate travel with spendy vacations.

Yes, we spend a lot of time away from our “hometown” but we do so much more slowly than vacationers. Actually, we spend significantly less per month as digital nomads than we did when we had “normal jobs” and rented an apartment in Portland.

We rarely stay in hotels, rather we visit friends and family, house-sit, or do long-term apartment rentals.

We’re living every day life, grocery shopping and cooking most of our meals. We sightsee by walking around town. Unlike a vacation where you might spend a lot on dining out, entertainment, and local transportation each day.

Also, we get free international flights through our travel hacking hobby. Not to mention that everywhere we go, we continue to work and earn money!

2. People tend to equate travel with not working.

Whether we’re living abroad or in Oregon, our “schedules” are often pretty similar – only the scenery changes.

We exercise in the morning, work for a few hours, eat, go for a walk or see something new, work for a few more hours, eat, sleep, rinse, repeat.

Our “weekends” happen whichever days we want them to. We don’t have to pack all our sight-seeing into one week because we can stay put for longer periods of time. When we say that we travel, it really looks different than the typical travel most folks are used to.

Watch our Day in the Life Video below
Read more about our Daily Life as Nomads here

Digital Nomads We’ve Interviewed

Ditching Suburbia – Family living out of an RV around the States

Intrepid Freelancer – Photographer who lives part-time in Seattle and travels often

Travel Life Experiences – Former corporate couple now traveling full time and doing video projects

Creatives in Transit – Graphic designer/programmer couple who have lived internationally

Feel free to drop us a note in the comments below if you have any questions about the Digital Nomad life. We may not be experts but we can probably point you in the right direction!

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