How to Prepare Life as a Digital Nomad

Thanks to there being an increasing number of ways to live and work anywhere in the world, more and more people are thinking about living the digital nomad life

That means staying in various communities while never really settling down in one place for too long. You get to experience much of the world around you and immerse yourself directly in a range of different cultures.

Sound appealing to you? 

Living life as a digital nomad is about simplicity and being able to transport your belongings with you. Transitioning to this way of living takes some preparation.

Here are some of the things you need to prepare to live a nomad lifestyle. 

digital nomad with a tab.
Source: Burst.

1. Save Enough Money.

When living a travel lifestyle, it is likely that you’ll be spending more money than you earn. The cost of flights and accommodation alone is expensive. This is particularly the case if you don’t plan on staying in one place for too long and need to pay for travel expenses more regularly. 

If you prefer to choose a home base somewhere outside your country of origins, there's a chance you also need enough money for bureaucratic purposes. The good news is that nowadays there are some countries that offer digital nomad visas that you can take advantage of as a digital nomad. For instance, you can apply for a D8 Portugal Digital Nomad visa or some other popular digital nomad destinations like Croatia or Costa Rica.

2. Streamline Your Possessions.

Nomads won’t necessarily have a ‘home base’ or somewhere to store their possessions. This means taking your possessions with you wherever in the world you end up. Before taking off, think about getting rid of the things you don’t need.

Sell them online to help raise the funds you need, but think about how much it will cost to ship the items you sell – you may not end up making too much profit if you end up paying over the odds on shipping! 

3. Cancel Subscriptions You Don’t Need.

Netflix may be transportable and could be used anywhere in the world, but will you need your Amazon Prime membership, too? You may have subscribed to things that you didn’t even realize, so it’s time to start going through your bank accounts and seeing how many subscriptions you’re paying for.

The same goes for gym memberships. Check how much notice you need to give before canceling your membership so you don’t have nasty surprises while you travel. These unused subscription services are literally money down the drain when you want to be making savings while you can. 

woman writing on the whiteboard.
Source: Burst.

4. Get a Physical and Dental Health Check.

If you’ve been dealing with any pain in your body or teeth, you should get it checked out before you set off travelling. This is particularly important if you’ll be staying in a place with limited healthcare. Certain parts of the world will not have the same medical practices as what you may be used to. Make sure that your travel insurance helps to cover some of the expenses that will arise as a result of any injury or sickness throughout your travels.

Living a nomadic lifestyle could be incredibly exciting. However, lots of things need to be put in place to ensure that you are safe and well and able to fund your own trip. 

There are, of course, many opportunities to a living as we travel to. But having enough money is incredible in case you need to make a safe return home.


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