Categories
Digital Nomad Digital Nomad Family Tips Tools and Tips

10 Years As A Digital Nomad: A Summary

Go out and find yourself. Most people see traveling as the ultimate way to self-reflection. In this post I want to share my most valuable insights from 10 years of traveling full-time as a digital nomad. I’ll also include some tips that might help you start traveling longer for less and stay connected with friends and family at home. 

*This post may contain affiliate links, see here for full disclosure; it was first published in 2016 and updated in 2021

Traveling full-time requires flexibility and dedication because you have to organise every single day and plan a lot ahead.

How to stay connected with your friends and family?

Many people ask me this: Don’t you miss your friends and family? And my answer is a clear yes! But there are wonderful ways to keep in touch and keep an intimate connection with those you love – even at a distance. We all experienced it during the pandemic, being seperated and not able to visit our loved ones can be tough. In my case, I am so used to hop on regular video calls and keep my peeps at home updated about my travels through social media. However, there is one favorite thing I love the most: my best friends and my family – and even my former colleagues, they all have a world map hung up in their living rooms where they can track my travels! It’s a beautiful map and comes with push pins to see exactly where I have traveled to.

Traveling as a form of learning:

When you travel, you are like a sponge, or perhaps more like a student. Suddenly, you start taking notes again and pay attention to the details that your history teacher would have told you in school. This time it interests you though. But what has changed? I believe that seeing the world ‘live’ makes your synapses function differently. Everything you learn about a destination and its people, food, and culture will be printed in your memory. No history class would have ever been able to do so. Traveling full-time leaves an impression on you. I always go away from somewhere with the feeling that I actually added a new puzzle piece to this big picture called ‘earth’.

When you are traveling you learn a lot about the tradition and culture of the places that you go...
Here, we all paid attention: during our city tour in Lisbon we learned that touching this guy’s ticket brings luck.

Do every day what truly makes you happy

If you are an explorer and love the idea of seeing all the places in the world, stop surfing the web and go see them for yourself. All those dreams we have, are often never realized because we are too busy with ‘quickly’ doing other things rather than actually dedicating our time to what we really want to do. Our dreams seem to be lived by other people, those people from the magazines or Instagram. We seem to like to say that before we can ‘play’ we have to take care of our duties and do something that is ‘really important’. Yet, I’ve learned that there is nothing more important than following your passion and doing what makes you truly happy RIGHT NOW. Otherwise, your life will always feel like a long sequence of duties.

See it for yourself: traveling long-term makes you live and experience what you usually see in magazines or on postcards.
Way better than on a postcard or in a magazine: live and in full color, these views are unbeatable!

Frankie was right!

For some it might sound selfish, but you shouldn’t care because those people most likely won’t care if you die with regrets. ‘I do it my way’ is a deliberating concept for happiness. Design your life with all the creativity you have and add the details to it which make you happy. I believe that this is the key to personal freedom, from which you will enter a new dimension of life. There is no right or wrong when it comes to your personal lifestyle design. What suits you might not suit me, but that’s fine.

So, being a wAnderful soul, it has dawned on me that traveling does not have to be reduced to the short periods of vacation time that your boss approves at the end of each year. For me, the most beneficial consequence after changing my life was to become self-determined and free to choose wherever and whenever I want to go.

After 10 years of living a nomadic lifestyle, first solo, then as a couple and now with my two beautiful sons, I have learned a lot and worked even more to maintain this way of living. And even if it was not always a clear vision that I followed and it also was not always easy, I don’t regret the drastic transformation that started in 2011. In fact, traveling full-time and becoming location independent sometimes is tough. It requires a lot of determination, discipline and creativity. But it is the most rewarding lifestyle you can imagine. Be careful though, it’s very easy to crawl back into the safety net of our society which sells pre-made lifestyles. Remembering your ‘why’ is crucial…

Being a tourist for a day...even if you are traveling full-time you might enjoy the typical tourist attractions.
Dreams don’t have to be sand castles…!

Remember your ‘Why’

Living outside the system can be tough. So, the most important part for me is to remember why I chose to change my life. And perhaps you can relate to it: your 9-5-job bores you; the routine of work-eat-sleep-repeat makes you unhappy; life seems dull; your time feels wasted. If that sounds familiar, it will be easy to remember why you want to make a change.

Your motivation to find a way to make a travel-life happen is almost guaranteed. And with each new place you visit and new person you meet, you will realize that life can be so colourful and diverse. Your grey old you from the past seems to fade away. Like an old friend from the past, you get less and less emotionally attached to the past. Reality is what your life is now, and this is an important process to your personal freedom.

Once your new self is completely shaped, you feel more like a protagonist of a big adventure. You have completed the transition phase from your conventional life: welcome to your new you! As soon as you no longer feel like you are wasting your time with your daily tasks – you are living life to the fullest! Isn’t that what we are all here for?

See all the beautiful places around the world - when you travel it seems like you live life the fullest...
Let life be colorful and diverse.

Travel longer for less:

If you are serious about traveling full-time and want to know how you can get to know the world without going bankrupt, check out my post on ‘How to travel without being rich’. My first advice is to switch from tourist mode to traveller. Here is how you can adjust a few travel habits that might help you save money and experience your destination differently than ‘the average’ tourist:

  • Become social, social and triple social:

Instead of reading your Lonely Planet, you can get personal advice from real travellers: I joined many digital nomad groups on Facebook and even created my own. That’s where I get location specific info on accommodation, activities or simply if I want to know how to get to a new place in the most efficient way. You save time browsing the web and you’ll get personalised answers to all your questions. Plus you can exchange and connect with like-minded people – priceless!

But I also use those groups to learn about new trends, find out about useful tools/apps, travel deals, and to evaluate new destinations before I go. Here are my favourite ones: Digital Nomads Around the World, Girls Love Travel, The Family Travel Group and We Travel We Blog.

  • Keep Your Costs Low With Volunteering Programs

Worldpackers, HelpX, Workaway and Wwoofing are ways to get a more local experience while saving on accommodation costs.  All four organisations require an average of three to six hours of your help per day, mostly five days per week. This gives you enough time to get involved in a local project, but also still leaves you time to explore the destination you are visiting. Conditions vary from host to host and can sometimes be individually negotiated. Here is a post that includes our experience with an organic farm in Hawaii.

Wwoofing is an alternative way of traveling long-term: you can support the local community and enjoy getting to know more about the culture and people.
Our little farm on Oahu…
  • Live Like a Local

If you don’t want to ‘work’ or be actively involved in some sort of local project couchsurfing or housesitting might be a better option for you. They are a little bit less predictable though because you have to apply for a couch/house sitting gig in advance and hope that the house owner will choose you. This tip is not good for last-minute travel plans. But it is our favourite option to stay away from hostels, or if we are tired of volunteer work. And if you manage to get a house sitting gig in one of your chosen destinations, it’s like winning the lottery – a home away from home for free!

  • Start a Travel Blog

Not everyone should do this. Maintaining a blog is a big commitment and requires a lot of dedication. But even if you don’t like writing and researching you can always think of alternatives such as a photo or video blog. Either way, I would highly recommend that you have at least one online platform on which you document your travels. Whichever option you choose, or if you decide to feed them all, rest assured that this will bring you a lot of benefits for your travels. If you are interested in starting a travel blog, check out my post on ‘How to become a successful travel blogger’.

  • Traveling Full-Time is Pure Fun?

It’s a big mistake to think that it’s all very easy. When you are traveling full-time, you’ll find yourself outside your comfort zone almost every day. And that can be a bit challenging for some. That’s why I created my coaching program for aspiring digital nomads! In 1-1 sessions via video call, I guide my clients through all the phases, map out a plan with them and answer all their questions. My most recent project, Life By Design, is an online course that helps especially couples and families to create a sustainable life full of travel. You can register here to get on the waitlist.

Enjoy each end every moment! When traveling full-time, you have time to sit back and relax.

Conclusion

Traveling full-time or long-term is like a job – especially when you have kids! You spend a lot of time in front of your computer to organize your next flight, bus, hotel etc. Every day has to be newly created. Even if that scares you, I’d say try it out at least once in your life! I am pretty sure that you won’t regret it. For me, not knowing what I will do tomorrow is the beauty of a location-independent life. Not having a routine and living without material burdens lets me live more flexibly. As soon as I was able to appreciate the fact that I don’t have to know every single step in advance, it brought me personal freedom. Today, I live a very exciting life full of new adventures every day even with my family! Here’s to another decade of traveling!

Start a travel blog, sell products on amazon or become an online entrepreneur with whatever skill you are qualified for: digital nomads enjoy a life of full-time travelling to exotic places all around the world.
Cheers to ten years of traveling!

Did you like this post? What are your experiences from traveling full-time? Or are you about to start a nomadic life yourself? Get in touch or comment, I’d really like to hear your thoughts on this topic!

 

Categories
Top Travel Posts

Thank you, COVID-19!

In times like this, when crisis and panic are your neighbours, it’s even more important now to stay calm, sane and positive. A few weeks ago, I did not think that the coronavirus outbreak could affect us during our stay here on Koh Phangan. In fact, I didn’t even pay much attention to it, as I don’t read/watch the news. Only when people started talking about it in Facebook groups and when they cancelled one of the events we were supposed to attend in Europe, I knew, the upcoming months would be changing drastically…

And that’s ok. We are stuck in paradise, it could be worse.

No, seriously, I mean, at first, it sucked, sure. Especially because we lost around 1000 Euro due to non-refundable accommodation bookings and flight changes, not considering the potential business ops that such events mean for us. But hey, in the end, it is only money. We are not hurt or don’t suffer anything other than being forced to change our travel plans. 

So, I know this is complaining on a high level. Therefore, I decided to not think about it any longer. Why waste this kind of energy if you simply can not change it?


Here is our Coronavirus Diary, to give you a daily update on how things go here in Thailand:


Why every crisis is also an opportunity

A few weeks ago, I talked about this on my Instagram feed and wondered how many people are actually thinking about the Covid-19 outbreak as a positive thing. I, by no means, want to belittle things and I truly feel sorry for those who are affected and suffer from the virus’ effects. But at the same time, I think we all need a little upbeat music in this orchestra of serenades.  

https://www.instagram.com/p/B91idOAJvgS/

And that’s why I think, we should start to put this into perspective, so here are some stats for you:

  • Seasonal flu deaths this year: 102,429
  • Road traffic accident fatalities this year: 284,514
  • Deaths caused by smoking this year: 1,053,641
  • Deaths caused by Coronavirus this year: 154,388 (18th of April 2020)
  • Recovered Coronavirus Cases: 575,837 (18th of April 2020)

Again, I am not trying to diminish any concerns about this virus, but before you start buying supplies or survival kits, please look at the stats without the panic glasses on – according to worldometer.com ‘an estimated 290,000 to 650,000 people die in the world due to complications from seasonal influenza (flu) viruses’ – every year. This is a fun website to check out, by the way, but that’s a different topic, let’s go back and focus on the stats again.

What do you think are the causes for the worldwide panic and hysteria then?

Exactly. The media and our governments are freaking us out. Right!? Even if the virus spreads in an extremely rapid manner, and ok, yes, it is highly contagious but AGAIN, look at the numbers, PLEASE. It is still not some sort of killer virus that goes around to erase human mankind. I simply don’t get why in Europe now panzers and the military pop up like pimples! Do you?

Why the f… are we not globally staying at home for two weeks or more and the whole drama would come to an end?! Seriously, if the lockdowns are there to minimise the spread or even eliminate the virus, then it should be done on a global level. Otherwise, all the individual efforts of those countries who are putting their people under quarantine or into lockdowns will be in vain.

What I truly appreciate, in times like this, is the fact that our travel insurance is covering us all the way, even when my home country’s companies long have turned their backs on us! In general, I am a big fan of SafetyWings, they are such a great solution for nomads like us. Plus, I met the Co-funder of SafetyWings in Chiang Mai and learned that the company is not only delivering great products and solutions for location-independent people but also are truly idealistic and visionaries too.

So, if you are looking for travel or health insurance that covers you worldwide without breaking your bank account, consider booking via our affiliate link here (to no extra cost to you, of course).

UPDATE (18th April 2020): Check this site to know if you are eligible for coverage in a coronavirus affected country: HERE.

Back to our story.

How Coronavirus messed up our travel plans:

For us, travelling is not some sort of vacation – it has turned into our lifestyle. This means, when I say that our travel plans have been messed up, I am actually talking about that our life, in general, has come to a halt, as we don’t have a home base. So, every flight that we have to cancel means that we don’t know where else to go, or at least, we have to rethink again. Yes, we are homeless but happy, so to say.

But especially during a crisis like this one, it makes it a bit more complex: if your government tells you to return to your home country, they are talking about ‘normal’ people with a home and a life there. We don’t have either. 

So, when we came to Chiang Mai in January where I gave a talk on social media marketing at Nomad Summit, our plan was to continue in March from there to Italy to attend another travel conference. As you can imagine, this conference was cancelled.

This was the first blow because without the conference our flights to Europe became obsolete: why head to Europe if there is nothing but cold weather (well, and lovely grandparents, uncles and aunts, and some friends, of course)?

So, we decided to spend some money to change our flights (=445 Euro) and extend our visa (=100 Euro) for another 30 days.

It seemed to be a smart decision back in February because we thought that with the upcoming speaking gigs in Georgia in May (Nomad Summit) and Rumania in July (Bansko Nomad Fest), we will have to fly to Europe anyways… we still don’t know if those will happen – who knows for how long the worldwide air travel ban will last.

As of the moment of writing (18th of April 2020), the situation in Europe seems to become under control though, so there’s hope.

Currently, our visa is valid through to the 30th of April, and then we will have to see what the Thai government decides for those foreigners in their country who have already overstayed their normal visas, like us.

A month ago, we were looking at these three options:

  1. Leave Thailand and go to X destination
  2. Leave Thailand and come back in (aka do a visa run)
  3. Take our scheduled flight to Germany
    All three options stopped being options by the end of March when Thailand closed its borders and international air traffic was put to a halt. (see updated text in red below for the current situation here in Thailand)!

UPDATE (18th of April 2020): Thailand’s borders are still closed The country is still under a state of emergency. At the beginning of April, the Thai premier minister officially announced that most foreigners’ visas will be renewed automatically until the 30th of April.

As of the moment of writing, this is the situation with Coronavirus in Thailand:

  • Total Cases: 2733
  • Active Cases: 899
  • Recovered: 1787
  • Deaths: 47

The German embassy helped stranded tourists to get an extension to be able to overstay their visa without being fined. On April 5th, our flight got cancelled, so we were part of the group of foreigners affected who got stuck in Thailand.

Looking back now, we have had so little restrictions for our daily life here and have been able to participate in pleasant activities such as going to the beach, driving around the island on our scooter or using the resort’s pool, that we are very grateful and happy that we decided and were forced to stay put.

Still, I can only say, thank you, COVID-19 for making all our lives a bit more complex.


I will update this post on a frequent basis, so make sure to bookmark this page and check back on a frequent basis if you are interested in how our journey will continue…

In the meantime, stay safe and healthy. <3

Oh and, here are two websites that I think everyone should know of…

Best resources to check Coronavirus updates:

Categories
Digital Nomad

Is Life Feasible As A Digital Nomad Mum?


This post was updated in May 2020.

When I wrote this post, so many things were uncertain: would we be able to keep travelling with a baby? How would life look like as a digital nomad mom? What would happen to Jey Jetter? All these doubts and questions are in the article below. I keep them there to show how life is not always clear.

Fast forward to today, we are still travelling and Jey Jetter is still our online business that funds our travels. But, we are now a digital nomad family of four, as Niklas Fynn was born in May 2019, on La Palma, Canary Island, Spain


It’s been a while since I’ve had the time, or energy, to sit down and write something for the blog. Apologies to all of you who have been following our adventures up until recently. But, I think I have one of the best excuses (if not THE best!) In May 2017, I gave birth to our beautiful little son. This has not only been one of the most amazing experiences in my entire life, but it has also changed everything for me. Here are my thoughts about how things were, what is happening at the moment, and what lies ahead for life as a digital nomad mum.

Introducing little bubba to the world of travel
Introducing little bubba to the world of travel. Here in Germany’s southern region and with a great view to the picturesque castle ‘Burg Hohenzollern’.

When Life Happens – What Changed After Becoming A Mother

The news took me by surprise, to say the least. We did not plan to have a baby just yet, but at the same time, we were ready to embrace it whenever it happened. And it happened at the very least expected moment: during summer 2016, after an epic 10-month trip through Central and South America, we crossed the Atlantic on a cruise ship. It was part of a re-location and also part of a digital nomad event that we didn’t want to miss. Once we were back in Europe, we spent the summer in Germany, catching up with family and friends. Check out one of our videos from Berlin.

Berlin is also where we found out about our little one. We were still in travel mode, booking flight tickets to our next big adventure: a trip to Dubai, followed by a month in the Philippines where we attended our first Travel Blog Exchange (TBEX) event. At TBEX, we met so many inspiring people from all around the world. We even stayed in touch with one woman and discussed the option of working for her agency in Melbourne. We took this as a sign, and spontaneously decided to apply for an Australian work-visa and planned to have little bubba in Down Under.

But Then Things Took An Unexpected Turn…

Standing and staring: enjoying the sunset in Bali
15 weeks pregnant here: A tiny bump gives away the little secret that I was carrying below my heart…

While working through a ton of paperwork, we enjoyed a very peaceful and mindful six weeks in Bali. We were planning to stay in Asia for as long as needed until our Australian visa was approved. The baby was already turning into a jolly little figure in my belly and we enjoyed those pictures – a tiny little human was growing inside me! The first check-up was actually back in the Philippines. To be honest, it was a bit nerve-wracking with all the ZIKA news surrounding us. Friends and family from Europe seemed to be more on edge than the locals in all the places we visited…luckily, it turned out all ok.

Exploring the rice terraces around Ubud
Exploring the rice terraces close to Ubud.

Becoming More Pregnant And Less Adventurous…

With my hormone levels rising, and an undeniable belly bump, I gradually became less adventurous. Suddenly, I longed for a break, and for the first time in more than nine years of travelling full-time, I wanted to be with my mother. It was a strong feeling, I then realised that I had never been homesick before that moment. Today, it makes perfect sense for me; I was going to become a mother myself and I wanted to share this with my family and spend time with them.

After almost six years of travelling non-stop around the globe, it suddenly made no sense for me to be so far away from the soon-to-be-grandparents. On top of that, one day in the middle of planning our move to Australia, my mom fell sick and told me that she was going to need surgery. This was the tip of the iceberg for me, and our final reason to cancel our current mission to settle down Down Under. There were no more discussions needed; we wanted to be home by Christmas.

Take The Long Way Home!

Still smiling yet the temperatures in Istanbul were giving us a hard time...
Still smiling although the temperatures in Istanbul were quite a change for us…

Luckily, travelling was still not a problem for me. Apart from the constant fatigue, I was feeling great. My belly did not draw much attention, so we easily passed through airport security with little hassle. To take it easy, we decided to break up the journey and spend a few days in Kuala Lumpur, another week in Istanbul before finally returning to Germany in December 2016. Check out my article with travel tips for Istanbul.

Finding My Way Back Into The System

Back in Germany, I spent the last three months of my pregnancy filling out tons of forms and spending gazillions of hours on the phone with all sorts of institutions. Gah, what a pain…! Who would have thought that re-settling into your home country would require such effort! Since I didn’t even have German health insurance and had been gone for more than five years, there was no way around it. I simply had to fill out all those forms and play by the rules…

Fast forward to May 16th when our sunny boy was finally born. Words can’t describe what I felt that day. I consider myself very lucky. I had an amazing pregnancy with no major symptoms and on top of that, giving birth was such a beautiful and overwhelming experience – I would do it all over again! All in all, little bubba has brought only joy and has been a wonderful addition to our lives. We are endlessly grateful to have him!

Joyful digital nomad mum from day one

What Happens Next In My Life As A Digital Nomad Mum?

You might be wondering how this digital nomad lifestyle is going to work with a baby? And, to be honest, that’s still a question we haven’t answered for ourselves. But we’ve tested the waters and introduced our little one to the world of travel. At the age of 3 months, we took him on a 10-day trip to Italy. It was such a blast seeing him enjoy the new surroundings. He passed his travel exam! We are not only very proud parents but also reassured that our little bubba might become the next digital nomad…

A trip to Italy showed us that baby is travel-proof
Travel-proof: Baby loves to travel – yay!

What Happens Next On The Blog?

For now, I am simply grateful to be able to spend some time with my mum. She is the happiest grandma ever, and luckily she has recovered and is doing fine now. I am also currently enjoying some time to catch up with my writing. There are so many stories I haven’t told, and tons of destinations I’ve yet to write about. So, the baby break won’t actually mean a halt to Jey Jetter, but a revival of my stagnated writing habits.

And of course, being a digital nomad mum now, my spectrum of interests has widened. That’s why I’d like to give this blog a bit of a revamp and introduce an additional focus. Don’t worry, I won’t discuss diapers or similar hot topics! But, there might be soon a section about travelling with kids or family-related topics. We’re still working on it…so, stay tuned for our upcoming posts!

Leave a comment and tell us what your experiences are! Don’t be shy, tell us what you think!

[clear-line]

NOT DONE READING YET?

Are you still contemplating if the digital nomad lifestyle is something you might like? Then check out our post on how nine years of travelling full-time have changed my life.

Or do you wonder how to actually be able to finance your travels? Then check out our article on how to earn a little extra while on the road!

 

PIN IT AND SAVE IT FOR LATER

Is life feasible as a digital nomad mum?