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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
Travel

Where to Stay in Copán while Visiting the Mayan Ruins

If you wonder where to stay in Copan, this place is really something you should consider: Don Udo’s Hotel is a very great choice. The nice and welcoming staff plus the hotel’s great location plays a big role in remembering Copan as a pleasant place. The hotel has all the commodities of a really decent mid to high-end hotel and adds to a good quality stay while visiting the ruins of Copán! Actually, it is one of the nicest accommodations that we have had in quite some time, so let’s give it a closer look and see why Don Udo’s Hotel makes it into our Reviews category.

View from the roof terrace
A little Oasis surrounded by ancient Mayan Ruins and beautiful mountain scenery…

Nice, clean and spacious Rooms

We stayed in one of the standard rooms with a Queen-size bed and had our own private bathroom enclosed. The rooms are normal sized, and leave enough room for two people in order to feel comfortable. All rooms come with a flat TV, a closet to store things and a really comfy bed. I loved the mattress and the pillows, it was really hard getting up in the morning and almost too tempting to stay in bed all day! When we came in late at night after a long trip from Guatemala, the shops in Copán were all closed, so it was great to find two welcoming water bottles next to our beds.

DSC02821 copy

Udo_1 - 18 bed

In general there are four different room categories: Two basic rooms which are referred to as ‘Backpacker rooms’ (even though these are no dorms and come with a double bed); a few Standard rooms with either Queen or Twin beds, four Junior Suits and one Suite. The rooms are all circled around the open patio in the middle of the hotel, so they are equally good located and all share the same view.

Suite in Don Udo's Hotel
We did not stay in the Suite, but got to take a look at it anyway 🙂

Dutch Owner with a Passion for Chocolate

We got the chance to talk to ‘Don Udo’ in person and it was a real pleasure hearing all about the hotel and his current project: Don Udo decided to transform one of the hotel rooms into a little chocolate fabric where he started making all sorts of different and very delicious chocolate. Being of Dutch heritage, it was almost no surprise to find them really tasty. We also got a sample of his dark and medium chocolates… we were very impressed how delicious chocolate can taste made in a hotel room!

Chocolate fabric in Don Udo's Hotel
Preparing heart-shaped chocolate for Valentine’s Day: Don Udo mixes talent with his passion for chocolate! The results are delicious…

He told us that there is no big chocolate production in Honduras even though the country has like its neighbour Guatemala one of finest cacao in the world. Yet, Honduras mostly exports the base for chocolatiers in Europe. After tasting Don Udo’s chocolate we can tell that his vision to become a chocolatier in Central America is a great idea! I loved the rich and very chocolaty taste and see high potential, yum!

Chocolate Tasting in Don Udo's chocolate fabric
One of my highlights, I must admit… REAL chocolate is so hard to find and this was absolutely delicious one!!!

Personal, friendly and very helpful staff

Like the Hotel Owner himself, so is his staff very polite and helpful. They definitely contribute to the nice and pleasant atmosphere of this place. It always makes you feel a little bit better when there is someone smiling at you after a long and exhausting trip. This was the case when we arrived late at night to Copan. We had a bit of a rocky start while crossing the border from Guatemala to Honduras and the girls at the reception were really friendly and helpful showing us a warm welcome. We heard from guests that sometimes during dinner time the kitchen crew comes out and gives a short round of applause. Small gestures like this, I guess, are part of the concept of the hotel, it has a very personal approach and lets you feel welcomed and at home.

Reception at Don Udo's Hotel
Welcoming and very friendly staff gives this place a special touch!

 

A place to chill and relax after visiting the Copán ruins

In general, there is a very relaxing and calming vibe in the hotel. It feels like a little oasis in the middle of busy Copán. The entrance area has a little pond and the sound of flowing water gives you instantly a feeling of tranquillity. The hotel was built by Don Udo 10 years ago which is why you can find some details that have a European touch. It’s neat and spacious and in the centre of the hotel, there is an open space. All rooms and other facilities are located around this area in the middle.

Don Udo's Hotel has a beautiful outside patio in the centre
The open-air patio in the middle of the hotel gives it a very nice and spacious feel.

Outdoor terrace with chill-out area
My favourite place…just me and the comfy hammock 🙂

Our room was on the second floor, so we had a view down from the little walkway to the outdoor inner space. Up, on this level, you also find a chill-out area where you can sit in and read or work. This common space was my favourite place (just after the bed) because of the hammocks to chill in. 😀 From up there we also had a wonderful view and felt the peaceful vibe even more than this hotel radiates. All in all, Copan was a great start to discovering a new country. We really enjoyed our first stop in Honduras and would come back any time, not only for the chocolate!!!

At Don Udo's Hotel you'll find excellent accommodation and delicious chocolate!
He got me on my sweet tooth…dark chocolate, semi-dark, milk chocolate, Don Udo has them all! Real Honduran chocolate made by a Dutch! The perfect combination for a delicious product!

Have you ever been to Honduras? Do you still wonder where to stay in Copan? Don’t look further and let me know how you liked it! Safe travels you all!

 


NOT DONE READING YET?

Check out what to do while you are in Copan – spoiler alert: it includes the Copan Ruins!

Or perhaps you’re headed to the coast and need a guide for the islands of Roatan and Utila?

While you are in Honduras, don’t skip one of their most beautiful corners, the Pico Bonito National Park!


 

PIN IT AND SAVE IT FOR LATER!

Where to stay in Copan, Honduras

 


Thank you Don Udo for hosting us and letting us stay at your great hotel!
Like always, all opinion are MY OWN. So, to everyone else, no worries on biases or BS, you won’t find that here. I keep this real. Thanks for the support!

 

Categories
Digital Nomad

Why I Sometimes Feel Ashamed to Be German

Digital Nomads, what is that?!? Don’t take me wrong, please! I do appreciate many things about Germany and being German. I think we have a great standard of living and many awesome values that help us succeed on an international level. But no one is perfect, not even the Germans! And sorry, no offence, I couldn’t help but feel a bit angry and ashamed of being German the other day…

Intolerance makes me a bit angry
Can there really be just one ‘correct’ way of living?

The reason for my anger was an article that I found in the online version of the German magazine ‘Der Spiegel’. In fact, it was the comments below that article that made me stop and wonder. The young journalist described an event for Digital Nomads on a cruise ship and explained in general what a DN looks like. The article wasn’t any better or worse than most average lifestyle magazines would publish. But readers from ‘Der Spiegel’ are not average and not amused by out of the box thinking or new-wave trends. After reading 51 comments out of which 47 were all against this ‘new’, ‘hollow’ and ‘bohemian’ concept, I asked myself:

Why does alternative Thinking mostly cause Fear and Anger?

It can be uncomfortable to see someone else doing things differently. Some people can literally feel irritated when something isn’t the way they are used to. And perhaps before thinking about it with an open mind, most people tend to criticise that other person (at first). At least, that came clearly through in most of ‘Der Spiegel’-readers’ comments.

All readers expressed their discomforts about Digital Nomads and their way of living: ‘The new form of street beggars; lazy; arrogant; no sense for community, selfish’, was one chain of argument. Others commented that Digital Nomads were dreamers and would all come crawling back to Germany eventually once they’d be old, broke or affected by cancer. Others said that the Digital Nomads’ lifestyle would create the next ‘bubble’ because their type of work was only supported by other hollow online businesses.

Beach in Mahahual, Mexico
Afterwork drink-setting for Digital Nomads…

I have read a lot about alternative ways of living, especially after I decided to not go back to my ‘old life’ and try to make life as a full-term traveller happen. And I am not the only one! In fact, there are so many people who work their way around the world and live a completely different lifestyle than most people would consider ‘normal’.  It seems to be a new style of travelling and for some it turns into a lifestyle. Slow-travel and working while you are travelling has revolutionised the tourism industry and it looks like there is more to it than just a ‘phase’.

The moment I left Germany to travel the world four years ago I noticed some sort of transformation happening in my way of thinking too. I met other people, heard their stories and saw examples that inspired me. I would go as far to say that travelling de-brainwashed my brain. So, when I read the comments of my fellow German citizens the other day, it almost shocked me how conservative and intolerant the main way of thinking was. And I realised how much I’ve changed. What I am criticising here is perhaps not unique to Germany or Germans. It is probably true for many other nations too that whenever there is something unconventional it causes fear and anger in people.

Hitch-hiking on Oahu
God forbid, she is hitch-hiking!!! :-O Perhaps another ‘no-go’ that would cause critique from many people… on Oahu, we got around just fine that way! 🙂

 

Dear reader of ‘Der Spiegel’,

Please keep eating your dinner at 7pm, then watch ‘Tatort’ on TV before going to bed. Routine is great! It will lead you well-organised to the only thing that you cannot control: the end. Fair enough, everyone makes their choices in life. How about you try and live your life for once though? Or at least, let other people live their lives and let them decide for themselves how they want to do so.

You know, I get it! You probably think that you will have to ‘clean up’ after those who don’t ‘fit in’ because everyone out of the norm brings nothing else but trouble. Isn’t that right? They seem to not get what you already figured out back in high-school. But let me ask you one question: Do you sometimes wonder, if you’re only goal in life should be to fit in and follow the way that everyone goes?

Please forgive me, but I have to say that for an intellectual person your comment appears a bit narrow-minded. If you ever try to change your way, I recommend you to travel for a while: Putting yourself into new scenarios and amongst other people can sometimes help to widen your horizon – at least that’s what they….

All the best!

A Digital Nomad

San Marcos La Laguna, Guatemala
Digital Nomad-style: Working in a café in Guatemala…

Let there be travel!

Perhaps the readers of ‘Der Spiegel’ will be right in the end and all (Digital) Nomads eventually settle down somewhere and watch TV before they go to bed – who knows! But for now, let there be travel! It is already clear that there are more and more people around the globe researching about how to travel long-term. Teaching jobs or working in hostels are no longer the only options that makes it possible to go abroad.

For me it’s clear: The way of travelling has changed. And there are many people who are actually creating their lifestyles around their passion for exploring the globe. Why not be at least open towards this new way of living and welcome the positive aspects of being able to get to know all those places that this planet has to offer? Even if it means that one would have to turn into a Digital Nomad!

What is your opinion about digital nomads? Do you agree with the critics who think that this is a hollow lifestyle? Please leave a comment below, I would like to hear your thoughts!

 

Categories
Digital Nomad

How to Travel Full-Time Without Going Insane

Tough life of a digital nomad

The challenges of a full-time traveller and digital nomad

Sometimes I think about how easy my old me used to navigate through everyday life. All I had to worry about was my job and what I would want to do afterwards or during the weekends. Today, every day looks different and I constantly have to organise every single day: where to sleep, what to eat and where to go next. Of course, this is one huge part of the travel fun and why I love being a full-time traveller! There is no one else to blame but me for the sometimes very exhausting and never-ending task of travel planning. Here is how life as a full-time traveller looks like… with all its facets, the good and the bad ones.

So, the real challenge of being a (digital) nomad is probably to become bad-ass in time-management, organizing and prioritizing things in everyday life. And this can become a really tough one, especially if you’ve decided to become a travel blogger on top of that! You then also have to cut out some time to write about all the things that you’ve just ticked off your sightseeing list. But don’t you worry, it’s all doable! Helpful sites like JetsetterJobs give you nowadays at least the option to search for local jobs in one place – one point on my to-do-list has become less stressful thanks to that! And then, there is always the advice: Just sit back and relax every once in a while!!

Lagoon of 7 Colours in Bacalar, Mexico
Napping is a wonderful way of getting organised and all sorted again! 🙂 

When I have these moments of exhaustion, I tell myself to remember how it was before I started to become a full-time traveller. And that puts me quickly back into perspective. Back then it was a lot worse than now because usually, the constant feeling of being exhausted would not go away. So I’ve decided to look at it that way: I think, it’s a natural reaction to feel exhausted every now and then when you are doing some serious travelling. But I know by now that I would miss the road a lot more than my sofa and blanket which I usually imagine in those weak moments. What I am trying to say is that you have to be organised no matter what you do in life, even if it’s “JUST” travelling.

Mayan Ruins in Tulum, Mexico
This is an example of BAD travel planning skills by the way: I got very late to the ruins in Tulum and am one of the hundreds of other visitors, which usually never looks very nice on your pictures! Gah!

Plan your trip ahead of time!

It’s one big piece of learning that I can share with you after having travelled full-time for four years: make a travel plan before you start. If you invest this extra bit of time in front of your computer before you leave for a new destination, you will save a lot of time and money when you get there! At least try to get an idea about the accommodation prices, so that you can negotiate confidently on arrival. We don’t always book ahead but knowing the average price helps a lot in order to not accept foolishly high prices that mostly get offered to people who arrive with their luggage in their hands….

Then try to think about what you want to do and what not when you get there. Keep in mind, everyone has a different taste. So when you read about “must-sees” in guidebooks or on travel sites, be sceptical…It sometimes really only means that there was a passionate writer behind that list. In the end, you need to decide for yourself and choose the things that personally interest you the most. Skip that church or museum if you’d rather spend another day hiking in the mountains, for example. When you travel full-time it’s so much more worth to go slow and see half of the things in one place in order to really enjoy your stay. No regrets skipping things!

Mayan Ruins in Uxmal, Mexico
Priceless views like this make my life complete!

A Typical Day in a Life of a Nomadic Travel Blogger:

In case it sounds like a nomadic lifestyle is pure fun and all about non-stop sight-seeing, there is an intent to describe a typical day. Although it’s not very easy to do so, there is hardly one day that looks like the other…

  • WAKE UP! I usually get up between 7 and 8 o’clock in the morning. This might sound obvious but I still put it out there: We all have to get out of bed! That’s right, no matter what we do in life, we all have to get up and make it happen. If you are a nomad like me, your time is under your own management and sleeping in is a no go (with some occasional exceptions of course J). But sleep-ins only mean that you are losing time to achieve your goals. So, nope, get up and exercise and afterwards, you deserve a big breakfast.
  • LET’S GET SOME WORK DONE: Around 9am I open my computer and spent a couple of hours online: answering emails, being active on preferably all my social media accounts, checking house sitting options for our next destination(s), browsing volunteering positions and trying to find a perfect route with stops in places that are of interest to us; I try to skype and keep in touch with as many friends and family members as possible. Apologies for this part, I sometimes suck in keeping up with my email correspondence, but I do love and miss you all!
  • LUNCHTIME: Later on comes one of my favourite parts of travelling: go out to find some local food. I love to get to know different flavours and I am always interested in typical dishes from the places that we visit.

Lunch Time in Guatemala City
Guatemala City was not only because of the food a very pleasant visit, but the people and the city’s vibrant energy also got us hooked.

  • PLAY HARD/WORK HARD: The afternoon and evening is usually the time for exploring, going to the beach, doing some sight-seeing or simply more working on my online projects. It really depends on where we are. If we, for example, stay for more than one or two days in one place, we usually use this part of the day to get to know the location or do some sort of typical activity there. In the case of a longer stay, we usually spend our afternoons and evenings working. Yep, that’s right!

My Office for the in Belize
One of the reasons why I nowadays don’t longer mind working on a sunny day…

Are you made for a nomadic life and travel full-time?

You never know before you try it! Isn’t that a saying? Here is the thing: Before I started out to travel the world, I had no idea that there was such a thing called ‘Digital Nomad Lifestyle’. Only after a bit of researching for options to keep travelling and after meeting people on the road, I realised that there is already a huge community of people around the world that live according to this (new) concept of living. I had no idea how ‘normal’ it sounds to some people who have already been following this lifestyle for some time. I’m so naive sometimes! And I would go as far as to say that this alternative way of thinking will be a new era and has become a new standard of living for a considerable amount of people. It is connected to the fact that the internet gives us the opportunity to work from anywhere in the world. And why not do so if you can!?

If you need more reasons to join the travel life, check out Stephen and Jane’s post about their Best Travel Experiences from 20 Years of Travel.

Here is a list of the Top 10 Digital Hotspots according to DNX Global:

  1. BERLIN, GERMANY
  2. CHIANG MAI, THAILAND
  3. HO CHI MINH CITY (SAIGON), VIETNAM
  4. MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA
  5. BARCELONA, SPAIN
  6. BALI, INDONESIA
  7. GRAN CANARIA, SPAIN
  8. BANGKOK, THAILAND
  9. BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA
  10. SAN FRANCISCO, USA

Open-minded and creative people who work online and let go of certain paradigms that they were taught by society, take the decision to live a life according to their own terms. Especially people who love to travel embrace the fact that there are certain jobs where it doesn’t matter where in the world you are. This is a big movement, I believe, and I think it will revolutionise the entire work/career standards. Actually, I think it is already happening, considering that there are co-working spaces around the world that are built especially for Digital Nomads. Conferences, Seminars and Workshops attract a huge crowd in many places around the globe. If you consider working remotely while travelling the world, check out the following two pages where you find events to connect with like-minded people and companies:

Paradise Beach in Lighthouse Reef, Great Blue Hole of Belize
Imagine you can take a dip here after work…

Will a nomadic life ever end?

Honestly, I don’t know. Perhaps it all will have to come to an end one day. I like to think about it differently though. Perhaps also because I no longer feel like I would ‘fit in’. Home seemed to be the only option, it was a safe place where all made sense. Everything far and unknown sounded always a bit too far and too scary. Society used to be familiar, standards used to be acceptable and the ‘common way’ made perfect sense to me. But this all turned upside down. Today it sometimes scares me more when thinking about going back to a ‘normal’ life than packing my bags again without knowing how the next destination looks like.

Ever since I bought that one-way ticket though and decided to travel full-time, I feel happy. I am chasing the sun because I hate the cold and I am addicted to seeing what else is out there. What helps me a lot when I have a moment of exhaustion, is to appreciate the wonderful and unique moments that I get from travelling. Every time when I see the ocean, climb a mountain, visit thousands of years old monument or look into the eyes of smiling people from different countries, I feel rewarded. In these moments I tell myself that I would not want to change a thing in my life. They get me going and show me, that I am doing exactly what I love the most in life.

I am fighting for this alternative road that I chose four years ago. I’m convinced that one has to choose the life that makes the most sense to oneself, no matter what others say and no matter how challenging it sometimes can be. But for all you wanderlust souls out there: Keep moving, as long as it keeps you being moved every once in a while!

Sunrise in Bacalar, Mexico
One example of what keeps me going and why I love to travel full-time. This is what I call my life today…

Happy Travels to you all! And share this article if you know someone who would appreciate it! Thanks!