
Digital Nomads: The Big Picture – A Comprehensive Look into the Lifestyle - fluidsonic
https://medium.com/@fluidsonic/the-big-picture-of-digital-nomadism-9afb2208a76
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Ayesh
I had a good chuckle at this posts tone -- it sorta make you think if digital
nomads as some species.

I have never set foot in an office to work in my life (I'm 27), and I make
100% of my income from location-independent work.

I can agree with the point about loneliness - it truly can feel lonely
sometimes in unexpected ways. I'm currently in Amsterdam where I feel quite
OK, but Balkan countries are one of those places that you have to try hard to
socialize.

There is also a point about costs. I tend to be on the budget traveler end,
but I splurge once Inna while on a good place. However in the long end, it can
save you a lot of money because I'm not paying rent, taxes (I only pay ~5%
because I don't live in my own country for the majority of the tax year), car
payments, internet, etc.

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fluidsonic
Thanks for the heads up! I guess my life as a software developer made me a bit
too scientific here.

Have you found a way that helps you with loneliness?

~~~
Ayesh
Hiking and cycling communities tend to be quite friendly. I cycled Europe
quite a lot, and have met many similar minded people.

Long distance hikes are a good way to meet cool people too. Europe is full of
them, and the longer hikes mean you get to meet and make friends with people
for a few days.

For bigger cities, free walking tours are both fun and a socializing place.

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gregjor
First off, thanks for the comprehensive articles. You did a much better job
than most of the digital nomad pieces I've read.

Also thanks for the cautions on taxes, and advice to get professional advice.
Americans especially can get surprised when they find out the IRS follows them
everywhere.

But I do have to question the 4.1 million American DNs, and the 16 million
aspiring American DNs. Those numbers don't come close to matching my own
experience as a digital nomad, or itinerant freelancer as I call myself.

The numbers for US digital nomads don’t make sense. Either the definition
includes so many people as to make the term meaningless, or the survey
methodology has severe flaws.

4.1 million digital nomads from the USA. Consider that the entire US military,
all branches, including reserves, comprises just over 2 million Americans.
Most Americans know someone in the active military or reserves, but few
Americans even know what “digital nomad” means. Do you think the 4.1 million
number seems credible? That would mean about 5% of all Americans who traveled
in 2018, or 10% of non-business travelers, call themselves digital nomads. If
you look at the nature and duration of American travel (a week or two in
Europe, or a spring break trip to Mexico) it doesn’t add up that a huge
percentage of those travelers qualify as digital nomads.

The US State Dept. estimates that 9 million Americans live abroad, not
including military posted overseas. The vast majority of those are retirees,
followed by employees in overseas offices. Do they count as digital nomads? If
grandma and grandpa retire to Ecuador, post photos to Instagram, and make a
few dollars from a rental house back in the US, does that make them digital
nomads? What about a 20-year-old taking a gap year frugally doling out savings
from a summer job in Chiang Mai while trying to write a game for the app
store. Digital nomad?

I have traveled and lived abroad for almost ten years, working as a
freelancer, staying in many countries. I rarely meet digital nomads even
though I sometimes stay in cities (Chiang Mai, Ubud, Ho Chi Minh City,
Amsterdam, Prague, Austin) supposedly teeming with them. I don’t meet many of
them in co-working places or coffee shops either. And I’m not a shy introvert
— I go out of my way to meet other travelers, and go out of my way to talk to
other Americans when I hear them speak. Anecdotally they make up a tiny
percentage of travelers I meet, far outnumbered by regular tourists. 4.1
million American nomads, and presumably an even larger number of digital
nomads from other countries, should have more of a visible presence. I know
more German, Russian, Finnish, even Estonian digital nomads than I know
Americans doing it.

I don’t mean to gatekeep, but the 4.1 million number just seem ridiculously
high.

