Trails4Hiking Digital Nomads is the term used to define those people who take advantage of the internet and virtual world facilities to work from anywhere in the world. They are not backpackers nor are they on a sabbatical. Nomads work normally in their activities, but they live in several different places by choice.
Remember the nomads of history class? Those same ones that when resources run out in one place, they go to another? So, their gene has lasted, but now what’s exhausted are the tourist visas and the landscapes for the digital nomads. They are the true Homo turisticus.
The nomadlife
Imagine waking up 9 am, very quiet, with the sun beating on the balcony of an apartment in Lisbon, Bali, or Cape Town. Get up, have coffee quietly and get to work. You choose your intense work period and intermingle with tours in different places, to know sights or enjoy a new landscape. This is not utopia. It is the daily life of the digital nomads.
Being a digital nomad does not mean spending all day enjoying life and walking. No! It is necessary to work and the nomads devote several hours of the day (and the night!) to this. It also does not indicate living wandering around hostels or hotels, nor that at some point the nomad will “meet” and return home. Being digital nomad is a decision, it’s a lifestyle! They are not running from anything and are not looking for anything. They simply enjoy life differently, moving to new landscapes while living and working normally online.
Sounds like a perfect life to everyone, does not it? But it is not. There is much to give up and to let go. It is a difficult process and you really need to be aware of what you are doing and enjoy this new style so that you face it all naturally.
One of the great forerunners of the digital nomadic lifestyle was Tim Ferris, an exceptional American who became a millionaire by creating an online, fully automated business where he worked only four hours a week. He wrote the bestseller “The 4-Hour Workweek“, where he presents his formula. The book does not fit reality for a brazilian couple, but serves as inspiration. The nomadic life is not easy . You have to work hard to survive and excel as a professional in a virtual world where there is a lot of intense competition.
Being digital nomad is breaking a paradigm that requires a physical place and with rigid schedules to work and be efficient.
We prove the opposite!
Digital Nomads is still a new term in our vocabulary, but soon, it will soon be as normal as a ‘public worker’.
The digital nomads
Outside Brazil, mainly USA and Europe, there are many digital nomads and this lifestyle is already quite normal. In Brazil, the number of fans has been increasing with the increase of use and services over the internet. There are many people who are adhering to the lifestyle of traveling working, or working traveling.
When I sought out lifestyle information, I met people who were already in the world. Patricia and Vinícius were our first inspiration. Pioneers in Brazil in this style, they have been on the road since 2011 and has the blog Casal Partiu that tells its story and is also filled with tips very useful for beginners.
Other examples were Bárbara Rocha and Vagner Alcantelado, Melhores Momentos da Vida; Luiza, Natalia and Rafael – 360 Meridianos; Jaque Barbosa and Eme Viegas Nômades Digitais, among many others.
Digital jobs
Many people ask us about digital work, that is, about working to lead a nomadic life. And there are numerous possibilities, because the virtual world is growing and gigantic. There are opportunities for those who want to undertake, as it is our case, and also for those who want to be an employee. We already know several nomads in the most diverse professions, from webdesigners to photographic models.
Below we list some professions that allow you to travel and work from anywhere in the world. There are opportunities for both those who want to start and create their business, and for those who prefer to be an employee. Here are some of them:
- Webdesigner;
- Developer;
- Quadratist and illustrator;
- Editor and content reviewer for websites, blogs, magazines, newspapers;
- Book writer and ghostwriter;
- Translator or online language teacher;
- Virtual teacher in various subjects – just be good at the subject, have virtual didactics and be able to teach online;
- Photographer, who can either offer the freelance services wherever you are, how to sell pictures online;
- Consultant of different areas like online marketing, finance, health, fitness, decoration, business and other hundreds of possibilities;
- Virtual store seller – marketing products from where you are living for a period;
- Stock investor and financial manager;
- Promoter and event organizer;
- Travel agent or tour guide for specialized travel;
- Digital Press Advisor for companies and global personalities;
- Virtual public relations;
- Telephonic or chat service for large distance companies and telemarketing;
- Virtual Assistance.
Whatever your area, you can think, look, talk to several people and discover opportunities. There is room for everyone. Just want, be persistent and have determination. It may be that your training already allows for a remote job. Other times, you will need to change the area. Changes are natural and healthy, and expand our universe and our knowledge!
Home
Typically, nomads use houses and apartments rented out of season to live, as if they were taking a month’s vacation on the beach. The most used site is Airbnb, which has revolutionized the mobility and comfort of travelers. We cover this topic in this post.
Children
Well, about this subjetc we do not understand, because we do not have children. But, there are several couples traveling with the children who not only learn several things that we learn in the books, but experience incredible moments. Look at these examples: Bodes Well – a family that travels in a van; Global Mobile Family – couple traveling with 4 children; and Almost Fearless – a couple who traveled the 5 continents with a little baby who completed the family in the middle of the trip.
Diário Nômade
Diário Nômade (Daily Nomad) was the first blog created for us. In it we counted a summary of what is the “digital nomad” lifestyle for those who, like us, had not even heard of it until we decided to travel the world.
The Diário Nômade was created to spread the word about the lifestyle and present the reality of a normal couple, who works while traveling, or travels while working, and has a budget, plans on paper and a lot of will in the luggage!
We’ve changed and now we’re telling you all about our nomadic life and our adventures here in Trails4Hiking.