Lessons I learned the first year as a digital nomad
Last updated: 09.01.24
It’s crazy how fast time flies – Nicko and I have now lived a nomadic lifestyle for one year!
Before we resigned our apartment in Luxembourg we still traveled a lot, however knowing we don’t have our own place to come home to, is still very different. We learned a lot of lessons the last year about what works and what doesn’t work for us in this lifestyle.
In this blog post I share what we have learned the first year as digital nomads.
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7 lessons I learned the first year as a digital nomad
A short recap of the year 2023:
Back at the end of December 2022 we sold all our furniture, delivered the keys and resigned our apartment in Luxembourg.
In 2023 we have been to 14 countries spread across 3 continents.
This is an overview of the places we been:
For us 2023 has been insane (in a good way!). Our first year as digital nomads – I still can’t believe it’s been an entire year now.
When we sold all our furniture we didn’t know if we would like this lifestyle or settle down after a couple of months. But after 1 year I can confirm we love it – All the freedom and adventures makes us continue full time traveling in 2024.
7 lessons the first year of living as a digital nomad has taught me:
These are the 7 most important things I have learned so far (in random order):
1. Good wifi is everything
If you’re going to work while traveling you need good wifi.
I definitely had my struggles with that in Tanzania. My workflow was pretty dependent on fast wifi which was never an issue in Europe, however that was definitely challenging for me in Africa.
We also stayed a place for 2 weeks with a 8,4/10 wifi rating on Booking.com. But the wifi wasn’t strong enough for me to upload and download the content I needed to (it took me around 1 hour to upload 12 pictures if it didn’t fail before that). We also had a lot of power cuts = no wifi.
Solution:
Make more of my workflow independent of wifi + research the wifi connection at our upcoming accommodations or the area close by before booking.
2. Accommodations can be too cheap
We will like to keep our expenses low but when you have many different homes and need to work it’s important to have the right comfort. It’s of course different from person to person what that means. But we discovered that sleeping in a cheap hostel with power cuts is too cheap!
Solution:
Book places with the right comfort level and don’t compromise too much to save money – We prefer saving money on food, destinations, flight tickets or other areas instead.
3. Cancellation is the key to being flexible
We are starting to prioritize booking more places with a cancellation option. We prefer paying a bit extra for the freedom to make changes. You never know when your plans are going to change. We lost approximately $100 when our flight to Bangkok was postponed for two days and we had already paid for the hotel without cancellation.
Solution:
Book places with free cancellation included or pay a bit extra for it when it makes sense.
4. Longer stays help you avoid burn out
Even though we don’t have our own home, I love periods where we don’t live in a suitcase and can unpack. Changing your location all the time is exhausting.
It’s of course different from person to person, but for me to avoid burnouts I need a “break” from traveling and staying at the same place for a month (or more).
When you’re on many adventures and experience new things constantly in new places you need to take the time to take it all in. Remember sometimes that less is more – less destinations gives you more time to explore the place and take breaks!
After a period with many locations we like to book a 1 month stay in an apartment (BONUS: often you save money on longer stays). Or stay with our families in Denmark.
Solution:
Remember once in a while to book longer stays.
5. Finding the perfect work life balance is important
It can be difficult to find the perfect work life balance especially when you are changing your environment all the time. But as a digital nomad it’s essential to find a healthy work life balance that fits you.
Working from different locations can provide a lot of distractions. It requires self-discipline to work instead of enjoying the sun on the beach or going on a new adventure to explore your surroundings.
When we stay at a place for longer time we love to keep some simple routines.
For me it helps planning my “to do’s” in a calendar. That way I have an overview of what work tasks I have to complete the coming week and how much time I have to spend on that and other more fun things.
We love enjoying the freedom to travel and work location independent. Finding the time to take breaks and explore your surroundings makes it all worth it!
Solution:
Plan your time and be realistic with what work tasks you have to get done the upcoming week. Remember to enjoy your surroundings too. It’s what makes it all worth it!
6. You cannot have it all
When you’re away from your home country large parts of the year you may miss out on many social events with family and friends. Last year in 2023 most of my friends turned 30 years old and I missed a lot of birthday celebrations.
Full time travel looks like a lot of fun and it is! But it also comes with sacrifices! You can’t have it all (unfortunately).
Solution:
Accept you can’t be two places at once! Try to plan if you have an important social event, so you can be in the right country at the right time.
7. Be ready to adapt
Be prepared for changes. Sometimes things don’t turn out as planned. Your flight tickets might change or other external factors you can’t control.
Further more some tasks might take much longer than expected – Like finding a place to do your laundry or other “normal” tasks.
It’s also important when you stay new places all the time, that you easily adapt to their rules and the environment (time zone, culture, climate and so on) – This makes it’s so much easier to feel home.
Solution:
Be aware that plans might change and tasks can take much longer time than “usual”. That way it’s easier to adapt to changes in your plans. For me it also helps a lot to have a flexible calendar.
Remember everyone is different. Try different things out and find out what works for you.
I hope you can learn from my experiences if you consider trying this lifestyle or if you are new in it!
If you’re interested in more information about the digital nomad lifestyle you might find these articles usefull:
- Best travel hacks to save money – Travel more for less money
- How my rent is cheaper as a full time traveler
- Best travel websites to plan your trip
