Skip to content
  • Login
  • About Us
  • Pricing
    • Brochure
  • Case Studies
  • Blog
  • Magazine
  • Contact

The Digital Nomad Delusion

There’s an influx of digital freelancers and remote workers currently pushing the ‘get paid to travel the world’ line. But does the hype live up to reality?

The idea of being paid while working in exotic locations across the world is no longer a pipe dream. Today, it’s a reality for many. I know because I used to be one of them.

Coined “digital nomads”, the phrase these days is marketed to portray a dream lifestyle where entrepreneurs sip coconuts on the beach, staring out into the ocean and flick the funds on to their bank account as easy as they flip open their laptops.

Yet the reality simply isn’t true. I know because I’ve lived this lifestyle, and I’ve met many of the individuals living this ‘dream’.

Digital Nomad Disadvantages

The reality is being a digital nomad is short-term, lonely and lacks any fundamental stability for a serious individual not just in business, but also life as well.

The ones that do stick it out often live estranged, detached from reality and in a warped utopia that suddenly comes crashing down back to earth in one way or another.

Here are the main reasons Digital Nomadism is shrouded in short-termism and lacking any real sense of satisfaction in the long term from somebody who had lived the lifestyle for over 3 years.

1) Visa issues

Most countries will only permit short-term stays for foreign residents, meaning you’ll constantly have the stress of moving to another location lingering in your mind. While some find this fun in the beginning, the novelty quickly wears off once you’re trying to establish another ‘base’ where you have quality accommodation and a solid group of people around you.

Not to mention that it’s also technically illegal to work in most of these countries, even if it is seldom enforced. The fact that this also lingers over many can cause anxiety with day-to-day living.

2) Banking issues

Trying to set up a bank account in a foreign country where you don’t have permanent residence is a mess. Even once lax countries such as Hong Kong aren’t immune from the worldwide financial clampdown.

You’ll soon get sick and tired of paying foreign currency fees no matter what temporary workarounds you find to this issue.

3) Accommodation issues

As aforementioned in point 1, most countries only allow short term stays. This means you’re probably going to either look for low-cost hotels or more likely, Airbnb’s.

Nothing is more disruptive to work than having to uproot for a day or two at a time. I just had to move apartment with my girlfriend in London over 3 days, and this caused a strain on the operations in our business in meeting deadlines. Trying to do this every week, two weeks or month becomes a giant ballache after a couple of times.

You’d be surprised how fast the novelty wore off working from locations like this perpetually

4) You can’t sustain relationships

Whether it’s with a partner or friends, eventually you’ll find the transient nature of being a digital nomad not conducive to building long-term friendships.

The reality hit home hard for me on this when I was travelling to Istanbul in 2015, and after four months of the lifestyle, took a diversion to Asia just to meet up with my friends from Hong Kong for a weekend in Bangkok.

Being on the road full-time does enable you to meet a lot more people than usual if you’re extroverted, but the quality of those relationships isn’t the same, even when the interactions are of a high standard.

5) You’ll feel lonely

Yes, even floating around palm trees and golden sand beaches in Bali will not be enough to prevent you from feeling lonely after a while.

I’m a big believer in experiences best being shared. There have been some phenomenal solo adventures in my life, but my best memories have always been alongside loved ones to share the moments with and reflect back on.

6) Family are far away

This is something that never bothered me until I got into my late 20’s and more appreciative of how important family were.

When you’re young, you often take for granted how important the love and support your family give you is.

When you’re reaching your 30’s, however, with more life experience behind you, you start to miss them more and value the time together.

This was certainly true for myself and others in my circle. You can’t expect your family to pack up shop and join you on the beach, no matter how much you fantasise about it.

7) Ultimately, it’s not good for business

If you want to run and manage a serious business, you just can’t do it with all these conditions hanging over your head.

Running a serious business requires operational efficiency, stability and consistency. Being a digital nomad isn’t conducive to any of these traits.

Conclusion

Don’t get me wrong, I loved my time living the digital nomad lifestyle. I travelled to over 40 countries, met many amazing people and experienced a lot of cultures that has made me a more well-rounded person. But it’s a young man/woman’s game for sure, and those with long term aspirations should not be sucked into the delusions that it’s as spectacular as others make out. It has its perks, which are short-lived, and remains best suited towards freelancers and young adults looking for life experiences.

Adam Magnet Monster
Adam Kitchen

Adam is a digital marketing entrepreneur with over a decade of experience in the industry. His copywriting has contributed towards building multimillion £/$ e-commerce brands with proven email marketing strategies. Today, Adam is fiercely passionate about helping SMEs optimise their customer value journeys with effective content marketing and scaleable digital strategies at Magnet Monster.

  • Magnet Monster
  • Master Service Agreement
  • About Us
  • Pricing
  • Case Studies
  • Contact
  • FAQ
  • Privacy
  • Blog
  • Sitemap
  • Client Dashboard
  • Brochure

Copyright 2020 Magnet Monster UK | All Rights Reserved | Powered by TML Creative Media ltd.

Registered in England and Wales Company Number 12292469 VAT: GB 338 238 391 Accelerate Commerce Limited Registered. Office: Marsland Chambers, 1A Marsland Rd, Sale, Cheshire, M33 3HP, United Kingdom.

Login

Forgot Passwoard Register
Forgot Password

Register

Registration confirmation will be emailed to you.


Login
Cookie & Privacy Notification
We are GDPR compliant & use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website.


AcceptReject


Read More

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.