How to become a digital nomad: Complete guide

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April 16, 2025

Thanks to the internet, some can now earn money from anywhere, combining career growth with cultural experiences. In this article, we'll explore the pros and cons of being a digital nomad and uncover any potential pitfalls.

Key takeaways

Successful remote work means managing your time and income as skillfully as possible

Flexibility and self-discipline are the main strengths of every successful digital nomad

Being a remote specialist means new experiences, places, and an unimaginable sense of freedom, but also specific difficulties that you would never encounter in any other situation

Intro

Digital nomads are remote workers who try to unify their career path with… a literal path. They’re as far from being “in-house” as it gets and are not attached to a specific area, using the internet and various digital technologies to make a living.

This lifestyle can provide one thing that can be a complete life-changer—freedom of movement.

If there’s Wi-Fi, there are digital nomads.

No more motivation-wrecking office cubicles and far-fetched team-wide meetings; instead, they are replaced with constantly learning new languages, trying to understand local vegetable pricing, and making new connections.

Best positions for aspiring digital nomads

These days, any job can be a digital nomad job. However, over the last 10 or so years, the following professions have established themselves as the pillars on which the digital nomad lifestyle stands:

Job	Description	Advantages	Disadvantages
Web Development	Creating and maintaining websites, writing code.	High demand, good pay.	Requires technical knowledge and continuous learning.
Content Creation	Writing articles, blogging, creating videos, and SMM.	Flexible schedule, creative work.	Unstable income, high competition.
Virtual Assistant	Administrative support: emails, meetings, client requests.	Easy entry, high demand.	Low starting pay, repetitive tasks.
Digital Marketing	Online business promotion: SEO, social media, email marketing.	High demand, growth opportunities.	Requires analytical thinking and experience.
Graphic Design	Creating logos, advertisements, and brand identity.	High demand, global client base.	High competition, need for a strong portfolio.

Pros of the digital nomad lifestyle

Before proceeding to shatter your expectations with hardcore reality, let’s take a happy little detour through why the digital nomad way of living can actually be good. All jokes aside, there are quite a few:

Movement independence. Let’s start with the basics – yes, as a digital nomad, you’ll be able to work from wherever you want. Some countries require specific visas and permissions to allow you to actually receive your paycheck, but these are not as strict (for the most part). So, azure beaches, cozy European cafés, or a small village far from civilization – take your pick!
Endless flexibility. Remote workers are often given a task and a time frame – that’s it. From there, you’ll be able to plan and strategize to your heart’s content. Want to spend a couple of working hours visiting local coffee breweries? Sure thing, just don’t forget about your deadlines.
Cultural enrichment. As a traveling professional, you’ll constantly encounter new things – languages, places, cultural traditions, and people. Not only is it good for our brains to constantly see and experience something new, but it could be a great boost to your career as well! Brief international friendships can grow into entire careers.
Financial adaptability. The cost of living in various countries doesn’t just fluctuate – it’s all over the place. If your international passport allows it, you’ll be able to pick the country or place that fits your budget perfectly, without much harm to your quality of life.

Want to know the funny thing? These could be cons as well. Not being able to stick to one place, constantly feeling the need to adapt and learn new cultural norms that are significantly different from yours, problems with self-management, and trouble understanding local pricing policies – that’s just the start of it.

So, as with many things in life, these are more about your perception of things rather than objective reality.

Cons of the digital nomad style

Put on your “crying because life is actually pretty darn hard” boots, because we’re gonna do a bit of grounding now. All the pluses we’ve mentioned are still there, and it’s important to remember that, but it’s also just as important to understand that the digital nomad lifestyle comes with a side of a whole bunch of really complicated things:

Loneliness. And we can’t stress it enough – that’s the worst thing there is in choosing the nomadic lifestyle. Not only is it incredibly hard to build relationships when you’re in an unfamiliar setting, but those you’ve managed to build will be immensely hard to maintain. And don’t even get us started on all the family members, friends, and human connections you’ll probably leave behind when becoming a DN – tear-jerking doesn’t even begin to describe it.
Self-discipline and procrastination. When you’re working all on your own, without strict bosses standing right next to you, just sitting and doing your job suddenly becomes the hardest thing in the world. Our bodies and minds don’t actually want to work, so you’ll be fighting that little “go-watch-another-episode” goblin in your head almost constantly.
Close to no work-life balance. “But isn’t the digital nomad way of life all about, well, life?” – Yes, a constantly online and on-the-phone type of life. The ability to just go and do something unrelated to work at any given time comes with the responsibility of being on-call while doing that.
Time zones and climate. Say you’re a Ukrainian who’s decided to move to Japan to work as a designer. Breaking news – you won’t be assembling ikebana and learning tea ceremony customs when you arrive – you’ll be basically fighting for survival, because your body won’t be ready for a sudden change of humidity levels, temperature, and day-night cycle. And you’ll be doing that for at least a year – that’s how much time your body will take to adjust. And if you’ll still be working with Slavic countries from Japan? That’s a lot of midnight calls, right there.
Financial uncertainty. A bit contradictory, yes? Well, that’s the whole thing. Even though digital nomads have additional financial stability, they do suffer from all kinds of additional expenses that drain bank accounts faster than shopping sprees – proper hardware, traveling fees, unexpected food poisonings and health coverage plans that seem to increase in price every month – that’s just the beginning of one very long list.

Nothing, a bit of proper planning and self-discipline won’t fix it, however, it’ll take you a lot of guts to overcome all the difficulties of the digital nomad lifestyle.

How to become a digital nomad

If that intimidating list of cons didn’t push you right back to the office, then here are a couple of tips on becoming a proper digital nomad:

Determine sources of income. Start with the basics – find a job that’s remote-friendly. Ensure that it’s relatively stable before venturing into the world.
Do some financial planning. Set up international bank accounts that support multiple currencies (Revolut, Wise), and try a couple of financial planning apps to see which ones stick with you. Check if the place you’re moving to applies specific taxes to digital nomads. And, of course, start saving – by the start of your journey, you must have a proper emergency fund that will cover all unexpected expenses.
Research a bit. Not all countries are fit for the digital nomad lifestyle. Some apply insufferable taxes, while others simply lack the infrastructure. And it goes without saying that it should be possible to stay in the country of your choice legally as a digital nomad.
Organize your work process. Think about how you’ll handle the working part of being a digital nomad. Progress and task-tracking utilities such as Taskee and a portable office setup will significantly help you avoid potential stress and be as productive as possible on the go.
Get used to it. The ability to constantly adapt is a must-have for any digital nomad, so have a long and fruitful talk with yourself about being absolutely ready to let go of some of your habits and quickly embrace new ones.

Interesting fact

According to a report by MBO Partners, nearly one in seven (14%) American digital nomads are aged 55 and older. They choose this lifestyle after retirement or a career change.

Related articles:

To better understand how to effectively organize a remote team, check out How to organize a team for long-term remote work.

For optimizing work processes, explore the benefits of Project management software.

To gain deeper insight into Agile team structures, read Agile team structure: Roles and responsibilities.

Conclusion

Digital nomadism offers the freedom to work from anywhere in the world but requires discipline, self-organization, and continuous professional development. Whether you choose web development, content marketing, or graphic design, it's essential to consider the pros and cons of remote work. The key is to find a balance between travel and a stable income so that your work provides not only financial stability but also personal fulfillment.