Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: Did some of you try the digital nomad lifestyle and not like it?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 88 posts

Re: Ask HN: Did some of you try the digital nomad lifestyle and not like it?

#11

Post by timmaah »

kzisme wrote: post #7
kfrz wrote: post #6

I'm sort of in it now. It is a struggle to find a good routine, but when you do -- oh boy do I love waking up at 5:00 am to do a morning 3-hour hike in the mountains, come back for a killer second breakfast and slam into code-mode with the energy of Zeus, then spending evenings either working if I want, or doing things in town, meeting friends, exploring, etc... That said, it's the most trying exercise in discipline…

How did you get into that sort of lifestyle exactly? Seems wonderful!

Get a remote job and take the leap.. What else is holding you back?

Re: Ask HN: Did some of you try the digital nomad lifestyle and not like it?

#12

Post by timmaah »

mod wrote: post #5

I tried it out for a while. I found that I crave a routine. Each day I need to get up and start with the same process. Often that's difficult, depending on just how nomadic you are, and how you run your day-to-day. I found that I ended up "settling down" in a location and then not going out to experience it as much as I might have liked. I did enjoy myself, though. I've since bought a rural property and "settled down…

> I found that I ended up "settling down" in a location and then not going out to experience it as much as I might have liked.

I have made it a point to do the opposite of this. When I lived in a house I would think nothing of just "chilling" after work.. most days. Now I'm somewhere new and different. And tell myself "when will I ever get back to this place?, better go explore it while you can".

Re: Ask HN: Did some of you try the digital nomad lifestyle and not like it?

#13

Post by maxencecornet »

devopsproject wrote: post #3
maxencecornet wrote: post #2

I feel like I am idealizing the digital nomad lifestyle, but I'm pretty sure it's not adapted for everyone. So instead of a positive experience like I can read everyay on medium, do you have a bad experience with digital nomad lifestyle ?

not me but: http://milkthepigeon.com/2014/03/24/happiest-at-work/

Thank you for the link !

Re: Ask HN: Did some of you try the digital nomad lifestyle and not like it?

#14

Post by snhorne »

I didn't have a bad experience, but just got tired of it after a while. Here are a few reasons:

When you're an expat you meet a lot of people, but it's hard to form anything but superficial friendships because everyone is always on the move. You can always become friends with locals, but cultural/language differences get in the way.

While it may not seem like it now, your digital nomad life will eventually become predictable and ordinary just like life at home. Especially if you're working. Work is the same no matter where you are.

And the big one for me....it's hard or impossible to do a lot of things while you're nomadding. For example, growing a garden. Cooking barbecue. Fiddling with electronics. Playing in a band.

That said, there's no reason not to try it. Just don't assume it's a rest-of-your-life choice.

Re: Ask HN: Did some of you try the digital nomad lifestyle and not like it?

#15

Post by kfrz »

kzisme wrote: post #7
kfrz wrote: post #6

I'm sort of in it now. It is a struggle to find a good routine, but when you do -- oh boy do I love waking up at 5:00 am to do a morning 3-hour hike in the mountains, come back for a killer second breakfast and slam into code-mode with the energy of Zeus, then spending evenings either working if I want, or doing things in town, meeting friends, exploring, etc... That said, it's the most trying exercise in discipline…

How did you get into that sort of lifestyle exactly? Seems wonderful!

It's not easy. I've been freelancing off-and-on as a web developer/hired code-hand for almost three years now, with the express goal of becming location-independent.

I still have debt (student loans, but no CC), so I keep my lifestyle expenses as low as possible. Exercise, good food, and near obsessive focus on the things I care about -- tracking data, writing code and improving my overall skills.

It took me two years of living at my parent's house, and in apartments with too many roommates while working jobs that weren't directly related to my new career, but since Jan 2016 I've been 100% independent, working in Ruby and PHP, as well as doing some dev ops. Every day is an adventure!

My advice? Keep pushing forward, keep your head over your heart, and keep your good friends close. Don't be a hero! If you're working too many hours to stay afloat, you're not making enough money per hour. Simple algebra. Keep yourself at least 10-12 hours of "personal time" a day, for sleep, relaxation, time to enjoy your slow food.

If you have family or other "tie-downs" I can't really help. I'm a free-bird.

Re: Ask HN: Did some of you try the digital nomad lifestyle and not like it?

#16

Post by jerguismi »

I went once to Chiang Mai, where there were quite a lot of digital nomads. Didn't see very appealing lifestyle to me. I prefer western comfort, infrastructure, culture and weather.

On the other hand, the positive sides are very concrete as well. Especially living costs.

Re: Ask HN: Did some of you try the digital nomad lifestyle and not like it?

#17

Post by burkaman »

timmaah wrote: post #11
kzisme wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How did you get into that sort of lifestyle exactly? Seems wonderful!

Get a remote job and take the leap.. What else is holding you back?

Not all remote jobs will be open to you keeping constantly changing and non-standard hours, right? I think freelance and self-employment would be more suited to this lifestyle.

Re: Ask HN: Did some of you try the digital nomad lifestyle and not like it?

#18

Post by davidkim »

I did it on and off for about 2 years and it came down to finding the right balance. I like slow travel, living in different cities for 3+ months. That said, I don't think I could spend more than a year remotely as I start to crave the stable environment of home where you can allow work, relationships, and the mind to flourish.

Re: Ask HN: Did some of you try the digital nomad lifestyle and not like it?

#19

Post by mmonihan »

I tried a month in Thailand last year. I wouldn't say that I didn't like it, but there's just pros and cons to the different places you go, and a lack of a "home."

Getting out of my comfort zone was really inspiring and made the trip easily worth it. I did get the sense that it would get lonely. In that area of the world there are a lot of expats who are moving around a lot, so it would be hard to maintain deep relationships. If that's important to you, then that's an item in the "con" list.

"Wherever you go, there you are." Moving to another country isn't very likely to make you happier if you're just not happy with yourself.

The post on this thread highlighting the revelation that you're most happy working on something you enjoy is spot on. If you feel you're contributing and are in the flow state, it doesn't matter where you are.

Re: Ask HN: Did some of you try the digital nomad lifestyle and not like it?

#20

Post by kzisme »

kfrz wrote: post #15
kzisme wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How did you get into that sort of lifestyle exactly? Seems wonderful!

It's not easy. I've been freelancing off-and-on as a web developer/hired code-hand for almost three years now, with the express goal of becming location-independent. I still have debt (student loans, but no CC), so I keep my lifestyle expenses as low as possible. Exercise, good food, and near obsessive focus on the things I care about -- tracking data, writing code and improving my overall skills. It took me two year…

I just enjoy hearing that it is possible for this type of career. I just graduated in the spring and have been working full time writing C# (I enjoy it), but I wish I had time to work on my own things.

The daily routine of waking up, work, go home, sleep - gets dull after a few months.

Post reply on HN