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

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

#81

Post by vram22 »

nathan_f77 wrote: post #35

Kind of. There were a few months where I was travelling frequently, but now I just live in Thailand (Chiang Mai). My wife and I signed a 12 month lease on an apartment (almost time to renew it), we bought a car, and imported our pet cat. Basically just like living anywhere else, except everything is cheaper and I think life is much better here. But to answer your question, I didn't really like the digital nomad lifes…

A question about Chiang Mai: I had read (while reading up on DN stories) that for a few months a year, Chiang Mai (and the area of Thailand in which it is) get a lot of smoke and haze from annual burning of brush / forest cover. So some expats/people leave there for that period. Is that right?

I also heard from a friend that the same is the case periodically in Singapore and parts of Malaysia. I think he said the smoke comes from either Malaysia or Indonesia.

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

#82

Post by kbob »

timmaah wrote: post #10

I've done it for 4 years now.. and love it.. for the most part. We (my wife and I) do it in an RV around the US and I know that a backpack lifestyle would not be for us. We have enough of a "normal" lifestyle with our own bed, a full kitchen, 9-5 hours.. that it works extremely well for us. There are plenty of downsides. I miss having a large workspace to do hands on (non computer based) projects. Friends are harder…

Have you looked into visiting a hackerspace for the DIY projects? Most have some kind of short-term membership for people in your situation.

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

#83

Post by adriano_f »

My wife and I, and our 3 yr old son, got rid of most of our possessions, stored the rest, and went of for a 6 month stint of the digital nomad life.

We both have location independent businesses, so we could have continued indefinitely. But nearing the 3 month mark (which was the longest we'd gone in the past), it started to wear on us.

Constant novelty can be just as destructive as constant monotony. You need a balance, and only you can find what that is for you and yours.

We don't regret the trip at all, though. It made us realize what we really missed (family, green spaces, people who loved our son, and wouldn't mind watching him ;). As a result, we ended up moving back to a suburb closer to family, instead of the decidedly cooler city, 2 hours away, we used to live in.

Quite a pendulum swing, from digital nomad to suburb life, but really, as long as we have each other, and love our work, location doesn't matter that much. Which means, in the end, that being free to move around indefinitely also means you are free to stay as long as you like in any one place.

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

#84

Post by personlurking »

I've been doing it since 2011, and I learned since then that slow travel is better than constant moving. I actually don't refer to what I do as being a DN since to me it's just an overhyped term (I just say I work remotely).

The downside? As user tastyface said in the comments here, "As a life-long loner, travel made my social life a whole lot worse. I barely talked to anyone during my travels..."

It hasn't made my social life worse per se, as there were ups and downs even when I was living in one place in the US, but it's amazing how long one can go being invisible (the effect is probably made worse by already knowing how to speak the local language). In actuality, I would say the invisible factor has more to do with modern city-living than being a DN. If one just sticks to the minimum, like answering "do you want paper or plastic?", "would you like something to eat with your drink?", etc etc, then it's totally possible to be invisible, so to speak. After a few days of that, maximum one week, I'm itching to get in contact with my friends or do something social.

A slightly more concrete downside is making lasting friends, especially if you tend to go for expat circles. Everyone eventually moves on, despite the time and energy placed into making those friendships. As for local friends, no matter what city or country I'm in, I hear the same thing: it's hard to make real friendships with the locals. As a remote worker, I usually make a small number of real friends (expats who, as mentioned, eventually move on) and a healthy sized number of 'have a beer' friends (both expats and locals).

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

#86

Post by jackgolding »

mhoad wrote: post #27

I have also done it for about 3 and a half years now and for the most part I wouldn't change it for anything. It has taken me all through Europe, Asia, North America and Africa in that time. It allows me to see do and experience things that just weren't possible not that long ago. For example I am in Canada currently and am flying to Greece this weekend mostly just because. I will never get tired of that. However, as…

Have you got any points you'd like to share about your consulting success? Seems like many people who consult or do digital sales do through SEO - do you think there is much appetite in the SME space for CRO/analytics?

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

#87

Post by nathan_f77 »

vram22 wrote: post #81
nathan_f77 wrote: post #35

Kind of. There were a few months where I was travelling frequently, but now I just live in Thailand (Chiang Mai). My wife and I signed a 12 month lease on an apartment (almost time to renew it), we bought a car, and imported our pet cat. Basically just like living anywhere else, except everything is cheaper and I think life is much better here. But to answer your question, I didn't really like the digital nomad lifes…

A question about Chiang Mai: I had read (while reading up on DN stories) that for a few months a year, Chiang Mai (and the area of Thailand in which it is) get a lot of smoke and haze from annual burning of brush / forest cover. So some expats/people leave there for that period. Is that right? I also heard from a friend that the same is the case periodically in Singapore and parts of Malaysia. I think he said the smo…

Yes, the burning season is terrible. We were away for most of it, but should have stayed away longer. I was also in Malaysia for a week when there was some really, really bad smoke from the burning in Indonesia.

So yes, one of the tradeoffs. Hopefully the government will figure out how to control it, but it keeps happening.

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

#88

Post by vram22 »

nathan_f77 wrote: post #87
vram22 wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A question about Chiang Mai: I had read (while reading up on DN stories) that for a few months a year, Chiang Mai (and the area of Thailand in which it is) get a lot of smoke and haze from annual burning of brush / forest cover. So some expats/people leave there for that period. Is that right? I also heard from a friend that the same is the case periodically in Singapore and parts of Malaysia. I think he said the smo…

Yes, the burning season is terrible. We were away for most of it, but should have stayed away longer. I was also in Malaysia for a week when there was some really, really bad smoke from the burning in Indonesia. So yes, one of the tradeoffs. Hopefully the government will figure out how to control it, but it keeps happening.

Thanks, good to have it confirmed.
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