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Help I can't become a digital nomad, I have too much stuff

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Re: Help I can't become a digital nomad, I have too much stuff

#71

Post by ttyprintk »

iam-TJ wrote: post #23

Slightly left of topic, but the use of "nomad" in the context of "too much stuff" would be better described as 'asceticism'. Traditional nomadic life was about entire communities or extended families (rather than individuals), usually carrying their entire home and possessions with them either on travois or animals and/or carts, and travelling between home sites as the seasons changed or the food source moved. In cur…

Very good point. We’re talking about the values of expats, who demand reliable power and networking. The values of true nomads are different. In my experience, the amount of stuff true nomads have is nontrivial if you count the herd of livestock. And minimalist expats would find nomadic culture extremely traditional.

My take is that we’re talking about minimalist expats here. While they value 21st century conveniences, they don’t value how those conveniences are maintained.

Maybe the symbolic necessity to become a digital expat destination is an Apple store. Which rules out a number of continents.

Re: Help I can't become a digital nomad, I have too much stuff

#72

Post by pydry »

yunohn wrote: post #46
pydry wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Digital Nomadism is also very often a form of postcolonial and Western privilege. A lot of DN-targeted content focuses on the individual radical choice of going against the typical societal expectations (settle down, get a house, own stuff). What they mostly miss is how this choice is made possible by the inequalities between the West and the rest of the world. It's something that came about as a result of domestic…

> Digital Nomads wouldnt be anywhere near as common if property/rents werent sky high back home. The vast majority of digital nomads I’ve seen absolutely /do not/ have money problems. They’re all really well-off with good safety nets. Moreover, potential lack of privilege in their home countries is not really comparable to the massive privileges that come with this kind of nomadism.

I'm not saying that they all cant afford housing but that given the relative costs digital nomading seems like the better option.

I did it in my 20s with a view to avoiding inner city rents. Probably with inflation adjusted 1950s property and flight costs I would not have done it.

Re: Help I can't become a digital nomad, I have too much stuff

#73

Post by fragmede »

mtmail wrote: post #70
Cthulhu_ wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I suspect in the next 5-10 years there's going to be a big backlash against people from western countries exploiting their economic privilege by living in developing countries. What kind of backlash are you thinking of? When I think of a digital nomad, I'm thinking of a rich white kid spending their money in a holiday destination year round.

Isn't it more rich kid working in a country, possibly very successful, without paying local taxes?

Without paying local income tax. Local sales tax (if any) is still being paid.

Re: Help I can't become a digital nomad, I have too much stuff

#74

Post by anm89 »

Forcing me to seriously condense my physical possessions was one of the best things to come out of my stint as a nomad.

My whole life fits into a few boxes and I don't aim to change that until I buy a house that is explicitly the house I want to die in. Even if I rent an apartment or buy a house to stay in a city for a few years, I'm keeping to my "it has to fit in a 5x5 storage unit" or be cheap enough that I'm okay to give it away or leave it when I move.

Re: Help I can't become a digital nomad, I have too much stuff

#75

Post by chucksta »

selfhoster11 wrote: post #61
ulzeraj wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rent, property and living prices being adjusted to the purchasing power of the western visitors driving the original low income population away from whichever region gets more popular. Its similar to what I call hipsterization. Rich and privileged persons moving to an undeveloped area they deem cool, fancy cafes are opened and real state prices skyrocket.

FYI, hipsterization is called "gentrification" by most people talking about the phenomenon of original communities being displaced by an influx of wealthier workers (and they are, by and large, hipsters in the areas where I've seen it first hand)

Its not always a phenomenon anymore, afaik it's a known tactic for developers now

Re: Help I can't become a digital nomad, I have too much stuff

#76

Post by oigursh »

djdjfhsje33edh wrote: post #8
camillomiller wrote: post #2

I’ve been around Digital Nomads for a long time and I’ve been working digitally and remotely for periods of time most of my life. The sense of eradication Nomads are looking for can bite you back quite bad. This is something seldom discussed in DN circles, especially by hyper-positive (or toxic positive) digital Bromads of the “I dropship therefore I’m an Internet Entrepreneur” variety. Digital Nomadism is also very…

I suspect in the next 5-10 years there's going to be a big backlash against people from western countries exploiting their economic privilege by living in developing countries. I've lived in various mostly developing countries for the past 7 years, and I'm not one to get hung up on the "white privalege" that's currently talked about in the west, but it is hard not to feel guilty at times at the tremendous advantages…

I've been to Thailand and Singapore and I don't know what you mean about fetishization. If anything it was embarrassing being white and was pleasant when you were ignored.

Re: Help I can't become a digital nomad, I have too much stuff

#77

Post by distances »

selfhoster11 wrote: post #62
LAC-Tech wrote: post #43

I don't think I want to go back working on a laptop on random furniture. I did it for almost two years, and as soon as I got a bigger place I bought two desks, a big giant chair, 32" monitor, fancy keyboard, external webcam, mic, etc etc - and I love it.

I experienced something similar. After working on a laptop for a good part of 2 years, I finally bought a desktop. It felt like I could breathe again.

Desktop isn't a requirement though. I have 38" LG and connect the work laptop to it with just one USB-C cable. That handles power, monitor, mouse, keyboard, webcam, and audio. It's great.

Re: Help I can't become a digital nomad, I have too much stuff

#78

Post by iam-TJ »

shoo wrote: post #34
iam-TJ wrote: post #23

Slightly left of topic, but the use of "nomad" in the context of "too much stuff" would be better described as 'asceticism'. Traditional nomadic life was about entire communities or extended families (rather than individuals), usually carrying their entire home and possessions with them either on travois or animals and/or carts, and travelling between home sites as the seasons changed or the food source moved. In cur…

> Having Siberian Huskies I once tried to figure out if I could live off the back of a sled and have the huskies be my means of transport. The sled would have needed to be 5 meters long and about 2 tall so I abandoned the idea! perhaps you just needed a few more huskies. is there anything like a rocket equation for dogsledding? e.g. each husky requires some mass of supplies which must be hauled which implies addition…

Huskies aren't the cause of the ever-growing sled - it'd need permanent shelter and sleeping accommodation (at least 2m long) because conditions might preclude erecting a tent every night-fall. Then add space needed for storage of potable (drinking & cooking) water, food, cooking equipment, toilet disposal facilities (human & huskies), ropes, winches, and tools for getting out of trouble and making repairs (so also spares for harnesses, sled, etc.) ...

Once you analyse what is required to be truly self-sufficient and self-reliant, even for short periods of time, the amount of equipment needed is quite surprising.

In settled life many of those things are externalised costs or can be obtained on-demand.

I'd still love to give it a go at some point - but would need to move to Alaska to do it (Only rain and mud in the UK!)

Re: Help I can't become a digital nomad, I have too much stuff

#79

Post by aaaaaaaaata »

djdjfhsje33edh wrote: post #48
throwawayffffas wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This. I don't think they are seeing as taking advantage of something. I am pretty sure they are seen as tourists.

Yes, the locals who work in industries that directly benefit from the influx of foreign spending love it. The criticism will come from a few directions I think: 1. The same people who are highly concerned about economic inequality and "social justice" within western countries today. 2. Locals of developing countries who do no benefit from the foreign spending or are even hurt by it (e.g., middle or upper class locals…

4. Governments trying to secure tax revenue of those dodging.

Re: Help I can't become a digital nomad, I have too much stuff

#80

Post by aaaaaaaaata »

ttyprintk wrote: post #69
camillomiller wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ask any digital nomads, and if they're not "bromads" they'll be usually ok to admit that they've experienced - at least at one point - a specific form of depression, mostly due to having to deal with all that comes with a self-imposed nomadic life (fleeting in-person relationships, lack of a stable community, lack of feeling "rooted", finding out how hard it becomes when you have to deal with serious health issues, a…

On the other hand, many expats I know are more impressed with overseas health care compared to the reputation of it back home.

Can you share some specific places you've heard good things on?
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