Ever wanted to swap out the office for a picturesque beach? With a little hard work and planning, it's possible to work remotely from just about anywhere in the world, and more and more people are becoming location-independent. Mike from Hobo With a Laptop is a full-time digital nomad – here are his tips for getting started.
What’s a digital nomad?
A digital nomad is a person who uses their laptop to do all that stuff required to live in the modern day, while travelling full-time. As in, work online or generate a passive income, communicate with their good friends back home, and simply put – rely on a laptop and an internet connection the way that an astronaut relies on an air tube when they're moonwalking.
The main perk of location independence is being able to earn money on a Western wage in one country, like the USA, where the dollar is strong – and then spend a lower value currency day-to-day. Meaning that I can make 100 times what a local makes if I choose my destinations wisely.
Earn US dollars, spend pesos, live well.
Really well.
And I’ve been doing that for the better part of a decade. And it’s been great. And I met my wife this way.
Over the years I started a couple businesses. I worked online with a handful of remote jobs. And because money wasn’t no thang, I mastered affiliate marketing in all the spare time I created for myself. Learning to blog really helped.
How to become location-independent
When I started off, I was still in Canada working from home. That progressed to the point where I was confident my clients didn’t know, or care, where I was in the world. So I hopped a one-way ticket to Thailand in 2012 when no-one was looking and haven’t looked back since.
If you want to become location independent you’re going to need:
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Passport
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Business licence (optional, for a time)
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International bank account
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Skype and/or Grasshopper for local number and VOIP
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Nomad insurance
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Driver’s licence (optional)
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Emergency fund
You’ll need an international bank account because your clients will likely be international, and pay you online with banks in their home country. It's also important not to overlook admin issues like applying for the right visa – in some countries working as a digital nomad is a grey area, so make sure you're aware of what you can and can't do.
Your emergency fund should have no less than 5,000 USD if you’re doing it right. After a couple CT scans, emergency room visits, and months unable to work, I can personally vouch for this. You never know and I wouldn’t be responsible if I suggested otherwise.
Although, it wasn’t my savings account that saved me. It was my passive income. The prized pear of nomadic living.
Tips for making money
The real thing you’re going to need and want to learn more about is how to make money from the road.
There are so many ways to make money online, and I’ve probably leveraged all of them. But my favourite is affiliate marketing. Writing a book would be a close second.
Affiliate marketing opens doors in a big way for anyone interested in becoming location-independent. However, you’re going to have to buy time to get there.
A remote job, working for someone else, is typically how you might earn your way to the freedom required to experiment with passive income strategies.
So what can you do?
My friends choose Flexjobs to earn online because they screen out shady employers, unlike Upwork. My wife makes a few grand per month making Pinterest Pins for businesses as a social media designer. And then there’s apps like Gigwalk, the 'Uber of walking' that can pay you for simple tasks like snapping a photo of a restaurant menu or mystery shopping.
Do a little of this and that, get paid, and buy time so you can settle down and focus on something that generates a passive income.
Becoming location-independent is all about treading water. Most people I know that give it a shot fail, so don’t be those people. Live in a way most people don’t want to for a time, to live how most people wish they could live for the rest of your life.
You can’t fail if you do not stop trying.
Lift-off!
You’ve got a lot of loose ends to figure out if you want to become location-independent, but after that – where will you go? For me, I prefer to save to the max – pay off student loans, save for retirement, save for making babies and a rainy day. I do all of the above in the following locations.
Chiang Mai, Thailand
After 10+ years of the digital nomad lifestyle growing in popularity, Chiang Mai in Thailand is still the digital nomad capital of the world. Full stop.
Low cost of living, great street food, amazing healthcare, safety, and a vibrant culture all make this city an unsinkable first option for starting out with a location independent lifestyle.
(I wrote a book about Chiang Mai, I’m biased.)
Cebu, Philippines
In some ways, the outer corners of Cebu look like they just got hit by a bomb. Unfinished buildings, the sound of hammers in quickly-growing cities – and yet there’s pristine beaches you won’t find anywhere else on earth. Cebu, with its great internet and cheaper rent than Thailand is more beautiful than not.
I’m not really selling it, am I? Truth is, I don’t want to. The Philippines still has that feel of an undiscovered paradise. Any downside to this place is made up for with its world renowned beauty, less trafficked tourist hotspots, and empty beaches.
When people zig, you zag. I’ve lived quietly in the Philippines for a majority of the last decade to enjoy this hidden gem.
Bali, Indonesia
Bali in Indonesia is the bees knees of digital nomads, trustafarians and liberated feminists. If Di Caprio can ruin Thailand with The Beach, just imagine the damage Julia Roberts did to Bali with Eat, Pray, Love.
That’s not all
Medellín in Colombia, Budapest in Hungary, and Prague in Czech Republic are all top spots for location-independent entrepreneurs to enjoy for their low cost of living, high quality of life, and gorgeous geography.
Final thoughts
A location-independent lifestyle is a nice life goal for most, but truth be told, it ain’t easy. And it isn’t for those that need checklists and safe spaces. It’s often a hard road to live on.
If you think you have what it takes, come visit us on Hobo with a Laptop for a deeper look!
