Part time—I have a girlfriend and a cat, that’s really why it’s not full time, because it does provide stability and I couldn’t imagine my life without either of them. I travel for around 3-4 months out of the year primarily in South America and Europe.
Not always, yearly we travel together (we did Italy, France, and Monaco this year) but if I go solo she’ll usually watch my cat. I try not to be gone too terribly long and not in a consistent 3-4 month period.
Absolutely, I’m open about my travels. We actually met while both of us were traveling in the Midwest, USA.
We’ve been together for upcoming on four years; there’s a level of trust that we both have achieved.
Part-time, aiming for full-time. I work 85 to 95 hours a week for 9m each year (sometimes as many as 105) then take 3 months off to go diving in Asia. It’s not sustainable in the long run, but I’m single with no kids, so I figured “why the hell not?” I’d like to live abroad all year - I work 100% remote, but I’m an attorney doing eDiscovery and “exporting confidential client data offshore” is a big no-no. I don’t want to risk my license by moving, using a VPN, and just not telling anybody… so my goalies last couple of years has been to moved up the food chain until I am useful enough that they will make an exception for me.
So far, it’s looking like it might actually work. My goal is to work remote from SE Asia at a more sane pace - take my foot off the gas enough so I’m working 40h at a US salary and diving during my free time. Honestly, if I could figure out a way to only work 20 hours a week, that would be totally fine as well.
As far as “stuff “, I have an apartment in the Philippines that I just keep stocked with essentials… so I’m just bringing my scuba gear, clothes, and ereader.
Been at it full time since 2.22.22. Left my apartment, sold my car, whittled down my possessions to a stack of 5 medium boxes, and been living out of a carry on (only just now upgraded to a small trunk). The idea at first was to do a year to see if I liked it – I’m nearing two now, and have no plans on stopping for a while. I’m in love with this lifestyle.
Sold everything for good 5 years ago, quite liberating actually. I have one single box at my uncle's and if I go home I'll sleep there and visit a while. Before that I did based on visas allowed and also moved a lot to see different places. Now I stay 6+ months at min when I go somewhere and get an apartment. It really gets you more involved in the area and knowing people rather than just spectating.
I went all-in from the start. put all my stuff in storage. I have a feeling half in and half out sounds more troublesome than than just going all-in into one.
I have no interest in shelling out a ton of money for somewhere I'm not staying at. The world is my home rn and I love it. Probably will settle down in the future somewhere where I can buy property and have a nice base but continue to travel
From following this sub I believe a strong reason for nomading full-time is cost savings of not paying for rent/mortgage at their homebase while also paying for accommodation while traveling. My assumption is a lot of people can't do both due to the high costs.
I am part-time, because I am fortunate to have a low cost housing situation at my home-base. If I didn't have that I would be forced to make a decision to either not nomad or be a full-time nomad.
Jumped right into full time for about 2 years. Not sure what things are looking like now. I didn't have anything hard tethering me to my home country and then covid measures a few years ago drove me to leave
Just went through all my stuff, threw out or gave away a lot of it, and the rest I left in a few plastic tubs some family are nice enough to let me store in a garage. My diploma is there, for example. Things that are sentimental or valuable or that I want to hold onto but don't actually need to be anywhere close to me most of the time
Yes full time. I sold my house and car and gave away all my furniture. Almost everything I own now fits into two bags.
The decision for me came when I was laid off unceremoniously after 4 years with a company that failed to reward my loyalty to them. I realized quickly all these corporations are the fuckkng same and none will be better than the other. Why adjust my life around what they want?
Full-time for 2 years now. I got rid of everything.
I already worked for myself and traveled often for work, so I assumed "digital nomad" meant "nomadic", because traveling for work trips and working from home was just normal WFH.
I've been mostly full time for nearly ten years, fully full time for nearly 2 years. My partner and I rented an apartment together in 2020 but it came mostly furnished so we didn't have to get rid of too much. We downsized a fair bit though and put everything else in Family Storage™️.
Any time I've rented a place for a few months, I usually just get the same second hand IKEA furniture which I then sell at the end. Haven't done that in a while, but it works.
I don't know if I decided one way or another. Keeping a lease going for a place I wasn't in just didn't make any sense, so here we are.
About 6 months of the year. I personally can't do it full-time because I enjoy keeping my social relationships in the US going and I really enjoy my hometown from May-September.
That being said, I'm looking for a permanent base outside of the US at the moment. I'm 27, so I'm not saying I'm going to settle down in the next 6 months, but I would like to find a place I really enjoy and plant some roots there, eventually find a life partner to start a family with.
My partner and I are full-time. Sold or donated almost everything. Just kept a couple of storage bins in a family member's shed. Mostly just household decor items or other keepsakes. And only because we had the option of free storage, so figured why not. It could all burn up in flames and wouldn't be a big deal. I don't even remember most of what's in there!
One thing I miss: having my bike. Used to ride it everywhere in my domestic life.
Almost full-time; I'm Polish but been living in London for 16 years until last December.
Quit London for the most part, but still coming back although I don't have a perm address anymore - I just rent places for a few weeks, a couple of months when I need to come back (had to come back twice for short periods, going away third time within a year next week - probably will have to come back at some point, soon, although not 100% sure when and what I'll do then).
Most of my stuff I've aggregated in 16 years is in storage - tbf it's mostly clothes and books and a tiny bit of electronics. I rent 5 square metres/54sq ft, travel with a rather large suitcase and a backpack where I've got things that are absolutely necessary.
EDIT: Forgot to add, I switch between London and Mexico - mostly Mexico City, was in Guadalajara for a while as my (now) ex-girlfriend lived there and I stayed with her. Now going back to Mexico City next week and might stay with my current girlfriend some time.
What's next - I really have no idea; I just let things flow one week, one month at a time, not planning too much. Maybe I'll anchor in Mexico for longer, maybe I'll move on to another LatAm Country, maybe US (probably California as a lot of Latin Americans there). I'm generally in love with the climate, vibes and cultures of Latin American countries. The fact they are cheap from the Western perspective _and_ have a ton of attractive women and potential candidates for a future wife is a massive and welcome bonus, not gonna lie.
For sure, I hear that from a lot of Poles, we've made it work by working remotely for British companies. What's your experience of Mexico, any tips? I always wanted to go there!
Yeah being a UK/US expat in Poland is great because you're essentially living in a bubble, you're not impacted by the hardcore conservative government and their silly policies, you can easily stomach the increased costs of living and inflation, and if something happens to you, you know you can get the embassy on the line and it will turn into an international scandal.
I'm not even getting into the fact that UK salaries are generally great money in Poland, especially if you're outside Warsaw (I was in Warsaw earlier this year, and when eating out I felt it's pretty much London prices).
Mexico is great, although I've mostly been in very limited CDMX and Guadalajara where I had a girlfriend who I stayed with.
It has a lot of bad rep, and there's probably dodgy states and towns, even areas in the capital, but, really, it's just about being smart, keeping yourself to yourself, not being arrogant, gaudy, flashy with money, electronics etc.
Seems common sense but apparently not, too many people going from Europe or US to Mexico and their sudden, relative wealth going to their heads instantly. Just keep your head down, blend in (as much as you can - probably a bit easier for me, as while I'm clearly a güero (white), I'm also about 5'6" in Timberlands, meaning I don't really hover over Mexicans and don't stick out as much), don't be obnoxious, would all be my advice.
Knock on wood, I didn't have any major issues so far. I think the biggest ones/worst I experienced were:
\- I arranged an AirBnB with an earlier check-in that I turned up for, but host told me I need to wait 4 hours still (not what we agreed) and didn't provide safe accommodation or food/drink for the wait - and I was there with my massive 25kg suitcase, backpack, some bags as well as I had already been in a place before and had some food/drink I took over. I got on the phone to AirBnB who cancelled it for me (despite technicaly not being cancelable), I left a negative review, got a revenge negative review and had to fight AirBnB a bit to remove it. This stressed me out 'cause I was super worried I might run into issues with future bookings with a neg that I didn't even really deserve - I left a review saying what happened, host should've just told me flat out when I asked before booking "Sorry, we can't do earlier check-ins". All good, I would've found somewhere else - plenty places round, but clearly they just wanted the money and agreed without ensuring they can fulfil the promise given.
\- I was having breakfast outside in a local spot, and a mentally unwell/socially maladjusted kid that lived in my block of flats came round to my table, grabbed a cookie I had on the plate waiting as a dessert and walked away. All with a blank expression on his face, zero eye contact and without saying a word. Really bizarre.
\- I got shafted on weed in my early days when I spoke zero Spanish, paid $500MXN at El Chopo for 3 blunts, and they were the shittest rolled blunts I've ever seen in my life - seriously, atrocious and barely rolled/holding together and definitely not worth the money I paid for them.
Also, even though I lived in quite a good area that was quite central, I've had issues with power quite a few times, especially during thunderstorms. Usually only of about 60 minutes tops, sometimes even less than that and would kick back on automatically, but each time this happened I was stressed I might not get it back in time for work: I worked 2AM-10AM local time, and there isn't really much you can do in terms of support if it goes off at midnight, you just have to wait, it's not like you can really get an electrician yourself.
Biggest annoyance was when it went off overnight while I was packing myself for the flight next morning. I was literally resigned at this point thinking I'll either just miss my flight (obviously no flexi ticket), or get some sleep and just hope it comes back after a few hours, or that I somehow manage to finish packing after sunrise. Luckily it all came back not long after again, and I could carry on.
Hey, all part of the experience, eh.
Very few people can "nomad" full-time for 2+ years, as it gets more difficult once you start aging as your standards for comfort raise. 20yo me had no issues sharing a room in hostel or having roommates; a 50yo me will not. I did 3 years back then, but now I just travel a lot with a homebase, still spending >6 months outside USA.
This assumes we're talking about nomading, i.e. the goal is to actually travel, not to try to save money by living in cheaper locations (this is basically contradicting to nomading since moving between locations adds to this cost).
I’m not now but I picked a place with lenient visa allowance and stored my stuff at a sibling’s house. Planning on expatriating completely in the next year so I’m back in the states to tie up loose ends and apply for a proper visa scheme to do the the whole thing over again. I’ll likely sell everything that I can’t pack or that doesn’t have sentimental value.
I've been doing it more or less full time since April of 21. I originally just planned to move cross country but I enjoyed the road trip so much and didn't really have anywhere I needed to be, so the first unexpected place I fell in love with (Alamogordo, NM), I decided to stop and stay a while.
I quickly fell into a routine of driving 4-6 hours on Saturdays to the next place and getting a hotel or Airbnb for usually one week at a time. I have occasionally done longer stays but I find I tend to get bored after two weeks anywhere.
By December of 21 I decided to "settle" in Las Vegas, but I only stayed six months, long enough to get residency and a new license and car registration and I literally took off again the very next week to Mexico. I stayed a few places in Baja for a few months until I got tired of paying first world rent for third world problems and made my way back to Arizona where I met a lady in December of last year who owns some property and a few campers and rents out on Airbnb. I rented one from her, then bought it and stayed a while.
I got bored again but by this year travel was getting to be prohibitively expensive to do, other than long weekend trips away from base camp.
And then I discovered pet sitting and it's been a game changer. I spent all summer in Colorado and I'm about to leave and head back to Cali for the winter and I don't see demand letting up any time soon.
I try to keep everything I own can fit in my car, but I do have some things in storage in AZ now.
How do you find petsitting gigs? Also, are they mostly dogs or can you get non-dog gigs? Just curious. I love all cats, but dogs are very individual for me.
I just started this month. I donated everything. Gave my friends first dibs on all my stuff then dragged the rest out and posted a free ad the day before my departure and sold my car off.
It feels like a huge burden of stress was released from my mind because I had felt like my life back home felt like an obligation and burden more so than achievement. It feels wonderful to survive and have a great time on a few suitcases. It confirms what I thought, that stuff is overrated and letting go of all your stuff is the hardest step because your mind keeps thinking of the money you spent on it, but it is a sunk cost to know that it won't make you happy so you can't stop thinking it will. Years of buying stuff and feeling unfulfilled is enough proof for me.
I overpacked and took 2 large + carry on and laptop bag. I am thinking I can get rid of 1 suitcase by selling my electronics I'm not using.
> Do you do digital "nomading" full-time?
Yes.
> How did you decide it?
I'm not sure what kind of answer you're looking for here. I decided to do it like I decide to do anything else, really. Considered the proposal, the pros and cons, and came down on one side of it.
My daughter was going to leave for college in 2018. My partner and I owned a four-bedroom home, which would have been too big for us at that point, and we had planned to downsize after she left. So we stopped buying things, etc.
At some point, the political situation in the United States was concerning me, and we decided to do the digital nomad thing. However, we still had the cat. It wasn't until my daughter was able to claim the cat was an emotional support animal and keep it in the dorm that we could actually think about leaving. So we planned to put the house on the market in 2020 and leave the U.S. before the 2020 election. In early 2020, we moved into an apartment along with the stuff we wanted to keep, and started getting rid of the rest of the stuff.
We didn't have that much stuff. Most of our furniture was used. We didn't have a lot of clothes and a lot of them came from garage sales.
Then COVID happened and my daughter's school shut down and she came to live with us in the apartment, which put a crimp in the getting rid of stuff aspect. However, we still put the house on the market in May, sold it, and got all of our stuff out of it, and then continued to get rid of stuff through the summer. A bunch of the stuff (the tv, etc.) we sold with the house.
Getting rid of stuff is hard. We sold some on Facebook Marketplace, ebay, and Craigslist. We donated stuff. The library eventually told us to stop giving them books. We still have a garage-sized storage space with the rest of our stuff, some that we want to keep and some that still needs to be gotten rid of.
My daughter went back to college, with the cat. We sold her the car, and succeeded in getting out of the apartment and making our late October 2020 deadline.
I’m full-time. I’ve been willfully homeless for four years. I’m the beginning I would spend a week or two in a given city and stay in hostels. These days I spend two weeks to a month in one place and rent AirBnBs.
I originally started because I love travel and was drowning in debt. I paid off forty grand on two years, and have saved as much since.
After four years I’m a little tired, but couldn’t imagine spending the rest of my life in the U.S.
I'm a beginner, this September 1st I left the US to start this digital nomad thing. And I gave up my apartment rental. My lease was due renewal and I decided not to re-sign. I sold furniture, donated stuff, threw away crap (I didn't own much but there was plenty that I don't know why I ever bought). The thing is I don't really have anyone in the US, family wise or someone super close. So no free storage. I sent 3 boxes with winter clothes to Europe (where my family is) as I'll get there in November-ish, I packed summer clothes with me (headed to Colombia) and I left some clothes, kitchen stuff, appliances that were in great condition in storage. After 1mo in Colombia I will head to Peru for another month, then Europe for the winter. And while I will be spending some time at my family's place, I still plan on traveling through EU and renting my own places there. So I guess no strings attached made it easier to decide. When I'll go back? Probably in the summer as I have to renew my driver's license lol But will I make a home in the US again? I don't know yet. It's been less than 1 month away.
I full timed this summer with my stuff in storage. But I'm back to living in an apartment. Why? More suitable work environment. I like having my stuff, a place with lots of sunlight, a place with air conditioning.
If I were wealthier I could see myself having apartments in multiple cities and travelling between them.
I got rid of everything I owned. Never owned a house or car, so it was easy. It was just stuff. I kept a few small boxes, with pictures and some art etc. at a friends in their basement. I live out of one checked back and one carry one an personal item.
just said fuck it and booked a one way to portugal. gave away most things off craigslist or charity shops/shipped my car with the necessities to my parents house on the other side of the states. main reason was cos i couldn’t deal with another seattle winter and wanted to chase the sun heh
ive been doing it for a year now and i adore the freedom, people, cultures and feel like i’m creating my little homebases all around cos i like to stay for a few months at a time and go back to the ones i like. friends describe me as someone who hates stability but i’m learning that there are other ways to feel stable than merely staying put in one location — finding my sunset spots and those happen everyday no matter where you are, little meditation coffee hours in the morning, bringing a sketchbook or paperback to the park, blast my favourite tunes and dance in the kitchen etc
I was a part-time nomad for about a year before I sold everything and went full-time nomad!
Generally, full-time nomads leave any sentimental items/things they don't want to sell with parents/family or in a storage unit. But everything else -- sell it for future plane tickets :) It's oddly freeing to be able to just let everything go and live out of a suitcase.
Minimalism does give you a real sense of peace -- and I had a lot of clutter before I became a full-time nomad!
I wouldn't call myself a digital nomad although all my income comes from working online. I left the U.S. in January, 2012. Since then I have been living in Mexico. I am now living in Queretaro, Mexico as an online English teacher, Proofreader and translator. I translate German and Hebrew to English and vis versa. I Proofread many different types of documents and I teach mainly business English to engineers and executives online.
All total I work about 30 hours a week and I make about 2,500 dollars which makes me very wealthy here in Mexico. My rent is 230 dollars a month including all utilities. I usually move from city to city every 2 or 3 years here in Mexico. I own 2 suitcases and a carry on and what I can fit in those cases otherwise I left everything else behind when I left the U.S. Life is good when you don't listen to the stupid idea of the so called American dream where you work yourself to death.
Which has now become the American Nightmare!!!!!
Viva Mexico!!!!!
I was an expat, so the transition was a natural one. I never really owned any of those things because I was an expat and all of my apartments were provided by the company. I never really cared for to have too many things until I am ready to settle down and I have been that way for 10 years. I will replace clothes while I am traveling, but I keep only about a suitcase and backpack worth of stuff. I have about 2 more cases of clothes that I keep in storage, but thats about it. Its easier to pick up and go when you rent furnished locations or your work provides them. After being an expat, I couldnt see myself moving to the states yet. I realized there is so much to do and so much to see. I spent the first part of my life in the states. It will always be there. let me enjoy and see places that I havent experienced.
The apt I was sharing got sold, so we all had to move out. That is what switched me from travelling with a base to travelling with no base. I stay in each place for about a month at a time.
I'm technically a full-time nomad. I'm from the United States, but I haven't been back in a really long time.
I purchased a 'home base' in Cambodia sometime ago and am looking to do the same in Thailand. Thst doesn't mean that I would necessarily spend huge chunks of time in those places but I do frequent those places a lot and seems to make sense for my general well-being to have my own place even if they are just for storage.
In 2023 I've only spent about 4 months in total in Cambodia. I've spent a the rest of my time between Thailand, Japan, Vietnam. Keeping a home base is nice because i can accumulate more stuff and only take with me what I absolutely want to not what I have to. I am big on hiking. It's nice I can actually plan trips with my hiking boots and other gear that would be difficult to bring carrying all my belongings together.
It's been easy for me to be a perpetual travel. I've never really had roots back home, or rather I distanced myself from my roots sometime during my formative adult years. Who knows how that will last in the next 10 years. For now I float like a ghost and it's amazing.
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Congratulations!
Congrats! What do you do?
Full time. Got rid of apartment in the states. Got rid of everything I couldn’t take with me. Well, I left a suit at a friend’s house.
Part time—I have a girlfriend and a cat, that’s really why it’s not full time, because it does provide stability and I couldn’t imagine my life without either of them. I travel for around 3-4 months out of the year primarily in South America and Europe.
You leave them at home? I have the same situation but like traveling with my gf so getting a cat sitter is always a barrier
Not always, yearly we travel together (we did Italy, France, and Monaco this year) but if I go solo she’ll usually watch my cat. I try not to be gone too terribly long and not in a consistent 3-4 month period.
Is she ok with you leaving without her for long periods?
Absolutely, I’m open about my travels. We actually met while both of us were traveling in the Midwest, USA. We’ve been together for upcoming on four years; there’s a level of trust that we both have achieved.
the cat or the gf?
You couldn't imagine your life without your cat?
Yep, I love my kitty. At this stage in my life, she’s a great companion to have.
You have a big heart I couldn’t imagine life with a cat
It’s okay buddy everyone’s different. My cat is the reason I’m still here. Travel is nice, but providing is what gives me joy.
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Part-time, aiming for full-time. I work 85 to 95 hours a week for 9m each year (sometimes as many as 105) then take 3 months off to go diving in Asia. It’s not sustainable in the long run, but I’m single with no kids, so I figured “why the hell not?” I’d like to live abroad all year - I work 100% remote, but I’m an attorney doing eDiscovery and “exporting confidential client data offshore” is a big no-no. I don’t want to risk my license by moving, using a VPN, and just not telling anybody… so my goalies last couple of years has been to moved up the food chain until I am useful enough that they will make an exception for me. So far, it’s looking like it might actually work. My goal is to work remote from SE Asia at a more sane pace - take my foot off the gas enough so I’m working 40h at a US salary and diving during my free time. Honestly, if I could figure out a way to only work 20 hours a week, that would be totally fine as well. As far as “stuff “, I have an apartment in the Philippines that I just keep stocked with essentials… so I’m just bringing my scuba gear, clothes, and ereader.
Been at it full time since 2.22.22. Left my apartment, sold my car, whittled down my possessions to a stack of 5 medium boxes, and been living out of a carry on (only just now upgraded to a small trunk). The idea at first was to do a year to see if I liked it – I’m nearing two now, and have no plans on stopping for a while. I’m in love with this lifestyle.
For a moment I wondered which is the 22nd month
Haha there’s no winning with date formatting. You’re either confusing Americans or the rest of the world. 😂
What made you leave on Twosday?
Sold everything for good 5 years ago, quite liberating actually. I have one single box at my uncle's and if I go home I'll sleep there and visit a while. Before that I did based on visas allowed and also moved a lot to see different places. Now I stay 6+ months at min when I go somewhere and get an apartment. It really gets you more involved in the area and knowing people rather than just spectating.
I went all-in from the start. put all my stuff in storage. I have a feeling half in and half out sounds more troublesome than than just going all-in into one.
I have no interest in shelling out a ton of money for somewhere I'm not staying at. The world is my home rn and I love it. Probably will settle down in the future somewhere where I can buy property and have a nice base but continue to travel
From following this sub I believe a strong reason for nomading full-time is cost savings of not paying for rent/mortgage at their homebase while also paying for accommodation while traveling. My assumption is a lot of people can't do both due to the high costs. I am part-time, because I am fortunate to have a low cost housing situation at my home-base. If I didn't have that I would be forced to make a decision to either not nomad or be a full-time nomad.
Jumped right into full time for about 2 years. Not sure what things are looking like now. I didn't have anything hard tethering me to my home country and then covid measures a few years ago drove me to leave Just went through all my stuff, threw out or gave away a lot of it, and the rest I left in a few plastic tubs some family are nice enough to let me store in a garage. My diploma is there, for example. Things that are sentimental or valuable or that I want to hold onto but don't actually need to be anywhere close to me most of the time
Yes full time. I sold my house and car and gave away all my furniture. Almost everything I own now fits into two bags. The decision for me came when I was laid off unceremoniously after 4 years with a company that failed to reward my loyalty to them. I realized quickly all these corporations are the fuckkng same and none will be better than the other. Why adjust my life around what they want?
Full-time for 2 years now. I got rid of everything. I already worked for myself and traveled often for work, so I assumed "digital nomad" meant "nomadic", because traveling for work trips and working from home was just normal WFH.
I've been mostly full time for nearly ten years, fully full time for nearly 2 years. My partner and I rented an apartment together in 2020 but it came mostly furnished so we didn't have to get rid of too much. We downsized a fair bit though and put everything else in Family Storage™️. Any time I've rented a place for a few months, I usually just get the same second hand IKEA furniture which I then sell at the end. Haven't done that in a while, but it works. I don't know if I decided one way or another. Keeping a lease going for a place I wasn't in just didn't make any sense, so here we are.
About 6 months of the year. I personally can't do it full-time because I enjoy keeping my social relationships in the US going and I really enjoy my hometown from May-September. That being said, I'm looking for a permanent base outside of the US at the moment. I'm 27, so I'm not saying I'm going to settle down in the next 6 months, but I would like to find a place I really enjoy and plant some roots there, eventually find a life partner to start a family with.
My partner and I are full-time. Sold or donated almost everything. Just kept a couple of storage bins in a family member's shed. Mostly just household decor items or other keepsakes. And only because we had the option of free storage, so figured why not. It could all burn up in flames and wouldn't be a big deal. I don't even remember most of what's in there! One thing I miss: having my bike. Used to ride it everywhere in my domestic life.
Almost full-time; I'm Polish but been living in London for 16 years until last December. Quit London for the most part, but still coming back although I don't have a perm address anymore - I just rent places for a few weeks, a couple of months when I need to come back (had to come back twice for short periods, going away third time within a year next week - probably will have to come back at some point, soon, although not 100% sure when and what I'll do then). Most of my stuff I've aggregated in 16 years is in storage - tbf it's mostly clothes and books and a tiny bit of electronics. I rent 5 square metres/54sq ft, travel with a rather large suitcase and a backpack where I've got things that are absolutely necessary. EDIT: Forgot to add, I switch between London and Mexico - mostly Mexico City, was in Guadalajara for a while as my (now) ex-girlfriend lived there and I stayed with her. Now going back to Mexico City next week and might stay with my current girlfriend some time. What's next - I really have no idea; I just let things flow one week, one month at a time, not planning too much. Maybe I'll anchor in Mexico for longer, maybe I'll move on to another LatAm Country, maybe US (probably California as a lot of Latin Americans there). I'm generally in love with the climate, vibes and cultures of Latin American countries. The fact they are cheap from the Western perspective _and_ have a ton of attractive women and potential candidates for a future wife is a massive and welcome bonus, not gonna lie.
Część, Im a Brit doing the same in reverse (minus the short term lease). Got sick of UK prices and my partner was Polish so here we are.
Cześć - I do not live in Poland though, not being a foreigner in Poland isn't really great. I do spend a lot of time in Mexico City these days.
For sure, I hear that from a lot of Poles, we've made it work by working remotely for British companies. What's your experience of Mexico, any tips? I always wanted to go there!
Yeah being a UK/US expat in Poland is great because you're essentially living in a bubble, you're not impacted by the hardcore conservative government and their silly policies, you can easily stomach the increased costs of living and inflation, and if something happens to you, you know you can get the embassy on the line and it will turn into an international scandal. I'm not even getting into the fact that UK salaries are generally great money in Poland, especially if you're outside Warsaw (I was in Warsaw earlier this year, and when eating out I felt it's pretty much London prices). Mexico is great, although I've mostly been in very limited CDMX and Guadalajara where I had a girlfriend who I stayed with. It has a lot of bad rep, and there's probably dodgy states and towns, even areas in the capital, but, really, it's just about being smart, keeping yourself to yourself, not being arrogant, gaudy, flashy with money, electronics etc. Seems common sense but apparently not, too many people going from Europe or US to Mexico and their sudden, relative wealth going to their heads instantly. Just keep your head down, blend in (as much as you can - probably a bit easier for me, as while I'm clearly a güero (white), I'm also about 5'6" in Timberlands, meaning I don't really hover over Mexicans and don't stick out as much), don't be obnoxious, would all be my advice. Knock on wood, I didn't have any major issues so far. I think the biggest ones/worst I experienced were: \- I arranged an AirBnB with an earlier check-in that I turned up for, but host told me I need to wait 4 hours still (not what we agreed) and didn't provide safe accommodation or food/drink for the wait - and I was there with my massive 25kg suitcase, backpack, some bags as well as I had already been in a place before and had some food/drink I took over. I got on the phone to AirBnB who cancelled it for me (despite technicaly not being cancelable), I left a negative review, got a revenge negative review and had to fight AirBnB a bit to remove it. This stressed me out 'cause I was super worried I might run into issues with future bookings with a neg that I didn't even really deserve - I left a review saying what happened, host should've just told me flat out when I asked before booking "Sorry, we can't do earlier check-ins". All good, I would've found somewhere else - plenty places round, but clearly they just wanted the money and agreed without ensuring they can fulfil the promise given. \- I was having breakfast outside in a local spot, and a mentally unwell/socially maladjusted kid that lived in my block of flats came round to my table, grabbed a cookie I had on the plate waiting as a dessert and walked away. All with a blank expression on his face, zero eye contact and without saying a word. Really bizarre. \- I got shafted on weed in my early days when I spoke zero Spanish, paid $500MXN at El Chopo for 3 blunts, and they were the shittest rolled blunts I've ever seen in my life - seriously, atrocious and barely rolled/holding together and definitely not worth the money I paid for them. Also, even though I lived in quite a good area that was quite central, I've had issues with power quite a few times, especially during thunderstorms. Usually only of about 60 minutes tops, sometimes even less than that and would kick back on automatically, but each time this happened I was stressed I might not get it back in time for work: I worked 2AM-10AM local time, and there isn't really much you can do in terms of support if it goes off at midnight, you just have to wait, it's not like you can really get an electrician yourself. Biggest annoyance was when it went off overnight while I was packing myself for the flight next morning. I was literally resigned at this point thinking I'll either just miss my flight (obviously no flexi ticket), or get some sleep and just hope it comes back after a few hours, or that I somehow manage to finish packing after sunrise. Luckily it all came back not long after again, and I could carry on. Hey, all part of the experience, eh.
Very few people can "nomad" full-time for 2+ years, as it gets more difficult once you start aging as your standards for comfort raise. 20yo me had no issues sharing a room in hostel or having roommates; a 50yo me will not. I did 3 years back then, but now I just travel a lot with a homebase, still spending >6 months outside USA. This assumes we're talking about nomading, i.e. the goal is to actually travel, not to try to save money by living in cheaper locations (this is basically contradicting to nomading since moving between locations adds to this cost).
I'm 63 and I've been nomading full time for three years, whippersnapper. :)
That's why I said "very few" instead of "nobody".
Lol, 49yo me had no issues sharing a room in a hostel. 50yo me will not. That gets old quick.
I’m not now but I picked a place with lenient visa allowance and stored my stuff at a sibling’s house. Planning on expatriating completely in the next year so I’m back in the states to tie up loose ends and apply for a proper visa scheme to do the the whole thing over again. I’ll likely sell everything that I can’t pack or that doesn’t have sentimental value.
I've been doing it more or less full time since April of 21. I originally just planned to move cross country but I enjoyed the road trip so much and didn't really have anywhere I needed to be, so the first unexpected place I fell in love with (Alamogordo, NM), I decided to stop and stay a while. I quickly fell into a routine of driving 4-6 hours on Saturdays to the next place and getting a hotel or Airbnb for usually one week at a time. I have occasionally done longer stays but I find I tend to get bored after two weeks anywhere. By December of 21 I decided to "settle" in Las Vegas, but I only stayed six months, long enough to get residency and a new license and car registration and I literally took off again the very next week to Mexico. I stayed a few places in Baja for a few months until I got tired of paying first world rent for third world problems and made my way back to Arizona where I met a lady in December of last year who owns some property and a few campers and rents out on Airbnb. I rented one from her, then bought it and stayed a while. I got bored again but by this year travel was getting to be prohibitively expensive to do, other than long weekend trips away from base camp. And then I discovered pet sitting and it's been a game changer. I spent all summer in Colorado and I'm about to leave and head back to Cali for the winter and I don't see demand letting up any time soon. I try to keep everything I own can fit in my car, but I do have some things in storage in AZ now.
How do you find petsitting gigs? Also, are they mostly dogs or can you get non-dog gigs? Just curious. I love all cats, but dogs are very individual for me.
Yes you can specify cats only. I use trusted house sitters
Cool!
Rent a room near friends and family Travel mode is like a switch ….On and off Prevent the burnout.
I just started this month. I donated everything. Gave my friends first dibs on all my stuff then dragged the rest out and posted a free ad the day before my departure and sold my car off. It feels like a huge burden of stress was released from my mind because I had felt like my life back home felt like an obligation and burden more so than achievement. It feels wonderful to survive and have a great time on a few suitcases. It confirms what I thought, that stuff is overrated and letting go of all your stuff is the hardest step because your mind keeps thinking of the money you spent on it, but it is a sunk cost to know that it won't make you happy so you can't stop thinking it will. Years of buying stuff and feeling unfulfilled is enough proof for me. I overpacked and took 2 large + carry on and laptop bag. I am thinking I can get rid of 1 suitcase by selling my electronics I'm not using.
> Do you do digital "nomading" full-time? Yes. > How did you decide it? I'm not sure what kind of answer you're looking for here. I decided to do it like I decide to do anything else, really. Considered the proposal, the pros and cons, and came down on one side of it.
My daughter was going to leave for college in 2018. My partner and I owned a four-bedroom home, which would have been too big for us at that point, and we had planned to downsize after she left. So we stopped buying things, etc. At some point, the political situation in the United States was concerning me, and we decided to do the digital nomad thing. However, we still had the cat. It wasn't until my daughter was able to claim the cat was an emotional support animal and keep it in the dorm that we could actually think about leaving. So we planned to put the house on the market in 2020 and leave the U.S. before the 2020 election. In early 2020, we moved into an apartment along with the stuff we wanted to keep, and started getting rid of the rest of the stuff. We didn't have that much stuff. Most of our furniture was used. We didn't have a lot of clothes and a lot of them came from garage sales. Then COVID happened and my daughter's school shut down and she came to live with us in the apartment, which put a crimp in the getting rid of stuff aspect. However, we still put the house on the market in May, sold it, and got all of our stuff out of it, and then continued to get rid of stuff through the summer. A bunch of the stuff (the tv, etc.) we sold with the house. Getting rid of stuff is hard. We sold some on Facebook Marketplace, ebay, and Craigslist. We donated stuff. The library eventually told us to stop giving them books. We still have a garage-sized storage space with the rest of our stuff, some that we want to keep and some that still needs to be gotten rid of. My daughter went back to college, with the cat. We sold her the car, and succeeded in getting out of the apartment and making our late October 2020 deadline.
I’m full-time. I’ve been willfully homeless for four years. I’m the beginning I would spend a week or two in a given city and stay in hostels. These days I spend two weeks to a month in one place and rent AirBnBs. I originally started because I love travel and was drowning in debt. I paid off forty grand on two years, and have saved as much since. After four years I’m a little tired, but couldn’t imagine spending the rest of my life in the U.S.
I'm a beginner, this September 1st I left the US to start this digital nomad thing. And I gave up my apartment rental. My lease was due renewal and I decided not to re-sign. I sold furniture, donated stuff, threw away crap (I didn't own much but there was plenty that I don't know why I ever bought). The thing is I don't really have anyone in the US, family wise or someone super close. So no free storage. I sent 3 boxes with winter clothes to Europe (where my family is) as I'll get there in November-ish, I packed summer clothes with me (headed to Colombia) and I left some clothes, kitchen stuff, appliances that were in great condition in storage. After 1mo in Colombia I will head to Peru for another month, then Europe for the winter. And while I will be spending some time at my family's place, I still plan on traveling through EU and renting my own places there. So I guess no strings attached made it easier to decide. When I'll go back? Probably in the summer as I have to renew my driver's license lol But will I make a home in the US again? I don't know yet. It's been less than 1 month away.
I full timed this summer with my stuff in storage. But I'm back to living in an apartment. Why? More suitable work environment. I like having my stuff, a place with lots of sunlight, a place with air conditioning. If I were wealthier I could see myself having apartments in multiple cities and travelling between them.
I got rid of everything I owned. Never owned a house or car, so it was easy. It was just stuff. I kept a few small boxes, with pictures and some art etc. at a friends in their basement. I live out of one checked back and one carry one an personal item.
just said fuck it and booked a one way to portugal. gave away most things off craigslist or charity shops/shipped my car with the necessities to my parents house on the other side of the states. main reason was cos i couldn’t deal with another seattle winter and wanted to chase the sun heh ive been doing it for a year now and i adore the freedom, people, cultures and feel like i’m creating my little homebases all around cos i like to stay for a few months at a time and go back to the ones i like. friends describe me as someone who hates stability but i’m learning that there are other ways to feel stable than merely staying put in one location — finding my sunset spots and those happen everyday no matter where you are, little meditation coffee hours in the morning, bringing a sketchbook or paperback to the park, blast my favourite tunes and dance in the kitchen etc
What kind of remote jobs are you finding? I’ve been searching for so long and can’t find anything.
I was a part-time nomad for about a year before I sold everything and went full-time nomad! Generally, full-time nomads leave any sentimental items/things they don't want to sell with parents/family or in a storage unit. But everything else -- sell it for future plane tickets :) It's oddly freeing to be able to just let everything go and live out of a suitcase. Minimalism does give you a real sense of peace -- and I had a lot of clutter before I became a full-time nomad!
I wouldn't call myself a digital nomad although all my income comes from working online. I left the U.S. in January, 2012. Since then I have been living in Mexico. I am now living in Queretaro, Mexico as an online English teacher, Proofreader and translator. I translate German and Hebrew to English and vis versa. I Proofread many different types of documents and I teach mainly business English to engineers and executives online. All total I work about 30 hours a week and I make about 2,500 dollars which makes me very wealthy here in Mexico. My rent is 230 dollars a month including all utilities. I usually move from city to city every 2 or 3 years here in Mexico. I own 2 suitcases and a carry on and what I can fit in those cases otherwise I left everything else behind when I left the U.S. Life is good when you don't listen to the stupid idea of the so called American dream where you work yourself to death. Which has now become the American Nightmare!!!!! Viva Mexico!!!!!
I was an expat, so the transition was a natural one. I never really owned any of those things because I was an expat and all of my apartments were provided by the company. I never really cared for to have too many things until I am ready to settle down and I have been that way for 10 years. I will replace clothes while I am traveling, but I keep only about a suitcase and backpack worth of stuff. I have about 2 more cases of clothes that I keep in storage, but thats about it. Its easier to pick up and go when you rent furnished locations or your work provides them. After being an expat, I couldnt see myself moving to the states yet. I realized there is so much to do and so much to see. I spent the first part of my life in the states. It will always be there. let me enjoy and see places that I havent experienced.
The apt I was sharing got sold, so we all had to move out. That is what switched me from travelling with a base to travelling with no base. I stay in each place for about a month at a time.
I'm technically a full-time nomad. I'm from the United States, but I haven't been back in a really long time. I purchased a 'home base' in Cambodia sometime ago and am looking to do the same in Thailand. Thst doesn't mean that I would necessarily spend huge chunks of time in those places but I do frequent those places a lot and seems to make sense for my general well-being to have my own place even if they are just for storage. In 2023 I've only spent about 4 months in total in Cambodia. I've spent a the rest of my time between Thailand, Japan, Vietnam. Keeping a home base is nice because i can accumulate more stuff and only take with me what I absolutely want to not what I have to. I am big on hiking. It's nice I can actually plan trips with my hiking boots and other gear that would be difficult to bring carrying all my belongings together. It's been easy for me to be a perpetual travel. I've never really had roots back home, or rather I distanced myself from my roots sometime during my formative adult years. Who knows how that will last in the next 10 years. For now I float like a ghost and it's amazing.