The world today is more connected than ever, especially by technology. You can see and speak to someone on the other end of the world, while you are sitting at home simply through your laptop and phone. Everything is easily accessible and doable, and imagining a world without this sort of connectivity and engagement is impossible for us. Well maybe for us, but not for people living a nomadic lifestyle.
Living a nomadic life sounds very interesting, daring, and fun on paper, and sometimes the reality is a bit different. It’s not that it’s not exciting, but like everything else in this world, there are pros and cons of being a nomad. There’s still so much to know and understand about nomadic living, so let’s get started, shall we?
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What Is Nomadic Lifestyle?
A nomadic lifestyle is anything you want it to be. A nomadic lifestyle allows you to live life on your own terms and gives you the freedom to shape it in whichever way you want. You can go anywhere you want, and do whatever you want to do. You are not rooted in one specific place, and you get to travel as much as you want.
You might want to stop being a corporate slave and choose to work from home, instead of going to the office every day.
Alternatively, you might sell off your home and almost all your belongings, and travel all over the world without a fixed home and live life, enjoy and still work. Living a nomadic lifestyle basically means not being tethered to the same place for the rest of your life. You settle down somewhere and continue working from your home, or you can travel from one place to another and work, as long as you have a dependable internet connection.
The modern nomadic lifestyle is steadily on the rise, since the pandemic, because employers and employees have realized that you don’t need to go to the office every day to get work done. Everything can be done remotely and from any corner of the world.
What Is Digital Nomad Lifestyle?
A digital nomad is a person who travels all over the world and works remotely with the help of the internet. They are location-independent people who don’t like going to the office every day, and instead choose to live a life without any restraints and constraints.
They telecommute, rather than being physically present in their office day in and day out. When you are a true-blue digital nomad, you decide how you want to work, where you want to work, and also, how much you want to work.
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Advantages Of Nomadic Lifestyle
1. Your freedom will be at an all-time high.
The most obvious and biggest advantage of being a nomad is that your freedom knows no end. You can go anywhere you want to, without any limitations and hang-ups. If you want to work in a cafe in the streets of Paris, you are free to do so. If you want to rent a treehouse in the forests of Canada, you are free to do so too.
When you are living nomadic lifestyle, your options and freedom knows no bounds. You are not chained to one place permanently, and you can move about the way you want. The world is your oyster and you get to do life and work on your own damn terms.
2. You get to see the world like never before.
The best part of living a nomadic lifestyle is that you get to travel a lot. You get the privilege of experiencing different places, cultures, and food, and the more you expose yourself to new things, the more you open up your mind. You become more accepting, open-minded, and empathetic because traveling can teach you so much about the world.
So, it’s always a win-win for you. You don’t have to sit in a depressing cubicle and work a 9-5 job every day; you can work perfectly while traveling to every corner of the world. Your life, happiness, and work – everything is sorted.
3. Being a nomad can make you really, really happy.
Society has taught us that if we are not a part of the rat race, then we are useless or not good enough. It has ingrained in us that life is all about earning a lot of money and being able to afford a million material things. But is life really all about buying and selling things? I really don’t think it is.
If deep down in your heart, you know that you’re meant to live like a nomad but you are scared of the uncertainty of it all, and what people will think of you, then you need to let all that go. Do what makes your heart happy. Living a nomadic lifestyle can bring a lot of happiness to your life, and this kind of happiness, trust me, will make your heart burst with joy.
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4. You get stronger and more resilient, physically, emotionally, and mentally.
Just like living a nomadic lifestyle has its fair share of excitement, it also has its fair share of challenges, and you won’t face these challenges if your life revolves around the eat-sleep-work routine. When you are traveling all the time, you are exposed to different cultures, different languages, and different ways of living, and adjusting to all this is obviously a huge challenge.
You are always out of your comfort zone, so you learn how to be practical and vigilant in dicey situations, you learn to think fast, and resolve problems in the most effective ways possible. These challenges make you stronger and more confident in the process.
Disadvantages Of Nomadic Lifestyle
1. You miss your near and dear ones like hell.
One of the biggest challenges of living like a nomad is that you hardly get to see your family and friends. You are always so busy traveling, that you end up seeing them only once a year probably and that too just for a few days. You miss feeling that sense of community because you never have a permanent residence to come back to.
Some nomads tend to make regular trips back home so that they can spend enough time with their close ones. If you miss your family a lot, then this is the best thing you can do for them and for yourself too. Sure, it’s going to be quite hectic, but a little bit of compromise is cool for your loved ones.
2. You end up facing a lot of financial difficulties.
This is a given when it comes to a nomadic lifestyle; unless you are a millionaire or you have a couple of hundred thousand dollars in the bank, living a nomadic life can really prove to be a challenge. Even though you can earn money while you are traveling, the flow of cash is not always very consistent and reliable.
If you work for a company that’s cool with your nomadic lifestyle and doesn’t care as long as you do your job well, then you are one of the lucky ones. However, if you don’t have a permanent job, then getting by financially can be quite tough when you are on the road all the time.
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3. It can take a toll on your health.
Constant traveling and moving from one place to another can naturally take a toll on your health, especially physical health. Allergies, exhaustion, fever, depression, and weight gain are just some of the things nomads struggle with. Your regular diet and eating habits also go for a toss, since you are in a different place every other day.
Feeling exhausted, anxious, and depressed are also natural side-effects of a lifestyle like this. Being away from your loved ones, and being constantly on the move does take a toll on you.
4. Having pets is a farfetched dream.
This is probably the most heartbreaking and sad disadvantage of living a nomadic lifestyle. You cannot travel all over the world and every other day with a cat or dog in tow; just like you, constant traveling and moving from one place to another will definitely take a toll on them.
You want to have pets, but you know that it’s not sensible, rather it’s quite selfish to force them to travel all over the world. You might come across a lot of strays on your way, but it’s not really the right decision to get a pet for yourself in a situation like this.
What Are The Reasons For Digital Nomad Trend?
These are some of the best reasons for adopting a digital nomad lifestyle:
- You can decide on your own office
- You can decide your work hours
- You don’t have to commute long distances every day
- You will quickly realize that life is less stressful
- You get to see and experience the world
- You can work on yourself, and your self-growth
- You don’t have to abide by any dress code
- You get to enjoy some more me-time and get to relax more
- Your life will be more flexible
- You get to have a better understanding of the world and different cultures
- You get to enjoy life in a minimalist way
- You end up making a lot of new friends
- You can work and travel whenever you want
- You become way more financially independent
How To Live A Nomadic Lifestyle?
1. Believe that it’s possible and you can do it.
When you decide to make such a huge life change, you need to be optimistic and mentally strong in order to go through with it. If you constantly question yourself or think that you are incapable of doing this, then you are going to chicken out every time. Know that the path ahead is going to be full of challenges, but you are strong enough to deal with all of them.
Take that leap of faith because it’s going to change your life forever. Living life on your own terms is not just empowering, it’s freeing too, and the happiness you get will always be unparalleled.
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2. Make sure that you travel light.
If you are one of those people who carry their whole life in their suitcase and backpack, then this lifestyle is not for you, buddy. If you want to live a nomadic lifestyle, you need to learn the importance of minimalism. It’s very important to travel light if you are thinking of making this shift.
While traveling, if you are constantly focused on lugging around tons of luggage, then you are just making everything more complicated. Only carry things that you need, and a few valuable, sentimental things; these are more than enough for you to have a good time.
3. Understand and accept all your emotions, especially the tough ones.
When you are constantly on the road, every day is not going to be an exciting and fun one. That’s the thing about living a nomadic lifestyle, it challenges you not just physically, it does so mentally, emotionally, and psychologically as well. But you know what? Whatever emotions you feel, be it good or bad, embrace them all!
Traveling can be really uncertain and exhausting and if you don’t roll with the punches, you won’t be able to make it. Embrace the disappointment, happiness, tears, sadness, and tiredness that you might feel on your journey, and let it make you the best version of yourself.
4. Look out for opportunities that will help you earn money while you’re on the road.
Earning money while you are on the road is extremely important for your survival, so keep an eye out for opportunities that will help you earn some cash. It doesn’t have to be thousands of dollars, but it should be enough for you to sustain yourself pretty comfortably.
If you are traveling through Asia, you can teach English to kids in schools, or you can work part-time as a waiter in cafes. You just have to be a bit aware of the opportunities around you, because it will depend on the kind of place you are.
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Takeaway
Most of the time, people tend to confuse nomadic living with being sedentary, but the truth is, there’s a whole lot of difference between the two. People who follow a nomadic lifestyle tend to travel from one place to another, without making any permanent residence, whereas people who are sedentary tend to settle down permanently in one place.
Living a nomadic lifestyle is not about being cool or hippy; it’s a calling you have to answer, that is if you choose to. If you are sick and tired of the modern hustling and bustling city life, you can give nomadic living a try. You never know, it might end up changing your life!
Want to know more about living a nomadic lifestyle and as a digital nomad? Check this video out below!
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