In recent years, you may have heard the term digital nomad being thrown about and wondered what on earth it is. Despite sounding like some kind of sci-fi explorer or new aged software that can attack your computer, a digital nomad is actually a lifestyle, and a very cool one at that.

Digital nomadism as a lifestyle choice is really growing in popularity and each year there are more and more people who elect this way of living. Today we are going to talk a little about what a digital nomad is, and how you can get on board and live this modern lifestyle.

What a Digital Nomad Is

In basic terms, a digital nomad is someone who works remotely from their computer, and takes the chance to travel whilst doing so. There are many people all over the world who can work remotely because of the type of job that they have, but choose not to. The difference with a digital nomad is that they can work remotely, and they take advantage of this opportunity and travel the world whilst making money online.

So How Do They Make Money?

This is a very pertinent question and there is really no short answer. Digital nomads have unlocked the way in which they can earn money online, many of them run businesses, blogs, work on freelance jobs and in the main, seek any way in which they can use the internet to make some money. The most popular way of earning online is through freelance work such as writing or administrative tasks. Remember that just because this lifestyle offers the freedom to work anywhere in the world, does not mean that a digital nomad is rich.

What Are The Benefits?

There are numerous benefits to this kind of lifestyle and it is these benefits which makes so many people wish to take on a lifestyle such as this. The biggest benefits of this lifestyle is the fact that it is completely location independent meaning that as long as there is an internet connection, work can get done. Another benefit of this lifestyle is that you don’t have to commute to work, you can take vacations or days off whenever you want and there is no salary cap, if you can find a way to earn, the sky is the limit.

What Drawbacks Are There?

This kind of fairytale lifestyle is not all rainbows and sunshine however and there are a couple of drawbacks to being a digital nomad. The first drawback is that you are usually not salaried which means that if you don’t work, you don’t get paid. Another drawback which I have noticed is that you miss out on all of the gossip and general conversation which most people get in the workplace, you can of course replace this by socializing more, but there is a certain company which you lose out on.

All in all, being a digital nomad is a great lifestyle and one which, if you are able to, I would recommend that you try to create.