Hey guys, in today’s video, I’ll teach you how to become a digital nomad. I enlisted the help of some very successful digital nomads to help me figure out what the blueprint is. Because if they can do it, why not? You’d be able to, anyway. Recently, I got back from a trip to Bali, Indonesia, where basically everyone was a digital nomad, which got me thinking. This lifestyle is super cool, and more people should do it. It’s always been my personal dream to live in an affordable country, live on like $20 per day, while, of course, still living like a king and making internet money. Many of you watching this video also have a similar inclination.
My goal is to encourage you guys, give you some resources that might help, and really push you guys over the edge. So let’s get started with step one. Which is to meet other digital nomads— not a lot of people actually start with this step. But I think it’s pretty crucial because if you are going to go all-in on something, it really, really helps other people who have done the same, and me. Before you become a digital nomad yourself, you should meet other people online who are currently digital nomads. The reason is that they will encourage you to do it. Two, you’ll see actual people doing it, and that’s gonna make it more of a reality for you, and three, you’re just gonna learn so much from them now in terms of where to actually meet people who are digital nomads.
There are a ton of different ways to do this, actually. If you don’t actually meet someone one-on-one, you can’t absorb a lot of knowledge from people who are making videos on YouTube. So, for example, there are tons of other creators who share their digital nomad stories. Yeah, maybe start that, but I encourage you guys to go and make real connections with digital nomads. There are so many communities online. I highly recommend checking out a bunch of different subreddits. And yeah, message people. Don’t be afraid, actually, to connect with them and talk to them. And you never know, you might meet someone who completely changes the course of your life. Yeah, let’s hear what actual digital nomads have to say about this.
So first of all, please introduce yourself with a quick under-30-second intro of who you are, what you do, and where you currently live. Yo, what’s up? I am Paul. I am a Korean American. I currently live here in Bangkok, Thailand. I was living in the States pretty much my entire life, and I had grown up in the suburbs, moved all the way to… New York, and I found myself burnt out and stuck in this like rat race, stuck in this like consumerist, materialist lifestyle. So I decided to reject all of that and adapt to a very nomadic lifestyle here in Thailand. My name is Kristen Wilson.
I am the host of Traveling with Kristen on YouTube, the Badass Digital Nomads podcast, and the author of Digital Nomads for Digital Nomads. I have been living abroad, traveling, or working remotely since the early 2000s. It’s been about 20 years now. So I’ve been to more than 63 countries now, and I’ve had a lot of different jobs along the way—from selling real estate to teaching surf lessons to finally starting my own relocation company, and now being a content creator. Before you actually move, how do you meet other digital nomads? Because I feel like that’s useful. There are a lot of ways to meet digital nomads before you move. You can meet them online or in person. One of the best ways is through Facebook groups for digital nomads.
Nomads. And this can be in the city that you’re living in or the place that you want to go. So, at your destination, you can also check apps like Meetup. Find other like-minded people in your area who are enthusiastic about the digital nomad lifestyle. And there’s actually a really cool forum called Nomad List where you can connect with other digital nomads in cities around the world. So the more digital nomads you guys know, the more likely you are actually to become one. Step two is to figure out how you’re going to make money. Now, maybe some of you guys have already figured this out. You may already have an online account. Business or something like that, but of course, if you want to sustain your life, you need to have some income coming in.
Now, this does not need to be your own business; there are a lot of people out there who are, you know, freelance. Many people have remote jobs. There’s not just one way you guys can go out there and make money. That’s not true. There are hundreds, even thousands, of ways you guys can make a living while working from your laptop. What types of businesses work well for digital nomads? Recently, Airbnb has been good, but it is trickier. Social media marketing agencies are also very good; anything to do with freelance work, content creation, or digital services, or products.
Those are excellent. So yeah, those are the top ones right now, but you don’t have to be an entrepreneur and start your own business. Freelancing or just working remotely. Thereworking remotely. Five main business models work really well for digital nomads. The first is remote jobs, the largest category of digital nomad jobs at the moment. So any traditional or online company that is paying you as a salaried remote employee, that’s the first one. Then the next one is freelancing, which, before the pandemic, was the biggest category of digital nomad jobs. And this is just being any independent contractor or freelancer, whatever you want to do, as long as you can do your job from anywhere.
Then there’s an online business category that’s very broad, ranging from owning an Etsy store to being an affiliate marketer to being a startup founder. And then there’s what people like us do: content creation or being an influencer. So you can have a YouTube channel and monetize a podcast, or a blog. And this is a type of income stream that can grow with you. And you can also combine a variety of income streams, including ad revenue, affiliates, sponsorships, and other sources. Then we come to the fifth category: being a passive-income nomad or investment entrepreneur. And in this category, we have people who may be doing Airbnb arbitrage, have recurring revenue streams from a range of investments, and even roving retirees.
So people who are retired and want to be digital nomads, too. And then there’s also this. Wildcard category, which is whatever you want it to be—so any job you can invent and create, if you can pay your bills by doing it, can be your path to becoming a digital nomad. As you can see, there are many creative ways to earn money without a physical office. If you guys have seen any of my videos, you know I really encourage people to become entrepreneurs if that’s what they want to do. So, while you can work a remote job for a company, I think everyone should eventually at least try to start their own business, do freelance work, and just be their own boss.
That’s when you can really have 100% time and location freedom. By the way, if you guys are watching and want to start making money online with a side hustle, check out Sophie Howard’s Kindle Publishing Income, today’s video sponsor. In this free webinar, Sophie will teach you everything you need to know to start a passive income business selling digital products—specifically, ebooks on Amazon. And if you guys didn’t know, ebook sales have grown by 60% ever since 2020. And yeah, this industry generates billions in sales every year. You don’t need a ton of… Money to get started: There’s no need for inventory since you’re selling ebooks. Right, like it’s the perfect product, and you don’t even have to be a writer to have a Kindle publishing business.
You can sell no-content books, like germs. The great thing is that once you finish setting up your Amazon store, you only need to spend about 5 hours per month working on it, since it’s mostly automated. So, if you guys are interested, you can check out the link below to watch her free trading. Now back to the video. Step three is to pick a place you want to go to every time. I look at a map, and there are so many really cool spots in the world that I will never get to explore. And it makes me sad if you’re watching this video from anywhere in the world with a high cost of living. Just know that there are so many places in the world that have a Super low cost of living.
Kristen and Paul had some really amazing insights on where actually to move. There are so many cool places in the world to travel and work from. You say— are some of your top places? Bangkok or anywhere in Thailand? Really, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, and maybe Colombia. I’ve always thought that Eastern Europe was really underrated, especially countries throughout the Balkans. You don’t hear much about Serbia. Bulgaria is becoming a popular destination as well, thanks to a digital nomad hub in the tiny village of Bansko. But yeah, make sure the hours work. Make sure it’s a place that you actually want to visit and, you know, actually stay in. And know that you don’t have to go to a really popular digital nomad place. That’s the beauty of it, right?
And choose literally anywhere in the world to go to, as long as the finances make sense. Step four is the logistics. So obviously, when you move to a new country or somewhere across the world, there are gonna be a lot of logistics. That you guys need to handle and figure out, right? Like, right now, you have a ton of stuff in your apartment or home. You’ll need to figure out how to pack it and store it. Or, of course, you can sell it if you want to embrace minimalism. You’ll have to figure out what you want to do with your car, how to get out of your lease for your apartment, or rent out your home, whatever it is, your visa, your passport, all the legal stuff, health insurance, banking, and really the list goes on.
Since I’ve never actually been a digital nomad, I’ll let the pros do the talking. When moving across the world, there are so many logistics to consider. What are some logistics that people should be aware of? Do you have any tips on that? I’d say do a lot of research on the visa stuff— like that stuff can be a nightmare if you get it wrong. You can essentially get deported, you can get fines, you know, if you do it wrong, if you work with the wrong visa agent, it can be a true nightmare. That’s what I experienced. I almost got deported for overstaying. Another one is like try to live like a local, like don’t come here living every single day.
For a vacation, try to maintain as much structure and predictability as possible. You can do that by networking with other expats who live in that country, befriending locals, and picking up the language. Relocating has many moving parts, but my advice is always to start really simply and not change too much. Much of what you do— your lifestyle, your bank accounts, things like that, your taxes—at the very beginning really starts with the basics: having a place to stay and a way to get there, and then how you’re going to do your job once you get there. Another thing is to be careful not to travel too fast at the beginning.
That’s a mistake I see a lot of digital nomads making: they want to see everything and go everywhere at once, and they’re changing locations every day or every week. Just remember that you are working while you’re traveling, not just on vacation. And if you’re working a full-time job, you should stay longer to give yourself time to go sightseeing and also maintain a regular personal life while you’re traveling. That’s not too overwhelming. I know there is a lot to take in with this—know you can take it all on step by step. I know that’s always possible to overprepare. So step five is actually to move. I know this is the scariest part.
It’s actually buying that plane ticket—a one-way plane ticket—securing some place to stay, and physically moving you and your life from wherever you live to this new spot. Some of you guys might want to move somewhere pretty close, where you can drive. Some of you guys probably want to move somewhere completely different, which requires a 10- to 20-hour plane flight. But wherever you go, I think this is the Scariest part because once you actually move yourself, that’s a big commitment. You actually took action. You have to be super proud of yourself. But after that, you need to figure out— know your Step six is actually to find your community. Now, obviously, I’ve never had to do this myself, but Paul and Kristen sure have.
How do you find your community? Once you arrive at your destination, you should meet people naturally through daily life, but you can also attend digital nomad-oriented events and conferences. So, search on Google for events in your area, or go to something like Nomad Cruise, which happens at least once per year. There, you can meet 200 to 500 like-minded people— either current or aspiring digital nomads— on one cruise ship. And so, you get to travel, learn from workshops and talks, and also meet people at the same time. And then another app or website that I use a lot is called Internations. And this is designed for people living outside their home countries as expats or immigrants.
And I just went to an Internations meetup in Manchester, UK, and met people from 20 different countries. So, don’t be afraid to meet locals, long-term immigrants, and expats, as well as digital nomads and remote workers. Or all you guys—I don’t want you guys to feel lonely wherever you choose to move to. I really do think that everyone needs a home base to feel secure, and even if your home base is still in the country you are currently living in, it is important to feel like you have some home base wherever you are. So your community, your friends, and your family visit you. I think this is gonna have a huge…
impact on your happiness as a digital nomad. Step seven is to enjoy your new life. Know that wherever you move to, it can be temporary. You don’t need to stay there for the rest of your life. If you guys want a more nomadic lifestyle, you can, of course, hop from country to country. However, based on what I’ve heard from others, if you want to be really productive and work on yourself, it is important to stay in one spot for more than just a few weeks. When you can actually live like a local, that means you’re gonna be partying less, going out less, and you’ll actually have time to work on yourself or your business.
Everyone’s journey is different, and it’s a personal choice. So really feel it out, trust your instincts, and know that whatever you do, you are in charge of your life. And just the fact that you guys are taking… Leap of faith and moving to a different country, I have so much respect for that. That’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, but I’ve never had the opportunity. And so, yeah, hats off to you guys. Now, of course, I had a bunch of other questions for Kristen and Paul, so for the rest of the video, I’m gonna spend it actually asking them questions I was curious about. What’s your day-to-day life like? So I don’t have a huge structure.
It’s pretty much: I wake up, do intermittent fasting, I might do some workout, and then I sit down at the computer for however long I feel like it, and then five, six hours. And then, after that, I’ll probably hang out with my friends or hang out with my dog. And yeah, a chill lifestyle. Yeah. So you met many other digital nomads along the way. What are some of the more common jobs that people have? There are a lot of different digital nomad jobs out there, but most of the people I meet are working as remote employees doing something like soft. Software development, social media marketing, and online sales are big ones.
I’ve met salespeople all around the world, and many freelancers as well. So people who are doing web design, any consulting, or coaching are a really big one. More recently, I’ve met people who really don’t even have a job title or a job description. They’ve just learned how to make money online in many different ways. And they’re piecing together those forms of income. And what made you choose Bangkok? I wanted to go somewhere affordable but still quite modern, withaccess to adventure and very international communities. Bangkok was the perfect place because it’s quite modern. It’s very affordable, has some of the best locals, and has a little bit of everything.
How much does your lifestyle cost? The digital nomad lifestyle can cost whatever you want. Depending on where you go around the world, you can find a cost of living of less than $1,000 per month. And how much do you spend per month living in Bangkok? I spend about $2,000 a month. Can you break down your expenses into different categories? I spend about $600 on rent and utilities, and then about $500 on eating out every single day. I don’t buy groceries or cook. I order food delivery or eat out. And then another $500 on going out, drinking, hanging out with friends, like socializing and stuff.
And then the other money is just… like on miscellaneous, insurance, buying something. But it gives you full access to a lot of things for just under $2,000. And I could never access any of this stuff for $2,000 in the States. How much will a comparable lifestyle costcost, let’s say, in Los Angeles? Man, the lifestyle I live here for $2,000 isst about $12,000 in Los Angeles. What percentage of the people that you know were in a normal job just remotely, versus actual entrepreneurs and business owners? About 15%, not that much. The biggest challenge is that you have to work as if Asia and the US were 12 hours apart.
So you’re going to have to work during the night. So that is one downside, but it’s manageable. Can you tell us a story from your travels that could inspire people to take action and do it? Yeah, the secret to becoming a digital nomad is that you don’t need permission. And that can hold a lot of people back. So when I first moved to Costa Rica, I was 21 or 22. I had a lot of student loans and almost no savings. My mom gave me a couple of hundred dollars. I had a place to stay. The guy I was working with gave me a four-wheeler to ride around on, and I was good to go.
And I really just bootstrapped those first couple of months— hustling, working, waiting tables, teaching surf lessons. And as long as you can make enough money to cover your cost of living, you can sustain this lifestyle. Who do you recommend the digital nomading lifestyle to? Should try it. I’d say anybody who’s living financially very well and very secure. If you’re making like ten thousand dollars a month, I think you can live a much higher quality of life living abroad. You know, in the States. I don’t want to get too political, but I think the quality of life and what you can access is a lot more limiting than what you can access in this beautiful, beautiful country with the best locals, the best culture, the best food.
And it’s just a totally different lifestyle you can experience. And it’s just a flight away. You know, it’s not this big, scary thing that you have to have a lot of courage for. It’s like, if you’re making enough money and you make money online, you’re in the perfect position to pack up your bags and see what it’s about. And you run some pretty cool businesses. How do you stay productive with all the cool stuff around you? I’ve lived here for so long, so I don’t live here in vacation mode anymore. So I have a good balance of, like, going out a couple of times a week and socializing. But most of my time is just spent.
Focus on myself, on my work, on my health. And I’ve built that kind of routine. Is there anything you want to tell the audience? So to anybody who’s thinking about it, analyze your life and analyze your environment. And pick out what you don’t like. Like, is there anywhere else that you could go to where you wouldn’t experience these kinds of obstacles or these kinds of problems? For example, if your rent is extremely… Expensive. Say it’s, let’s say, $2,000 a month. You can easily move to somewhere that’s like three hundred dollars a month, which would be like a nice rooftop view, as you know, so that’s one example. You could fix another thing.
Would be like, if you’re tired of like all the political division, or like tired of people just hating on each other, you could go to a country like Thailand or Southeast Asia, or everybody’s just so kind, you know, so I’d say, like, analyze the parts of your culture, your lifestyle, your environment that you do not like, see where else has those things improved, and you know, take the courage and do some research. And I said, try it out, anyway. I really hope you guys learn a lot from this video. This is a topic that I’m really, really passionate about, and even though I have yet to actually do the digital nomading lifestyle myself, something that I do want to do sometime in the future, and it’s something that I think so many people strive to do, but don’t actually take action on.
So this video gives you a 5-10% boost in the likelihood that you’ll actually go out there and become a digital nomad, and then we’ll all have been worth it. You know, really, the whole. The point of my channel, the whole point of everything I say, is to help you guys live more non-traditional lives. I don’t want you guys to do something just because everyone else is. The best lives out there are non-traditional. They’re different. They’re not just dictated by what society says is normal or right. You don’t need to have a nine-to-five. You don’t need to build a career. You don’t need to go to an office five days a week. You can be in charge of your time.
You can work solo online and go out there to do all this while exploring the beautiful Earth. A lot of you will take action after watching this video, and it pumps me up a ton. I do want to give a shout-out to Kristen and Paul for hopping on those interviews with me. They’re definitely a huge inspiration to me, and I hope you guys learn a lot from them, too. That wraps it up for this video. Thank you, guys, so much for your time. If you guys enjoyed the video, make sure to hit that like button and also subscribe for more content just like this. I do a ton of videos about personal finance, entrepreneurship, and investing. Thank you so much for your time, and I’ll see you in the next video. Peace.
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