Asking Digital Nomads Why They Don’t Get a Real Job 💬

You might think that in 2021 working remotely is nothing out of the ordinary anymore. Nevertheless, do people living a digital nomad life often encounter many misunderstandings when transiting to the still somewhat unconventional way of life. 

Most people separate work and travel. They work full-time to save up money to go on a vacation (or perhaps a long-term trip) where they then can simply focus on enjoyment and relaxation. Subsequently, they return home to get back to work. Absolutely nothing wrong with that, but there are people living life a little differently. 

It’s normal for people around you to be questioning what you’re doing. Nonetheless, it sure can suck to constantly needing to explain yourself and feeling like you require a justification for doing the things you do. And although you try to explain yourself, nobody really understands (or wants to understand) what you’re doing.

“You’re always on vacation!”

“How can you afford to always go on vacation?”

“When are you going to grow up and settle down?”

“What are you running away from?” 

Friends might think your life is an endless globetrotter party, while your family believes you rather be a homeless wanderer withstanding humid conditions than spending time with them. Instagram convinced society that sipping coconut water on a white sandy beach while checking emails is the standard digital nomad practice. No wonder there are so many clichés surrounding this lifestyle.

Meet Maris and Dario 💻

During my co-living experience in Madeira, I got the chance to hold several interesting conversations with digital nomads and ask them a few questions.
Dario and Maris, two Millenials living their life as digital nomads, were kind enough to clear up some cliché questions on camera. ⇓

Maris began her remote path as a freelancing architect in 2017. Yet, she quickly realized that the learned profession did not match her core values — mindfulness and community — Nor did it gave her the opportunity to live a location-independent lifestyle. After being exposed to the nomad community in Lisbon she intuitively aspired to combine the endless possibilities of the lifestyle with the healthier mindset she had acquired through an extensive meditation practice. In 2018 Maris co-founded Borderless Retreat and ever since she has been traveling from one location to the other while organizing retreats for digital nomads and remote workers, focusing on establishing a borderless community.

Dario freshly graduated college back in 2015 and right away began searching for a job. Despite his drive to finally start autonomous life in ‘the real world’ and him applying for position after position, he eventually understood that he didn’t know what he wanted out of life. After reading Tim Ferriss’s “The 4-hour workweek“, Dario decided to leave the conventional career path and continue life as a Digital Nomad. Today, Dario is writing articles and creating video content to discuss ideas around mindset, growth, and lifestyle.

Read Dario’s newest blog post: The Digital Nomad Life and the Ambiguous Gift of Freedom 

Why don’t you get a real job?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_StffHkyjY

What about taxes?

When googling “are digital nomads…” the first google suggestion that pops up is “are digital nomads cheating the rest of us”. Here is Darios’s and Maris’s response: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZzjQ1Qeeeg

Do you miss home?

Home: “The place where one lives permanently, especially as a member of a family or household.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voWxCrHkvss

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