I never thought I would technically become a digital nomad at some point in my life. I always found this term super interesting, cool, and for the few. I remember watching TV shows when I was younger that talked about people who lived anywhere in the world, with a computer, an internet connection, and made their own work schedules. I can even visualize that classic “Globo Repórter” tagline: “Digital nomads. Who are they? Where do they live? What do they eat? How do they survive?”
*Globo Repórter is a Brazilian news magazine show, like “The Fifth Estate” in Canada, featuring in-depth documentaries on health, culture, and global issues.
The reports about digital nomads when I was younger always showed some cool, beachy foreigners, usually Australians who lived on some incredible beaches and worked “chill” from hotels or inns and lived life like gypsies. Always foreigners. And one or two Brazilians lost in this big wide world.
Of course, this was before the pandemic. Long before. I think the first programs I saw about this were from the time when I was just starting to work. And I remember thinking how amazing it would be to work that way only to quickly change my mind, “I couldn’t do it, I don’t know, it’s kind of weird.”
It’s funny that my first job in Canada was 100% remote, and I would meet a colleague or two in cafés or at the boss’s house. And I didn’t want that, I couldn’t adapt. I had just moved to Canada and really wanted to meet people, have a routine in Toronto, take the subway, grab a coffee at Starbucks on the way to the office, etc. I’m very social and love meeting the people I work with. It didn’t work out. I changed jobs to an in-person one, where I had that whole routine (I just hadn’t considered that Toronto is cold. And it snows. A lot).
Then the pandemic hit
The pandemic hit me in my second year in Canada and changed the rules of the game a lot. Maybe because I was there at that time, and many companies adopted remote work permanently, remote work became very normal for me, and I no longer wanted a job that was in-person. I loved the productivity I had at home, the new routine I created, and, especially, how much I could get done in the time I would have spent getting ready and going to work.
As companies were still adapting, I still experienced the hybrid model when we returned after the pandemic and had the opportunity to meet many of my colleagues and teams in person. And yes, it makes a big difference to meet people in person, whether in a meeting, at a café, or at a happy hour. And I miss my colleagues, both from Brazil and Canada (especially at happy hour, obviously).
On the other hand, I have friends (real friends) that I met at work and have NEVER met in person. Some I met just before moving from Canada to Spain, in that rush of “I can’t believe I’m leaving Toronto and won’t meet you in person.” People I had and still have a strong connection with, even though I’ve only seen them once in my life. And there are people I’ve really never met in person but talk to and write to on WhatsApp almost every day. Of course, it’s not common, but it happens.
Ok, but what about becoming a nomad?
Well, a lot happened; I moved to Spain in the meantime to do my PhD, but I still needed to work. You can’t live on a student budget at 40. So, I started looking for a job that would fit my PhD routine. Since I’m not a very anxious person (yes, that’s irony), and I couldn’t find a job that fit my PhD, I decided to fit my PhD into my work — which didn’t work out very well, and I talk about that here.
I had already organized myself in Canada to leave while still providing services to the company I was working for, just to wrap things up and hand over the baton more smoothly to the person who took my place. So, I came to Spain already kind of nomadic, working with teams in Toronto and London. And I found the experience quite interesting. So, months later, when I had to adapt to working with a company in California, it wasn’t that hard (not because of the work itself or the routine of splitting my day to have some overlap with the people in the US). In this case, the entire team was remote, and each person was in a different part of the world. That’s when I really felt part of this group of nomads that, to me, was such a distant concept.
A not-so-nomadic nomad
The big advantage of nomadism in my case is being able to live where I’ve always wanted. I moved to Seville, Spain, and am now starting to adapt my routine to do what I’ve always wanted: study flamenco and live this art up close. Another big advantage is being able to visit my family and friends, both in Brazil and Canada, without needing to take vacation time. I simply take my computer, adjust my schedule, and that’s it.
Unfortunately, the routine I mentioned above, of fitting the PhD into my work, didn’t work out, and the PhD ended up being sacrificed in this case (as did my mental health). I had to leave the job in California, much to my regret, and focus only on projects that demand fewer hours of my week. Always focusing on projects that offer me this flexibility of location and schedule. In my opinion, once you experience this type of freedom, it’s hard to go back.
And what about vacations?
This, to me, is the most delicate topic of all. It really depends on how and where you work and what kind of agreement you have with the client or employer. As I mentioned earlier, I can travel, take my computer, and work from anywhere. However, things always have to be very well communicated.
Not long ago, I read an article in Forbes that seemed quite unfair to me. In it, the author suggested that digital nomads were taking advantage of this work model to take clandestine vacations. I thought it was truly absurd. Of course, it all depends on the character of the employees and collaborators, but in my case, it’s always been the opposite.
Several times I’ve been in Brazil without taking vacation, leaving without doing many of the things I wanted or seeing an important part of my friends and family. And all of this because of heavy work demands. I think it’s exactly the opposite: the more involved you are in work, the harder it is to disconnect and take a break.
Recently, right after leaving my job with the U.S., I went on a detox trip. I was 95% disconnected from my phone, the internet, and anything serious, giving myself a break for my mental health. Remote workers or digital nomads find it very difficult to make that cut. I’m not just speaking from my own experience, but also from talking to other people (I’m part of some nomad communities) and from reading articles on the subject.
Wrapping up
I’m a fan of the remote work model, and I think there are countless advantages to be explored. On the other hand, it’s necessary to have a socializing routine so that we don’t isolate ourselves too much from other human beings (this was one of the traps I fell into, and I’ll talk about it in more detail on another occasion).
If anyone is interested in knowing more about my step-by-step process (from a bureaucratic point of view) and the tools I use daily to make my routine easier, just get in touch, and I’ll be happy to help on this journey.
Contrary to what I thought when I saw or read about it (in the days of Globo Repórter), digital nomads aren’t such a rare group, nor do they have difficulty finding food, surviving, and living. It’s a possible routine for everyone; you just have to look in the right place! 😉