How Digital Nomads Work From Anywhere

For a lot of us, working in an office has forever been the default. Figuring out how to simply start working remotely can be a challenge. The most valuable asset a digital nomad can have is, well, a job.

Before utilizing all of the information in this article, anyone vying to become a full-time traveler needs work that is remote and well-paying enough to support the lifestyle. To secure a job like this, you need to gather experience, and if you're just getting started, education should come first. 

Below are some popular examples of remote-friendly career paths with some educational resources included. 

Copywriting

Writing copy is one of the most effective examples of how digital nomads work from anywhere. It's a lightweight profession that can almost always be accomplished via a remote relationship.

You can learn about copywriting as a profession for just $30 with the Complete Digital Copywriting Master Class Bundle, which includes lessons on tools and techniques for the work across industries. 

Coding

Another popular digital nomad profession is coding and developing, which is often flexible and remote-friendly. Being that it's an ever-growing industry these days, it's an attractive option that encompasses many different roles in the IT world.

You can learn about some examples of coding work, like ChatGPT, IoT, Python, Javascript programming for beginners, and more, in this 2024 Premium Learn to Code Certification Bundle, which is only $50 for lifetime access. 

Digital marketing

Coding, copywriting, design, and so much more fall under the umbrella of digital marketing. Those who have a handle on the larger picture make great account managers, producers, and even executives of startups. Even with a calendar full of meetings, digital marketing professionals can easily work from anywhere and attend virtually.

For a strong educational foundation in digital marketing, you can pick up 40+ SEO and digital marketing courses for just $40. 

Securing Remote Work

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Securing work in any industry takes effort and persistence.

While finding a job is tough, remote work is more highly sought after, and largely considered tougher to find. This is to say, make sure you give yourself the best chance possible. 

You can optimize and maximize your outreach with a tool like Resoume AI Assistant software, which can help you generate keyword-optimized resumes that are designed to help you secure job interviews faster and more frequently. It even has a job board with remote roles across the world. A lifetime subscription is only $30 for a limited time. 

Another tool designed to help improve your odds of securing and retaining remote work—the Essential Work From Home Productivity Bundle—features informed lessons on time management, staying focused, working from home essentials for your office space, marketing yourself as a business or brand, how to find a job, and more. At just $30, it's a reasonable investment for getting your feet wet. 

Managing Your Business and Career

Finding a job is just one step in figuring out how digital nomads make life work from anywhere, and it doesn't mean much if you don't retain it.

Working remotely often means juggling multiple clients, tracking invoices, keeping on top of email correspondences, and that's all in addition to the actual work you're doing.

Organizing it all can be a challenge, which is why so many digital nomads rely on management tools. With accounting, project management, and CRM features, the Zerrio Business Management Toolkit is a robust solution that's only $50 for life. 

Travel Like a Digital Nomad

Once you've found a career path and secured work, it's important to be smart with that money. One effective strategy for how digital nomads work from anywhere is simply saving wherever they can.

Travel is a luxurious experience for most, so spending without being thoughtful is an easy way to create an unsustainable work-while-on-the-go strategy. 

In addition to food and tech, becoming a digital nomad can be a lot easier when you make an effort to save on travel itself.

For example, an easy way to spend less on flights for your entire remote work career is to grab a lifetime subscription to OneAir Elite—a travel deal alert service that finds great rates with help from AI—for just $100. 

Finding the right freelance visa

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The World Bank reports that nearly half of all professionals worldwide are self-employed, so the potential population of people who could work abroad is vast. This has inspired a surge in countries developing freelance visas, also known as digital nomad visas, in recent years. 

Whether you're looking for a freelance visa in Dubai, Germany, Brazil, or a destination you haven't picked yet, there are a lot of elements to consider. Every country's visa is unique in its terms. 

Consider asking yourself these questions when looking into a digital nomad visa:

• Would you like to permanently move somewhere, or are you looking for a year abroad for the life experience?
• What kind of work are you doing, and does that influence what type of visa you'll need or qualify for? 
• Do you know specifically what you're looking for, or are your digital nomad ambitions more open-ended?
  
  

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For those interested in longer-term moves, Germany's freelance visa might be preferable because it can lead to permanent residence at the end of year five, and full German citizenship in the sixth year with an integration course. But that's just one example.

If you're looking for a somewhat long-term work stay with a definitive return date, Croatia may be a better digital nomad visa to seek out. It's reportedly available to travelers spending up to a year in the country, and it's not extendable. 

Getting a freelance visa for Dubai is great for those who figuring it out as they go with standard options for one, two, and three years.

If you're uncertain about your destination, this in-depth breakdown of 61 Countries with Nomad Visas and Remote Work Permits will give you plenty to discover.  

How to Effectively Get Your Work Done on the Road

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In addition to saving money, you need to protect your ability to earn it. A pivotal step in becoming a successful, enduring digital nomad is securing the equipment, software, and app subscriptions you need to effectively get work done while you're on the road.

Let's look at some practical tools that can support the digital nomad lifestyle: 

VPNs for digital nomads

When you're wondering how a digital nomad works from anywhere, more often than not, they have a reliable VPN subscription.

For those who don't know, a virtual private network allows members to access unrestricted and more secure browsing from remote locations around the world. 

VPNs protect you from lagging and slow speeds. They also add heightened, virtually invaluable security to your internet activities, and protect your access to content available in different countries that you may need to work with—i.e. websites restricted in different countries, content released at different times in different countries, and so on. 

You can learn more in this comprehensive breakdown, Why Remote Workers and Freelancers Should Use a VPN, which includes advice on remote-friendly VPN subscription services like AdGuard and Windscribe, and more. 

Laptops and monitors for digital nomads

While many of these insights and tools on how a digital nomad works from anywhere are interchangeable and even optional depending on an individual's situation, the whole idea of working while traveling remotely is pretty impossible without a quality laptop. 

For a reliable and affordable solution, you can check out a wide range of refurbished MacBooks to suit a range of work needs. 

When your laptop screen isn't enough to comfortably support your workday, adding a portable monitor to it can turn a mobile office into a reliable one.

A great example? This portable 18" 120Hz monitor is only $240. For a little more space and flexibility, you could also opt for the Mobile Pixels DUEX Plus, which is $300, or the somewhat-less-portable Geminos Stacked for $700 (if you tend to stay in the same place for months on end before uprooting again). 

Language tools for travelers

Traveling in a different country can be challenging if you don't speak the language.

To help make the journey itself more fulfilling and enlivening, and to give yourself tools to ask for help, studying the local language is another way to make working abroad easier.

When it comes to studying languages, few platforms are more popular and better-reviewed than Babbel, which makes its short and sweet lessons available via a well-rated app that is travel-friendly. A lifetime subscription to Babbel with access to all 14 languages is only $200 right now. 

And for a quick assist with vocabularies you haven't learned yet, the NEWYES Scan Reader Pen 3 Text-to-Speech OCR Multilingual Translator is another tool that can offer direct translation services for over 112 languages with up to 98 percent accuracy. It's on sale for only $125 at the time of publishing. 

Consistent Curation

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While a laptop and a monitor can support a wide range of production needs, every digital nomad should curate a toolkit to support their specific job role.

For example, if you're streaming video content of yourself for meetings or social media, professional lighting can go a long way. If your work requires attaching monitors, hard drives, and cameras to your computer, you might find that you need a more advanced docking setup than what's built into your laptop. 

Flexibility and adaptability are key to working and living (however temporarily) abroad. Anyone pursuing this lifestyle should adopt a perspective of constant curation.

As you define your career path and travel goals, the tools and instruments you need to support those journeys will reveal themselves. In the meantime, use this guide as a jumping-off point and enjoy the ride. 

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