What Kind of Nomad Are You?

There is only one rule to being a digital nomad, and that is: there’s no ‘wrong’ or ‘right’ way to be a nomad! Maybe you like to move to a new location every week; or maybe you prefer to stay in once place for a few months to a year in order to fully integrate and appreciate the local culture. The only constant is that people always have questions about the DN lifestyle and YOU are the one who gets to decide what it means.

So, what kind of nomad are you?

The Backpacker

Where there’s a will (and a backpack) there’s a way! Backpackers are usually budget travelers or adventurous types that want to see as much of the world as possible, as efficiently as possible. Backpacking is an especially great option for students, but works for folks of any age … if staying in hostels and working out of cafes is your shtick. Just be sure that you’re traveling ethically and respecting the countries you visit while not crossing the line into being a beg-packer.

The Occasional Nomad

Guess what - traveling full-time doesn’t work for everyone. Either because their work or personal responsibilities don’t allow for allow it or *gasp* they simply prefer to have a home base to return to after traveling somewhere for a few weeks. A digital nomad is a location independent professional that has the freedom to move or work from a different city/state/country as they see fit; there is no set parameter that says you need to travel or move a specific number of times a year in order to call yourself a nomad.

The Nomad Couple

There are certainly perks to traveling as a pair: you won’t feel as lonely as you would as a solo traveler, you have an on-site photographer available at all times and you’ll always have someone to cheer you on if you want to try something new. Some nomadic couples only do it for the ‘gram, others are in it to make lasting memories with their partners. It’s not always easy (read: getting some alone time might be tough) but things that are worth it rarely are.

The Bromad

We’re going to let Nomad + Spice explain this one.

The Nomadic Family

Some people fully embrace all aspects of the nomadic lifestyle and don’t consider it a hindrance to achieving milestones like marriage and children. There are plenty of nomads that travel as a family, using the flexibility as an opportunity to give their children an international education. Nomadic families might tend to move a bit slower given that they need to deal with logistics for multiple people and ensuring that the kiddos are enrolled in the proper schools or remote education programs, but they make it work!

The "Expat"

We don’t like the term ‘expat’ around these parts, so we’re legit only using it here for SEO purposes. Really. We’re using the dreaded ‘E’ word — which is rooted in classism and exclusion — because some folks still insist on using it. An expat is just an immigrant or migrant; someone who has moved to a new country and plans to stay for a few months, a few years, or a lifetime. These folks are looking to live their best life, be they in pursuit of lower cost of living (long-term accommodation is cheaper than short-term, for example) or the opportunity to make more money from a new job or from higher profits if they own their own business. In the digital nomad realm, these are the slow travelers, the ones who want to build relationships and make a place their home (even if only temporarily).