Digital nomad links

Digital nomads are those who use geo-arbitrage – living in cost effective countries like Thailand – to conserve money in order to; bootstrap an online busines, travel for years at a time, work overseas, etc. They are very similar to the FI/FIRE crowd in that they are typically frugal. When I was in Thailand, you could stay in Chiang Mai for ~$600/month with an apartment, office with internet, scooter rental, eating out for every meal etc.

The main concerns for a digital nomad are: cheap living, cheap internet, cheap stuff to do, cheap food, cheap travel. The primary idea is to “make it last”.

NOTE: My specialty and core experience is in being a digital nomad, I have a long history with it, I am now a father and settled for a time until my son is old enough to fly more so until then I will be focusing on the other two items. However, I do stay abreast of what is happening and here is my list of items for any current or aspiring DN.

Books

  • The Four Hour Workweek
    This is the book that started in all for the majority of DN’s, if you have not read this, you probably should set every other book down and start.
  • The art of nonconformity
    A book to help you break out of the traditional way of thinking, to succeed, you ned to think in different ways. He also has another book called The $100 startup which is worth a look.
  • Crush it!
    This is great inspiration for those that need that little extra push.
  • The Personal MBA
    You need to understand business if you are going to bootstrap a business. This is the book.

Blogs

  • Nomadic Matt
    He has written books about traveling the world on $50/day and is a pretty good resource for travel. His is one of the most popular budget travel blogs in the world.
  • Adventurous Kate
    Another pro-blogger with tons of content who has made nomad-ism a living.
  • Nomadic notes
    15 years of being a nomad, still going strong.
  • Too many adapaters
    Updated blog of tech tips for travelers.
  • Almost fearless
    Travel with children, there is a lot to consider.
  • DN Empire
    In-depth guides, real experience.
  • DN Wannabe
    A mom decided to be a DN and made it happen, inspiring.
  • Suitcase Entrepreneur
    Business advice for running your business from anywhere.

Sites and tools

  • Wikivoyage
    Probably the best and most frequently updated tool for world travel. Look up your destination and you will get the skinny on every town, country, area and even restaurants. It is usually faster to update than the CIA factbook or the state department for travel warnings and issues. It is also far more reliable and up to date than any of the lonely planet guides. This should be your first stop before hopping on a plane to anywhere.
  • Nomadlist
    What are you searching for in a place to live? How much will it cost you to live in the various Nomad Hubs? Search and find it all here. This is a great resource for determining your geo-arbitrage numbers. See also: Numbeo and expatistan and for where to work workfrom.io
  • VisaHQ
    Figure out your visa requirements before you get on a plane.
  • trip tuner
    set your sliders, look at the results.
  • The world awaits
    More sliders, but with specific budgets
  • /r/digitalnomad
    The subreddit of the nomads
  • PassportBooth
    Passport photo app you can print yourself or you have printed in a store or even mailed to you for a small fee.
  • AAA international drivers license form
    A form for a one-year international drivers license translated into eleven languages and is good in 150 countries. You typically do not need one, but on occasion it is useful.
  • DoNotPay
    Automated checks on prices to make sure you don’t get burned on price changes.

Podcasts

  • Tropica MBA
    Lifestyle design blog and podcast with lots of great tips for location independence.
  • Become Nomad
    Site has a ton of information and a podcast.
  • Zero to travel
    Great podcast for travel newbies.
  • Nomad together
    Podcast geared towards nomadic families.

Airfare

  • /r/travel airfare guide
    great list of airfare tools with tips, tricks and information and region specific.
  • Vayama
    cheap international flights
  • kiwi
    more cheap flights.
  • routehappy
    look up your flights by how mad you are going to get.

Cheap airfare newsletters and watch lists

Cruises

Accommodation

  • Kayak
    Great for deal alerts for accommodations.
  • Hostelz
    Like priceline, but for hostel stays and they will give you $10 for each full length review of a hostel you do.
  • Homeaway
    Vacation homes, usually not cheap
  • Airbnb
    I lived in AirBNB’s for a long time, overseas it can be far cheaper than in the USA

Apps

current apps on my phone (not counting specific airline apps)

Group tours

  • Intrepid
    Small group tours
  • Busabout
    Mostly for Europe, bus trips and sailing adventures with flash-deals.

travel hacking

  • Latitute
    be crew on a ship and travel. also on findacrew
  • Budget your R.T.W. travel
    Enter in the cities you want to visit and get your no-frills budget that you will need.
  • The points guy
    Travel reward points information.
  • /r/awardtravel
    Reddit award travel subreddit, many tips and tricks.
  • /r/churning
    Churning, or the art of getting a ton of airline miles/points in creative ways.
  • /r/onebag
    People who have learned to travel lightly. Very lightly.
  • /r/travel/
    Tips and tricks for travel.
  • Rome2Rio
    Comprehensive step by step travel instructions. Useful if you find yourself in somewhere you don’t know well.
  • SIMcard wiki
    Find a mobile plan where you are in the world that has good data.

Health insurance

Gear

Remote jobs

Movies and Television

  • A map for saturday
    Proof you can live on $20,000 for a year, travel the world, have fun and live your dream. This is a movie from 2007 that renewed a lot of this for me, it is about taking a gap year and not specifically about working overseas but it will have you fascinated and ready to jump on a plane by the end, I was in Chiang Mai just a couple years after this movie came out (The full movie is on youtube here).

  • Departures Seasons 1-3
    Three seasons/years of the Departures guys traveling the world with a world famous cinematographer, this Canadian show won a ton of awards, it is well worth watching. Find it on Netflix or online and watch a few episodes to see what the hubbub is about. Season 1: Ep1, Ep2, Ep3, Ep4, Ep5, Ep6

  • One way ticket
    a newer documentary on Digital nomads.

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About FINomad
FINomad is a life hacker, nomad and new father who is working towards financial independence.
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