Digital nomad links
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
- Scott’s cheap flights
Cheap international airfare alerts if you are not super picky about where and when. This is the best one I have found. - Airfare watchdog
Tips and alerts. - Secret Flying
Find cheap flights and get alerts. - The flight deal
Newsletter with flight deals and travel tips.
Cruises
- CruiseSheet
Good deals on cruises. - United cruises
Use your United miles for cruises. - Chase Ultimate Rewards Cruises
Use your ultimate rewards points for 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)
- Travelzoo
lots of last-minute tours, shows, car rentals. Check the day before you fly. - Homeaway
- Airbnb
I lived in Airbnb’s for a long time in Central America. - Gateguru
- Kayak
- Hipmunk
- Hostelworld
- Expedia
- Lyft
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
- Tynan Gear Post 2018
Every year this guy posts the travel gear he uses and it is a honed down high-quality list that works in the real world. See: 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014
Remote jobs
- remote ok
Find remote jobs, mostly tech and marketing - we work remotely
Find more mostly remote tech jobs. - Skip the drive
Much more general purpose remote jobs. - remote-jobs
A craigslist scraper for all remote work.
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, Ep6One way ticket
a newer documentary on Digital nomads.