What No One Tells You About Remote Work and Being a Digital Nomad

Have you ever dreamed of traveling the world and working from anywhere? You’re not alone — increasingly, people are looking for ways to work and live remotely, becoming digital nomads. By 2025, some studies estimate that a whopping 35.7 million Americans, or 22% of the workforce, will be remote workers.

But no one tells you that this exciting lifestyle requires a unique blend of skills, organization, and emotional grit to make it work.

Exploring the world as a digital nomad comes with its own set of unique challenges and experiences. From trying to stay connected with family and friends to hunting down a stable WiFi connection, there’s always something new to explore.

I have been a digital nomad working remotely from various locations worldwide for the past ten years. Although I would never trade my experience or current life for anything else, I’ve learned quite a bit about the remote work world and know that the lifestyle isn’t for everyone.

I packed up my bags and took off, to live a life of adventure, exploration, and self-discovery as I moved from country to country. But as I quickly found out, photos of beautiful sunsets and beachfront cafes don’t tell the full story. Yes, being a digital nomad is an exciting lifestyle, but it’s also much harder than it looks.

The first thing to understand about being a digital nomad is that it’s not as carefree or straightforward as you might imagine. This is because you’ll be working in a completely different way than a traditional job. You’ll need to be able to organize your time and schedule, manage projects, and be comfortable working with remote teams and clients.

Being a digital nomad has its perks — you get to experience different cultures, learn new languages, and explore new places. But the art of loneliness that comes with it is something that can be difficult to navigate. It’s hard not being able to connect with people in your destination due to language barriers and cultural differences, and being far away from family and friends can start to take its toll. Even if other digital nomads surround you, you won’t have the same supportive workplace and friends you would in a regular job. This is usually even worse when you live in a country…