Sourced from Location Independant and written by Jenn Miller
It’s a reverie all of us digital nomads share along with those who aspire to be:
Mornings spent working in a hammock under a palm tree, or dialed in through the omnipresent high-speed internet at the cosmopolitan coffee bar on a tree shaded, cobbled street.
Afternoons spent on cultural diversity, perhaps pursuing a passion for languages or photography, maybe slipping a snide “wish you were here…” postcard in the mail to our old office mates back home.
These images illustrate all the best benefits of location independence – it’s why we live this way – but it’s elusive as hell and anyone who is actually living the dream can tell you that sometimes the postcards lie…
Moving Beyond Stabbing a Pin In a Map
Picking the “next destination” epitomises the upsides and downsides of location independence.
Sipping a latte, comfortable in one location, surfing the internet in search of travel savvy information that goes beyond a guide book and was written by someone who has actually been there and going through the mental check list of potential discomforts as we pull up roots and hop the globe, can be anxiety inducing to say the least…
The brochures are always glossy. The beaches always pristine. The internet is always promised at highest speed. The apartments are always “modern.” There is almost never “truth in advertising.” If you live and work as a digital nomad long enough, disappointment is inevitable.
No matter how much you plan, how carefully you do your homework or how many checklists you make, the dream WILL turn out to be a nightmare, at least once. Nightmares make great stories. Live, learn, laugh it off and move on.
So how do you maximize the dream sequence and minimize the nightmares? Take a test trip
Travel tends to be the biggest wild card (and also one of the most often-cited benefits) of location independence. If you are serious about living and working abroad and you have a real career or business to maintain then nightmare scenarios can be more than inconvenient. In addition, they can be expensive and damaging to your reputation as a professional. A test trip can help prevent all of this.
What Is A Test Trip?
A test trip is not a vacation, it’s a reconnaissance mission. You’ve done your research, found a couple of prospective places to live, checked into visa requirements, internet accessibility, the availability of business centers and you’ve crunched the numbers.
Take your planning to the next level and book a cheap flight to your potential destination:
- Stay in a hostel where there will be internet for quick checks and plenty of opportunity to talk with other travelers and pick the brains of folks who’ve lived there for a while
- Book appointments to see a few of the apartments you’re considering
- Visit the office of the internet provider in person and ask the pertinent questions instead of finding out the hard way that passports must be shown and logged before your “high speed” internet can be turned on and that even then half of the sites you would need are blocked by the theocracy of your country in question
- Identify financial institutions, check out the hospitals and health centers, visit an English language bookstore and ask some questions to check out the expat scene in the area
In short, do your homework in person instead of trusting the “experts” on-line. Four days; a long weekend, that’s all it takes.
You’ll have the fun of seeing a new place, you’ll gather the information you need, you’ll feel much more comfortable with the area when you arrive and, most importantly, you’ll congratulate yourself for avoiding the nightmare when you find it.
What You May Find…
The results of our most recent test trip: an available and adequate apartment, fully furnished for $150 USD a month, an additional $20 USD for internet, which is fast enough to support video Skype conferences to Canada, a reliable laundry service, connections established with other expats in the area, and even a source for the best English roast beef dinner off the island every Sunday night at six.
Then again, we might go for the stone cottage right on the lake with a pool and guest house for $500 USD a month. “Where’s that?” you may ask? One of the less obvious villages surrounding Lago de Atitlan, Guatemala.
Hi, I’m Nate Bunger and the writer and entrepreneur behind this blog.Over the past several years I've created, managed and sold several different businesses despite never finishing high school, making myself more or less financially free by the age of 25.
I used the realization that we can do anything in life if we are simply willing to set goals, find the answers we seek and never stop until we achieve what we set out for.
I currently teach people how to get clear on their purpose, create habits for massive change and bring their deepest desires into reality.
I operate my business from a Mac laptop while traveling around the world…My dream :)
