What are the differences between a remote worker, global nomad and digital nomad? And where to go?

What is remote work?

Remote working means that you as an employee or self-employed person can work completely independent of your location. This means that you can work from abroad as well as from home in the Netherlands.
Living and working independently of a fixed location was once only something for hippies. Then it became a privilege for the “rich.” Today, a much larger group of people can live and work wherever they want and this freedom has become a great thing. A growing group of working people realize that having physical meetings is no longer a must for their type of work. They set up their work and life as digital and working nomads

What are the characteristics of a global nomad?

Global nomads:

• Are mobile and often travel from one country or location to another.
• Often develop a sense of belonging to more than one culture.
• Often work in jobs that are not location dependent.
• Can be found among backpackers, lifestyle migrants and third culture kids (including expat kids).
• Sometimes develop a basic lifestyle in order to be able to maintain their nomadic existence for longer.
• Can pack their belongings in a few days, weeks or months and leave for their next destination.
• Often focus on the broader work experience, not earning money but the work experience or working environment is central.
• Sometimes are forced by necessity to accept work that is further away from the person, but often manage to use the experience for the better.
• Have to be able to afford a nomadic existence; health, financial situation and country of origin play a role here.
• Run into various challenges, such as arranging international health insurance with world coverage, local laws, visa and travel document issues and the financial matters surrounding their work.

What are the characteristics of a digital working nomad?

They:

• Make “working in the cloud,” or mobile working, or “cloud computing” the new standard in their entire work environment.
• Use wireless Internet, smartphones, cloud-based applications to work remotely wherever they live or travel.
• Use spaces where other digital nomads are also working: cafes and other public spaces where they can sit down with their devices.
• Meet colleagues and each other mainly online.
• Maintain digital contact with clients.

As a working, or digital, nomad, you can of course choose to use one permanent residence abroad as your base of operations. But a “real” nomad naturally roams the world or travels in a particular region and works in different places.

Where to go? Hotspots for nomads

• There are definitely “nomad hotspots” where many nomads congregate. Of course, which locations are most popular changes periodically, but well-known hotspots include:
  • Indonesia (especially Bali), Kenya (Nairobi; little time difference with NL), South Africa (Cape Town), Mexico, Spain (Barcelona as a world hotspot), Croatia (besides Zagreb especially the larger coastal cities), Portugal (Lisbon has become a real nomad hub), Thailand (especially Chiang Mai), Georgia (which introduced a special digital nomad visa), Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur is like Bangkok a real flight hub in Southeast Asia)
  • Islands like Gran Canaria (Spain; high hospitality), Madeira (Portugal, top facilities), Tenerife (Spain) and Ko Phangan (Thailand) also score high on the co-working destination list
• Looking at “region,” the following countries by region stand out:
  • Asia: Thailand (Chiang Mai, Bangkok, Koh Lanta, Koh Tao, Ko Phangan), Indonesia (Ubud in Bali, Canggu in Bali and the Gili Islands) and Vietnam (Da Nang, Hanoi)
  • Latin America: Panama (Panama City, San Blas islands, Boquete, Bocas del Toro), Mexico (Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico City, Puerto Escondido), Colombia (Medellin, Bogota), Argentina (Buenos Aires)
  • Europe: Spain (Gran Canaria, Barcelona, Malaga, Valencia), Portugal (Lisbon, Porto, Lagos), Bulgaria (Sofia, Bansko)
• As the whole 'working nomad existence' has taken off, you can find 'working nomad' festivals all over the world these days.
  • Pop-up' places where many (sometimes very many) nomads come together temporarily to enjoy themselves and meet each other.
  • Or to make a lot of impact in a short time around a certain theme ('human rights', 'environment', etc.).
  • Often 'hackathons' or 'buildathons' also take place, in which people work intensively together on a predetermined or locally determined goal, form teams, make pitches or develop business models.
  • Examples: Bansko Nomad Fest ('Connecting Nomads') in Bulgaria, Nomad Summit (Chiang Mai), the various 'Nomad World Fests' and Snomad Fest in Switzerland.
• You can also opt for so-called 'workations', where international entrepreneurs travel to a particular location at an agreed time to work with local entrepreneurs to make a difference, or learn from each other.
• Tourism government organizations have also discovered that digital nomads are a good source of income; countries, regions or islands organize real 'digital nomad villages' where nomads find good (!) facilities to (temporarily) live, travel, enjoy and of course work. An example is the Portuguese island of Madeira, which attracted a large group of nomads in the middle of the COVID-19 period.

Destinations for working and digital nomads based on quality co-working spaces

• Indonesia (Bali), New Zealand (Auckland), Thailand (Chiang Mai), Australia (Melbourne), Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh), Philippines (Manila), Malaysia (Penang).

Destinations for working and digital nomads based on average cost of living

• Indonesia (Bali), Malaysia (Penang), Thailand (Chiang Mai), Mexico (Playa del Carmen), Argentina (Buenos Aires), Hungary (Budapest), Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh), Spain (Alicante).

Destinations for working and digital nomads based on internet speed

• Of course, developments in these are also rapid, but among others, Singapore, Sweden (Stockholm), U.S. (San Francisco, Portland), Canada (Vancouver), Germany (Berlin), Hungary (Budapest) score high.

Destinations for working and digital nomads based on local hospitality

• The level of hospitality you experience naturally interacts with how you conduct yourself, but in general Mexico (Playa del Carmen), Malta, New Zealand, Philippines, Spain and Canada score well.

Destinations for working and digital nomads based on sights & attractions

• There is plenty to do, see and travel in many destinations where digital nomads visit. On “local activity level,” destinations like China (Shanghai), Germany (Berlin), Argentina (Buenos Aires), Spain (Gran Canaria), Brazil (Rio de Janeiro), Indonesia (Bali) score extra well.

Destinations for working and digital nomads based on the price for a (good) cup of coffee

• One cup of coffee is not the other, and finding an affordable cup of quality coffee can take some time. The lowest prices can be found in Brazil (Rio de Janeiro), South Africa (Cape Town), Indonesia (Bali), Hungary (Budapest), Philippines (Manila), Canada (Vancouver), Mexico (Playa del Carmen), Malaysia (Penang).