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).

Many young people dream of a working holiday in Australia - freedom, adventure, and lots of money. Many arrive with a hopeful spirit, but it isn’t always as easy as it seems. I can tell you from experience: during my first six weeks in Australia, I was miserable, even though I was housesitting (free accommodation) and had the company of a cat.

That’s why I’ve written this blog: to share my experiences and help you prepare for yours.

What makes a successful working holiday?

There are many things that contribute to a successful working holiday, but if you boil it down, in my opinion it comes down to three essentials: work, friends, and freedom.

Work doesn’t necessarily come first, but it often leads to the other two. You didn’t come here on a tourist visa, you came on a working holiday visa, and work is a central part of that experience. Friends are just as important. Moving to a new country, often for the first time, means building a new life and social community from scratch. Without that, it can become lonely very quickly, and the inevitable struggles will feel much bigger.

Freedom is essentially why you travel. Freedom to see the world, to explore Australia, and to make your own decisions. A working holiday offers a lot of that — sometimes even more than you’d wish for.

Below, I’ll briefly explain why these three aspects are so important, and point you to pages that can help you prepare for each of them.

Work

Work can mean very different things to different people. In general, I think there are three important aspects to consider. Not all of them need to be met for a successful working holiday - compromise is often part of the experience - but ideally at least one or two should be.

• meaningful or tolerable work
• fair pay and conditions
• work that fits your lifestyle (farm vs city, FIFO vs hospitality, outdoors vs indoors)

Finding work that ticks all three boxes is not easy. Many people - myself included - struggle to find work when they first arrive. Some try to arrange something beforehand, which sounds smart but often turns out to be harder than expected.

In more difficult situations, compromises might have to be made. That could mean doing a job you don’t enjoy, but at least it pays the bills. Or working in a rhythm that’s unfamiliar, like Fly In Fly Out (FIFO), where you work intensively for a period and then have extended time off. Some people even end up in jobs with poor pay or unfair conditions.

That last one is something I personally would never compromise on. Accepting unfair work conditions doesn’t just affect you — it contributes to a system that makes things worse for others as well.

And then, sometimes, you get lucky. Or you look very hard. And you find work that ticks all three boxes. Those moments make a huge difference.

Friends

Friends are an essential part of a happy life. As humans, we all crave some sense of community, whether big or small. For some, one good friend they see once a week is enough. Others prefer different friends for different activities. Either way, some form of connection is needed — someone to share the fun moments with, but also the challenging ones.

From experience, I can say that it’s often easier to make backpacker friends than local friends. Backpackers are usually in the same situation as you: new, open, and actively looking for connection. Locals often already have established social lives. That doesn’t mean you can’t become part of them, but it can take more time and effort.

I ended up making local friends mainly because I was housesitting and didn’t meet any backpackers for two months. It wasn’t easy, and it felt lonely at times, but it also pushed me to connect in ways I might not have otherwise. More on that later in this blog.

Freedom (and why money isn’t the point, but still matters)

Freedom is often what people imagine when they think of a working holiday, but it doesn’t mean endless travel or unlimited fun. In reality, freedom usually looks like:

• having enough money (not heaps)
• flexibility
• choice
• not being stuck in the wrong job or place because you’re broke or stressed

Money plays a role here, but mainly as a tool. It gives you options. It allows you to say no to a bad job, to take a break when you need one, or to travel when the opportunity arises. Too little money limits your freedom; too much focus on money can limit the experience itself.

Freedom on a working holiday is really about balance:

• working and travelling
• saving and living
• being social and resting
• planning and spontaneity

Finding that balance takes time, and it often shifts throughout your stay. Some periods are all about work and saving; others are about exploration and connection. Overall, if one of these three elements is missing, the experience can feel off. If two are missing, it can become very hard. But when work, friends, and freedom align - even imperfectly - a working holiday can become something that stays with you long after you leave Australia. A successful working holiday isn’t about getting it perfect,  it’s about adjusting, learning, and giving yourself permission to change course when needed.