Become a Digital Nomad in 2021 (A Pep Talk)

Sneak Peek:

Kristin:    00:00:00    You are one of the luckiest people to ever step foot on the planet. We cannot let another year of your life go on. Don't spend the next 10 or 20 or 50 years doing what you don't wanna do. The world needs you to be living and working in your purpose, or at least in a job that you don't despise with every fiber of every ounce, of every atom of your being. <laugh>

Introduction: Welcome to Badass Digital Nomads, where we're pushing the boundaries of remote work and travel, all while staying grounded with a little bit of old school philosophy, self-development, and business advice from our guests.

Kristin:    00:00:49    Hi everyone. Kristin from Traveling with Kristin here and welcome to episode 88 of Badass Digital Nomads. This is the first episode of a new year and a new decade, 2021. So happy New Year to you. Wherever you are in the world, I am wishing you a wonderful year full of prosperity and freedom, health and happiness, friendship and community love, personal growth, all of the things. And I am sending you good vibes, motivation, inspiration, support and permission in pursuing your goals in 2021 and beyond. I'm pumped today. It's a great time to be alive. I just finished a live talk in an event called Momentum 2021, which was organized by Coach Tony, who is the mastermind behind many of the biggest and most successful publications on medium, uh, publications like Better Humans, Better Marketing. I'm sure you have read one of his articles or one of his writer's articles somewhere on the internet at some time.  

Kristin:    00:02:15    I got an email from him inviting me to speak at this event as I've been writing on Medium for quite a few years now, since 2016 actually. And I immediately said yes, and I had uh, just a couple days to prepare, but I think it went great and I recorded the talk. There were some familiar faces, some podcast listeners in the live chat. It looked like we had between 30 or so people at any given moment, but there were almost, I think between 1500 and 2000 attendees at the event in general. So if you missed it, you can catch the replay. There were 70 speakers speaking on a range of topics, but all to help you make 2021 your best year ever. So we had people speaking on the topics that they specialize in, in their tips for success in the new year and new decade.  

Kristin:    00:03:17    So I will link to the replay in the show notes so that you can look at the schedule and watch anyone's presentation that you're interested in. And I just wanted to share my talk here on the podcast because the topic was How to Become a Digital Nomad in 2021. But before we start, I would just like to invite you to become a patron of the podcast and Traveling with Kristin this year. I have lots of cool surprises in store and I have a goal to reach 100 patrons on my Patreon page. So you can do that for $5 a month at patreon.com/TravelingwithKristin and join all of the VIP patrons over there with some backstage access, early access to my videos, monthly live streams, direct messaging access, and lots more. So that is my goal for 2021 to attract 100 patrons for my inner circle.  

Kristin:    00:04:24    So hope to see you there at patreon.com/TravelingwithKristin. And shout out to everyone who has taken the time to leave a five star rating and review on Apple Podcasts or whichever platform that you listen on. Today's shout out goes to Gloss Rx from the US who says, "Always learning something useful. I found Kristin's podcast in 2020 and it has helped me to stay positive and focused whilst being stuck at home all year. I'm always learning something useful from her and her guests. And once the pandemic subsides, I hope to take what I've learned from this podcast and hit the road again." Great to hear that gloss. I'm so happy that you came across my podcast and that you have learned a lot this year. I think we're all ready to hit the road again at some point. You know, even though it is technically possible to travel right now, I think a lot of people are just waiting until things are a bit safer and more certain and more streamlined.  

Kristin:    00:05:31    So definitely relatable. So again, you can leave a rating. We have a new website at badassdigitalnomads.com, which has every platform that the podcast is available on. So it makes it really easy to listen, find your platform and leave a review wherever you listen. So sit back, relax, and enjoy this dose of inspiration, motivation, and action. From my talk this morning at Momentum 2021, there is one part at the beginning of the talk where I ask people to guess which year they think that a quote was said. And so even though you can't vote actively in the poll, just think in your mind what you would guess and you can participate remotely. All right, let's get into it.  

Kristin:    00:06:37    All right, let's get started. It is 10:01. We are right on time everyone. So if you have never met me before, my name is Kristin Wilson and this is me in Iceland last year, actually just about a year ago where I was living and working at a coworking space in the west fjords of Iceland. So I have been a digital nomad or an expat living in foreign countries, either living, working or studying in foreign countries for about 20 years of my life. So I was a digital nomad really before I knew what a digital nomad was. And I used to run, well, I still do actually. I worked in real estate and then I had an international relocation company. And today I continue helping people move to different countries. But basically I say I turn people into digital nomads. So whether you need help with the digital part, which is how to make money online so that you can work from anywhere, find a remote job, start an online business, I help with that.  

Kristin:    00:07:47    And then I also help with the nomad part, which is the fun part, right? The traveling or the living anywhere, the location independence aspect of it. So I help through coaching and consulting. I also help physically relocate people. <laugh>, I've helped over a thousand people move to 35 different countries. One-on-one with my relocation company. And then in the past couple years, uh, about two or three years, I have been creating content sharing about this lifestyle because I wanted to just explain to other people that it was possible because throughout my whole life trying to find my way in the world, I didn't know that this was an option. And so I decided a couple years ago, first I was feeling a bit lonely and I felt like I wasn't living up to my potential and purpose in the world. So I decided to just start sharing everything I knew with the internet.  

Kristin:    00:08:46    I started blogging on Medium. I started a YouTube channel called Traveling With Kristin, and then another one called youtube.com/digitalnomad. And I started a podcast called Badass Digital Nomads. But most importantly, I started a community. There's like thousands, tens of thousands of people now that are either subscribed to my YouTube channel or in my Facebook group, Badass Digital Nomads, or just connected with me somehow on the internet. And I went from having zero internet friends and just meeting people in person in different countries to having thousands of either aspiring or current digital nomad and remote worker friends. And my life has been so enriched because of this process and I just wanted to share it with all of you guys. So if you are just popping in, then drop your location in the chat. And also, I would love to know why do you want to become a digital nomad?  

Kristin:    00:09:47    Or why do you want the freedom to be able to live and work from anywhere? What is the goal that you have in mind? What is the outcome that you want to achieve? Is it more freedom? Is it more control over your daily life? Is it more adventure? Is it connecting with other people, learning about other cultures? Just let me know in the chat and then at the end I will, um, answer questions. So I guess I should go on with the slides, <laugh>. So here, here are some of the ways that you can connect with me because I see that Carrie is asking about my relocation company. It's called Orbis Relocation, O-R-B-I-S, and I've been doing that for the past nine or 10 years. Okay? So YouTube, Traveling with Kristin YouTube, Digital Nomad podcast and Facebook group, Badass Digital Nomads. I hope we can say that on this <laugh>.  

Kristin:    00:10:38    And um, you can get some free downloads and guides and check out more at um, digitalnomadbootcamp.com. So again, post your questions in the chat as I'm talking if things come up. And then I will leave about 10 minutes at the end to go over your questions. So there are a lot of ways to approach this topic, but I wanted to share this photo because to me this is what the stereotypical digital nomad image connotes, right? It's like some kind of tech bro with a backpack and a one-way ticket to Bali or Chiang Mai. But in actuality, many digital nomads or people who are working either for themselves or in remote jobs living abroad or traveling the world or living in their van or whatever in their home country, most of them are in their mid to late thirties and older. So there's this big misconception that you have to be a tech bro or have programming skills or something like that to be a digital nomad, but the reality cannot be farther from the truth.  

Kristin:    00:11:46    So when I was thinking of how to approach this topic and in this presentation like how to become a digital nomad, I could have gone for some generic like, these are the steps to become a digital nomad. You have to have this job and this is how you find this job, or this is how you start an online business, or this is what you need to pack with you and this is the best Wi-Fi. But I can give you all of that stuff. I have hundreds of videos and blog posts and podcasts about all of those kinds of details and the logistics and the nitty gritty. I think what's most important in this presentation is to show you why now 2021 and beyond is the best time to become a digital nomad and why you haven't, why you aren't one already, like why you haven't had the opportunity sooner to give you permission to be able to step into this lifestyle.  

Kristin:    00:12:40    Because as human beings, we get a lot of cues from our environment and when society and the status quo and the momentum <laugh>, no pun intended, Momentum 2021, when the momentum is going in a different direction, it takes a lot of energy and effort and resistance to reject the mainstream way of life and go in your own direction. So I wanted to just give you some motivation and inspiration for how to do that. So I would like to do, oh, these are some of my videos. So you can just Google pretty much anything about becoming a digital nomad and you will find an answer <laugh> somewhere in my content or just message me on social media. When was this quote said, I have four options. 1974, 1985, 1998, and 2019. So the quote is, there have been extraordinary changes in the nature of jobs. More than 50% of all US jobs are now centered on information related activities which can be performed from anywhere.  

Kristin:    00:13:52    The future of remote work has mass appeal, our economy has become far less dependent on physical labor and far more dependent on professional and technical skills. In other words, information age, right? Let's see what the, um, it looks like the majority of people, about 60%, uh, voted for 1998, 1 vote for 2019, a handful of votes for 1985 and one vote for 1974. Okay, ready for the answer? 1974. So pretty much one person, <laugh> got it right, <laugh>, I actually voted so that there was another one, but I voted 1974, 1974 people. What were you doing in 1974? Were you born yet? Think about that. The time that we are living in now in 2021 as it relates to remote work. Finally, some widespread adoption. We have the technology that allows us to work from a beach or a coworking space, or your house or a teepee or wherever it is that you want has been possible for 50 years.  

Kristin:    00:15:11    Just let that sink in for a minute. You've been had, we've all been had. This is bs. Are you guys surprised? In 1974, this man, a NASA engineer named Jack Niles, published a book called The Telecommunications Trade-Off whereby he explained why everyone should adopt telecommuting remote work. And he was met with unsurprisingly, quite a bit of resistance. So thank you Jack. Let's hang out sometime. Grab a coffee. And these were the arguments. This was in a, I think a Washington Post article. So this book was published in 1974 and by 1979, this public debate was going on. You might not remember it like me, if you weren't alive yet <laugh>, but this was happening or you were probably a kid. So the arguments against remote work, and let me know if these sound familiar. Argument number one, if people work from home, how can we tell what they're doing or if they're working at all?  

Kristin:    00:16:10    Number two, work at home would cut off employees from needed contacts with their coworkers and others. And number three, working at home will simply prove unpractical there are too many distractions and the lack of a quiet place in which to work. Now, depending on where you live, that last part might be true, but there are ways to overcome that. So here we have three main arguments against remote work, but the main one is basically that a bunch of old rich men in power did not want to relinquish any control or power over their workforce or their company or in any way jeopardize their, um, profit margins or their position in the economy. So that was really it. It was self-interest and fear. This paradigm of, you know, we have to be in the office, we all have to be in the same place, was not true for the past 50 years.  

Kristin:    00:17:02    And that affects all of us. And there's still this buzz about like going back to the office in 2022 or at the end of 2021 or whatever, but I'm here to tell you that you don't have to do that if you don't want to. So there's this corporate culture and mindset that's still holding on to that old way and but that old way, you don't have to buy into it anymore. So I wrote an article on Medium a couple years ago about why companies should adopt remote work. And I quoted this woman, Pamela Slim, who said, just like we couldn't imagine a cell phone smaller than a toaster in the 1970s, some companies still believe they can't get great performance from their employees unless they show up at an office. And of course now we have massive tech companies telling people that they can work from home forever.  

Kristin:    00:17:50    But there's still a big mindset block in the mainstream that this location, independent lifestyle, long-term is realistic. But it's, so there's more. This book, which I have here actually Digital Nomad was written in 1997. I was a a freshman in high school in 1997. But this book explains that for the first time in 10,000 years, humans would have the choice of whether they wanted to be nomadic or settlers. And for the first time in human existence, people would have the ability to work from anywhere, relying simply on a technological device, an internet connection, and their own personal creativity, creativity and resourcefulness. That's it. So the question is, can you become a digital nomad? So 50 years ago we had Jack out there telling everyone that they could work remotely. And then 25 years ago almost, we had two guys write this book, Digital Nomad, explaining how people would become nomadic and be able to work from anywhere.  

Kristin:    00:19:08    And yet it took a pandemic for the global economy at large to be like, okay, you can work from home this year <laugh>, or you can work remotely this year. So again, instead of telling you how to find remote jobs, how to start an online business, how to find clients, what to pack in your backpack, what the best wifi devices, where to live, all of that stuff, which you we can get into later. And in the q and a, I'm just gonna give you guys permission. We live in the permissionless economy now. So the technology you need to work from anywhere has existed for 50 years. Millions of people have been doing it, at least in the past 10 to 20 years. It's possible for you two. So welcome. This was that article I wrote on Medium and it was June 27th, 2018, which I should have even written it in 2008, that it's time for companies to embrace remote work.  

Kristin:    00:20:05    And I just said the historical resistance to telecommuting boils down to the age-old effort of big corporations struggling to adapt to change. However, there's no reason for employees to continue suffering because of this corporate mindset. And no offense to corporations <laugh>, but you are those people. You are those people who have been set free from the cubicle. So I wanna know, how do you feel? How do you feel knowing that this has all been possible for the past 25 to 50 years? But it isn't until now in 2020, 2021 that the powers that be are like, okay, you know, you can work from home but you can't work in another time zone. Or they're still putting limits somehow on what you can do and be and where you can go. And I'm here to say that you have options. Consider this because there's a lot of negativity in the news always and in the mainstream media.  

Kristin:    00:21:06    And you might feel like 2020 was the worst year ever and that the world is caving in and it's ending and whatever. But what if it wasn't true? I mean, yes, bad things have happened this year, but what if this were the best time ever in the history of humanity to be alive? Because I believe it is, there are 8 billion people on the world right now, and according to Google, there have been 107 billion people who have ever lived on the planet in the history of humanity. And you are alive right now at a time 50 years after Jack wrote that book, 25 years after the Digital Nomad book was published. And you are watching this presentation right now, or you are listening to it on audio or you're watching it later, but you are one of the luckiest people to ever step foot on the planet.  

Kristin:    00:22:02    Never have we had so many options, so much ease of travel to different places at such a low cost. You know, imagine telling people in the Roman Empire 2000 years ago that you could fly to China in a few hours, you know, to the other side of the world, or that you could work from anywhere. I mean, it's mind-boggling. We cannot let another year of your life go on living in a way that you don't want. When these opportunities are available. Don't spend the next 10 or 20 or 50 years doing what you don't wanna do because the world needs you to be living and working in your purpose, or at least in a job that you don't despise with every fiber of every ounce, of every atom of your being. <laugh>, which is what Anthony Moore from Medium said on my podcast a few months ago, think about that.  

Kristin:    00:22:55    Probably right now less than 0.1% of humans on the planet are living a location independent lifestyle, but it could be 50% or more. The opportunity of going out into the world and becoming a digital nomad has been around for a long time, but it's really, really here now in 2020, this is Momentum 2021 <laugh> 2021. It's here. It's been here, 2020, the gates opened, 2021, it's full speed ahead. The world is your oyster. It is so, so, so much more than just traipsing around the world with a backpack and a laptop, posting photos on Instagram of you working on an island in Thailand. No, it's like, has nothing to do with that. Becoming a digital nomad or embracing this concept of location independence is about you doing what you are supposed to do on this planet. It's about working in a career that is helping people and fulfilling to you.  

Kristin:    00:24:01    And it's about bringing your ideas to fruition in the global economy, okay? It's about magnifying your individual impact. Like to infinity. There are no limits on what you can do and make ambi in the world right now. So I just wanna congratulate you, welcome to this time. It is a great time to be alive. Leave the past in the past. Let's get over all of that negativity and make this happen in 2021. Okay? Follow that dream. I'm gonna give you just a couple quick tips 'cause we have about seven minutes left and I, I wanna take some questions. What you need to be become a digital nomad in 2021 is not the best packing list or the best passive income stream or whatever. You just need a reason to do it. You need some form of income through either yourself or a job or a business.  

Kristin:    00:24:57    We can talk about that later. You need a device with internet, a phone, a laptop, something like that. This is me working on a, a catamaran and Croatia a few years ago. You also need a community because you're the average of the five people you hang out with, right? And so if you're trying to achieve this dream, but you're surrounded by people who are haters and doubters, it's gonna be a lot harder. I actually completely coincidentally, was rereading James Clear's Atomic Habits for the third time this morning. And I happened to re, I read one chapter a day. Today's chapter was the role of family and friends in shaping our habits. And he says, whatever habits are normal in your culture are going to be the most attractive behaviors and that's what you're going to end up doing. One of the deepest human desires is to belong the customs and practices of life and society sweep us along.  

Kristin:    00:25:58    We pick up habits from people around us. So one of the most effective things you can do to build better habits is to join a culture where your desired behavior is the normal behavior. So I want you to know that there are millions and millions of people living like this. You just have to join a community of them. You can do that online for free. There's tons of Facebook groups. You can join my Facebook group and you can embed that belief that this is possible. And the longer you surround yourself with other like-minded people, the more likely you are to achieve your goals and the faster you're gonna get there. So the last thing, action. You know, you've gotta take action. So don't let it take seven or eight years, like try to make a plan of one or two or three years to do this.  

Kristin:    00:26:45    I think you can do it within this year. The biggest takeaway from this talk is that the ability to support yourself financially from anywhere or while traveling the world, living anywhere you want is possible. You have the resources, the intelligence, the skills and the potential and the ability to support yourself from wherever you want in the world doing what you want for work. Okay? You don't have to buy into the old paradigm that's over. Thank God, <laugh>. All right, so this is my, my group. If you wanna join Badass Digital Nomads and it's also the name of my podcast. You can also Google me traveling with Kristin and find more of my content. But I hope that this was helpful. So let me know, I'm gonna just scroll through the chat if you have any questions. So Carrie asked earlier about my relocation company. It's called Orbis Relocation, O-R-B-I-S.  

Kristin:    00:27:43    And then previously I also had two other companies called Sports Refugees and Poker Refugees because I started my remote relocation company helping professional online poker players and sports betters move from the US to other countries. It's a long story, but <laugh>. So, and then I also have a Traveling with Kristin and uh, digitalnomadbootcamp.com 'cause I'm doing more things now because in this economy you don't have to be one thing. You can do multiple things and that is what's cool. I even have a video on like 10 of my income streams that you can't, I can't define exactly, you know, you don't have to have one career, you can have multiple ones. And Kalie agrees, she says that "in crisis, in a pandemic, we can realize opportunities." And Carrie says, "I love your perspective. It's so true. I haven't really seen this from other digital nomads.  

Kristin:    00:28:39    It's really about embracing a mindset of permission." Yes. Oh, we have a fellow Kristin in the chat, Kristin with an eye like me. Kristin Green says, "the pandemic has forced people to rethink traditional ways to do things. While it has been painful for obvious reasons, I like that we can change things for the better." Yes. One of my most viral articles on Medium ever is The Society Proves, No <laugh>, the society, the pandemic proves that society was wrong about how to live life. So we agree. David asks, "how many people have been able to get citizenship in a new country?" Oh, great question. So to become a digital nomad or to become an expat, you don't have to get citizenship in another country, you can just go on your passport. So I have a lot of videos and podcasts on Digital Nomad Visa and Work permits.  

Kristin:    00:29:36    But basically you can just keep everything the same and go from place to place on your passport. You don't have to get residency anywhere. You don't have to give up your citizenship or get a new one. Brandi asks, "How long can you stay living in a country in general?" Typically it is from one to six months with an average of three months. And that's usually pretty good for people. But in some countries you can actually renew your visa by leaving and coming back into the country. And that is how I lived in Costa Rica for seven years. Alexandra says, "Thank you. I work in HR and UK and this is very motivational." Clara asks "If I work in my own company or if I have different ones and where they're incorporated for taxes." So the easiest way to approach taxes is to kind of keep everything the same at first, and then depending on how long you're staying in the lifestyle, you can add complexity to that.  

Kristin:    00:30:32    So you can just, like, in my case, I'm not an accountant, but I work in my, uh, personal name self-employed, but I also have an LLC that's registered in different US states. And then I also have, uh, an offshore company in Costa Rica because I worked there for so long. Oh, and for Lori asks about healthcare abroad and health insurance. Luckily, like I'm paying hundreds of dollars a month to have healthcare in the US right now 'cause I'm here right now. But you can have health insurance coverage for like anywhere from 30 to a hundred dollars per month that covers you internationally through World Nomads or SafetyWing. So I think I have to sign off because it is 10:30, so the next person is coming. But thank you guys so much for tuning in. I hope that this was really helpful and motivational for you, and you can find me online for more. Bye everyone. Bye Sunil, Sunil's in my Facebook group. <laugh>. Bye. Kristin, Alexandra, Vicki. Okay, I'm gonna leave. Bye. Thank you so much for listening and remember to leave a review for the podcast wherever you listen and share this episode with someone you think it might help.  

Kristin:    00:31:51    And to further support the podcast, plus get tons of access to exclusive behind the scenes content. Consider becoming a Patreon patron for just $5 per month. You can enjoy early access to preview my YouTube videos. Get exclusive patron only posts and personal updates that I only share on Patreon. Join my private monthly live streams and live q and as and get behind the scenes access to private, unlisted live podcast interviews or Zoom video recordings that are only available to my patron. You also get the ability to vote on upcoming videos and podcast guests and can submit your questions for our guests directly. You'll also get discounts on merch and swag and many more surprises on deck throughout the year. And again, you can become a patron for just $5 a month at patreon.com/TravelingwithKristin. That's P-A-T-R-E-O-N.com/TravelingwithKristin; K-R-I-S-T-I-N. And thank you for your support.