Chat With Nomads

It is often said that "Digital Nomadism is a lifestyle, not an occupation"; and lifestyle can change with age and perceptions. In this episode, we speak to Ruta Dambyte from Baltic Breeze Travel about how the pandemic created a reflection opportunity to her past decade in business and the privileges of a nomadic life.

Ruta shares her experiences in traveling with nomad communities, as well as her transition into slower travel with more "me" time. We dive deeper into what are potential factors of creating a nomad community and how the Baltics can improve to attract more remote workers. 

The first of a special series looking into the brilliant minds behind Croatia's push into the digital nomad scene.

Kick-starting with power duo, Michael Freer, Director of Digital Nomad Association (DNA) Croatia and Tanja Polegubic, Founder of Saltwater Nomads. We talk about how Croatia's direction for tourism and remote workers has evolved over the last 2 years.

2021 has ended on high with DNA Croatia approaching more cities across the country for collaborations and Saltwater Nomads winning multiple international awards with projects in Zagreb and Dubrovnik. We take a deeper look into country vs city level considerations when pushing new initiatives for digital nomads and remote workers - What kind of customisations are needed and how to convince governments to look at remote workers as potential solutions to elevate certain problems.

In this conversation, we look at the essential components when a city wants to make itself attractive for digital nomads, the challenges behind building a community and how having one matters in creating an enticing environment for mid to long term stay. 

When the pandemic destroyed careers and put a dent in travel plans, it was a point of change for Steve Tsentserensky. Well known for his CNBC feature for living on $47/day in Croatia, Steve made the leap during the pandemic when his previous filmmaking career was disrupted by social distancing measures and uncertainty in client budgets. 

In this episode, Steve shares how travel is different as a traveling contractor in the hospitality industry v.s a digital nomad writer, and how he made the career pivot during the travel. We also talk about getting clients as freelancer and the secret behind getting the right clients on Upwork; how to craft the right proposals and the mindset to convert leads into clients.

Travel is comparatively easy now with all the information at our fingertips, but this was not always the case. In this episode, we speak to OG globetrotter Nora Dunn from The Professional Hobo about how her nomadic journey started more than a decade ago when technology was not as advanced as we know it.

In hindsight, things were different back then. It wasn't just travel that was boosted by technology but also job/business opportunities. Nora shares how she gave it all up in the early days and went in search of a new life. We dive deep into perception changes through travel, as well as how it is much easier to build a remote career today. Find out insights about the business of blogging as well as what might be installed for the future of digital nomads and remote workers. 

Our present and future is often impacted by our past as well. Francis Nayan from the Nomad Newsletter shares how his near death experience from Heroin addiction was an important turning point in his life. Breaking free from his addiction, he goes on to build a successful email marketing career and travels around the world today.

In this episode, we talk about the mindset changes that happen in such life-changing moments, and discuss about the future of remote work and digital landscape. In addition, Francis shares what are some ways to get started with remote work, tips to practice when reviewing online courses and how to build a successful business on the road.

Travel is often considered a luxury spending when trying to achieve FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early). However, when combined with slow travel and digital nomad lifestyle, travel could be beneficial towards the financials depending on where and how you travel. 

Eric from Nomad on FIRE shares how his journey to FIRE changed when he moved from a traditional work life to digital nomadism, and back to office life with the pandemic. We talk about things to think about when incorporating long term finance planning into a travel lifestyle, the importance of personal finance, as well as travel hacks to stretch your budget. 

Is travel really an expensive activity? or can it actually be budget friendly?

In this episode, Mr NomadNumber from the NomadNumbers couple talks about their nomadic travel style and expenses. He shares the activities that they engage in when traveling and how slow travel can actually be cheaper than lifestyle cost back home by taking advantage of geo arbitrage. We discuss travel budgeting tips, financial considerations and lifestyle design to create a life of freedom.

A website that really started from a long distance relationship, travel enthusiasts Becca and Dan shares how their stories came together and gave birth to Half Half Travel. In this episode, we talk about the transition to remote work, maintaining relationships across the world and the business of blogging.

We explore solo vs couple travel, the mindset differences between tourists and nomads, as well as balancing work, blogging and travel. Don't miss this episode as Becca and Dan shares their most important travel and remote work tips.

What do you need to look out for when moving aboard and how does the expat life differ from the nomadic life?

Kirsten from Sand in My Curls shares about her journey of moving from United States to Malaysia. We talk about the ups and downs of expat life, the logistical side of things (i.e. housing, insurance etc) and tips for the transition. In this episode, we also discuss how living abroad is now more feasible than ever with remote work, as well as how the line between digital nomads and expats might start to blur as the similarities between the lifestyles gradually overlap.

Being a nomadic spirit since young, Trista always knew she wanted to work internationally. That landed her a job with the United Nations right out of school. The humanitarian work brought her to countries like Angola, Congo (DRC), Yemen, Iraq, Lebanon and more

Living abroad, adapting to cultures and changing environments come with its fair share of challenges. Trista speaks about her 30 years of experience living abroad and working with underprivileged communities. 

We also discuss how living an alternative lifestyle can sometimes lead to doubts and some ways to manage your thoughts. Trista shares how life coaching helped her through tough times and why she is a life coach today helping expat women cope with life abroad.