The TRUTH about FULL-TIME TRAVEL 🏝 [Digital Nomads]

Do you dream of traveling full-time or becoming a digital nomad someday? Watch this first - These are the 8 biggest struggles of full-time digital nomads and 4 tips on how to avoid them. The laptop lifestyle isn't necessarily what you see on Instagram. There are a lot of challenges to traveling the world full-time, but few travel bloggers and digital nomads will ever admit it. So if you're planning on living nomadically or living abroad long-term, make sure to prepare for these challenges ahead of time so you know what to expect.

★ Travel Resources:

Laptop life on Instagram 00:00
Top 8 struggles of Digital Nomads 00:27
1 Full-time travel logistics 00:49
2 Sleep and exhaustion 1:29
3 Hard to set a daily routine 2:07
4 Loneliness 3:08
5 Dating 3:49
Managing your online business while traveling 4:25
6 Major FOMO 5:20
7 Minimalist travel 6:07
8 Travel burnout 7:16
How to prevent full-time travel burnout 8:59
Travel Tip #1 Find your why 9:12
Tip #2 Travel won't solve your problems 9:44
Tip #3 Slow travel 10:36
Tip #4 Friends, family, and community 10:59
Summary of tips 11:43
Why you should travel the world, anyway! 12:00

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👱🏻‍♀️ About: Kristin Wilson is a digital nomad, online entrepreneur, and expat relocation consultant who has lived, worked, or traveled in 60 countries over the last 15+ years.

Kristin is also a writer, public speaker, podcaster, and travel host who has been featured on The Today Show, HGTV's House Hunters International, Huffpost, Bloomberg Businessweek, The New York Times, Business Insider, ESPN, and more.

NOTE: This video is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not individual consulting or advice. Please seek professional guidance before traveling or living abroad. Video descriptions may include affiliate links.

#fulltimetravel #travelfulltime #digitalnomad

[Ammanas]

I am an introvert and that adds an extra layer of anxiety. Part of the reason I travel is to get out of my comfort zone. For me it's healthy. It forces me to do things I would avoid. It forces me to be healthier. Rather than sit at home in front of the computer all day, I am forced to get out there and do things. And the fact that you're in a new country makes you want to get out there and do things. I travel slow...2-3 months per place. I learn what works for me in those places. And if I ever want to visit them again, I fully know what to expect and can integrate very quickly.

[LearntoMakeHonestMoneyOnline]

3 phases of a digital nomad:
1) This is so awesome! (Honeymoon)
2) It is different than what I thought.... 😮
3) It's actually great 😃👍

[traveltomoney]

The first time I traveled solo, I was gone for four months. I was supposed to be gone for seven, but I thought I really needed to see my people. I went home early and within 24 hours, I wished I was traveling again. It is such a weird tension to live in ... longing for deep relationships and longing to see the world. Being a high touch person, this is a particularly difficult one. I haven't figured it all out just yet. 🙂

[crocha]

I felt really lonely at different points in my life traveling alone. So when I planned to move to Costa Rica I worried that I would experience the same loneliness. To my pleasant surprise, actually putting down roots as an ex-pat gave me the opportunity to become part of a community that I didn't know existed when I was just traveling.

[carlfenger]

I travelled solo through India and SE Asia for 6 months. Had a blast, met loads of people, travelled with many. Fast forward a few years - no contact anymore. Friendships made during carefree travel didn't survive the pressures of real life. Most of them were running from something. I had just taken time off from work. They were counting their last pennies so they could stay away as long as possible. Just as money runs out, so do visas, and reality back home is what awaited them all.

[infinityrmx]

Common stereotype would say someone who is excessively traveling is messed up in their head one way or another, but you bring a really grown up perspective and attitude to it that is not at all arrogant or annoying. It's refreshing what you bring to this "category / genre" of videos. No clickbait and legitimately valuable for the interested viewer 👍

[JCtheMusicMan_]

A huge tip is to talk yourself out of buying things. I always come home with more luggage than when I left.

[MarcoLandin]

Seneca: "That which you seek to live well is found everywhere."
Me: "Great, so let's go everywhere."

[jlvandat]

Very good thoughts, and appreciated. Most don't realize the incredible time we live in. Reminds me of that expression, "Be careful what you wish for." The fortunate folks in First World Countries (as you mention) have an abundant life beyond anything prior generations could have imagined. Most of them struggled daily to obtain basic needs and leisure time was mostly a phenomenon associated with the wealthy . Paradoxically, now that many have extra time, food and wealth we're seeing problems never anticipated and some of these are very serious both in terms of mental and physical health. I have found it helpful to try and live a life more similar to that of our distant ancestors (with many exceptions, of course). Eating one or two meals a day, plenty of exercise, days that include routines and provide a sense of purpose, ample sunshine especially in the mornings and so on. I'll be launching a nomadic lifestyle soon, and I hope to include local volunteer work in those places where I'll have longer stays. It's incredibly fortunate to have the historically-unheard of opportunity to choose where to live, when to work, how to live, what and when to eat and so-on. It amazing.

[sfoeric]

I travel mostly for pleasure. Even though I tend to fly business class, I never enjoy my time in the airport nor traveling to/from the airport to my destination. It’s an exhausting experience to me. And yet no matter how enjoyable the trip, I always look forward to sleeping in my own bed in my tiny one bedroom apartment when I get home.

[anashappydays]

Everything has it up and down, cross and pros. That is life! You have to learn to feel good anywhere you are. Happiness comes from inside 🤩. Love this. Great channel 🌸😍. Cheers from a Spanish living in Norway 🇳🇴

[jameskandy]

Very good insights. I also was dying to get out of Florida but now kinda miss it. I’ve not had a longterm home for most of my life (grew up moving with family every few years, but Florida is ironically the place I probably lived the most years). I’ve found that slow travel is best—I move somewhere, get jobs, etc. stay for a few years. I can’t imagine the whole jet set thing where people go to a bunch of countries in a few weeks. It sounds awful actually. I also have FOMO of just gardening and having a couch and bathtub and normal life hahaha. I like getting to know the countryside & people and I’m not doing it for tourist reasons—the deep secret is I’ve always been looking for a home & community, but haven’t found anywhere I want to stay permanently as a home base. I don’t fit in anywhere. Sometimes I get stuck in places but I always have adventures & try to really find the good everywhere. Maybe I’m a bit spoiled and I’ve definitely gotten to the point where I just want to split my time between my 2-3 favorite cities year round now. Dating & friends are excruciatingly hard because some people really shut down and won’t even give you a chance if you aren’t in their day to day interaction schedule, or they are so “spontaneous” that they won’t commit. I’d like to find long term people to travel with, but most people either wouldn’t consider leaving their hometown or are too into extreme adrenaline or constant travel stuff, or don’t want long term relationships. I don’t want to skydive or go to really dangerous places. But the world is so amazing that I can’t imagine settling down, either. I’m also tired of always starting new jobs. But I never regret the adventures I’ve had! And I feel pretty equipped to deal with all sorts of things because I’ve had to survive all kinds of trouble on my own. It’s a mixed bag but that’s life! 😎

[biancabrateanu]

OMG I cannot believe how accurate this video is. I have honestly felt and dealt with all the things you are talking about. I've lived in 24 countries in the last 3 years and although it started like so much fun, 3 years later I just feel unrooted and miss having deep connected relationships. In life you win some, you lose some. Nobody's got it perfect

[scottman]

This should be the video anyone who is considering full-time travel or becoming location independent should watch! I really like videos like this where you present full honesty about something which more and more people are wanting to this day. Although I have not been a full-time traveler (at least not yet for me), I know that one of my friends has had experienced burnout before when it comes to travel. I have been hearing more and more about slow travel and how beneficial it is with enabling you to be more integrated in the culture and meeting new people. Awesome video!

[carsonnavigator]

Good Vid. I travel on my boat. I always feel at home when travelling, sleeping in my bed, having all my things along. Room for a mate. The slowest way to travel. Home office, travel vehicle, party joint all in one. For me its ideal. Big sailing community everywhere I go.

[ThePsychicStylist]

THANK YOU FOR THIS. This video is helping me process now moving to Florida, when we were planning on living in Spain for a few years. I need to paint. I need my stuff. I need my friends. Thank you Lady. A big fan!

[niltonhernandes]

I liked all of your comments. Traveling to over 40 countries, I also learned a few things about my behavior:
1 - Every time I felt alone, I asked myself: "Have I been open to people, have I been nice and considerate to them, have I talked to them frankly, openly, honestly and without imposing barriers? Or was I just one person who was afraid to take a chance, waiting for someone to pull me out of my shell? In this matter, I've found that I'm a more open person after a glass of wine.
2 - Those who travel, need to be aware of their own prejudices. I cannot look at a people, a country, comparing with my country, with my people.
3 - I can't complain about dissatisfaction. Dissatisfaction gives the impetus for several changes to take place. I need to learn to live with dissatisfaction.
4 - I don't travel to have peace or just pleasure, but to broaden my way of seeing the world. Bad experiences can prove to be huge learnings. I'd rather risk having bad experiences than find peace or pleasure. Um abraço do Brasil!

[ContinentalDrifter]

For the past 14 years, I've been a professional travel photographer, and I've been a digital nomad living out of a suitcase for 8+ years now, organizing and leading small group tours around the world, but it's a little different for me because for 8 - 9 months per year I'm moving around every 2 to 4 nights on assignment, scouting or with my groups, packing and unpacking, constantly planning hotels and Airbnbs and navigating planes, trains and automobiles.

When there isn't a pandemic I'm on 45 - 50 flights per year, which gets really old (oh, and then there's the jet lag). A lot of people think I have the ultimate job, which of course I do (haha), but it's not perfect. For a long time, I've been searching for a woman interested in a long-term relationship who'd like to be a part of my business, but it just hasn't happened. When they see what my life is really like they quickly realize I'm not at all on vacation.

I'm hoping to slow things down in the next 2 - 3 years and to be in one place for at least 2 - 3 months at a time (Greece, Portugal, Spain, Georgia, South America), but still moving around the world experiencing as much as possible.

[deanpapadopoulos]

Great video! Suggestions and lessons from my journey. Travel is either your yin or yang. It is either your natural self or a secondary dimension of your self. Seek-out your yin and yang. Routines and extemporaneous living (through travel); nurturing old friendships and meeting new friends from chance encounters; structured work and times when we can scoff at work as a social construct; having to deal with difficult people at work or at home and being able to walk away from anyone who isn’t your cup of tea. In other words, discovering your yin and yang. Secondly and lastly, many nomads are people who prefer solitude...are genetically predisposed to solitude. There are a couple of books on this subject. If you identify as such, know that the nomadic lifestyle fits you well because you don’t need a heavy social calendar (your yin) and that as a member of a social species you need to feel connected to real people (and not virtual people only)...your yang. This programming in our genes is not something that can be erased no matter how much someone tries. It takes acknowledgement and then effort to care for each of these areas that comprise the complexity of you.

[vickymadore]

I'm Canadian and I've been living in Australia for the past 9 years where I've set down roots and I actually like my job. I'm a bit nervous about purchasing a one-way ticket to Central America but also excited. I couldn't agree more with all the valid points you've made in this video. Thanks for the reminder!