What’s a “digital nomad”? Maybe you’ve heard the term floating around, maybe you haven’t. Either way, it’s a pairing of words that you’re going to want to know if you’re interested in remote working, remote living, and the remote lifestyle.
Not every remote worker is a digital nomad, but every digital nomad is, indeed, a remote worker. So what does it take to be considered one of these types? We’ve got a list of prerequisites.
You Work Remotely
As we said earlier, if you’re a digital nomad, you work remotely. This, of course, does not mean that you have to be a contracted freelancer. It also doesn’t mean that you are employed full-time as a salaried, remote employee. Rather, you can be any kind of remote worker to meet this prerequisite.
As long as you are using the internet to make your living (and not held responsible for reporting to a local office), you’ve got the “digital” part of digital nomad down pat.
You’re Always on the Move
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a “nomad” is:
“A member of a people that travels from place to place to find fresh pasture for its animals, and has no permanent home. Also (in extended use): an itinerant person; a wanderer.”
While a digital nomad isn’t necessarily searching for fresh pastures, he or she is most certainly a wanderer. Digital nomads love to travel, and you’ll often find them jumping from city to city (and country to country) on a semi-regular basis. Simply put, they are world travelers who never stay put in one place for too long.
Now that you know what a digital nomad is, let’s lay out some ways that these types find community all around the globe.
They Join Coworking Spaces
When it comes to community, there’s no easier way to make it as a remote worker than by joining a coworking space. Coworking spaces aren’t unique to individual countries, but rather, can be found all over the globe. You’ll often find a handful of digital nomads at some of the most remote coworking spaces, which works out well because there can be instant camaraderie while bonding over the unique lifestyle.
Similarly, coworking spaces also serve as an office space for locals, making it easy for digital nomads to get to know the people and the culture of the city and country they are currently staying in.
They Step Out of Their Comfort Zone
Not all digital nomads join coworking spaces, and even for the ones that do, it’s not the only way that they meet new friends while traveling the world.
Stepping out of one’s comfort zone is perhaps the first rule of being a digital nomad, and it’s one that allows them to meet locals, get to know the local community, and explore the world around them.
Whether introverted or extraverted, learning to take in new foods, activities, and cultures is something that all digital nomads can benefit from.
Think you’re built to be a digital nomad? The world is your oyster.
Are you a digital nomad? Do you stories to share? Tag us on Instagram to share your view of the world with our remote reader base.
This article was originally published on Remote.com