1 Year on the Road: Lessons Learned as Digital Nomads

In early December of 2021, we set off on a plane trip to Peru as so-called digital nomads with no idea of the lessons we would learn. Our first destination was Cusco, nestled high in the Andes Mountains. We started our year abroad as so-called Digital Nomads with a bang, visiting Machu Picchu, Rainbow Mountain, and a plethora of other gorgeous sights in Peru.

We spent our first month abroad based in Peru, spending Christmas and New Year’s Eve on the rooftop of our AirBNB apartment watching the fireworks erupt from every corner of the city. I remember thinking how awesome it was that we were in this different country, surrounded by beautiful mountains, and watching a spectacle unlike any I’d ever seen.

I thought to myself how awesome this next year was going to be. How much fun we’d have exploring a plethora of different countries and cities, embarking on new adventures, and somehow fitting in some productive time so I could continue publishing my books.

In one year, we managed to visit a total of nineteen countries (some more than once, like Mexico, the US, and Spain). Some were just for quick trips or holidays so we could see friends and attend some functions like weddings and birthday parties; but most we “lived” in for a few weeks or more.

We went on a horseback safari in South Africa and hiked an erupting volcano in Guatemala. In Romania, we explored castles and in Serbia, we attended music festivals while sampling some particularly strong local rakia. Spain gave us a chance to enjoy sunsets at sea from the comfort of a catamaran. Egypt and Peru allowed us to explore ancient wonders of the world, and in Bulgaria we stayed at a winery with one of the best wine-tasting experiences of our lives (no kidding!) between amazing mountain hikes. 

And that’s just a small sample of the fun things we’ve gotten to do. Our first year abroad has also allowed for other opportunities. Chances to stretch our boundaries and test our relationship and adaptability. Ample conversations where we discussed what we wanted to do when we returned to the States and plan for our future.

This year hasn’t been just about vacationing either. I’ve published a total of five books so far during the time we’ve been abroad–and I’m currently working on two more as I write this. Plenty more to come.

It hasn’t always been easy; it’s not always just spending long days at the beach, working an hour or two between sips of margaritas. But I wouldn’t change it for the world. 

Along the way, we couldn’t help but pick up a few lessons. So whether you’re traveling for a long time just to explore the world or you’d like to try working a year or more as a digital nomad, maybe, hopefully, you’ll find some of this helpful as you write your own adventure.

Some of our lessons learned

Say yes to new experiences

One of the reasons we did this trip was to say ‘yes’ to new experiences. We wanted to push our comfort zones. That meant being flexible and saying ‘yes’ when sometime I might’ve missed an opportunity. For example, when we traveled to Antigua, I hadn’t planned on hiking Acatenango and camping overnight to watch Fuego. Really wasn’t interested in spending a cold night on an uncomfortable mattress pad after a long and strenuous hike (probably one of the tougher ones I’ve gone on).

But we ended up going. Not only was watching the volcano erupt every fifteen minutes throughout the night an unforgettable experience, but we ended up meeting a lot of cool peopel on the trek.

In fact, there was one group from Germany who we hung out with later at Lake Atitlan. And then when we went to Berlin, we got to meet up with some of them again!

So you never know what’s going to happen when you try something. It’s worth the risk.

But it’s also okay to say no

Another big lesson learned as digital nomads is knowing when to say “no”.

Okay, so after starting the European leg of our adventure in Spain, then France, and Bulgaria, we got the chance to see some amazing architectural sights. But after a while, sometimes you start reading “Best Things to do in XYZ City,” and you start realizing you’re done with seeing churches or you realized you’ve spent more than enough time wine-tasting at beautiful wineries (kidding!).

But seriously, if you don’t feel like doing something, if the vibe isn’t right, and you’re already feeling a bit mentally drained, flexing that ‘no’ muscle is important. Spending a year seeing a bunch of countries can sound like a blast. However, humans are super good at becoming accustomed to things.

So if you find you’re visiting places just because it feels like an obligation, like something you’ve got to check off your list, but you’re not actually enjoying it, saying ‘no’ gives you the power back to manage your most important resource when traveling: your time.

You don’t need to go out and meet people every night whiel you’re abroad. You don’t need to spend every day touring museums and churches and temples and mountains. Just like at home, sometimes you need to binge some Netflix, read a book on the couch, or make yourself a homecooked meal. That’s all totally cool, and you shouldn’t let the fear of missing out cramp your style.

Because if you’re spending a year or more abroad, the worst thing you can do is mentally exhaust yourself in the first couple months.

If you’re feeling like “what’s the point of traveling”, I find saying “no” and switching things up helps to mentally readjust. It gives you a chance to appreciate your surroundings and  to find new routes of gratitude for traveling through a mental reset. 

Another trick I’ve found when I feel like saying “no” too much is varying up my locations and activities. Pick some beach locations. Pick some mountain locations. Pick some huge metro areas and some small towns, some places known for culinary experiences and others off-the-beaten-path. But still, you don’t need to cross off every one of the “Best Things to Do in Kotor” list when you’re there. You can pick and choose what appeals to you–and don’t ever feel bad about it.

Picking the right amount of time (taking things slow)

I don’t know about you, but when I start planning a trip, I get super excited about all the possibilities. I want to go EVERYWHERE. Almost every country appeals to me in someway, and I can’t wait to seek out every nook and cranny of wherever I’m headed.

But the truth it, it’s not sustainable to go on a whirlwind tour seeing absolutely everything while somehow being productive.

After all, for us, this isn’t a vacation. We just happen to temporarily “live” in various locations throughout the world. That means we’ve got to work and earn that money.

So traveling slow has been key. We feel best when we spend at least a month in a location. I know, I know. We spent far less than that at a few places this year. But those were mostly for shorter trips to visit others or for dedicated “vacations” with each other or family and friends.

A month, though, gives us a decent amount of time to get to know a place. We have just enough time to see most of the sights we want to see and still manage to get our work done. It also gives us time to meet other people and even hang out with them more than once! (See below!)

If we weren’t planning on heading back to the States to settle and potentially start a family sooner rather than later, we’d probably spend much more time in each country we visited. But as it is, we’re trying to see as much as we can while balancing our work.

That being said, I think the best way to plan how long you want to spend somewhere is to start looking at all the things you think you might want to do when you get there. If you’re finding there’s a hundred different things you DEFINITELY want to do, then spend more time there; if you’re feeling underwhelmed with the activities on offer, but you still want to visit, then go for less time.

For example, we felt a few weeks in Kotor was good enough but we could have spent much more than a month in Mexico City and Cape Town! However, a smallish city like Plovdiv was perfect for a month of balancing work with fun (and some great day and overnight trips).

It sounds simple. Common sense, really, right? 

But in any case, determining the right amount of time to stay in each place was an important lesson to learn. We got more conscious about how long we reserved our AirBNBs for later during our year, when we realized that we wanted to take things slower.

Finding the right area

While we can write a whole article on picking out where to live when you’re headed to a new destination, one of the most important lessons we learned is to pick out the right area to book your temporary home. Obviously you’ve got a billion factors like safety and transportation to consider, plus some extras when you’re living somewhere rather than just visiting, like proximity to grocery stores.

But I’ve also found that when we’re traveling, it’s often worth spending a few bucks to be in a cool location. It can be tempting to rent an apartment far from the coolest sights and restaurants where all the life of a location is; but if you’re only going to be there for a limited time, I’ve found staying as close tot he action as possible is the best way to do things.

It means we spend less time commuting. It’s easier to get to the coffeeshops you like to work at or even hang out with other travelers or locals you’ve met. Plus, living in a picturesque and/or hopping  neighborhood just makes you feel different about a place. It’s a luxury to walk out your door right into a street filled with beautiful Austro-Hungarian architecture or watch the clouds roll over the mountains while workign at your desk; but if you can take advantage of it, do it.

That being said, if you’re going to be somewhere longer, say a couple months, I wouldn’t mind saving a few bucks and living farther out from all the touristy stuff. Given I’d be less concerned about making the most of my time since there aren’t as many pressures to see EVERYTHING, I wouldn’t be as worried about missing out because I was spending too much time on the subway instead of enjoying a place.

Obviously, a lot of this comes down to budget and personal choices, but you can tell which way I would lean if you can swing it. Picking out a good location was a relatively straightforward lesson we learned as digital nomads.

Of course sometimes there are factors you can’t control no matter how much work you put into selecting a place. For example, you never know when you’ll pick a gorgeous AirBnB with a fantastic balcony in Tbilisi, Georgia–and then end up with a nosey neighbor who keeps sneaking over onto your balcony for pets. 😉

Making (temporary) friends

We’re lucky that we get to travel together. I’ve got a built-in best friend wherever I go. But even so, I like meeting new people.

There are a few ways we’ve made friends and acquaintances as we’ve traveled. The first is pretty easy. Go on typical group tour experiences. LIke when we went snorkeling with sea lions in Lima, started talking to another couple and grabbed lunch with them afterward, swapping travel stories.

Or when we did an AirBnB experience with someone and were later invited to join them at a typical South African Braai where we had a fantastic time. And you already know the story about the volcano trek.

I’ve also joined expat or digital nomad groups on Facebook or Reddit dedicated to the individual cities we stayed at. That way, I found the hotspots where others in our situation are hanging out. For instance, we met a very cool individual when we summoned enough courage to do a karaoke night at the World’s End bar in Tbilisi, Georgia. We went to more karaoke nights there and even attended an improv workshop with our new friends.

So seek out opportunities to do group activities. Think about hobbies you might have at home (or you might like to explore while you’re abroad), and find the expat/digital nomad/or even local groups pursuing those activities.

Or if you have trouble with human friends, just make friends with a bunch of animals like we usually do.

And keeping the old friends

Trying to stay in contact with your family and friends can be a daunting task with constant time-changes. We’re lucky that everyone we know is more or less accustomed to video chats by now, so it’s not hard to Zoom, FaceTime, etc, when we’re abroad. Managing the time difference is definitely the hard part.

We’ve also found ways to make hanging out with our friends and family a little more fun too. We enjoy playing boardgames, so we joined BoardGameArena.Com for a yearlong membership. Pretty affordable to access a vast library of games which we can play with friends and family from anywhere in the world. 

It’s that kind of creativity we’ve had to employ to stay in touch with people since we can’t always be there in person.

Adapting to an ever-changing lifestyle

Constantly changing where you live can be difficult. There are different customs when eating out, language barriers, finding the right SIM card, and a host of other little challenges that come up along the way.

However, I’ve found with a little preparation, it makes the ever-changing lifestyle a little easier.

First, I always do a little research on travel blogs to get a feel for what to expect. Is there anything I should know about a place? Safety concerns? Customs?

Then when we get to a place, we usually like to do some kind of city tour right off the bat. Taking walking tours has always been a great way to meet fellow travelers and locals, so you can get all your burning questions answered immediately, plus get the lay of the land.

Still, constantly changing locations can feel taxing. So we’ve also created some routines to take with us when we to new places.

Creating a transferable routine

I like to have a set time to work out each day at least five days a week, no matter where I am. I also know how much time I need to work per week to get my books done. Creating routines is yet another important lesson as a digital nomad.

So Katarina and I have tried to (with moderate success most of the time) maintain a routine wherever we go. We usually try to work out in the morning, then start working afterward. Take a break for lunch, hit a coffee shop for more work or stay at home. Then make dinner or go out to dinner. In the evening, I spend a few minutes studying Spanish, and then when we’re settling down before bed, we usually watch a bit of Netflix.

Nothing special, right? Obviously there are days when we’re out touring where this doesn’t happen or our schedule gets all out-of-whack.

But we found that having a “normal” schedule for our work days gives you some semblancy of, well, normalcy. It’s helpful just to keep those routines together.

So maybe that means time for yoga or journaling or meditating every day. PIck at least one daily habit and stick to it. You might not need any type of schedule or routine, but for us, it’s been helpful to have a basic schedule wherever we are.

Trying not to eat out too much

It can be super tempting to spend all your time eating out. But that can get spendy and, depending on where you are and what’s available, unhealthy.

We found we’ve maintained a better balance when we make sure to have groceries in our apartment just like we would at home. We love cooking with local ingredients, finding new spices and produce while trying to mimic regional dishes. As a digital nomad, you learn really quickly that eating at home can be just as nice as going out.

Understand How Emergency Services and Medical Services Work Before You Need Them

We’ve had to visit doctors and hospitals a handful of times over the past years. We’ve spent more than our fair share of time sick with sinus infections, food poisoning, and other fun maladies. I mean, seriously, some illnesses I had never expected… but those are stories for another day.

This is perhaps one of the most important lessons you can learn as a digital nomad. Better to learn it before you take off for your next adventure.

Whenever I visit a new place, the first thing I want to know is what number to call for emergency medical services and if you can actually rely on them. 

When we get sick, I try to find out what kind of medicines I can get at pharmacy without a prescription or whether I need to visit a doctor’s office first. 

Some countries you can just skip a doctor’s visit if it’s not serious, go to the pharmacy, tell the pharmacist what’s going on, and they can make recommendations. Some places you can get an appointment with a specialist literally the day you decide to see them; others you need to make an appointment way in advance. Some cities you’ll find the public health services priced extremely well (if not free); others you’ll find the public health services require very lengthy waits and you’ll rely on Google Translate because no one speaks the language. Sometimes private, international-friendly hospitals offer personal translators and affordable medical services despite being much nicer than the public offerings; other times, they will destroy your wallet.

All this being said, I’m not a medical professional and not trying to offer any medical advice. I rely strongly on our global health insurance through Cigna (I don’t get paid to say that, either). They offer video consultations with doctors pretty much on demand, which has been super helpful on more than one occasion. Getting real medical advice using an app has been very convenient. Plus, their staff understands the complexities of getting treatment and meds while traveling, so they can tell you how to proceed depending on your medical challenges wherever you are.

Seriously, global health insurance and a basic understanding of how medical services work wherever we’ve been has literally been a lifesaver.

Learning What’s Important to You When Selecting Your Temporary Home

While picking the location of our temporary abode is important, so is the amenities the home offers. We’ve learned very quickly what amenities we desire most in a place. For instance, some things we took for granted, like how useful a microwave is to us, until we stayed in a couple places without one.

Obviously when you’re in a cold climate, you’re going to want some heating system; in a super hot climate, you might want A/C. But neither of those climate control amenities are a guarantee. Check your booking description!

I also know I prefer to work at a desk over any old table in an apartment, so places with a real dedicated workspace are top of my list.

It’s cool to stay on the top floor of an apartment with gorgeous views; but it kind of sucks walking up and down ten flights of stairs everyday if the place doesn’t have an elevator.

In any case, we’ve made a list of amenities we really want whenever we’re booking a place. It helps us to cross-check against the list so we don’t forget, for instance, we actually like A/C or a microwave when searching for a place to stay. 

Yeah, we’ve made some mistakes when picking places, for sure.

Always Pack Lighter than You think

We found almost right away we packed too much. Too many extra clothes. Too many extra toiletries. We were lucky that we planned a return to the US after about three months abroad, which gave us a chance to dump a lot of stuff we weren’t using or wearing.

Packing light isn’t a bad thing. You can see our packing list here. Even with this list, we could probably pare it down farther.

Sometimes we find we wouldn’t mind going clothes shopping. If we packed too much, we don’t have room for new things, though. 

And while you need the essentials for medicine, glasses/contacts, laptop for work, etc, you can almost always find things you need wherever you are. No need to bring six sticks of deodorant or two whole liters of sunscreen. Basic meds and other goods are available most anywhere you’re likely to go.

So save some room in your suitcase or backpack and make it easier on yourself by not heaving a massive, overstuffed suitcase everywhere you go.

Making new places feel like home.

We have a very basic ritual when we first move into a new apartment. We unpack all our clothes, get our toiletries in place, and make it look like we actually live there instead of out of a suitcase. 

I like setting up my desk with a laptop stand and keyboard, so I have my designated workspace. Then I also set up our Kindle Fire, which is a super convenient way of keeping all our streaming services organized and ready to go wherever we go. 

Sounds simple, but doing this almost invariably makes us feel like we’re coming home instead of just living in some temporary, short-term place. Add a little grocery shopping, maybe even pick out some flowers from the market, and a candle or two–something to make the place feel like ours for the time we’re staying–then we’re good. 

While I said pack light, don’t be afraid to have one or two small things that you bring everywhere to make your place feel like home. Maybe it’s a small plushie. Or maybe it’s a Totoro cellphone stand your wife bought you for Christmas when you were in Cusco. 😉 In any case, having a little memento that you take from place to place can go a long way to making a place feel like home wherever you are.

Summing it all up

We’ve only been on the road a year, and there are others who have done this much longer than us. But no matter all the preparations, all the research I did before we started our work-around-the-year trip, I’m still learning new things as we do this digital nomad thing.

I could probably write much more than this, but hopefully this is a decent stopping point. I hope it gives you a start on writing your own adventure. 🙂