Honestly guys, I’m getting kind of tired of seeing all these sponsored posts on Facebook telling you that “I quit my job and now I get paid to travel the world – learn how YOU could do it too!”
They make it sound so easy; like you could just quit tomorrow and be on a plane next week with a guaranteed income to keep you going for years and years and years. Now to you and me, I’m sure it’s obvious that it’s not that easy – but it all sounds so possible if allllllll these people are doing it, doesn’t it?
Here’s why I’m not actually interested in the increasingly popular lifestyle that these people really lead.
It’s bloody hard work
Sure, being paid to travel the world (usually untrue) sounds like the dream, but the truth is, you’ll have to work harder than you’ve ever worked in your life if you want a chance in hell of actually living a good life at the same time. A bit of a paradox, you’re probably thinking – and you’d be right.
Full-time travel is a myth.
Or at least, highly romanticised. The majority of people are not “paid to travel” – they are earning money through freelance and odd jobs online which allows them to be location independent; i.e. they can be wherever they want to be in the world, as long as they have an internet connection. (See my next point.)
And the truth is, unless you hit really lucky, it’s a real hard slog to earn enough money in the first place to actually make a decent living – and even once you’ve crossed that massive bridge, you’ll be working a lot more than you’ll be travelling or seeing the places you’re in.
I see it all the time from real people in real situations doing exactly this. Lauren from Never Ending Footsteps lived in Saigon, Vietnam, for a month and rarely left her apartment. Adventurous Kate had a breakdown in Bulgaria because actually, finding a balance between travel and work is bloody hard. Countless people get holed up in Chiang Mai for months and virtually live in coffee shops on their laptops. What a dream, huh?
I also really love this article from Girl Vs Globe on the radio silence on her blog and why she quit being an Instagrammer, and Lauren even went on to talk about how it made her sick.
I have more travel freedom not working online
Do you know what I like about not working online? Being able to book a place to stay and NOT worry about whether there’s free or working wifi. Being able to go on a road trip where my laptop wasn’t charged up for almost a week and not have to panic because I have deadlines to meet. Being able to travel anywhere without thinking about the timezone differences between me and a client.
And don’t even get me started on social media. People who have time to post on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and TikTok on an almost daily basis while they travel and hold down a freelance business at the same time have my total respect. I love writing on this blog, but when you have five or more social networks to also garner attention on, it starts to be a bit of a chore.
(Then again, that’s one major draw of the digital nomad card – lots of companies feel the same way and outsource their social media management to travellers for that very reason!)
I have more fun travelling without working online
I’ve spent half of my life glued to a computer screen, so you’d think the idea of working online in beautiful places would be something I’d love.
If only. The problem I have is that when you turn a passion into a career, it becomes just that and you can lose your passion. I’d be terrified of that happening to me. Can you imagine anything worse than sitting in paradise and realising you hate it? Can you imagine how over-privileged and ungrateful you’d feel as a result? Travel burnout is a very real thing, without throwing consistent deadlines and pressures and work into the mix.
As a class A workaholic, I know I’d be one of those people guilt-tripping myself into feeling like I need to be working harder before I can earn those five minutes of sun, or turning down drinks or an awesome activity or perhaps even the reason I wanted to visit a place, just because I’ve got a deadline to meet even though I have a plane to catch the next day. I fear that the concept of travel and fun would quickly lose all meaning to me, and the lifestyle of working in front of a laptop screen for 15 hours a day would consume my life. I’d be going to all these places for the sake of travelling and not actually doing any of the things you should be doing when you travel. (You know, seeing the place you’re in, perhaps.)
To be honest, since working from home has become so much more common, I am surprised how well I adapted to it with a healthy work/life balance – but even so, in my old job there was unlimited overtime available and you betcha I was racking up those hours as much as I could just because I was at home. With the WFH revolution, regular hours in regular jobs mean you’re not tied down to working harder and longer just to make more money – if you’re lucky enough to be completely remote (we’re not).
It doesn’t mean I can’t travel long-term
Don’t get me wrong. I travelled for 18 months and loved – almost – every minute. I worked for 12 of those months, but it wasn’t online. I wasn’t entirely location independent; but equally I wasn’t confined to my laptop or, as above, confined to somewhere with wifi. I had the freedom to move around without worrying about amenities everywhere I went. I could get a stable hourly paid job for six months and not worry week to week about pay cheques and late payments from clients.
In fact, getting an offline job just adds to the experience of travel! I wouldn’t have quite so many memories if I hadn’t worked on a farm or in an outback pub in Australia. I had an absolute blast working on a summer camp in the USA. I realise that I’m very privileged in the fact my passport allows me to get working holiday visas in various countries, and my language allows me to teach English in many more countries if I so wish.
Since Brexit, our options have dwindled but there are lots of ways to stay abroad for longer than a holiday. I’m very lucky to have choices available to me that mean I can live a travel lifestyle without having to be a digital nomad.
It’s actually nice to be stable sometimes
I had the best time for 18 months, but I was more than happy to come home at the end of it. Could I imagine leaving for that length of time again? Sure I could. But could I imagine travelling constantly from place to place for another year or even three after that? I’m not so sure. Incidentally, both bloggers I mentioned before have now settled down and travel from a base.
Routines scare me, but sometimes even I have to admit they can also be essential to a happy life, especially when you’re working. And you know what, I like seeing my friends and going to a familiar pub and going round to my parents’ for dinner every now and then. I even like having a home, and somewhere to come back to after a trip.
Apart from that, what about hobbies? If it’s hard enough fitting in travel and work, when the hell are you going to have time to do something that’s fun? (Alright, travel is fun, obviously, but also… I can’t believe I’m saying this… travel isn’t everything.) Again, kudos to anyone who has got the balance right, because I sure as hell couldn’t see myself making it work the way my dreams envisage I could.
I’m not saying you wouldn’t be happy doing it
Plenty of people thrive on being a digital nomad. That’s absolutely fine, and a lot of those people love having a different base every month or two, which really slows down the “nomad” part but makes it much more sustainable in the long-term.
But there’s no point pretending that it’s the solution to everyone’s problems. Before you delve into that world, ask yourself if it would really make you happy. Ask yourself if you have other options to work and travel – maybe you could apply for a working holiday visa in Australia, teach English in Asia, or even work for accommodation on your travels to save a buttload of money? In fact, ask yourself what you are even looking for to make yourself happy. Because after all, perhaps what you’re not happy with where you are won’t change just because you’re somewhere else.
All I’m saying is – it’s not for me. And although it’s something that has crossed my mind – and still does from time to time – I’m totally okay with that.
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An Orcadian Abroad 
I wouldn’t want to do it full time either. I always write my posts “after” the trip.
While I am on my trip I want to enjoy where I am at and not spend it in front of a PC screen.
Sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders. Good for you. 👌🏻
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Thanks Evangelina! I totally agree. 🙂 I think it would take the magic away from it for me a bit!
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Very true post! Social media can make things seem so easy.
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Doesn’t it just?! Thanks for reading. 🙂
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Great post! You’re right, appearances are deceiving! So many people are posing for the perfect instagram shot they’re missing what’s in front of them.
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Thanks Juliet! That is so true as well! It sometimes feels like it’s more about what other people see than what you’re seeing yourself. I read a great thing the other day that just said we’re comparing our behind the scenes with everyone else’s highlight reels – I think that’s the truest thing I’ve ever read about social media!
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Easy but not easy at all, hah? sometimes you too focus on taking the best shots to up on fb, bl or ista.. and miss the chance for real enjoying. Sometimes, you loose yourself in true experiencing and forget to record it. I always make the 2nd “mistake”, that’s why my first post is still in processing though I have made almost a hundred trips until now 😦
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I agree, I look at some photos on Instagram and think “yeah, but how long did you spend trying to get that perfect shot?” I dunno, that’s not for me either. I enjoy photography so I do take a lot of photos, but I don’t spend hours getting the perfect angle! I’d definitely rather live in the moment, too. 🙂 Thanks for your comment! 🙂
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I’m astonished by the number of travel bloggers out there – don’t know how they do it. Some are simply wonderful; in fairness, some of them are awful! The A Bit About Britain project is a bit different – not sure if it will work…but you don’t know until you try. Better to have blogged and failed, than never to have blogged at all?
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Haha, I totally agree! We’ve entered a world where content is quantity over quality. Half the blog posts I see are “10 reasons you should do X” and “14 photos to make you want to visit Y” and there are all these “writers” getting loads of exposure on their clickbait articles, while too many quality articles are being pushed to the side because people don’t have time to read them. (my two cents, anyway!)
Good luck with your blog – I think we need something different! 😉
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I’m so with you on this. I love travelling; I love blogging. Sounds like the ideal life would be to combine the two, but when I travel I want to focus on that and get the most out of it, not be missing out because I’ve got my head in my laptop and deadlines to meet. Likewise, I love my blog because it’s an outlet where I can write what I want, when I want, how I want. No pressure. Of course I’d like to do well, but not at the expense of giving up my freedom to do what I want with it. As soon as it becomes a job with SEO for a boss, then a lot of that enjoyment would disappear.
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Yep, I totally agree Anne! I love writing but I would hate for it to become a chore – I think it would be different if I was writing for someone else, but I don’t want something that’s supposed to be fairly personal and fun to become something I procrastinate from. And I definitely wouldn’t want to travel and spend the whole time with my head buried in a laptop!
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This is such a great post – all of these travel blogs make it seem like the perfect lifestyle but it is so interesting to think about the other side of it and I totally agree with everything you said!
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Thank you! Some parts of it would be great, but it would be so hard to sustain a healthy balance. Thanks for reading! 🙂
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This is such a great read. As someone who aspire to be a digital nomad, in the process of research and preparing its not easy and it is HARD. It’s rare you read something so honest and frank about the reality of the lifestyle! A good mixture of offline work and online I what I now aim for. As who wants to be in a beautiful countries glued to your laptop.
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Hey Kirsty, I’m so sorry I’m only just replying to your comment!! I totally agree – I want to explore my surroundings when I travel, not be looking at a screen. Otherwise what’s the point?? That said, I think the opportunities given to us by the online world are fantastic. It’s just finding a balance!
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This is the post I needed to read. I too keep getting bogged down by the constant social media and trying to keep up with the workload. I love travel, and would hate to see that passion die out. So hard to find a balanced opinion on the whole digital nomad life. Every facebook targeted ad makes it seem so easy.
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Totally, they say “work doing something you love” but I really think sometimes work can kill what you love! (Obviously that totally depends, too) The digital nomad life is so romanticised now, especially with those ads. And UGH, I’m getting slightly more into the social media side of things, but I am really hating on Instagram right now!!!
(P.S. sorry for the SUPER late reply!!)
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Read this at the perfect time… my blog is just 6 months old and we are about to travel the world as a family (two teenagers 16 and 13- God help me!) I’ve been busy, busy, busy, these past few months building and designing the website and content and then I read this and thought, “you know what? this should be the most exciting part, not the most stressful” Honestly. It really made me stop and think about my priorities, so thank you. I may now be looking to a broke 12months ahead, but at least I’ll be happy and present! Liz
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Ahh thank you so much for reading! You definitely have to do what makes you happy, and there’s no reason you can’t write your blog and enjoy it as it is. 🙂 I’ve been thinking about the travel blogging industry a lot recently, and I really think people put themselves under too much pressure to succeed and that makes them do it for the wrong reasons, too. Like you say, it’s all about priorities and it can be hard to stand back and think “that’s what I should be focusing on”. Enjoy your travels!
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Such an incredible read! It is what I am thinking as well: take a job for a few months as ”I am living the dream” but most of the time I am stuck to the computer and after a while I don’t find the reason anymore, I want to stay with people offline more than tied on the laptop 🙂 What I am considering is to change the place I am working every time, like: to work a while in a new place and explore the surroundings and then to just travel and then move and so on. I thought I can do it to stay wherever I want without working but then… to much time tied on the laptop 😦
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Thanks so much for your comment! Yeah I totally agree, I prefer to connect with people in real life otherwise it can be less of an experience. I think it’s so hard to balance work & travel life because you end up compromising both. But I definitely think it would be possible to just do things a few months at a time and make the most of your surroundings. 🙂
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Just discovered this excellent post Clazz, which captures exactly how I feel! Keeping up with blogging and several social media platforms can be a drag. And, you’re right, connecting with people in real life rather than online is a totally different experience.
The “See How I Make 6 figures as a digital nomad – Free” ads really get tiring but also because if you do happen to look into it further, they’re always selling something – of course.
I usually jot down notes as I travel because I don’t have a great memory, then write up posts after travelling or when I’m in one place for a few weeks.
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Thanks so much for your comment and I’m so sorry I’m only just replying! I just noticed it in my “pending” queue (whatever that means – I don’t have my comments set to be approved before they’re published!?). I totally agree, and I always wonder how many of those people selling those courses are even living the lifestyles they’re selling. Like, is their ONLY source of income selling the courses?! And I’m the same – make notes, write the post later. 🙂
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Have no idea about the Pending cue but you may be on to something if you set comments to be approved before published.
Guess it’s a little like ghost writing – people writing about places they’ve never visited…guess they need to make money somehow. I only write about places that I’ve travelled to and try and write my honest experience. 🙂
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I’m exactly the same! And yeah, I have no idea, I’ve never noticed pending comments before lol. There were a few in there but all from the past two months! Weird.
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There’s also a Feedback option under the Comments menu that has more comments but usually spam. I only discovered this 6 months ago and I’ve been using WP for 4 years now (I think). 😉
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Oh yeah, I can see that but there’s nothing under it; it’s more for polls and things by the looks of it? lol I bet there’s a few things I haven’t discovered yet!
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I’ve just started my blog and I didn’t realise how much work it was. I enjoy writing it but no way would I want the stress of this being my primary income and I don’t think I’d enjoy doing it whilst travelling.
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