2023-07-27 20:39:26
A dream life. A priori… (Photo: Nathan Dumiao for Unsplash)
DAMNED JOB! is a section where Olivier Schmouker answers your toughest questions [et les plus pertinentes] on the modern business world… and, of course, its quirks. An appointment to read tuesdays and the thursdays. Do you want to participate? Send us your question at [email protected]
Q. – “I have taken such a liking to telecommuting that I have managed to work remotely as often as possible. I even plan to become a “digital nomad” at the start of the school year: work from anywhere on the planet (where the wi-fi is of good quality!), starting with Lisbon, in Portugal. It would be the ultimate dream for me! On this subject, are there any unsuspected pitfalls to avoid when becoming a digital nomad?” –Clovis
A. Dear Clovis, it is true that the life of a digital nomad has something to dream regarding. Very often, people choose almost heavenly places (sun, beach, blue sea, etc.).
Life is often less expensive there than in your country of origin, and having a good salary allows you to have a very good standard of living on site (imagine a little your quality of life with a salary that would be multiplied , say, in twos or threes!).
It is possible to organize your work schedule as you wish (eg surfing or yoga early in the morning; two hours of work from your studio or a coworking space; lunch at the small restaurant on the corner; five hours of work , interspersed with a bike break in the surroundings; outing with friends met on site; etc.)
In short, the advantages are multiple for, a priori, some flats. For example, does the local healthcare system live up to your expectations as a Westerner? Will you be able to have interesting discussions with the locals if you don’t speak the language? And won’t the time difference in relation to your country of origin (where your employer, or even your clients, is located) force you to have an atypical rhythm of life?
But hey, those are just minor difficulties. None of them seem insurmountable.
So, at first glance, one might wonder why, deep down, not everyone has become a digital nomad yet, right?
The problem is that in truth, this life is not necessarily a dream life. I grasped it when reading a recent article in the British daily The Telegraph.
At the end of 2022, there were some 35 million digital nomads on the planet, compared to only 10 million before the pandemic, according to daily data. We can speak of a real craze.
But their numbers might start to decline soon, as the trend is towards “disenchantment”: American travel writer and blogger Tom Kuegler started talking regarding this phenomenon, presenting digital nomadism as an “empty existence”. . “I meet more and more of them who just go in and out of the countries where they arrive, a bit like they were in a shopping center: they take the essentials there to subsist, are not interested nothing in particular and leave disillusioned”, he illustrates.
Many of them know the weariness of the eternal traveler. “I’m tired of the incessant travels, says one of them in The Telegraph. My deep desire is to sleep in my own bed and in my room.
In general, following a few weeks of “daydreaming”, the first unpleasant surprises occur. Health problems (the body must adapt to a new diet, to a different pace of life, etc.). The fatigue that accumulates (sleep is quickly disturbed when you move constantly, etc.). And above all, the feeling of isolation (one is far from one’s friends, it is difficult to make new ones when one knows that one is going elsewhere in a fortnight, etc.).
Another problem is purely financial. So, finding good value rental accommodation has become a real challenge in many of the cities popular with digital nomads. On this subject, the article speaks precisely, Clovis, of the Portuguese city of Lisbon. With Tulum and Bali, it is on the podium of the most popular destinations. According to Nomad List, almost 16,000 digital nomads were working remotely from Lisbon last December. Locals are starting to complain regarding it, accusing them of skyrocketing property prices. Entire districts of the Portuguese capital would thus have been transformed into “Airbnb enclaves”.
One of the digital nomads interviewed ends up having this word: “My new dream? Have a simpler life.”
Far be it from me, Clovis, to dissuade you from becoming a digital nomad. On the contrary, it seems like a fantastic life experience. But it is better to be warned that the dream can turn into a nightmare, due to fatigue and weariness. The day always comes when you want to put down your luggage, it seems.
By the way, the French physicist Pierre Curie wrote in his diary, when he was 20 years old: “You have to make life a dream, and make a dream a reality”.
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