How to Make an Income Online and Travel

These days, it seems that one of the most coveted lifestyles is that of the digital nomad. There are countless articles on how to achieve this life, supplemented by the numerous perfectly curated instagram photos showing supposed nomads working from their laptops on a beach in Thailand. There are even influencers selling online courses for how to make an income online and travel.

These courses sometimes make me roll my eyes. While I’m sure some are useful, a lot of these seem to be more interested in selling you a pipe dream, instead of teaching you skills or things that will actually help you succeed.

The truth is, it’s easier than you think but not in the ways these influencers are trying to convince you. If it’s as easy as they try to make it look, then surely you can do it yourself? Well the truth is you absolutely can, but you have to meet certain requirements to achieve this lifestyle.

Here is my no bullshit, honest step by step guide on to how to make an income online and travel the world.

What is a Digital Nomad?

For those not in the know, a digital nomad is basically a modern day nomad, one who travels nonstop while working online in our ever-increasingly digitalized world.

The type of job a digital nomad does ranges, and we all have different degrees of “nomadic-ness”. Some of us base ourselves in one foreign city for a long time, while some of us are always on the go. However, we do all have some things in common such as: location independence (ability to work anywhere with wifi), use technology to do our job, and usually are wifi fiends.

So, How Do You Become a Digital Nomad?

The first step is to transition to an online job. How can you do this? First, you need to identify what your skills are. You’ll know a course is a scam if it tells you anyone can get a remote job, without any skills or any huge effort.

That is the biggest lie ever, period. Think about it, if you had no skills in your home city, would you be able to get a job? No, right? The online job market is not an exception to this rule. It’s not impossible to get a job online, but it is slightly harder than a regular job because there is more competition. When the applicants for a job are not limited by geographic location you can imagine how many people will be competing for the same job.

Find a Skill that Can Be Done Online

So first, you need to identify your skills, then ask yourself is this a skill someone would pay me to do? For example, you might be the world’s best animal impressionist. That’s great for parties, but it doesn’t translate to dollars, Daniel.

Are you good with numbers and at using excel? Try bookkeeping. Are you good at photoshop? Try graphic design. Can you speak another language? You can be a translator. Good with social media? There are jobs for that, too.

If you can’t identify any skills, the harsh reality is that you’re going to have to develop some. Luckily, we are in a huge global pandemic and we all have plenty of down time. Use this time to take online courses or develop a monetizable skill. A good website for online courses is Udemy or on Skillshare. For example, you can find courses for coding or photography on these websites, both are skills people pay for.

These are just two examples, but there are endless resources and ways to learn a new skill. Take some courses online, get a mentor or self educate.

If you need ideas, some common jobs for digital nomads are web design, coding, graphic design, virtual assistant, writing, translating, etc. Truly though, the possibilities are beyond that. Are you good at photoshop and like Pinterest? You can start an online business for making Pinterest pins for business owners. Be creative, and think about every skill you have to offer.

Get Hired for Your Skill

If you’ve developed a skill that people will pay for, you can find jobs online through freelance websites such as Upwork. If you are trying to be a virtual assistant, feel free to reach out directly to the company or person you’d like to work for. You can also search for remote job positions on websites such as Linkedin, and apply there.

If you are trying to get a freelance job, it’s good to have an online resource to showcase your work and skills. For example, if you want to become a writer, you can make a blog to showcase your writing samples for potential clients to refer to. If you want to be a photographer, you must have an online portfolio.

This can take some time, so be patient and don’t give up. Like any job search, persistence and dedication are key to landing an online job.

Go Remote at Your Current Job

Another option is to see if you can go remote with your current job. Due to the pandemic, many companies were forced to allow people to work from home. It is now more than ever, that it will be easy to ask your employer to allow you to go remote permanently, since you may already be working remotely due to COVID-19.

Draft up a proposal, and give them a plan of action for how you will structure your work life as a remote worker. If you have proven or can prove your value and responsibility to your employer, there is a better chance they will say yes.

If they are on the fence, you can ask for a trial run, and make sure that you kick ass during that trial. This will show them you are capable of thriving and being productive even when working remotely. You can also ask for shorter periods to be remote, such as one month, or a few weeks. Start from there, and work your way into into longer periods.

I have met plenty of digital nomads who did exactly this, and it worked out for them. The answer is never no until you at least ask.

Teach English Online

If you are from an English speaking country and have a university degree, this is the fastest, and in my opinion, easiest way to go remote faster. The online teaching industry is expanding at an exponential rate, and the demand for native speaking teachers is always high.

Some jobs require experience while others don’t. Even if teaching isn’t your passion, this is a virtually stress free job for you to do in the mean time while you develop another skill or look for a more permanent online job.

This was the route I actually took 2 years ago and it’s the easiest job out there in my opinion. You log on, teach, log off and enjoy your day. The lessons are planned for you, and so is your schedule. There is none of that residual stress that comes with other types of jobs. Plus, you’d be surprised how much you can make. I work 2 jobs at around 30 hours a week total, and make enough to live comfortably in basically any city or country.

How do you Find an Online Teaching Job?

A good resource for beginners is Teach Away. This website is always up to date with companies that are currently hiring. Be sure to check for online teaching jobs, if you want to be remote.

You can also apply directly with the online school. Some popular and well paid ones are VIPKID, Itutorgroup, GOGOkid, DADA, Magic Ears, Cambly and Palfish.

Become a Private English Tutor

Are you currently a teacher or have really good marketing skills? Sell yourself as a private online tutor. There are people who will pay good money for a private tutor. I used to privately tutor in Japan and I made up to $100 an hour, seriously!

This takes more effort to find your own students, and create your own lesson plans, but if you have that go-getter mindset, you can make serious money this way. If you are already a teacher somewhere, you have a network of students already. Reach out and see if any of them need private lessons and start from there.

Invest in Real Estate

If you have enough money to buy an apartment or home, or are currently a homeowner, this will be easy for you. Having property and renting it out is also a great way to go remote. Sure, it’s not really a job but a passive income stream, but the result is the same, location independent income!

This is definitely not always the stress free route, and things can go wrong. But generally, real estate is a solid investment, and there are travelers out there who basically don’t work at all because they went this route.

The hardest part of becoming a digital nomad is transitioning to a remote job, but if you are persistent and try a few of the methods above, you should eventually get one. It’s not impossible, but like any job search it takes effort and time, and lots of NOs before you get a YES.

After You Get an Online Job

After you have a job, I would recommend getting into a routine or settling into a good work flow, before traveling. Starting a new job is a lot of new information to process. Don’t throw travel into the mix until you are settled into your new position or work life.

Before you Start to Travel

If you truly plan to become nomadic, you will no longer need your utilities back home. I would advise ending your lease, and cancelling your phone bills and other bills. However, you will still need a mailing address. For that, I use my parent’s address. Make sure your shots are up to date. Get travel insurance and pack only your most essential things.

More on that, it’s very tempting to overpack, but remember you live on the road now. Everything you bring you will have to pack up each time you relocate and carry it to the airport. Your home is wherever you will be and it’s likely that you can buy anything you’ll need later.

Some essentials to pack would be your work equipment and tech gear, versatile clothes you can use in different climate zones, and medication.

How to Choose Where to Go

There is literally no right or wrong way to travel. You can plan where you want to go a year in advanced, or have no plan at all. The only thing you’ll need to think of is about the quality of the wifi where you go.

To get ideas where to go, I use the website Nomad List. They rank cities across the world according to how digital nomad friendly they are based on various factors such as wifi, cost of living, social life, etc. It’s a great resource to get ideas of where other nomads have been and loved.

You can use the list to also gage the cost of living in each location. Depending on how much you make, or what your spending goals are, it’s wise to consider how much you’ll spend where you go. For example, a month in Saigon will cost you a fraction of a month in Paris.

If it’s expensive, don’t sweat it. You can still go but maybe consider spending less time there.

Another big tip: check the visa requirements of each country BEFORE you go. We got turned away at the border of Namibia because my boyfriend didn’t know he needed a visa for his nationality, while I didn’t.

You don’t need to know how long you will stay in a place, and thats the beauty of location independence. You are free now! You can decide that later. Just pick a place, check the visa requirements, make sure wifi exists, and go.

Check the WIFI Before you Go

Influencers will tell you digital nomads can work anywhere, but this is false. We can work anywhere with good wifi. I once spent a month in Ethiopia and you know what? No work got done because wifi is nonexistent there.

With that said, I have worked in a hut in the jungles of Thailand that had fiber optic wifi connection. I have worked on the floor outside a Balinese temple and used my SIM card hotspot as wifi because that was the only place I had signal. Once you are a digital nomad, you will become very crafty in the ways you get wifi whether you want to or not.

You can check this website for speedtest results in the city or location you plan to go. It will show you recent test speeds from other users. If local download speed is below 5 MPBS, that’s a reason for concern. However, if local mobile data speeds are fast you can get a local SIM card and use the hotspot as wifi.

How to Choose Accommodation

For digital nomads, it’s not cost effective or practical to stay in hotels. It’s better to do short to long term rentals, so that you can have a kitchen and real living space. Plus the price to rent a place for a month is a much better rate than the single day price.

Although it’s not the cheapest option, I strongly advise using Airbnb (click on this link for $65 off your first stay). That’s because if there are any issues with your accommodation, you can count on Airbnb customer service to take care of you.

I never had an issue that Airbnb didn’t resolve for me. They always take the customer’s side (when it’s valid) and after years of using Airbnb, I did have a few negative incidents in which I was grateful they stepped in and helped me resolve or get my money back.

Plus, you can use the reviews to get a feel for how a place is. Helpful tip: I always look for reviews about the wifi to see if it’s fast and reliable. I also usually message the host and ask for a speed test result. They are used to this and are usually happy to help.

How to Meet People

Meeting people as a digital nomad is now easier than ever. I use websites such as Meet up and Couchsurfing to connect with locals and other travelers. There are usually events you can attend, and people who use these platforms and by default, usually speak at least some English. After 2 years traveling alone, there was never a destination I’ve actually been alone in. As long as you are open for it, you will meet people.

Also, as a digital nomad it becomes too easy to coop yourself up in your Airbnb and work alone. After a while this becomes really depressing and you won’t make friends like this.

If possible, I would advise trying to find co-working spaces or cafe to work in. Discovering cute cafes to work from actually became a part of the digital nomad life I really love! I now look forward to discovering new cafes and hidden gems in new cities. Plus, you can meet people in these places.

If you have hobbies, you can join activities or groups to meet people who share your interests. For example, a hobby of mine is diving, a pretty social activity. You always meet friendly folks on a dive boat.

If all else fails, bars are always a surefire place to meet chatty and friendly people.

Other Things to Know

Being a digital nomad opens up a world of possibilities for you, but it’s also not a lifestyle for everyone. When scrolling through instagram and seeing beautiful pictures of exotic places and a happy traveler with the caption “living my best life”, it’s easy to get sucked into this illusion that this lifestyle is without problems, but I can assure you it has many.

The Negatives

Unless you have a partner or friend who is also nomadic, you will spend lots of time alone. You will have frustrating situations where wifi won’t work or your computer will crash and you don’t know where the repair shops are. Or worse, they can’t speak English. You won’t have your friends or family around. Every place you go you’ll have to make a serious effort to meet people.

Things will go wrong. You will feel lonely, get food poisoning, or get sick in a foreign country. You may have to navigate their healthcare system with no support. You’ll see your peers on Facebook buying homes and starting families, while you are no where close to that. You might never make as much money as you would have if you stayed home and climbed the corporate ladder. Working alone will get boring. There will be no one to rely on but yourself.

The Reality

This is the reality of the digital nomad life and I honestly can’t see it being right for most people. But, if you are really passionate about travel, and can accept that the above situations will happen, this is the best lifestyle there is. I can’t imagine my life if I didn’t just do the unthinkable and quit my job in Japan and go for the unknown. It’s been over 2 years, and the first time I see the sunset in a new destination, I still get goosebumps and a wave of gratitude for this life.

If you want this lifestyle, and can accept the negative aspects and the reality of what it takes to get it, then I’d say go for it. I did it, and I know you can too!

I hope this guide will help you figure out how to make an income online and travel. The scariest part is just doing it, trust me. If you want it enough, work for it and it will happen.

Did I miss anything? If you have more questions, let me know in the comments!

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