I always knew I wanted to live abroad. Ever since I was a child — but before “Digital Nomad” became a popular term or even existed— I knew I wanted to be lounging on a yacht, champagne in hand, sunglasses on, basking in sunlight; and for the work I do to afford me such a lifestyle, to be nothing more than sending through an email every so often.
Lo and behold, 4 years after graduating high school, here I am in the Caribbean, sending through emails and posting videos for a living (though I haven’t quite gotten to the champagne-in-hand-on-a-yacht bit yet!).
Though not spending my afternoons on a yacht (yet!), I do get to go to the beach whenever I please, make my own hours, and get to work from home. If this sounds like a lifestyle you want for yourself, you’ve come to the right place.
Here is my non-conclusive list of essentials, which includes physical, logistical and even mental necessities— to make the move abroad and become a digital nomad:
Choose Your Income/How You're Going to Sustain Yourself
Figuring out how you’re going to make your money/sustain yourself is the #1 thing you need to become a digital nomad — and there are so many ways to make income to sustain you abroad!
You can:
teach English in your country of choice.
Save your money up in your home country then use that to live.
create an online business that operates fully digitally.
secure a remote job.
become a content creator.
Do an exchange program (if you’re in college/university)
Volunteer in exchange for food/housing.
House-sit/pet-sit
Sierra and I chose a mix between being content creators and online business owners. We run our own consulting agency, sell digital products and make content, all of which allows us to live abroad full-time! We sell our blueprint to building your online platforms and businesses here.
Here are a few websites that can help you explore other options of sustaining yourself abroad. But remember, always, ALWAYS remember to do your own research! Go to YouTube, read articles, search TikTok, find your community of nomads that align with your interests, circumstances and needs and figure out how they navigate abroad as a guideline for how you can navigate as well.
I’m going to expound on this more later in the article but for now, here are a few resources:
Teach English Abroad and/or join an exchange program:
Get your finances in order to save, retire early and live abroad:
House-sitting and a resource to help you secure more bookings:
Volunteer in exchange for housing and (sometimes) free meals:
Think About the Lifestyle You Want BEFORE Going
I see so many stories of people moving abroad and having a really, really hard time and I don’t want that for you.
Moving abroad, no matter where you go, will undoubtedly have its difficulties, but I think the gravity and severity of the difficulties you encounter can be significantly decreased if you think about the kind of way you want to live and your life goals.
These will dictate which country you go to and help you have a much smoother transition.
When traveling once, we happened to meet a couple who were digital nomads and lived full-time in Costa Rica. Excitedly, we asked them about it, and were shocked to hear how they have to quickly make arrangements to leave because they were not in alignment with the lifestyle living in Costa Rica requires.
They told us they were extremely excited about moving to Costa Rica because it was a beautiful country with wonderful beaches, but once they began living there, they quickly realized that between the torrential hurricanes that stifles, well, everything; the foot-long biting centipedes; the freezer full of snake anti-venom in the case of a venomous snake attack; and their diet consisting mostly of rice and beans because those are the main foods eaten in Costa Rica, they had to leave.
On the other hand, I know people who move to Costa Rica and simply adapt to these conditions in search of achieving greater goals, like adopting children.
Countries you may want to visit on vacation do not always equal the country you want to live in full-time. Living somewhere and vacationing somewhere are not the same things.
The fact is, there are countries that are easier to live in than others, but those countries may not be on your radar.
For example, I never thought I’d live in Mexico. Ever.
But once I began researching countries that were easier to adapt to, but were also more affordable to live in, it quickly rose to the top of my list of countries I was considering, and it eventually became my new home!
I also knew I wanted affordable healthcare, easy legal requirements to stay in the country, (like no financial requirements), great weather and modern living.
I was extremely surprised to find that Mexico hit all of these for me, but I wouldn’t have learned this if I didn’t research, keep my mind open and figured out what I wanted prior to leaving.
If you have children; if you want to adopt children; if you have medical needs; issues with learning new languages; financial restrictions or more financial room; if you have disabilities or even if you identify as queer or are queer-presenting — all of these are things you must consider as you embark on your digital nomad journey.
Each country is different and has different requirements and views on each and every one of the items I listed, so for your safety, ease of transition and living, make a list of your must-haves, needs and requirements and use that as your guiding light when picking your country or countries you want to live in.
Remember Your Why
If you’re like me, you’re leaving your home country because you want a better quality of life. You want to take better care of yourself and your loved ones to live, be happy, healthy, and explore the beautiful earth God made and all the different people and cultures in it.
You have to constantly remind yourself of this. Why? Because going after your dream life and becoming a digital nomad does not mean living in a different country doesn’t come with its inconveniences.
You have to have resilience, be adaptable, and persevere through the challenges you will be presented with because your why is stronger than the challenges. Your why is valuable and worth fighting for.
Additionally, if you’re a private girl like me (Azé!), I was apprehensive about moving somewhere that already had a lot of expats (I like to find hidden gems, ok?!). But, had we not moved somewhere with a large expat community, I don’t know who we would have leaned on when we experienced our issues (which have mainly been maintenance, thank God!)
I’m mentioning this here because community helps you remember you’re not alone.
And this is the point where I circle back to doing your research that I mentioned earlier: Facebook groups, YouTube communities, WhatsApp chats and creators that post about their experiences are various forms of communities you should definitely join if you want insider knowledge about navigating life abroad.
Additionally, these communities will have information and insights about legal processes, education and medical systems, loopholes and easier (and cheaper!) ways to get things done that quick search tools like Google or TikTok may not have.
Sierra and I document our journey on our YouTube channel in weekly vlogs so you can get our up-to-date weekly insights on navigating life in Mexico here.
Here is a list of a few more creators that not only document their journeys but have built communities of nomads that can help you along your journey, especially if you are a black woman:
Stephanie Perry: https://youtube.com/@stephanieperry?si=TqIjuv1jGShcdkHB
Adalia Aborisade: https://youtube.com/@adaliaaborisade?si=0eCwbjktXN0BuQiJ
Roshida Dowe: https://youtube.com/@roshida?si=0GeQZATQ41k1UHVP
I hope you enjoyed this article! If you have any questions please follow up with me on TikTok or Instagram where Sierra and I see your questions and comments about expat-ing/ becoming a digital nomad more often!
Best,
Azé
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