In 2014, Mayur Sontakke secured a job as a financial analyst, working remotely. Although he could, he did not travel around a lot initially. A year later, he visited Trichy in Tamil Nadu and from there went to Varkala, on the southern Kerala coast. That trip was a revelation for Mayur as he came to fully appreciate the perks of a remote job. He stayed on in Varkala and he calls it the turning point in his career as a remote employee. After Varkala, Mayur travelled to a village in Himachal Pradesh. At the end of 2015, he came across the term ‘digital nomadism’. In June 2016, he moved to Thailand where he spent eight months travelling and working in his remote role with a startup based in the United States.
While the routine-loving world is talking about returning to office, an ingenious segment is breaking away.
These are people who use technology to work remotely and travel the world. They are entrepreneurs, freelancers, remote workers and digital professionals who have chosen to live a life of freedom and flexibility. They are aptly called, ‘digital nomads’.
The growing digital forage
During his many travels, Mayur met people who were curious about India and that is what led him to start Nomadgao, a co-living and coworking space for digital nomads in Goa, in 2019. It is home to many people (both from India and overseas, who are working remotely). Since then, Mayur has been on a dual quest to make India popular among digital nomads across the world and remote work popular in India.
“Digital nomadism has definitely evolved since I started out and multiple factors have contributed to that—demographics (the growing number of younger people globally, many choosing to stay single/marry late), the rise of the gig economy, growing entrepreneurship and the pandemic as well. However, this will take time to take shape in India,” says the Nomadgao founder.
As per an MBO Partners report, the number of digital nomads in the US stands at 16.9 million, which is a 9 percent increase over 2021 and 131 percent over 2019. Three out of four of these nomads are more likely to be independent workers or those who have started their own business rather than people working full-time remotely. However, from 2022, a new trend is visible: many of these digital nomads are traditional job holders as companies are making it easier for employees to work from anywhere in the world.
“It's not so much that companies are hiring more digital nomads, it's that more and more companies are making roles remote or going fully remote and getting rid of their headquarters entirely. Policies are becoming flexible so that employees can work remotely from anywhere. But there are major issues related to visas and tax,” says Lily Bruns, a startup consultant and community builder who has been working remotely since 2013.
Is digital nomadism a mindset?
Sanne Breimer, a journalism trainer and media consultant, quit her job in The Netherlands in December 2018 and travelled to Southeast Asia in January 2019. Initially, to take a sabbatical and learn from what is happening in journalism in Asia. She quickly started working part-time in a startup as head of media. As the pandemic hit, she extended her stay in Southeast Asia and now divides her time between living and working remotely in Europe and Southeast Asia.
Says Sanne, “There are a lot of different types of digital nomads working only a couple of hours a day to fund their travels; people setting up their own online businesses, startup founders, people working remotely as freelancers for several clients, etc…” What binds them, according to her, is their preference for low-cost living and staying close to nature, not wanting to be part of the rat race (a lot of digital nomads she has met have had burnout), focusing on work-life balance, and learning from other cultures.
Digital nomadism, however, also comes with its own set of challenges. Says Sanne, “A lot of people underestimate the mental wellbeing challenges. Digital nomadism means spending a lot of time by yourself. You need to be comfortable with yourself and with being alone. It also means dealing with people going in and out of your life, you easily make friends but they just as easily disappear/move on. And then there is the challenge of living in a different country with all its curiosities and not having your friends and family from home close by.”
Finally, is it easy to be on the move, continuously?
Sanne is not alone when she says “the visa situation in different countries is a challenge; it would be easier if countries have a very clear policy about this type of lifestyle”.
Adds Lily, “Most digital nomads aren't moving around constantly; it's more sustainable to ‘slow travel’ and spend several months at a time in a destination. Moving requires a lot of logistics and administration, which, in addition to not being fun, can get in the way of productivity. It's common for folks to stay as long as possible in one place and max out their tourist visa options and then move on to the next destination.’
John Lee, cofounder and CEO of Work from Anywhere, helps solve tax complexities in a work-from-anywhere world. Asked about the best digital nomad destinations, he says, “The choice can be complex, as tax computations are nuanced. Tax laws can be national, (the same for the entire country), for example, Ireland; some can be state-wise, like the US.”
Further, there is a big difference between being a digital nomad or taking up remote work, he says. Digital nomads move from country to country every few months whereas remote workers typically have a base in one country (but like to travel from that base anywhere from a week to a few months). So, is John a proponent of digital nomadism? “Some countries attract talent through zero percent tax, and that is an area to watch out for. Tax nuances aside, digital nomadism is definitely growing and could be here to stay,” he says.
Despite the growth of remote work (globally), digital nomadism will take a while to go mainstream (at least, in India). Here are some reasons why:
· Hiring full-timers or remote workers is easier: Companies still prefer hiring full timers. Companies don’t hire digital nomads, as tax liabilities are immensely complex. It is much easier to hire digital nomads who are consultants from platforms like Fiverr, but not as full-time employees.
· Company culture not acclimatised to managing digital nomads: There is a divergence between what employees want and what employers want. Employees know they can acclimatise to this lifestyle, but managers are not trained to manage remote teams. Managing a remote team requires empathy, being non-transactional and being authentic. Many have realised this, but there is still a long way to go.
· Travelling solo and for long periods is a challenge (physically and mentally). It is a major cultural shift and so is getting visas, especially on an Indian passport.
It may not be mainstream (yet), but digital nomadism is about a culture, an evolved mindset and meeting likeminded people. Once a person gets used to this lifestyle, there is no going back. Many digital nomads I spoke to said they have a love-hate relationship with their lifestyle. Yet, despite the odds, they would never trade it for anything else.
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