Being able to travel while making money sounds like the quintessential, 21st-century dream job.
Living life on your own terms; one day you’re sitting under a canopy at a beach, writing a paid article as surfers ride waves in the distance, the next you’re sipping wine at an uptown bar while setting up Facebook ad campaigns for a client from the other side of the world.
Enter the world of a digital nomad, as they are called. In a nutshell, digital nomads are people committing to full-time remote work. It’s a lifestyle that offers flexibility because they can take their work with them anywhere they go – as long as they can submit work from any corner of the globe and dial into meetings.
Some view it as a tempting proposition because it challenges the very concept of "work". The fact that you don’t have to be present at a workplace to do work is a shocking concept, especially for Southeast Asian cultures. But that’s not stopping millennials from pursuing this.
In fact, recent years have seen an increase in digital nomadism from this part of the world.
A recent study revealed that 7 in 10 Singaporeans wanted to work remotely to travel the world. Apparently, the trend began as early as 2013 when global workplace provider Regus found that at least 53% of Malaysians enjoyed working away from the office.
The appeal is a seductive one, serving as an idealized lifestyle fantasy for the common 9-5 white-collars. But is everyone cut out for this lifestyle? We talked with two Southeast Asian digital nomads to know more.
Jack Ng, a Malaysian currently traveling around Europe while working as a freelance digital marketer, admitted that while he appreciates the carefree way of living, being a digital nomad requires self-discipline and following a tight schedule.
"It’s thrilling, no doubt. Traveling is always fun. But you can’t get overly excited, you have to always remember there’s work to be done, e-mails to reply, and a client to please. It’s challenging, but you’ll definitely get better at time management and self-control.
"I admit there were times when I missed out on one or two deadlines because I was too busy being a tourist."
Nevertheless, Jack said the journey has been really fulfilling thus far, attributing to the flexible office space and working hours; which was something Michelle Ding - the other digital nomad we spoke with - would wholeheartedly agree to.
Michelle, who used to moonlight as an online marketing specialist and backpacked around countries like France and New Zealand, loves the freedom it offers. However, just like Jack, Michelle asserted that there’s a difference between a holiday and a working holiday.
"In work holidays, you still have to think about the work and deadlines – so it is necessary to have a schedule and commitment to set aside time to do stuff," she told us.
Now, if there’s one thing all digital nomads can relate to is the struggle to stay online. Because having a stable Internet connection is crucial and without it, you’re pretty much helpless.
"Good internet connection is precious," Jack quipped. "Without it, you’re cut off from the world and your work." As such, he often has to stay where the strongest internet connection is at.
For Michelle, she relied heavily on scheduling tools, especially at places where internet connectivity is scarce.
"This (staying online) is still challenging, on multi-day hikes in the depths of Tasmania for example. Not all places are connected. This is when you discover and make use of scheduling tools available online – they are really helpful!"
There’s without a doubt gaining internet access abroad is painstakingly difficult. You’re always at the mercy of unstable Wifi spots. It’s also a known fact that hackers can gain access to your devices through unsecured lines – you definitely wouldn’t want that to happen.
Let’s not forget about the hassle and difficulty of sourcing out a SIM card on foreign soil. Due to the language barrier and unfamiliarity with local postpaid plans, you could end up spending way more than you should on a package that doesn’t cater to your needs. Moreover, calling home with local SIMs often comes with a hefty price tag.
Thankfully, internet service providers like Malaysian telco Digi, designed their postpaid plans to fit the nomad of today. Calling a plan "borderless" is quite a claim and they have done so by offering customers up to 5GB of Roaming Internet and 60 minutes worth of calls to 10 countries at no extra cost, including holiday favourites like Hong Kong and Australia.
