Tips & Tricks: Digital Nomad Questions

We love to hear from all of you any questions you have about becoming a digital nomad. Lately, we’ve even found a few friends interested in trying the lifestyle out for themselves. Today’s blog post is a bit different – we did a roundup of the top seven questions we get from all of you about what it’s like to live as a digital nomad. We hope you can find a few nuggets of information or even inspiration to try the lifestyle out yourself!

Q: What do you use to find accommodations as a digital nomad?

A: We usually will start our search on Airbnb. We will typically filter by private home, 1-bedroom units with wifi to start. From there, we typically will chose based on a combination of price and location. Recently, while in Austin, TX we decided to use an The Landing (use my referral link for $250 off your first Landing booking) which is more accustomed to long term stays. You will find these rates tend to be slightly lower since you are booking for 30+ days at a time.

Another tip is to find a hotel chain you like and stick with it! We are big miles and points people and by staying with one hotel chain, you can rack up points and in return more benefits like free award nights. While it may be tempting to stay at boutique hotels while you travel, we actually prefer the reliability of a chain hotel.

Q: Is there specific criteria you use to search for spots in accommodations?

A: We will typically contact the host ahead of time and ask about internet speeds so we know what we are walking into. We used to look specifically for accommodations with in-unit laundry but found as long as we were staying at a place with laundry every two weeks that worked plenty fine. Additionally, laundromats are everywhere and many have drop-off services which we’ve done a few times for convenience!

Q: What considerations do you think about when booking a home for a month?

A: If we know we will be at a place for a long term, one of the key pieces we look at is the bathroom! We’ve stayed at many Airbnb’s where the bathrooms were uncomfortably small and long term, its doable but not the most comfortable. Additionally, when we book through The Landing you can find apartment accommodations that have gym access which is a major bonus!

Q: How many bags do you pack?

A: We each carry a carry-on suitcase and duffel bag for clothes, shoes and toiletries. We also each carry a 30-40L backpack for all of our electronics. We have additional items we travel with (i.e. cookware, exercise equipment, extra supplies) which we use when our accommodations do have have those items.

Q: How far in advance do you plan as a digital nomad?

A: We aim to have our “home” all planned out at least 2 weeks in advance. We’ve found sometimes planning too far in advance takes the fun out of the adventure and spontaneity!

Q: How did you get rid or pair down your belongings before starting your nomad journey?

A: This could be a whole blog post in itself! If you need inspiration… start with reading 1) The life-changing magic of tidying up and 2) watch The Minimalist.

Q: How do you budget while on the road?

A: We both use Personal Capital (use my referral code to get started!) to keep track of our credit cards and finances in general. We also set a budget for each month and general spend limits on categories to give ourselves guardrails. We will also write another blog post on this.

Let us know in the comments any other questions you want us to help answer! As always thanks for reading.

Want to continue learning about the process of becoming a digital nomad? Check out our blog post about books to read to inspire your own digital nomad journey.

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