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I kinda understand the freedom of not belonging anywhere but.. it's also quite scary for me.
Then, I wouldn't last a month like that lol.
Post edited May 05, 2016 by phaolo
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phaolo: I kinda understand the freedom of not belonging anywhere but.. it's also quite scary for me.
Then, I wouldn't last a month like that lol.
well I don't think anyone is saying everybody should do it :)
Some people have a chance at some point in their life and they may or may not take it :)

And like P1na said, there are some people who might be taking it a bit too far :)
I personally don't see much point in traveling without any money.
I've met some dudes who contracted dengue in jungles and told me it was a horrible experience...
But I'm sure it's perfectly safe to do things I've done, like riding on the roof of a bus driving at the side of a mountain in Himalayas :D
Post edited May 05, 2016 by superstande
I'm not a digital nomad, but I do move quite often (whenever my actual place of residence gets "old"). During the last 15 years I lived in three different cities in Germany (Munich, Hanover, Dortmund), spent three years in some small village in the Alps in Austria, lived on two of the Canary Islands (Gran Canaria y Tenerife) and live in Mallorca right now. I'm running some websites for a living and can work wherever I have internet access.

I love to have this freedom, but I couldn't imagine to become a full-blown nomad without an own flat. I love my books (you know, the ones made of paper instead of E Ink), movies, desktop PC, cats and stuff ;)
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real.geizterfahr: I'm not a digital nomad, but I do move quite often (whenever my actual place of residence gets "old"). During the last 15 years I lived in three different cities in Germany (Munich, Hanover, Dortmund), spent three years in some small village in the Alps in Austria, lived on two of the Canary Islands (Gran Canaria y Tenerife) and live in Mallorca right now. I'm running some websites for a living and can work wherever I have internet access.

I love to have this freedom, but I couldn't imagine to become a full-blown nomad without an own flat. I love my books (you know, the ones made of paper instead of E Ink), movies, desktop PC, cats and stuff ;)
I sure do miss my books! Paper is really heavy and can't carry much with me.
I guess I am alone here, after all. Sniff, sniff.
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a4plz: This is a lifestyle I'd like to pursue sometime soon, because I've gotten tired of physical materialism, and the idea of settling down in one city for my entire life feels stagnant to me. Apartments are such a fun way to live.
Me too. It's a pity the only real problem is usually money (assuming one actually wants to live like that and that motivation or fear isn't an issue).

Regarding your food situation. Can't you do simple things where you buy organic fruits, vegetables and whatever protein stuff is to your liking and have them pre-cooked in bags to take with you? That way it you stop you from eating crap like frozen pizzas och whatnots while still being affordable (as opposed to eating out all the time). I've been thinking if I pursue this life style I'll make sure to not skimp on food as it's apparently very easy to make easy faults when you travel on a regular basis, not having regular access to either a kitchen or decent restaurants.

What type of transportation do you choose the most? Can't say I would look forward to having a constant jet leg after flying every other week or month not to mention the uncomfortable chairs that cheaper tickets offer. I greatly enjoy trains (especially the slower ones, no X-2000 or whatever they are called) but generally it seems they are more expensive.
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P1na: I sure do miss my books! Paper is really heavy and can't carry much with me.
Learn to enjoy an ereader, it will be your savior!
Post edited May 06, 2016 by Nirth
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P1na: I guess I am alone here, after all. Sniff, sniff.
Yes, you're all by yourself
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Nirth: Regarding your food situation. Can't you do simple things where you buy organic fruits, vegetables and whatever protein stuff is to your liking and have them pre-cooked in bags to take with you? That way it you stop you from eating crap like frozen pizzas och whatnots while still being affordable (as opposed to eating out all the time). I've been thinking if I pursue this life style I'll make sure to not skimp on food as it's apparently very easy to make easy faults when you travel on a regular basis, not having regular access to either a kitchen or decent restaurants.
I don't see that being an option without something on the lines of droping by a kitchen every week or so and dedicating the day to cooking. I'm sure I can come up with tons of excuses and you could probably give suggestions to work around them, but the crux of the matter is that I'm not willing to bother on it myself. I'm not one to spend time or effort on food, and hostels with free breakfast take care of half the problem.
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Nirth: What type of transportation do you choose the most? Can't say I would look forward to having a constant jet leg after flying every other week or month not to mention the uncomfortable chairs that cheaper tickets offer. I greatly enjoy trains (especially the slower ones, no X-2000 or whatever they are called) but generally it seems they are more expensive.
Learn to enjoy an ereader, it will be your savior!
I tend to use a lot of buses. Jet lag is hardly an issue as I don't get outside Europe very often, and when I do is for a long period. Trains are certainly the best, but they are also typically way more expensive than anything else around.
Post edited May 06, 2016 by P1na
I remember reading an article on the Unity 3d blog about somebody similar. They were an asset creator, so they just traveled around the world, working on their laptop.
I don't think I could do it. I like to have a bit of certainty and familiarity.
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P1na: I'm not one to spend time or effort on food, and hostels with free breakfast take care of half the problem.
But are they really that lacking nutritents or filled with stuff we don't need or is that you go straight for the bacon or sweets? :p

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P1na: I tend to use a lot of buses. Jet lag is hardly an issue as I don't get outside Europe very often, and when I do is for a long period. Trains are certainly the best, but they are also typically way more expensive than anything else around.
Ah, well I suppose if one can plan one can stay for a month or two at every new place, letting the body readjust. I'm not sure if I would mind buses abroad but buses in Sweden are awfully depressing way to travel to work or school on daily basis. Something about a feeling like you are on a boring routine that makes me want to take a bike even if it's during winter.

Regarding the prices to travel by trains, how bad is it?
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Leonard03: I remember reading an article on the Unity 3d blog about somebody similar. They were an asset creator, so they just traveled around the world, working on their laptop.
Maybe it is him. :-)

Hey, P1na, what sort of work do you do? Is it computer-related or is the computer just a tool for you?

Do you work as part of a team? Does your boss not care that you do this, encourages or merely tolerates it?

Do you work from the hotel room or work outside when the weather is nice?

Have you ever left something behind? Anything important? What about finding something broke during transport?

How big and heavy is your backpack?

What are your top tips that you think are important for travelling?
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P1na: I guess I am alone here, after all. Sniff, sniff.
Well. you gotta admit: it's not like people like you can arrange a meeting somewhere, if you are all constantly moving about :P
I think gog forum people are a very varied lot, but lots of them are - I guess - in their 30's or even older, and many of them have settled down... maybe you'd find more luck checking out some other forums. Maybe on some travellers' forums there might be a topic like this...
Post edited May 07, 2016 by superstande
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P1na: It's simple. I work over the internet, talk to my colleagues via Skype and email, and use other online tools and cloud services to get work done.
Sorry if this was already answered, but is this because you choose to do so, or because your work requires you to change location constantly? You'd have an option for an office space in some company with your colleagues, but you've chosen to travel abroad instead?

If it is because your work requires it, then I'd rather not have that as I've pretty much settled down. If however it means I can choose to either go to the office, or work from home or even abroad... yeah that sounds great.

I'm not that far from that anyway, as my boss lives abroad etc. I am supposed to go to my workplace (in the office) every day, but in the end it doesn't really matter as long as I do my job, no one misses me if I don't show up (I don't even recognize most of the people sitting near to me, they are from some other department etc.), I attend all meetings with netmeetings etc. Hence, I actually work from home every now and then. I still like to go to office too because there I can at least get a good lunch, and sometimes it is a better environment for actually getting things done. Oh and I prefer the big monitor I have there, at home I have to work through the tiny laptop screen. But as it happens, Fridays I usually work from home...

I've actually worked also from Thailand, but that was during my vacations (when I was alerted to do something that my deputy couldn't do for some reason). I had to seek an internet cafe and spend a whole day there, sometimes the internet line would be very slow and flaky there etc... It was quite stressful actually, and of course I was miffed for losing precious vacation days for doing work.

I guess if I had my own reliable internet line in Thailand, yeah I could see myself working from there, at least from time to time.

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superstande: Well. you gotta admit: it's not like people like you can arrange a meeting somewhere, if you are all constantly moving about :P
I think the last meeting where I actually went to sit down to some conference room with other people was like two years ago or so. Nowadays most colleagues are from India and other locations so I have to use netmeeting anyway. Even if I am at the office, I still attend (and arrange) meetings through netmeeting applications that we use in the company.

All I need is my laptop, my headphones and a fairly speedy and secure internet connection, and I am all set.
Post edited May 07, 2016 by timppu
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timppu: I think the last meeting where I actually went to sit down to some conference room with other people was like two years ago or so. Nowadays most colleagues are from India and other locations so I have to use netmeeting anyway. Even if I am at the office, I still attend (and arrange) meetings through netmeeting applications that we use in the company.

All I need is my laptop, my headphones and a fairly speedy and secure internet connection, and I am all set.
Ah, hadn't thought of that :)
though I sorta meant like non-business meetings, but that method would work too :)

edit: And yes, you could get a month's subscription to a (mobile) internet, I'm sure, in Thailand, or elsewhere far away.
Though some places it might be more difficult than others. Or find a friendly hotel/guesthouse/cafe host to do it for you and pay some extra - or no extra, depends on the people and how well you know them ;)
I used to get this nice wi-fi in Laos - the place was the swimming pool area of a small but nice hotel. All I needed to do was pay for the ticket for the area and I could stay all day. The price was like a few euros :) And you could sit in a relatively quiet area by the pool and order cheap beer :P
Post edited May 07, 2016 by superstande
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superstande: edit: And yes, you could get a month's subscription to a (mobile) internet, I'm sure, in Thailand, or elsewhere far away.
Yeah that was years ago when even 3G wasn't yet widespread (at least in Thailand). "Mobile internet" meant mostly slow 2G speeds, or worse.

Nowadays it is better, but all prepaid data SIMs seemed to have monthly data cap, even the most expensive one had 9GB/month if I recall correctly. That may or may not be enough.

Of course if you live there semi-permanently, then you have better options for monthly paid fixed 10Mbps line etc... Then again, speedy internet on internet cafes is really cheap, but then you have to spend your days in one, take your laptop with you if you go to eat etc. EDIT: Oh yes may hotels/motels offer wifi too, sometimes they are slow and flaky though in my experience.
Post edited May 07, 2016 by timppu