#58 How are digital nomads changing the world?

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Your faithful writer,
Dr. Daniel Smith

Last week, we published the first part of a two-part essay on digital nomads.

That newsletter focused on the history of digital nomadism, looking at the thinkers who predicted the rise of remote work — and the fascinating life of Steven K. Roberts, the world’s first digital nomad.

Today’s newsletter examines the more recent rise of digital nomadism and some of the questions the trend raises about the nature of work, community, and place in the 21st century.

How are Digital Nomads Changing the World?

We all know that the COVID pandemic and the rise of remote work played a major role in the popularization of digital nomadism over the last few years.

In 2020, more than 10 million Americans described themselves as digital nomads — nearly 50% more than in 2019.

Some industries (like software development or freelance writing) have been remote-friendly for decades, so new digital nomads had a number of resources to draw upon as they began to chart out their digital nomad journey.

Professor Paul Green at the University of Melbourne explained the appeal of the digital nomad lifestyle:

Digital Nomad Visas

Digital nomadism is obviously changing the lifestyle of millions of people, but how is the world responding to this change?

One of the interesting trends of the last few years is the creation of ‘digital nomad’ visas.

The governments of countries like Portugal and Malta, which have attracted a significant number of digital nomads in recent years, have introduced these visas for two reasons:

• allowing people to move semi-permanently to their countries instead of hopping around on short-term tourist visas

• creating a framework for taxing digital nomads

Over forty countries around the world now offer digital nomad visas, and the trend is likely to continue as governments try to attract highly-paid nomads to their countries.

Digital Nomad Communities

One thing that digital nomads have had to deal with is the isolation that comes from working alone and in a foreign country.

As a result, a handful of companies have popped up offering living and co-working spaces for digital nomads in locations around the world.

Companies like Noma Collective offer housing, community, and organized activities to digital nomads in countries like Belize, Argentina, London, Spain, Kenya, Antigua, and more.

There are other online communities for digital nomads where people can share tips and discuss their experiences with the nomad lifestyle.

Pages like the R/DigitalNomad subreddit and Facebook Groups like Global Digital Nomad Network, which has over nearly 67,000 members, play a key role as online community hubs for would-be digital nomads who want to learn about the lifestyle and potentially connect with other nomads in the countries they want to explore.

The Backlash against Digital Nomads

As the digital nomad trend has grown in recent years, so too has the backlash against digital nomads.

Locals in cities like Lisbon, Barcelona, and Florence have pushed back against digital nomads, whose presence in a city can make life more expensive for the people who actually live there full-time.

Landlords in these cities are increasingly using their apartments for short-term rentals, leading to higher rents and fewer apartments for native people.

There are complex tradeoffs here, as the presence of digital nomads contributes to the economy of these cities while also driving up housing costs in city centers.

Some projects, like Nomadland in Europe, are trying to attract digital nomads to rural areas that are in need of young working people:

ART OF THE DAY

Thank you for reading. Please reply to this email if you have any thoughts or feedback.

Yours,
Dan