Location Independent Living as a Digital Nomad

Being location independent really just means you are a wandering vagabond, someone who doesn't have any singular place to call home. You are a nomad, and since you are someone who either works online for a living or at least receives your pension or salary in some digital form, you therefore qualify as a digital nomad. The short answer is that a location independent digital nomad is someone who lives and works around the world without having an actual base of operations. They are wanderers, completely free to go where they want, when they want and experience the world as they see fit.

For starters, exploring the world as a location independent digital nomad gives you a chance to see and experience things that most people only ever read about in National Geographic or see on the Discovery Channel. As an international traveler who works online and travels the planet, you have the opportunity to put yourself at the heart of whatever it is that you want to experience. Maybe that's spending six months in the Tuscan countryside, indulging in fine wines and Italian cuisine. Maybe that's spending four months on the beach in Cancun. Maybe it's spending two years in a hidden province of China, learning Mandarin and honing your meditation skills. Plus, you can live life on your own terms, living in countries where the cost of living is three to four times cheaper than your home country, allowing you to effectively retire in half the time. The sky is the limit when the whole world is your oyster.

While most people assume that they need thousands to live abroad, this couldn't be further from the truth. While it's true that living like a tourist in vacation destinations can cost you as much or more than what you pay to live at home, the reality is that once you establish yourself as a digital nomad and learn the ropes you begin to explore the location independent lifestyle from the perspective of local residents. Living like a local means enjoying local prices on things that cost you three to four times more back home. For example, a kilo (two pounds) of tomatoes in Cancun, Mexico only costs 4 pesos on market day (25 cents USD), which is compared to the $6 you will pay in most supermarkets like Safeway or Whole Foods. Meanwhile, you can rent a fully furnished house with 24/7 security and maid service included, along with all utilities, in places like Bogota, Colombia or Sofia, Bulgaria for a mere $400 to $500 per month. And when you start shopping for real estate you can find 4 bedroom houses in places like Cancun, Mexico for a mere $35,000 to $50,000...right on the beach! Your money goes further and the cost of living is so cheap you can live like a king on $800 to $1,000 per month, rather than the average cost of living in the United States, which is $2,500 to $3,000 per individual as of 2011.

That's the beauty of living in the 21st century. The Internet has changed the way the world works, and there are literally dozens of ways you can transition out of a brick-and-mortar job into the digital workplace, assuming you haven't already. You can be a writer, a graphic designer, a social media manager, a public relations guru, an analysist...it doesn't matter. Any job that can be done online, with the Internet, allows you to pursue the location independent lifestyle as a digital nomad. But it's not just professionals who can enjoy this lifestyle. Pensioners and those with an established monthly income can also make the plunge. Most countries around the world will give you a visa so long as you can prove around $1,000 USD per month of income, so as long as you can generate at least that much you can start exploring the world now on your own terms.