Is it *really* that important to create an online presence if you want to be a digital nomad, even if you're not promoting yourself? This post touches on this question!

Home base vs. Traveling Freely

So recently I posted on Instagram about choosing whether to travel long-term (or full-time), versus having a home base and doing shorter stints of traveling. I've done both, including moving to Italy to work + travel, or finding short-term travel jobs that work around my schedule at home.

I'm in a moment of transition so it feels like EVERYTHING is up in the air, and I've been asking for opinions on what other people prefer doing.

When I asked the people of IG what THEY prefer, one comment from Lisa stood out to me:

"Travel until you're ready to come home. Be home until you want to travel again!"

Who else loves that quote?!

One thing about it though, is that this quote kind of signifies the freedom to be able to up and leave whenever you want.

When you have a home base, you'll need to ensure you can travel around your schedule. This is TOTALLY doable if you get creative and come up with a strategic plan. This is also a great way to get your feet wet if you're new to traveling or working while you travel.

Now on the other hand, if you can earn an income without being tied to a home base, that opens up a little more freedom.

You can choose whether you want to stay at home until you'd like to travel again, or travel until you're ready to come home (as long as you can keep up with your work/income source, of course!).

Due to the nature of this type of lifestyle, a digital nomad approach (making money online) is typically the way most people do that.

It allows you the freedom and the choice to earn an income and travel when you want. [More on this to come in the following weeks.]

If you had the ability create your own schedule, do your work wherever you want, what would you do with your non-working hours?

Would that mean planning trips, traveling whenever, hanging out with family and friends at any hour of the day?

What would YOU rather do? Leave a comment with #1 or #2!

1) would prefer to travel around your current schedule/job

or

2) would prefer to work for yourself and travel whenever

and what your biggest drawback is for making it happen, if you're not currently there yet.

There are pros and cons to either option - there is no "right" answer. It really boils down to personal preference, so I'd enjoy hearing what YOUR preference is. :)

Do you really need an online presence to be a digital nomad so you can make money online and travel the world?

Exactly how important is an online presence if you want to be a digital nomad?

I've been creating a fun little video project from my time working and traveling throughout Europe this summer. I'm not a pro YouTuber or anything but if you've wondered what traveling while working can be like, check 'em out!

Also, remember all my travel expenses, hotels, food, etc. were covered in exchange for working. So all the places we went and things we did (besides the Slovakia day trip) were covered by the company I was working for.

If you're interested in working abroad for someone else, this might be able to give you a little insight on what it's like!

Check out the first vlog here (day 5 at the winery is my favorite, though!) >>>>

Another one of my recent Instagram posts was about the importance of documenting your travels.

Now, I'm not saying you need to forego being "in the moment" every second, double fisting your camera and phone, trying to Snapchat and take a video at the same time!

The truth is, memories fade.

Eventually you'll forget that time it was so hot in the Italian heat and your gelato was melting down your hand, or that thing your friend said that made you laugh hysterically, or your favorite song playing out by the lake that just felt like summer and happiness.

When you see a photo or video, an old ticket stub, or read a note you jotted down on your phone, it jogs your memory and takes you back to that one time where you can reflect on how crazy/awesome/boring/exciting/whatever that day was when you were traveling.

That's why I was happy I took so much damn video when I was in Europe, haha!

I wasn't sure if I'd create something out of it, but I've been able to start making an entire video series.

Even if I didn't end up doing something with it, simply going through and watching the videos brought back many memories to reflect on - moments I had already forgotten about!

Some ways to document your travels:

Photos
Videos
Saving your Snapchat or Instagram stories
Journaling
Quick notes in your phone's Notes app (I jot down highlights every few days)

Now, here's where documenting REALLY comes into play...your online presence.

If you want to eventually start or turn an already existing blog, YouTube channel, Instagram page, etc. into a platform for monetization - ESPECIALLY in the hopes of having the freedom to travel and work for yourself - you absolutely NEED to be documenting.

If travel is what you want to document? Sure! But you can do this for other niches too: makeup/beauty. Cooking. Gardening. Construction. Painting. Life coaching. Biking. Whatever!

Document your experience and the process through photos or video. Write down a few notes you can pull from later.

The point is, the more content you have, the more you can utilize for creation!

Please don't put off starting this for "next month."

If you start now and your material isn't up to par with where you want it to be, then by "next month" you'll already have learned a lot, and have improved! (You don't have to actually share it right away, either!)