1. Digital nomads work on the beach or by the pool (all the time). It’s notoriously difficult to find amazing Wi-Fi on the beach, and unless you are under a palapa or an umbrella, it’s hard to see the screen with direct sun. While it’s possible to work poolside with a DJ blasting music, keep this for days when you don’t need Wi-Fi since it’s hard to find an outlet at the pool. Either way, water, sad, and your computer don't mix well.

2. Digital nomads in the United States live in RVs. During the pandemic, #vanlife was trending, and I was obsessed with watching walk-throughs of these tiny houses on wheels. In reality, many digital nomads stay in hotels or bed and breakfasts or find short-term furnished rentals like Airbnb or VRBO. Some even find housesitting or pet-sitting gigs.

3. You don’t need to be a full-time digital nomad. I am a part-time digital nomad, meaning we travel for a couple of months and then return to our home in New York. You don’t need to sell your house and your things to test this lifestyle. Even if you decide to travel full-time, you can be creative about how to cover your expenses. Read more about how it took 5 years to become a digital nomad.

5. Traveling for months with a carry-on and a backpack is impossible. When you work remotely and live in leggings, you only need to pack interesting tops to look polished in virtual meetings. You can pack your mobile office, including a selfie light for Zoom calls, a portable monitor, a laptop riser, a portable keyboard, a mouse/trackpad, and an optional tripod. Pro Tip: Use compression packing cubes to s. Stay tuned for carry-on packing hacks for Europe.

6. I won't have the comforts of home. Once you reach a certain age, there are things you need to feel at home, like your favorite pillows, fitness equipment, and kitchen gadgets, that can be overlooked but make a huge difference to your comfort or efficiency. Make sure you add them to your packing list. What are those items for you?

We packed our favorite things in the car on our year-long road trip. We brought our memory foam pillows, black-out eye masks, TRX, resistance bands, santoku knife, bottle brush, micro plane, electric whisk (to make lattes), and German can opener. We added a 4-foot folding table in Palm Coast, Florida, to enjoy ocean views while working from the master bedroom, and it has been part of our road trip gear since. Because some of these are bulky, we only bring them on road trips, while the eye mask, bottle brush, and resistance bands are included in our air travel packing list.

7. Finding where to stay for a month or more is hard if I’ve never been there. Once you start researching, pin attractions, hotels, rental homes, and restaurants to a saved Google Map to find your activity clusters. You can turn each category layer on/off, decluttering your map. Google Maps makes it easy to figure out where to stay based on the activities and attractions you want to do. This step removes planning overwhelm because you can “see” everything on the map. It will make it easier to plan your days. Bonus tip: color code each category and customize icons for restaurants, attractions, and things to do.

8. Traveling full-time is expensive. Depending on where you go, your accommodations, meals, and transportation can be less than your expenses at home. Using hotel, car, and airline rewards can further reduce your costs. Let us know if you want a spreadsheet to compare your current cost of living with traveling full-time.

9. Digital nomads are YouTubers or Influencers. Digital nomads can be remote or hybrid employees, entrepreneurs, or teachers. If the way you make a living requires the internet and you aren’t tied to an office, YOU can try out this lifestyle. If you’re a teacher, book a month or two in a location you’ve always wanted to explore during summer break.

10. It can be lonely. I travel with my significant other and have a built-in best friend and date for life. While being in each other’s space can be challenging, we find ways to explore our hobbies or have alone time to create a healthy balance. Jack and I join business groups in destinations where we stay for a month or more to network and learn about the local culture.

11. It’s a non-stop vacation. The handful of digital nomads I am friends with are WORKAHOLICS, all caps, full-stop. Traveling full-time or part-time almost forces you to disconnect because you want to explore the areas, experience the culture, and eat all the food!

While it's tempting to treat the new location as a vacation, and it requires discipline and excellent time-blocking skills, I can't imagine life any other way.