SO…LET’S TALK ABOUT THIS “MOVE” THING
Is it even the right word for what I did? “Move” …hmmm? Does a digital nomad “move” or just travel all the time?
On The Move
Digital Nomadism
So, how do you become a digital nomad?
Have a job you can do from anywhere.
Be willing, able, and capable of being anywhere in the world. A tad repetitive the way I said that, but it is surprising how tough this one can be for people.
Go! Do it!
These all seem straightforward, but they are a lot harder to achieve and commit to than most of us think. There is the financial implication, the fear, family, heck, even friends. It is definitely not for everyone, and in most cases, even those who would love this lifestyle just never manage to overcome the hurdles.
Our society isn't really set up for a nomadic lifestyle. Humans have, over the last millennia, built a more settled, dare I say, sedentary society.
The digital nomad philosophy revolves around decoupling work from a fixed location. The idea being that with a laptop and internet connection, you can earn a living from anywhere in the world. It's a rejection of the traditional "office-bound" life in favour of freedom, flexibility, and experience.
At its core, it draws from a few key values:
Freedom over stability. Rather than trading 40+ years for a pension and a house in the suburbs, nomads prioritize autonomy over their time, their environment, and how they structure their days.
Experiences over possessions. The lifestyle leans heavily on minimalism. Owning less means being able to move more. A rich life is measured in places visited and cultures absorbed, not square footage or consumer goods.
Work as a means, not an identity. The goal is usually to work enough, efficiently, and remotely, so that life can happen around it, rather than building a life around a career.
Intentional living. There's a strong thread of questioning default assumptions: Why do I have to live here? Why Monday–Friday, 9–5? Why this city? Nomadism is, in part, about consciously choosing your life rather than inheriting it by default.
It's also worth noting the tension baked into the philosophy; the freedom it promises requires real discipline, financial stability, and often a privileged passport or skill set. Many who are drawn to it are chasing something. Maybe adventure, reinvention, or escape as much as they are building something. At its best, it's a genuine reimagining of how work and life can fit together. At its most romanticized, it can be a lifestyle aesthetic in search of a deeper purpose.
So, given all that, am I really a digital nomad? Probably not. But also, kind of. I have three more static bases, and I can rotate somewhat freely between them. Each offering a very different corner of the world and allowing me to roam from there. I have a family, both my own smaller family and my wider family. They are extremely important to me and thus require me to be a little more sedentary than a digital nomad otherwise would be. But I am nearly one, lol. Or so I keep telling myself.
Rambling Man Realisation
What made me realize that I am a rambling man? Reading Sir Billy Connolly's book made me look back at my life and see the pattern that, in a distilled recollection, I was always more alive when on the road. Once I would come home, I would carry that energy with me, but it would quickly wane as the habitual humdrum routine of my regular life set in again. Not to sound melodramatic, I would enter a phase of depression. Not the type where regular shrink visits or medication were necessary, just that I would be unmotivated, lethargic…modern lingo might actually call it doom scrolling, albeit back then, when this was first happening, there was no such thing as TikTok, YouTube shorts, or even the word “reel".
One of my earliest star trails out in the Valley of Fire on one of my many trips to Las Vegas.
I have always felt fortunate that I enjoy traveling for work. It has allowed me to discover places that I might never have gone to otherwise. Take, for example, Las Vegas. I am not a gambler, and while I was living in New York, I had all the Broadway shows and plays I could ever watch. So, there was never a need or real interest for me to go to Las Vegas. Through work, I ended up going quite a few times. In itself, Las Vegas has no allure, even more so after so many visits. I would always be there for tradeshows, and while my colleagues would spend their evenings in the casinos, I would rent a car with one or two other colleagues and drive out of Vegas to the Valley of Fire, just north of Sin City.
There, we would spend a few hours with astrophotography. We were all avid photographers, and the chance to get out into nature under a clear sky with a bazillion stars overhead was a temptation we could not resist. Between the impressive landscape of the Valley of Fire and the immense sky overhead, we were in a photographer’s heaven. Over the years, we would explore different areas outside of Sin City. And then return to our hotels late, all giddy about what we had seen and the photos we hoped would turn out to produce some great works of art.
It is doing these kinds of things when traveling that would pump me full of energy. Provide me with stories and experiences to remember. And when I would go home, I would bring that energy and excitement with me.
Is my childhood linked?
Is one born this way? Is it a byproduct of how I was raised? Not sure. That kind of knowledge is above my pay grade. Personally, I suspect there is definitely an element of my childhood in there. By association, is there a possibility that one might have a genetic predisposition to nomadism? (Not sure that is a word, but the English language is quite lenient regarding linguistic innovation.) Who knows, again the answer to that question is outside of my knowledge bucket.
My childhood was full of traveling and moving. We are talking of the kind where you box up all your belongings, fill a container, ship them somewhere far away, and mutter to yourself, “Why the heck did I pack this?” while unboxing, and having everything turned on its head. I am referring to the first, let’s say, 18 years of my life, which involved moving countries 9 times and houses 15 times. If my recollection serves me right, all this required 7 schools, before I could even think of university.
I remember a time when I was 15. I was living in Switzerland, and my parents dropped the bombshell that we would be moving to London in the summer. Needless to say, and quite naturally, I was less than pleased about the prospect, to put it mildly. I had my friends in Switzerland. I had my romantic aspiration with a girl in my grade. I had this amazing room in the house my parents had just built, so large, with a loft in it for my bed. Basically, my life, as a 15-year-old can see it, was in Switzerland, I didn’t want to give that up. I didn’t want to move away and have to start all over again.
As the summer drew nearer, it suddenly became less certain that we would move. At that tender age, I didn’t understand all the machinations regarding why, not that I was given an explanation, probably. In hindsight, I learned that there was some uncertainty regarding my father’s work at that time and whether it still required a move to England. The funny part of the story, and the reason why I am sharing it with you, is that when I was told that we might no longer be moving to London, I was furious. “Why?!” By then, I had gotten used to the idea and was upset that we would not be moving.
Funny how we adapt so quickly, only to have issues reversing that adaptation. It stuck in my memory because I was surprised by my reaction. Even then, I was surprised by it. In the end, we did move to London, and I spent 2 great years there until it was time to move again.
I am sure that this early life must have left a desire and drive to continuously refresh everything. Once I finished my education, I didn’t stay put either. I still moved around, from country to country, city to city. Until I finally came to a standstill after moving to New York City. There I suddenly sat still for 20 years.
Trust me, not something I ever thought would happen.
Manhattan, the Big Apple, is stunning at night.
Then, 10 years ago, my work life changed in a way that allowed me to be way more flexible and work from anywhere in the world. And 7 years ago, my personal life followed a similar trajectory, allowing my immediate family and me to be a little more flexible and adventurous. All that culminated in us, my immediate family, and me, that is, starting a new base of operations in Southeast Asia. Taiwan, to be exact.
And that, in a nutshell, is how I was suddenly able to base my life on three continents and hold residency in all three.
I can tell you I am rather excited about how my life has now developed. I get to travel more again; I can be in any of my “bases” when I want. Yes, kids have their schools and their school schedules, but as needed for work and personal pleasure, we are freer to vagabond around the globe.
