Happy New Year!
Is there a better way to begin it then by planning your next or even first Digital Nomad adventures? Whether you are an experienced digital nomad or a fresh, young digital newmad(?) it never hurts to have a quick look at some of the handy sites and tools designed to make your nomad life that little bit easier.
All of the topics below are covered in greater detail throughout the site – feel free to explore!
So to ease us into the new year, below is a quick run through of some of the best and most useful weapons for the Digital Nomads armory.
Where to go? If you’re free to travel wherever you choose, actually choosing can be a bit of a bother! Your options are practically endless. Fortunately, everybody’s favorite search engine is ready to help you out: If you type ”flights” into the Google search bar you’ll be taken (surprisingly enough) to Google flights, where you can enter your location and immediately see on a map where you can fly to and at what cost. The search options can be altered and tweaked to fit your needs, price range and even duration of flights – meaning you can almost tailor make a trip ideal for you. As you would expect with Google, the layout is ridiculously easy to navigate and takes quite a lot of the effort out of searching for flights. Look for yourself at the link below and hopefully find the perfect start for your nomad travels.
Where to stay? Every digital nomad needs an analogue abode, somewhere to sleep and safely store your working tools. For short travels airbnb or booking.com are my favorite to use. Airbnb lets you rent anything from a room to a whole house for the duration of your stay and has thousands and thousands of properties available all over the world. If you are looking at travelling outside of the typical tourist areas, you can find some absolute palaces for bargain prices in some countries (try the Hungarian countryside). Airbnb will look after your best interests (for a fee) and give you peace of mind about your booking. Booking.com is a great if you want to stay in city centre hotels or hostels etc, the prices are usually very reasonable and there is a comprehensive rating system that lets you know more or less exactly what you are getting into.
Meeting people is easy? Travelling alone can be great fun, you’re completely free to go wherever, whenever and however you want. However wonderful that freedom is, there comes a time when everyone needs to see a friendly face. There are many ways to meet people whilst travelling the world, and everyone will have their own preference, but if you are making a flying visit to a city you can do a lot worse than couchsurfing.com. I don’t like the idea of sleeping in strangers’ houses, but the site also lets you see any meet-ups, activities and nights on the razz happening in your location. You do have to sign up but it’s free and an easy enough form to complete. These meet-ups are a great way to find and have fun with people in a pretty safe environment, fingers crossed you can make a new friend in Frankfurt or a great colleague in Cologne.
Which way to go? Exploring new cities and towns is quite an adventure, if you get lost it can also be quite tiring. CityMaps2Go is a great app designed to show you exactly where you are and which way to go. The app can be used on Apple and android products and has a brilliant offline capability meaning no expensive roaming charges for your phone bill. CityMaps2Go is free, has detailed maps of thousands of destinations around the globe, tips, recommendations and much more. This app is a must for all digital nomads and has helped me find my way home, to a shop or to the bar many, many times.
Work? Hmm. The last thing to think about, well, maybe it should be the first, is where to find work. All digital nomads need employment of some kind and knowing where to look can be half of the battle. Hopefully, if you’ve decided to make the plunge you’ve already sorted out your work arrangements but if not, never fear. The internet is full of work for the nomad willing to look. If you are an established freelancer you probably already have your favorite work sites, if you don’t, have a look at the link below which will hopefully help you find a site that suits your work needs.