How's your hotspot and travel insurance looking?
The bases to cover before moving life onto the road according to a travel "expert" and new digital nomad.
I am not spontaneous.
The idea of living on the road, like all big life decisions, was one that my husband and I labored over extensively. So much in fact, we even did a trial month in Portugal to work out the kinks. THAT is dedication.
Endless conversations and crowd-sourcing of information led me to my most prepared state and I think its worthy of sharing and being re-shared endlessly to my less than spontaneous friends who require plans A-D to best enjoy the current moment without being racked with some sort of anxiety.
Here are the necessary bases to cover (twice over if possible):
Internet: In the year 2022, you would think that the search for reliable Wi-fi is a thing of the past. Think not. Having worked remotely in several countries and many states, it is fair to share that reliable Wi-fi is something that requires triple checking before settling into a nomadic work life. How to insure access? For one, insist on every accommodation providing the download and upload speed of their connection. This information is super easy to get, just google internet speed test and boom, you have your answers. For 2-5 devices, you need at least 25-30 Mbps download speed (and trust me, that is the minimum). I like to see at least 50 to feel comfortable before booking a place, and anything over 100 is almost a guarantee of quality speed. Warning: speed doesn’t always mean access. We spent a week in Florida, of all places, and our Airbnb had ZERO Wi-fi connection. The hosts were less than helpful, which meant we were hot-spotting on our phones and burning through data. Its worth the extra time to read through accommodation reviews in order to see if any previous guests had issues. On our current trip through Europe, we covered this particular crisis by purchasing an expensive portable hot spot, with no expiring data that specifically listed all our projected countries as compatible (we chose the SkyRoam Solis Lite in the end after extensive research). Nomadic work life is only possible because of the internet. It’s worth the investment.
*Update: Cretan Wi-Fi went out while writing this article, eventually the hotspot connected but Expert Tip, set up your hotspot up AND purchase gigabytes before you actually need the device..ooof*
Insurance: First up, travel insurance. Travel insurance covers all the unpredictable bits that can occur during your weeks or months on the road. In just the past three years, I have had flights canceled for one reason not covered by the airlines which lands us with a surprise hotel bill and expensive airport food. A last minute hotel by the airport can cost up to $200 per night. Multiply that by a few missed connections and all of a sudden you’ve got yourself thousands of unplanned dollars spent. My initial search for travel insurance was alarming. For our 152 day trip between July and December, for example, basic travel insurance would cost around $1,200 for two people. I couldn’t accept that as the only option. Enter, the travel credit card. After some digging, I found that the Chase Sapphire Preferred card was the ultimate choice. Including travel insurance, car insurance, lost luggage insurance, and so much more, it was a no brainer to swallow the $100 fee and jump in. Already have another travel credit card? Yeah, me too. Worth transitioning out and to this one to afford that invaluable travel coverage.
Medical Insurance: Unfortunately, most of the plans that us Americans purchase through our employers do not cover much out of country medical costs. Though I am young, very healthy, and not an extreme traveler (no wild white water rafting or mountain biking for this risk averse lady), I also didn’t want to take the risk of enormous hospital, dental or emergency costs in the case that something does occur. We found a fairly affordable plan that also included repatriation of remains (something VERY important to my mother haha), for about $450 for two of us and it covered the entire 152 days. Not entirely necessary depending on how you live your life, but a base worth considering covering regardless.
Time Zones: This has been a doozy of a base to cover, as my current job already had me working three hours ahead on a regular basis. I work for a school district based in Arizona, meaning half of the year I am working the hours from 9am-5pm three hours ahead, and the other half two hours ahead while living on the East Coast. When considering living abroad this was a base that left me not only stumped, but also deeply concerned. This is where the trial month in Portugal was clutch. Portugal is one of the weirdo European countries that is actually on a separate time-zone from most. I was only 8 hours ahead of Arizona, and it worked out great. Explore all day, done with work around 10pm. One country over in Spain, however, would have put me at 9 hours ahead, and anywhere past the Greek Islands you are looking at 10 plus. If you are looking to work remotely in other popular locations like East Asia, the Pacific Islands, or perhaps all the way in Australia, keep in mind when you will be logging on and off for your work day. At the moment, my ten hour difference has me working till midnight. Not ideal.
Visa Restrictions: Does the word Schengen mean anything to you? When first putting together a five month long European itinerary, we let our minds dream sky high with visions of romantic balconies in Tuscany, late tapas in Barcelona, and perhaps a picnic with a view of the Eiffel Tower. It wasn’t until my non-spontaneous bum started crowd sourcing for additional suggestions that it was brought to my attention that our coveted American passports no longer afford us free reign all over the world. Talk about an egocentric oversight! So here is the rule for Schengen travel (the region of Europe that includes most of those highly desired destinations such as France, Spain, and Italy): A tourist can only reside within the Schengen region for 90 of their past 180 days. That 180 days is a consecutive time clock and your 90 days do not reset just by exiting the region. So for example, as of today, we have spent 42 of the past 180 days in the Schengen Region. We will be accumulating the remainder of our 90 days while in Greece, Prague, and racking up the last few in Berlin. After that, we gotta’ get out of dodge until October 27th when we have earned back the 28 days we spent in Portugal (as they will no longer be within the last 180 days). Are you still with me? In other words, its important to be aware of what visa needs exist out there. If caught breaking your tourist visa in the Schengen, you risk being deported and denied re-entry to the region for five years. Harsh.
*Some places such as Turkey require a visitors visa as well, don’t shy away from handy dandy google just to double check*
The good news is, there are plenty of places around the world that grant temporary, long term, or even nomadic visas without any extensive paper trail or fees associated. European Visa Tip: Check out the countries not included in the Schengen. The discovery of our potential visa violation have led us to pursuing some incredible places in Eastern Europe such as Albania and Montenegro.
Seasons, Climates, and Temperature: I hate checking a bag. Loathe it even. If I could, I would fit everything into a slightly oversized back pack and call it a day, but any travel over 10 days or so requires a few extra items that can only comfortably be packed in a traditional carry-on. Make that months long travel and all of a sudden you have yourself a bit of a luggage conundrum. Though incredibly resourceful, we decided to check one bag with additional items to make our time away a little more comfortable (a yoga mat, a portable water filter, heavy fleeces, jeans, etc.). Though doing our best to chase the endless summer, November and December in Europe can still see quite a bit of wintry weather. Footwear is by far the hardest to prepare for and one that I may be purchasing on the road as we eye up Rome for November and December. But doing your homework to ensure that your destinations hold a steady, similar temperature may be worth it. You won’t regret minimizing your luggage situation the moment you are trudging through a busy airport looking for the correct train to get to your hotel, I promise.
*Eyes peeled for the ultimate digital nomad’s packing list in the months to come*
Home Base: Lastly, and perhaps something that most of you don’t need to think twice about, is where on earth you will be returning to when this big adventure of yours is complete. My husband and I made the inconvenient but ultimately smartest decision to move out of our apartment in Pittsburgh. We could not justify the monthly rent, for the week or two of home life per month we had been living for over a year. Deciding to be fully nomadic, did present one of the biggest questions. Where will we live back in the Burgh’? Generous parents and friends aside, this is a hard truth to contend with but should be a base covered prior to heading out on your big or small journeys. Is there another option to paying for an empty apartment, or is it worth it to have your own bed and shower to fall into when jet lag inevitably hits upon your return?
I am not picky about what I eat, where I grab a drink, which spot on the sand to plop down, of course. But, book-your-trip-and-research-nothing-spontaneous, that, I am not. Cover your bases, and control the controllable. This way when the inevitable bumps do occur you can face them head on with a clear, prepared head.