Courtesy Daniel Ross
Over the last few years, the explorer in me has found a way to create remote working opportunities for myself all over the world. I've spent months on my own as a solo traveler and always found a way to make the finances work.
I am from the UK and live here now, but I've already spent time working from Spain, Croatia, Greece, Portugal, and Brazil, and I'm planning to add more to that list as soon as I can.
Each country poses unique challenges when it comes to keeping costs down. However, there are certain habits you can adopt and hacks you can use to keep your bank balance in the green no matter where your digital nomadding takes you.
1. Location, location, locationDeciding where to go is one of the most important factors in keeping your costs manageable. While it might seem like a romantic dream to café-hop around Paris for a month, the French capital is by no means a cheap place to live. The same can be said for other popular tourist destinations. So, instead of Paris, think Prague, swap Barcelona for Bratislava, or discover Setúbal instead of Santorini.
2. Pack lightThe money you can save on checked baggage fees by packing light can run into the hundreds of dollars. Especially when traveling from place to place every few weeks or so, the fees mount up.
Believe it or not, you can go away for weeks or even months at a time with a carry-on-sized suitcase. If you're thinking that's ridiculous and you'd never manage it, how many times have you been away and thought to yourself, "Why did I pack so much?" Exactly, hear me out.
Start by packing just essential items, thinking about the climate in the various countries you'll be traveling to, and any activities (that might require specific items) you might want to do there. Next, pack a small selection of your favorite outfits. If you've picked your accommodation wisely, then doing a round of laundry should be cheap, easy, and quick. Which brings me to the next tip ...
3. Choose your accommodations wiselyTo keep costs down, there's a list of important criteria I look for when looking for places to stay while remote working abroad.
First of all, instead of searching for specific suburbs of towns and cities, I filter my searches by setting a maximum price limit per night. That leaves me with only the available options within my budget and stops me being tempted to splurge.
Next, I only consider places that have a fridge and proper cooking facilities — I'm not just talking about a microwave, either. This saves a ton of money on eating out. We'll talk more about that later. But while we're on the topic of appliances, I make sure that there are some laundry facilities either in the property itself or as part of a residential complex. This will be essential if you've taken my advice and packed light.
You're going to want to make sure your new temporary home will be comfortable. For me, that means being in a climate-controlled space. Being too hot to sleep or concentrate on work would be a nightmare. Some rentals have a limit to air conditioning use or charge extra for it, so be sure to double check that before booking.
One final thing to check is whether there are reliable public transportation links to get you around. I've made the mistake of thinking somewhere looks "close" to everything on a map and then having to walk almost an hour to a supermarket. Avoid this at all costs.
4. Negotiate a cheaper rateA life motto of mine is "shy bairns get nowt." Which translates roughly from Geordie English to American English as "don't ask, don't get."
If you're booking a longer stay, chances are a slightly discounted rate will be applied to your stay anyway. However, before booking, it doesn't hurt to message the accommodation asking if they offer discounts.
I've had great success with this, especially when offering to promote properties via my Instagram stories.
5. Limit eating out to once per dayBut you're on holiday, eating out is what you do, right? Wrong. You're not on holiday. You're living and working as if you would at home, but in some far-flung destination, which is probably far nicer than the spare room you converted into your office back home.
To make this possible, you'll need to do a weekly shop. Yes, that sounds dull and like a chore, but foreign supermarkets are much more interesting than at home.
For breakfast, I nearly always make it where I'm staying. For lunch, it depends on my plan for the day. If I'm headed to work from the beach for the day, then I'll make some lunch to take with me along with some healthy snacks. If I'm working from "home" for most of the day, I'll cook something fresh and healthy for lunch instead. I usually do this in bulk to save on future cooking time.
That leaves you to head out for dinner to sample the local delicacies.
6. Eat where the locals goYou don't have to break the bank when you do eat out. Tourist-trap restaurants aren't always easy to dodge, but I always manage to hunt out lesser-known options where the locals eat. It usually means the food will not only be some of the best in town, but also reasonably priced.
I start my research by asking the accommodation owners for recommendations if they haven't provided any already. Then, when I'm out and about, I look out for bars and restaurants that look busy with locals and add them to my "want to visit" list on Google Maps so I can find them again easily.
Bon appetit!
7. Spend with a zero foreign-exchange fee cardThis is an important one. Spending abroad can be costly if your bank or card issuer charges fees for spending or withdrawing money abroad.
Here are some of the best cards around with no foreign transaction fees.
While in the US using a card or a contactless method for payment has fast become the norm, many places in the world still only accept cash. For this reason, it's a good idea to check cash-withdrawal capabilities and fees of your cards well in advance of your trip.
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