Can you become a digital nomad in your 30s and 40s?
One of the most in-vogue travel trends in the modern age is being a digital nomad: not having a fixed location for a spell which can extend to months or years. You will move from place to place, with your laptop effectively serving as an office for the duration. Most of us gained experience of working remotely during the early months of the pandemic, but it is something that digital nomads have been doing for a long time. After all, if you can do your job ten miles from the office, you can do it a thousand miles away or even further.
The image that many people call to mind when they hear about digital nomads is fairly similar to that of a backpacker. They’re enthusiastic, curious, and in many people’s minds, young. It’s easy to fall into the trap of assuming that you need to be in your early 20s or even your late teens to be a digital nomad, but there’s no reason that absolutely has to be the case. And as we shall see, having a few years under your belt can actually be beneficial for someone who wants to live the digital nomad lifestyle.
It’s an adjustment, but it’s one you’ve made before
Becoming a digital nomad is a change in life, undoubtedly. And with any change in life, there will be a lot of things to get right. But if you’re in your thirties or older, these are changes you’ve already made, for the most part. You’ll need to organize travel, find insurance, and communicate with a lot of officials. This learning curve can be quite acute for a younger nomad, but if you’ve changed employer, moved house and signed up with utility companies before, then the change isn’t something that should be off-putting to you. It’s just another chapter and your experience from the previous ones will actively benefit you.
You’ve probably accumulated a few skills
We’re so used to the idea of a digital generation being something new and different that a lot of us haven’t realized that we’ve been doing things online for decades now. We’ve lived through one of the biggest changes in human history, and it makes us think that digital industries are a young person’s game. But if you’re in your thirties or older, you have accumulated a couple of decades of handling technological change, and this is something that will be beneficial when looking for a digital job. In the early days of the internet, a lot of us had to think of workarounds before everything got so integrated. Those are skills you can use now.
You’re probably ready for a change
One reason that the digital nomad experience shouldn’t terrify you as someone over the age of thirty is that most digital nomads are over 30. Indeed, more than one in ten first embark on the move when they are in their fifties. A large part of the reason for this is that they feel ready for a change – they’ve seen all that their town, city or job has to offer and now see the benefit of changing things up. If you’re a parent, then the chances are that your kids are now grown and either doing their own thing or willing to join you as a family without bringing the complications that a growing child can present. So, whatever your age, you’re not too old to be a digital nomad. In fact, it may be quite the opposite.
