However, as with everything, being a digital nomad has its dark sides. In today’s article, I’m exploring the most annoying digital nomads problems. Read on to be well-prepared for this lifestyle before you decide to take it on! ?

Visas

When traveling full-time, visas can be a real pain. When living in your home country, you don’t think about that aspect of life at all. However, digital nomads who want to stay longer in a foreign country must apply for an appropriate visa first. What’s problematic is the permitted length of stay. In most Southeast Asian countries, which are very popular among remote workers, foreigners can stay in the country for up to one month. After that time passes, you need to either exit the country or apply for another, often expensive visa extension.

Because of that, there’s a common practice within digital nomads called a visa run. It basically means to leave a particular country by bus or plane for a day or two (sometimes even for just several hours!), only to go back and get another visa stamp in your passport ? Some countries are even trying to introduce mechanisms preventing visa runs. All this makes digital nomads life complicated, stressful and costly.

Taxes

One of the most frustrating digital nomads problems is taxation. In most countries in the world, if you stay for longer than 6 months, you should be paying taxes in the country you’re staying in. However, because remote work is still a gray area in most of the world, the taxes often cannot be technically paid by a foreigner.

The issue is that most of the world’s countries still have not defined what a remote work really is and how the taxation and visa rules relate to it. In effect, often you are not able to legally obtain a visa that gives you a tax ID, which is needed for paying taxes ?

Even if you finally get a tax ID in the country you live in, there are issues with double taxation. Assuming you have your company registered in your home country and are still paying taxes there, you might be taxed twice – both by your home country and your new residence country. In such case, digital nomads must analyze the double taxation agreements between the two countries, which are often hard to understand. Establishing your double taxation rules sometimes requires consulting a local tax advisor, which adds up to the cost of your trip.

Apartments not suitable for remote work

For me, this is a very annoying point! If I were to choose one of the digital nomads problems I could magically solve, I would vote for apartments not adjusted for working. Sometimes even such a would-seem-irrelevant thing like a bad table or chair not suitable for working with a laptop can be a disaster for your stay. Especially if you book a flat for a longer period.

What I hate the most are these IKEA chairs, popular in the whole world ?:

I can’t even express how much I do hate this chair ? Maybe they look fancy, but try sitting on it and working with laptop for 8 hours… The back of this chair is very flexible/elastic, so it is impossible to sit straight on it. So I am publicly asking all apartments owners – please stop buying IKEA FANBYN (and similar) chairs! ?

Adding to that too low/too high tables, poor WiFi quality and not enough light, the apartment you book for a few months can become your remote work prison!

Internet

Digital nomads need constant Internet access. While in most cities it is not a problem, when you want to travel to a bit more remote areas it becomes painful. WiFi is often unreliable, and mobile networks also often can’t be counted on.

I remember joining our daily meeting with Yumasoft team in late 2019, when I was living in a remote part of Bali, Indonesia. Amed is a beautiful place, with rice fields and volcano views, but the Internet really sucks there ? On a video call, I couldn’t use my camera of course. Even with only voice, I remember me saying something and the guys in Poland hearing it after 20-30 seconds. It was fun, but also a bit of stress.

Time zones

Another challenge digital nomads face on a daily basis are time zones. Working from different continents than your colleagues requires you to adjust to the majority of the team’s timezone. Having my team based in Europe while living in Asia, I had to start working around noon and finish work around 8PM.

This becomes even more problematic if most of your team is based in the same place all the time. This has been my case for almost 3 years at Yumasoft. Fortunately, we are quite flexible with working hours, and we try to use asynchronous communication as much as we can. Nevertheless, if you want to become a digital nomad, be prepared that time zones will most probably not be your best friends ? Of course, remember to always check the timezone in the country you are going to travel to!

Making friends/socializing

Many digital nomads problems are related to social aspects of life. Working remotely, it might be hard to make new friends. If you are not an outgoing person or maybe an introvert (as many programmers are), you will not have the safe physical office space to expose you to some social interactions.

Getting trapped at your apartment may make you more isolated than you have ever been before. The solution is to sometimes go out to a café or a coworking space. You can always meet like-minded people there. However, for introverts, it may come at a price.

The same applies to the team you work at. If some of your teammates work at the office, you may feel “out of sync”. Some jokes and stories are always only told in the office, and you will not hear them. It might make you feel “out of the team” at some point.

That is why, at Yumasoft we try to organize remote work properly. It is very important that everyone feels part of the team. However, be prepared that it may not work ideally in every company you may work for.

Work-traveling balance

This point is similar to work-life balance, but what work takes from us in case of digital nomads is not life, but traveling ?

Imagine you are living on an exotic island in Thailand. The weather is great, there are some stunning beaches around you have not visited yet – you arrived just 3 days ago. However, you must finish this important task… Maybe you can go on Saturday? Not this time – you must visit the local immigration office for your visa extension.

That is what I mean by work-traveling balance. Being in exotic and interesting places makes you wanting to explore them, not work ? Going further – sometimes you cannot go to some place, because it is not suitable for remote work (poor Internet etc.). It makes you resign from visiting some cool places around, because you need to work. Even if they are at your fingertips. Unfortunately, being a digital nomad is not a constant holiday ?

Not being understood by others

After you start a digital nomad lifestyle, you will notice that no one really understands what you do. Your friends and family members will soon be introducing you as “the guy who travels”. Most of your family will have no idea what you actually do at work. They will say: “she does something on her laptop”.

Unfortunately, most people will also not understand your decision to leave home and constantly travel. This is not the lifestyle most people can and choose to have. Be prepared for not being understood by people who surrounded you until this moment. On the positive side, when leading a digital nomad lifestyle, you will quickly meet fellow nomads who will understand you very well ?

Medical insurance

Last but not least – medical insurance. When traveling the world, it can be one of the most costs-generating digital nomads problems. You may still be covered by a public healthcare in your home country, but in most of the countries in the world you are not covered for health problems at local hospitals. If something happens, you have to pay even for using local public healthcare.

That is why digital nomads must but a worldwide medical insurance. Most of the typical travel insurances will not work, because they are usually time-limited. It means that you cannot travel for few years on a travel insurance. You should buy a nomad medical insurance.

Prices for good medical insurance for digital nomads start from 500 USD per year. If you suffer from chronic diseases, it will be even more expensive. You should also read the insurance policy very carefully to be sure it will cover your medical expenses in every case. Especially now, during COVID-19 pandemic.

Digital nomads problems – summary

As you can see, nomadic lifestyle is not perfect – it has its drawbacks as any other lifestyle ? For me, after almost 3 years of working remotely and traveling, I can surely say that the benefits of being a digital nomad outweigh all of these problems. But it is important that you are prepared for them, so they do not surprise you when you get on the road.

Of course, it is always best to check it yourself! There are now many more companies like Yumasoft that allow their employees to work remotely. Just give it a try and see for yourself! ?

The post Most Annoying Digital Nomads Problems appeared first on Yumasoft.

At Yumasoft, we leverage remote work. It allows people who cooperate with us to freely travel if they’d like to. Everyone can choose to live in a place they feel comfortable. Especially in current times, when pandemic has changed a lot in terms of remote work. Let’s make a good use of it ?

Bali, Indonesia

This is my top of the places for digital nomads in Southeast Asia. Bali was one of the first remote workers spots in the world. It combines Western amenities with magical Balinese culture.

In Bali, you can easily find nice cafés suitable for working with laptop. The Internet on the island is not the fastest in the world, but usually stable and good enough for video calls. There are also plenty of coworking spaces. One of them is Hubud, probably the most popular cowork and digital nomads community in the world.

Bali offers a great value for money ? For similar amount of money you’d spend in Europe, you can live here on a much higher lever than back home. In the same time, you can find most of the European products in local supermarkets. The same applies for cafés and restaurants – if you are fed up with local food (which is great, by the way!), you can easily find Western dishes.

Another great thing about living in Bali is that you basically live in nature. Independently of a place in Bali you choose to stay in, you will be surrounded with palms, rice fields and waterfalls. From almost every corner in Bali, you can see one of its volcanoes. In an hour drive you can reach seaside or mountains. Bali also has really nice beaches in its south part of Uluwatu.

Last but not least, Bali has a relatively mild tropical climate, as for this part of Asia. While there are crazily hot summers in Thailand or north of Indonesia with 40+ Celsius degrees, you can still find nice, chilly places in Bali. For me, this is very important, as I can’t stand scorching weather for longer periods ?

Chiang Mai, Thailand

Chiang Mai is another sentimental place for me. I visited this city in the north of Thailand twice, and I always felt great there.

Similarly to Bali, you can easily find many fancy cafés and coworking spaces in Chiang Mai. Going out to work with laptop is never a problem ?

There’s a quite big digital nomads community in Chiang Mai with many events happening. The Internet is fast (around 30MB/s should be a minimum) and stable.

Modern, condo-style, swimming-pool-equipped apartments are easy to find and affordable.

In terms of location, Chiang Mai is close to mountains. In 1-1.5 hours scooter drive north of CM, you can reach the mountainous parts with chilly weather and nice waterfalls. From Chiang May you can also find cheap flights to Bangkok or the southern part of the country with beautiful islands – more on that below ?

Da Nang, Vietnam

From all places for digital nomads in Southeast Asia, Da Nang was one of the most surprising for me. It’s not as “european” and fancy as Bali or Chiang Mai, but is has something to it.

What distinguished Da Nang from other cities I visited in SE Asia is coffee ? There are plenty of cafés where you can have a really cheap and delicious Vietnamese coffee. I will never forget the taste of coconut coffee ? I would visit Da Nang again just for it! Of course, while drinking it you can comfortably work with your laptop at nice cafés.

Apart from coffee, Da Nang also unites quite a lot of nomads (not like Bali or CM, but still). What’s nice about the city is one of the best city beaches I’ve ever seen and sea access. There’s also a nice promenade along the sea for running, if you’re into sports ?

Islands in the South of Thailand

Thailand somehow always comes back to me ? It must have been mentioned twice in this article!

While I love Chiang Mai and the northern, chilly climate of Thailand, islands in the south are hard to beat. Crystal clear water, awesome beaches, tasty food and nice local people are one of the things I will always appreciate south of Thailand for.

The most popular Thai islands for expatriates and digital nomads are Phuket, Ko Samui, Ko Lanta and Ko Chang. There are a looot more, but just check them out in Google and tell me you are still not sure these islands are good places to live?! ?

What’s important is that on the islands I listed, you have easy access to Western products and food. This is important if you don’t want to completely switch to Thai food, which is not the healthiest on the planet in the long run ?

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

If you prefer more of a big city life, Kuala Lumpur should be on your list. The city is an international hub in SE Asia. It really has this international vibe.

There are also many digital nomads living in the capital of Malaysia. You can easily tell that based on the number of coworking spaces available there. What’s interesting, few of them offer a free 1-day trial, so you can check them out before deciding to buy a monthly pass.

Kuala Lumpur is also famous for its food ? You can find restaurants and dishes from all over the world in Malaysian capital. It’s a heaven if you like Indian food – I especially recommend to check Pelita food chain. Oh, I need to get back there one day!

Another nice thing about Kuala Lumpur is that you can find reasonably-priced condo-style apartments, similar to the ones in Thailand.

The location of the Malaysian capital is also great. It allows you to fly cheaply to Malaysian islands or Penang with its great capital of Georgetown. From Kuala Lumpur, you can also easily visit Singapore, which is connected to the south of Malaysia with a bridge. It’s even reachable by bus from Kuala Lumpur.

Summary

That’s it for my top 5 places for digital nomads in Southeast Asia. Would you add something to this list? If you’ve never been to SE Asia, which of those places would you choose? ?

The post Top 5 Places for Digital Nomads in Southeast Asia appeared first on Yumasoft.