What I Wish I Knew Before Becoming a Digital Nomad (Hint... It’s Not About the Job)

Before you start picturing sunsets and coffee by the sea, there are a few things you should know about becoming a digital nomad – and none of them are about what job you’ll do.

We’ve been living this lifestyle for three years now. We spent two full years preparing for it. And even with all that planning… it’s not easy.

The hardest part is the leap itself. Most of us wait for the perfect timing, the right budget, the perfect plan. But you don’t need perfect to start, you need direction.

When we moved onto the boat, I thought I had our work life figured out. I had a plan. And then, about a month in, I realized it wasn’t going to happen. Not in the way I had imagined, and I was terrified. I remember lying awake at night thinking, “What if this doesn’t work? What if we can’t make it work?”

The truth is, digital nomad life is not a vacation. Social media loves to show the beautiful parts - the anchorages, the sunsets, the coffee by the sea – but behind the photos is the other side of it. The stress. The endless logistics. The loneliness that sometimes creeps in. You rebuild your routines from scratch every single time, and if you don’t create rhythm intentionally, it just disappears.

For us, even something as simple as Wi-Fi was a constant challenge until we finally got Starlink. Before that, there were days when the sea conditions made working impossible - not because we didn’t have the time, but because the boat was moving too much to concentrate. Life doesn’t stop for work just because you’re “living the dream”.

There’s no safety net. No autopilot. YOU steer. YOU decide. YOU make it happen. And not everyone will live it the same way - even other nomads.

Boaters don’t always understand suitcase nomads.

Suitcase nomads don’t get “nesters”.

Relocation is a whole different game.

And I still have no idea how some families live with kids in campervans for months at a time… or how others can stay in one place for months and then do it all over again.

And when you add kids to the mix, everything gets louder, literally and figuratively. It’s no longer “me”, it’s “us.” Tiny humans who believe in you completely, who assume you know exactly what you’re doing, and for whom turning back isn’t an option.

But here’s the thing: amid the stress and the uncertainty, there are moments of pure magic. The kind of moments that make you stop, breathe, and think, “This. This is why we’re doing this.” For me, it’s those mornings when I wake up, step outside, and see the ocean stretching in every direction. It’s watching the kids jump into the water before breakfast. It’s that feeling, the freedom, of knowing we’ve built a life that fits us, not the other way around.

Being a digital nomad is a mindset. It means knowing that everything is figure-out-able. It’s never “why not”, it’s always “how yes".

If you’ve read this far and you’re still dreaming about it, start with this: what’s your direction? It doesn’t have to be big. It can be a place, a dream, a goal for three months or three years from now. It can be that one destination you’ve always wanted to see, or a picture in your mind of where you’ll be next year.

Nomad life is not the answer – it’s a possible how you get there.

Once you have a direction, you’ll know how to steer.

And the rest? You’ll figure it out.