I need to vent.
Everyone all the time asks me how can I afford traveling all the time. I work remotely and have a corporate 10 years long career, I don’t have kids and don’t have a car or an apartment. I speak 2 languages and used to be the most hardworking person ever to make my career. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still from a poor country and I don’t make big money, I travel on budget, but in my country I would be consider above average in terms of money. I’m great in managing money, I provide for myself and am independent for 10 years and I used to live for only $275 a month.
Also as a digital nomad I travel to live in a country, I’m not a tourist that spends much money every day.
How do you deal with it? People tell me all the time that I’ll get broke or that I should work more or that I have a sugar daddy. They ask me if this lifestyle isn’t expensive. Obviously it is, but having kids also is super expensive.
The most funny thing is that I meet people that makes literally 10 TIMES MORE than me and they are jealous and ask me of I could advise them to make more and how much they should make to afford being a digital nomad.
Most people think that travel involves spending a large amount of money in a short period of time. They work all year to spend a large sume in a week. Hence, they can’t imagine how someone can afford two weeks, or three, let alone 52 weeks traveling.
I spend a month what many people spend in a weekend getaway. And in 6 months in Europe what they spend on a 10 day Europe vacation.
That’s why they can’t understand someone traveling a nomad way. Spending the same or less or maybe just a tiny bit more than loving in the same place.
With an equivalent salary, my observation is that people tend to spend less in some things so they can spend more in others. From no mortgage/no car to less physical possessions.
Even the big spender nomads, making the same in a single place, would have a larger house or a more expensive car or more clothes, etc.