How to Become a Digital Nomad

Do you want to become a digital nomad but have no idea how to start or what it entails? I’ve been a digital nomad for over 6 years now and have seen so many different ways of full-time travel by meeting other digital nomads and within my communities. I explain and share them all with you in this episode. Learn my framework Learn, Plan, Go! So you can start making your freedom dreams a reality!

Tune in or read the blog version below!

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I have a very matter of fact episode for all of you today; How to Become A Digital Nomad. This is Step-by-step of what we teach in the Digital Nomad Society under my framework, learn, plan, and go.

If you’re not in the Society, this is going to be a sneak peek into what you will learn when you join and give you a sense of whether or not you want this lifestyle for yourself!

What Is A Digital Nomad? 

A digital nomad is someone who leverages technology to work remotely while traveling the world.

It’s about having the freedom to work from anywhere and being able to just pick up your life in a destination and go somewhere else that you feel called to go. Or you can extend your stay, but it’s all about having this time freedom, location freedom, and financial freedom.

I’ve been a digital nomad for the past over six years, and I’ve stayed in destinations ranging from a few weeks up to a year or over a year, and I never know where I’m going next.

I don’t know where I’m going to be after the UK this month, and I’ve learned that that’s okay because it’s so easy nowadays with the internet to book flights and book accommodations online.

I just really love the spontaneity of being able to go anywhere I want without feeling like I’m limited and I’m the type of person who feels antsy after staying in one place for too long, so I really enjoy the flexibility.

I remember when I was living in New York City and I had to sign year long leases at a time.

It got to a point where I was like, I just want to leave, like I don’t wanna be here anymore.

I would go on trips to like Ireland or to the Maldives and be like, I just wanna stay longer. Can I stay for a few months instead of just a weekend?

So personally, that is what lights me up, having full freedom.

I will also mention I’ve never bought furniture in my life. I’ve never stayed in a place long enough where I was like, I’m gonna spend thousands of dollars on very nice furniture because I always knew that I was leaving.

When I was renting apartments in New York City, I knew that it would be temporary and I found a place that was furnished. Same thing when I travel on Airbnbs. I always looked for furnished places because it’s easier for me.

I don’t have to go through the whole process of shipping it and then also selling it after I leave. It’s just things that I don’t want to deal with. If you don’t wanna deal with certain things that come with home ownership, you don’t have to.

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Mindset About the Future

Currently I’m in the mindset where I know that once I have a family in the future, eventually maybe I’m gonna stay in one place for an extended period of time.

I loved having my solid group of friends growing up, and it was threatened a few times because I was always moving as a child.

And once I found my group of friends when I was 9 years old and my parents like wanted to move again when I was 11, I broke down.

I’m so glad I did that because I’m still best friends with them all today.

So I can understand that as a child, you’ll wanna stay in one place.

Anyway, this is so many years down the line, but eventually I’m gonna maybe stay in one place for a long time, so the time is now to travel.

Until then, I am young and I want to explore the world, so why not?

If you are at a place wherever you are in your life, if you know that exploring the world is something that you just want to dive into right now, you don’t wanna wait any longer, you have the power to become a digital nomad.

Let’s dive in to the exact steps how to, and I’m going to break them down into phase one learn, phase two plan, and phase three go.

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Learn

Phase one is learning all you can about the lifestyle so that you don’t get blindsided if unexpected medical expenses come up or a tax bill that you weren’t expecting to budget.

For all of these things we teach you inside the Digital Nomad Society because you can learn from other people who have walked the talk.

You don’t have to be figuring all of this out by yourself. So the first is to learn what the digital Nomad lifestyle entails.

How you can save money on things like monthly rentals and how to generate income online.

Personally, for the past over six years, I’ve been growing my online business, it’s my own. I don’t work for anyone else. I don’t have to report to a boss. I don’t have to report to an employer. I don’t have to work certain hours of the day or within certain time zones. It’s all controlled by me.

I generate income online through many income streams including private coaching, the Digital Nomad Society membership, courses, eBooks, advertising, revenue, sponsorships.

There are so many ways you can grow your income streams when you fully own the business yourself and in the society.

I explain how you can either live off your savings. That is one very valid way to become a digital nomad is save up a chunk of cash and living off of that.

That usually means budget traveling and trying to extend that lump sum for as long as possible.

You can also work for someone else so you can have a remote job, but still be an employee. There are many people in the Digital Nomad Society who do this and who love it.

It’s not for everyone, but I think it’s just a sign that there’s no one size fits all strategy. We really want to build this lifestyle in a way that is most aligned for you.

You can also freelance. You can go on Fiverr or Upwork and offer your own services.

However, in all of my programs, I am going to encourage you to start your own online business with your own products and services.

Go from a consumer to a producer and creator mentality. Sell what people need and make your own money. This is the most scalable.

It is the most sustainable in the long term because there truly is no limit in terms of scalability. It offers the time freedom, location freedom, and financial freedom. It has worked the best for all of my clients and myself.

So I know that if they can do it, you can too.

A word of caution here, I do recommend not joining any pyramid or network marketing or multi-level marketing schemes.

Anyone who is a part of this, they are immediately deleted from all of my Facebook groups. I just think the marketing and the structure is so predatory and scammy and it’s just not something that I want in my groups.

But I do think that having your own control of your income in the long run, it’s going to be the most sustainable.

You get to keep a hundred percent of your income. You don’t need to pay out to any higher ups, and there’s no one to take your income from you.

✈️ Join the Digital Nomad Society

Plan

The next phase, after learning How to Become a Digital Nomad, we are going to plan out your exact digital nomad vision.

Some people don’t wanna do this full-time, they maybe wanna just take a year off. It could be you.

You might just wanna take a few months off and see how you like it. You might not want to give up your apartment or you might not want to be a full-time entrepreneur. Whatever your vision looks like for you, you need to map it out.

We work through exercises like:

  • How much money do you have saved?
  • How many clients or customers do you need?
  • How much money do you need to be making per month to sustain your ideal digital nomad lifestyle?
  • What is your freedom number?
  • What is the number you need to have in the bank?

And you need to be making any every month in order to, for you to feel comfortable living this lifestyle. And this looks different for everyone.

Some of my clients have super high risk tolerances and they’re all in. Some of them, they work their full-time job. They feel really at peace knowing that they have the income in and they’re setting aside a part of their paycheck every month to make their quit date happen.

So all of us, we have quit dates that want to quit and I hold them accountable to it. Some of them are mid 2025, others are at the end of this year. Some have them set for 2026.

What is your vision? And you also need a plan.

What are you going to do with your current home or the place that you’re living in right now? Or renting? What are you going to do with all of your stuff?

Or also going to walk you through things like your income and your expenses in different destinations that you might want to travel to so you know exactly how much to budget for in terms of accommodation, transportation, extracurriculars, food, whatever it is to live your ideal digital nomad life.

We’re also gonna plan, is there any wiggle room? Do you want to go to an area with the highest cost of living first or do you wanna budget that for a few years down the line? And in the meantime you can go to places where it’s a little more affordable.

We map out the exact strategy in alignment to your income. So whether it’s starting your online business and starting from scratch, whether it’s growing your existing income streams or crating new ones, how are we going to make this all happen for you?

The other thing I love about the Digital Nomad Society is the community. So if you watch our call replays with all of our members. You’ll see that our members have different businesses, they live different lives.

They’re from all over the world, but they are making their digital nomad dreams a reality.

Some of them have already gone from corporate to now traveling full-time, and it just makes it that much more accessible to you in your mind, seeing other regular people just like you and me seeing them do it and watching them grow.

And that’s going to give you the motivation to do it yourself as well.

✈️ Join the Digital Nomad Society

Go!

And then the last step to become a digital nomad is to follow the plan we have set out for you and to go, go full throttle into this new chapter. Surround yourself with other digital nomads, embrace this lifestyle, and then adjust to what suits you.

This is where you’re gonna learn about so many more networking opportunities.

We have a database of coworking spaces around the world with networking events, with lots of opportunities to meet other like-minded entrepreneurs.

We also have daily interaction in our Digital Nomad Society community so that you can constantly be surrounding yourself with all of these travel lovers and business owners.

If you have any more questions about this lifestyle, I’m always more than happy to answer.

I don’t think any other type of living would make me happier than the life I am currently living now. And that’s obviously very evident. I’ve traveled to over 60 countries and I don’t think I’ll be stopping this anytime soon.

I love not having a plan and just letting my desires shape my future.

So if you want this for yourself, please do not hesitate to reach out. And I hope to see you in one of our programs.

✈️ Join the Digital Nomad Society

If you’ve enjoyed this episode, it would mean so much if you could leave a review on Apple Podcasts. This helps us spread The Wanderlover mission to those who need a dose of inspiration today.

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Danielle Hu

Danielle Hu

Danielle Hu is a multiple 6-figure travel influencer, business coach, and Host of The Wanderlover Podcast. She has traveled to over 65+ countries running her online business and surfing in remote tropical destinations. Her mission is to help creatives and coaches achieve time freedom, location freedom, and financial freedom through online entrepreneurship.

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Join the success club for new and aspiring  Digital Nomads

The Digital Nomad Society

Join the success club for new and aspiring  Digital Nomads

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Hi, I’m Danielle

My mission is to help you design a location-independent lifestyle through online entrepreneurship, to achieve time freedom, location freedom, financial freedom.

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