Remote work sparks a surge in "digital nomads" | The Shifting Workplace

Summary

Remote work has led to a rise in digital nomads, people who work online from anywhere, without a fixed location. This trend has seen significant growth, with many traditional job holders becoming digital nomads. Countries are enticing these remote workers with special visas. Popular destinations include Lisbon, Portugal, and Bangkok, Thailand, known for their affordable living costs and reliable internet. While the lifestyle offers flexibility and reduced expenses, it also raises concerns about housing inequality for locals. As digital nomads continue to grow, there's a need for balance and support for the local populations affected by this global shift.

Highlights

• The pandemic transformed remote work from fantasy to reality, leading to the rise of digital nomads. 🌟
• Countries offer special visas for digital nomads, allowing them to work abroad for extended periods. ✈️
• Lisbon, Bangkok, and London are top destinations for digital nomads, attracting them with cost-effective living and solid internet connectivity. 💻
• Digital nomads often enjoy cheaper housing abroad but contribute to local housing market pressures. 🏠
• Building local and nomad friendships helps combat isolation in new environments. 🌐
• Digital nomadism is more mainstream than ever, with services catering specifically to their needs. 📲

Key Takeaways

• The pandemic has turned remote work into a reality, giving rise to digital nomads who travel while working online. 🌍
• 170 million Americans now identify as digital nomads, a huge increase since pre-pandemic numbers. 📈
• Popular nomad spots include Lisbon for its low-cost living and great Wi-Fi, and Bangkok for its culture and affordability. 🏖️
• Digital nomad visas are making it easier for people to live and work around the world. 🌐
• While this lifestyle offers great freedom, it can also contribute to local housing inequality. ⚖️
• Connecting with both locals and nomad communities can help ease feelings of isolation. 🤝

Overview

Remote work has redefined what it means to have a job, allowing more people to become digital nomads. This exciting shift in the work landscape got a boost from the pandemic, as individuals realized they could perform their duties from anywhere in the world. Now, a record number of Americans—17 million—have adopted this lifestyle, trading the traditional office scene for the freedom to roam from country to country.

With the explosion of digital nomads, countries across the globe are rolling out the red carpet. They're offering special visas that allow remote workers to live and work offshore for months or even years at a time. Places like Lisbon, Portugal, and Bangkok, Thailand, have emerged as nomad hotspots, prized for their affordability, vibrant culture, and robust internet—a true digital worker's dream.

However, the nomadic lifestyle isn't all sunsets and cheap rent. While it offers undeniable perks like reduced living costs and sightseeing opportunities, it also brings challenges. Locals in popular destinations sometimes face housing challenges due to the influx of remote workers with more buying power. This has sparked discussions around finding a symbiotic balance that benefits both nomads and local residents.

Remote work sparks a surge in "digital nomads" | The Shifting Workplace Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 foreign [Music] 19 and the world is a very different place for many the idea of remote work was just a fantasy to daydream about while sitting in a cubicle but the pandemic lockdowns changed all of that the office can now be literally anywhere in the world We Begin our shifting workplace series with these so-called digital Nomads they work online from wherever they choose
• 00:30 - 01:00 and rarely stay in one fixed location last year nearly 17 million Americans call themselves digital Nomads that's up 131 percent from before the pandemic the shift comes as some traditional job holders who aren't Freelancers and don't own their own companies have switched to fully remote employment now two-thirds of digital Nomads are traditional job holders these employees work in a
• 01:00 - 01:30 variety of fields from Information Technology to finance the key is that their job can be done with digital tools namely a computer and access to Reliable internet dozens of nations are making it easier for people to become digital Nomads by offering special visas allowing them to live and work in these countries for anywhere from six months to five years in some places so where are the digital Nomads the third most popular location is Bangkok Thailand which gained major points for internet
• 01:30 - 02:00 access the weather and cost of living that's followed by Europe's largest business City London and in 2022 the most popular destination was Lisbon Portugal that's where we find CBS News foreign correspondent raymie inocencio who spent a day in the life of a digital nomad Portugal is known for its beautiful beaches delicious delights and centuries-old architecture but it also
• 02:00 - 02:30 has fast modern Wi-Fi a low cost of living and easy access to the rest of Europe that's made at a top hot spot for digital Nomads like Kendall Lobo she was working from home for a San diego-based Financial technology firm then realized I can do the exact same job from a completely different country she brought us along for some of her daily rituals including mornings at the beach how often do you go surfing I would say like four times a week Kendall Works U.S West Coast hours
• 02:30 - 03:00 that's 3 30 to 11 p.m here in Lisbon I have the morning and the whole day to explore do whatever and if I'm traveling then I'll take like a morning flight so that by 3 P.M I can be working when looking for a job she encountered two reasons to stick with an American one the first one was a lot of people didn't want to hire an American because of Visa issues the second was the Portuguese salaries are a lot lower than what I could make with a U.S job the process of securing a work visa took a few months
• 03:00 - 03:30 but once Kendall got to Portugal it was a quick move into her Airbnb all she brought was a couple suitcases and her prized possession the biggest thing that I own is that surfboard right there and I bought that blanket blanket I love it that you say I bought the blanket that's mine but nothing else here is yours yeah no nothing else is mine her apartment fully furnished is a quarter of the price of a similar unit in San Diego which frees up her budget I feel like I'm able to spend a lot more money on travel than like whereas in
• 03:30 - 04:00 California I would have to put that money towards rent it's also cheaper for almost everything else including Kendall's favorite food so this one is four Euros and 50 cents in California the one that I usually get at my favorite place costs 17 dollars 17 that's four times yeah the price of this exactly that's crazy and honestly this one's bigger it's not all upside though Kendall is a first time digital
• 04:00 - 04:30 Nomad and she says Landing in a new city can be isolating all the more reason to befriend both fellow Nomads and locals when you connect more in the community then there's more sense of stability whereas if you're looking for a friend for your next adventure then maybe the Nomad Community is better on the other side of the world in Bangkok Thailand David tan has lived a digital Nomad life for the past three years I think for a lot of Nomads a sweet spot is anywhere from one to three months since 2019 his lifestyle has taken him around the world
• 04:30 - 05:00 living in 15 countries on five continents he's a former software engineer who now freelances David's built a professional and personal Network everywhere he's been if you're say to me any City I could tell you someone that's there right now and he's seen The Nomad Community come into the mainstream over the years before the pens I make I think being a nomad was more kind of a fringe thing but I think with covet it accelerated everything it's never been easier to be a nomad
• 05:00 - 05:30 just because there's so many services catered to Nomads those Services include co-working spaces which provide digital Nomads places to mingle with unique creative or inspiring offerings you can co-work where Lisbon meets the Atlantic Ocean in a repurposed shipping container with a free beer in a soothing sea of vegetation like Kendall David says his rent is much cheaper abroad so my rent right now is about under 500 and let's say you were back in San Francisco for the same
• 05:30 - 06:00 amount of space how much do you think you'd be paying I mean my apartment right now could be easily three thousand four thousand dollars on a U.S salary that might sound like a steal but for locals they can and often are priced out at this moment a physician even working in private sector 14 hours a day cannot afford a decent house in Lisbon Portuguese labor historian Raquel Varela says she's not opposed to people moving to her country you want to know
• 06:00 - 06:30 other countries you want to know other people this is incredibly positive but the social activist does take issue with housing inequality created by foreigners with US Dollars and more buying power everything enters in the huge game of competition and you smash the majority of the population she says governments need to do more to help their own citizens and encourages digital Nomads to show respect for the people in the country they call a Temporary Home by advocating to help them while some
• 06:30 - 07:00 digital Nomads have no plans to slow down for many it's a short-term lifestyle and there's a surf coming right up Kendall says she plans to return to San Diego after a year and a half overseas but she's not sure how long she'll stay put you think you might leave November but never know what might happen yeah exactly you never know and that's the thing with plans like they always change this was never part of my plan but I'm so grateful that I'm here Ramey inocencio CBS News Lisbon
• 07:00 - 07:30 digital Nomad visas usually require applicants to be self-employed or employed by a company not based in the country they want to live in so as not to take away jobs from the locals