What I Learned from Travelling as a Digital Nomad for 5 Months

Whilst I have technically been a digital nomad for the last three years, i.e., living in a country where I don’t hold any working or residency visas whilst making money online, it was only this year that I fully lived the experience. I spent five months travelling through Turkey, the Netherlands, and Germany, whilst teaching English online.

Before I left on my adventure, I knew that I would be spending three months in Turkey, the maximum allowed as a tourist, and had only one month’s accommodation booked in Istanbul. I figured that I would decide where to go after that, which brings me to my first point.

Next time I need to plan more!

Spontaneity is great and digital nomads should be open to changing plans, rolling with a hunch, and going somewhere that locals advise you to go, but leaving things to almost the last minute before organizing a new destination wasn’t ideal.

There are two things I would like to add here; firstly, I have always been a very organized person. My life in Australia ran like clockwork and I would never have travelled then as I do now. As my seemingly well-planned life started to unravel and the future became uncertain, I became more relaxed and spontaneous, which is something I desperately needed to learn, and now I’m all for fluidity.

Secondly, there is a difference between having a plan and adjusting it as you discover more, and leaving everything to the last minute as you realize that your current booking is about to come to an end and you have no idea where you’re off to next.

I was extremely fortunate on this journey and it seemed as if the gods were smiling over my journey, keeping me safe. There were a few times where I could have landed in some hot water had Divine intervention not landed my bum in the butter, which brings me to my next point…

Don’t land up somewhere expensive if your income is limited!

It’s no secret that teaching ESL online is not a lucrative job! Whilst I have learned to travel on a dime, it’s better for me to stay in low-cost countries. Making the decision to head into Western Europe wasn’t one of my greatest ideas, but thankfully, a host of guardian angels flew right alongside of me — this is my only explanation for how I got so lucky.

A friend of a friend allowed me to rent her garden cottage in the southern region of the Netherlands for the same price I had been paying for a single room in Istanbul. She also had an apartment in Amsterdam, where she split her time, and offered it to me for a week included in the cost.

Need I say more? Bum firmly in the butter!

When I had to leave the Netherlands, I considered heading to Spain which was a cheaper option for me in terms of costs and accommodation, but after contacting an old acquaintance in Germany to see if we could catch up, she offered a room in her home for the remainder of my time in Europe.

What followed was one of the loveliest, and quickest, friendships I have ever made, and I’m eternally grateful for the universal reorganization that brought me to that house outside of Regensburg, Bavaria.

I was also fortunate to be in Germany during the last month of the €9 ticket — a brilliant initiative by the German government to reduce carbon emissions by encouraging people to use the public transport system instead of driving, as well as helping their citizens out financially in a post-pandemic world. That little ticket saved me a lot of money and enabled me to see more than I would have been able to afford.

Whilst I was extremely fortunate, transport in the Netherlands and Germany (after my €9 grace period ended) was extremely expensive, as were entry fees, and eating out. Without my low accommodation costs, I wouldn’t have managed.

Speaking of public transport, I learned to love it.

Having had a car for most of my adult life, choosing to walk over taking buses in Costa Rica and Mexico, and never having spent much time in places where there was a good train system, my experience with public transport had been fairly limited before this trip.

The public transport in Turkey, the Netherlands, and Germany is so easy and efficient that I learned to love riding the rails or hopping onto a bus. They were clean, well marked, and took me effortlessly to my destinations, with the help of Google Maps tracking my progress so I could jump off at the right stations.

The only issue I had was hauling my luggage along with me, which brings me to the biggest lesson I learned…

Pack lightly, take only one carry-on and one large bag, and make it a duffel on wheels!

This is the primary pearl of wisdom that I learned from my journey.

Yes, I hear all of you… duh!?! I have mentioned before that I’m still learning how to pack lightly. I knew I would be gone for five months but paid absolutely no mind to what it would feel like hauling my large bag, small bag, and backpack on and off more trains and buses than I care to mention. To my credit, I’m taking less and less on each trip, but I still took too much.

As I packed my bags for the last time in Germany, preparing to return home, I made a comprehensive list of all the items I had brought — a list I intend to refer back to when I pack for my next set of adventures. As I scribbled down the names of the items I was squeezing into my bags, it dawned on me that I had only actively used about a third of them, with another third barely seeing the light of day.

I plan to buy a duffel on wheels with additional backpack straps for my next journey to Central and South America.

With any luck and by the grace of God, I may have finally learned how to pack light!

. . .

Here are a few extra nuggets of Vanessa’s extraordinary wisdom

Plan rest days.

Teaching five days a week, creating content, and writing, takes enough time as it is, throw in the need to sightsee and you’ve got a 70-hour week!

There were days when I had to rest as my body simply said, “NO!” My mind, however, threw out a few guilt depth chargers which my soul batted back with skill and precision. Long story short — I spent some time resting!

Always have change on you to use the bathroom.

You need money to pee everywhere these days. God bless North America where I have never had to drop a nickel to relieve myself. Bus and train stations all over Europe, and even some shopping centers in Germany, are charging to use the restrooms.

If you have an older bladder and wish to stay hydrated, you could spend more money in a day using the bathroom than on transport or food!

Be prepared!

As of September 7th when I left Germany, masks were still required on all public transport. They hadn’t been needed in Turkey or the Netherlands so when I hopped on the train to cross the German border, I was surprised to see everyone masked up. Thankfully, I’m predictable in certain areas and after scrabbling around in my jacket pocket, I found a mask I had stuffed in there and popped it on.

Suffice it to say, I kept clean ones in the front pocket of my backpack after that incident.

Also, never assume that anything you think of as the norm will be the norm everywhere else. For example, grocery stores are not open on a Sunday in Germany, ATMs are not that easy to come by in the Netherlands and some supermarkets have stopped taking cash there, baskets were non-existent in my local Aldi in Pentling, and nothing can be processed in Turkey after 6pm, including trying to recharge my cellphone. The fact that the store is open is of no consequence!

Next year, I’ll spend six months travelling through Central and South America so God alone knows what I’ll learn on that trip! You can rest assured, though, that y’all will hear about it!