So I recently went to an event in Playa del Carmen where I got to catch up with fellow location independent business owners and aspiring digital nomads. So much has changed in the last two years, but so much has stayed the same. Let's start with the what's stayed the same:
Travel
Travel is very much still on. With many countries open, I heard plenty of travel stories from friends as well as plans for more travel later this year and into next year.
Chasing Summer
Ski fans chase winter, but almost everyone else chases summer, and it looks like another typical "we're going to Europe this summer" wave coming.
No Shortage of Newbs
You might have thought that being locked down and restricted in our travel choices may have changed many people's perspectives on travel, but I can tell you there is no shortage of new digital nomads entering the scene and even more surprising, building businesses and income streams that can survive lockdowns, supply chain issues, and other challenges that wrecked many traditional and location independent businesses.
But there's plenty that has changed too.
Homebasing
I believe that there's a life cycle to digital nomading (I'm speaking as a "recovering" digital nomad myself). At some point you settle down, whatever that means. But what I saw was that a lot of people were still doing a fair amount of traveling, but out of a permanent homebase that they established (because they had to) during the pandemic.
Remote Work Now Normal
While we knew remote work was on an upward trend two years ago, we had no idea how universally accepted it would become as an idea. Of course there are many companies looking at "back to the office" initiatives, but our new normal means that more and more people now have an easier path to the digital nomad life via remote work normalization.
Asia No Longer Top (For Now)
Asia's an awesome place to post up for digital nomads, even with the threat of that graveyard shift for those who have businesses based in the Americas. But with large portions of it still closed to casual travelers or even challenging for residents and citizens to come and go, it's been abandoned and its place has been taken by Mexico and parts of Latin America. Some of those countries have stayed relatively open the last two years and are now reaping the rewards. When people get comfortable with a place and build businesses there, tastes and trends change.
I'm looking forward to seeing you out on the trail as we see what the coming years have in store for us!
Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash
This article was written by Neel from MaidThis Franchise, a remote-local franchise opportunity for people looking to escape the rate race and reach financial freedom. Learn more here.
