Being a family of digital nomads is a concept that has many advantages. First of all, you have the unique opportunity to travel the world and learn so many new things. For parents who are interested in such a thing, this is one of the best ways to make their kids multilingual. Other than this, due to the nature of work that most of these digital nomads do, there’s usually more time to spend with your kids and your family, in general.
However, it’s not all sunshine and roses in the field of digital nomadism either. There are some quite difficult situations and concepts that you’ll have to deal with. So, with that in mind and without further ado, here’s the hard part.
It’s difficult for the kids
For a couple who intend to live on the go, this shouldn’t be that much of an issue. In fact, the biggest problem here would be finding employment in the same city, yet, due to the fact that more and more millennials tend to be telecommuters, not even this may be a factor. Other than this, keep in mind that it can be quite difficult for the kids, seeing as how they need a routine in order to feel safe and emotionally grow. Making them change home every year or so, as well as leave their friends and school behind is hard and some might even call it unfair. As far as education goes, homeschooling could help, yet, there’s more to traditional education than just curriculum.
The extended family
Being a digital nomad might make it quite difficult for you to stay in touch with your extended family, as well as it may become more difficult for them to help you out. For a lot of young couples out there, the grandparents (especially those in retirement) can sometimes act as reliable and completely free-of-cost babysitters. Needless to say, this is not a possibility when you’re half-a-way across the globe. Second, you might hope that your kids will hang out with their little cousins, yet, with this kind of a lifestyle, such a thing might not be entirely possible. Sure, there’s always the likelihood of them playing multiplayer games together, yet, it’s never the same thing.
Moving to a different country
Another thing you should consider is the prospect of moving to another country. The reason why this is such a troublesome issue lies in the fact that you might get a work visa, while your family gets left behind. Sure, you might aim to make some money and return home after a couple of months, however, what if you liked it so much there that you want to bring your entire family over. In that case, you would have to find reliable migration agents and ask them for their assistance in realizing this goal. Keep in mind, though, that this procedure takes some time and might even require you to gather a hefty amount of paperwork. Still, the end result is more than worth it.
Health issues
Traveling all the time means changing biomes and climates, which also means that you might get sick more often. When travelling with kids, getting necessary vaccines against local illnesses like malaria is something that’s always recommended. Also, keep in mind that your health insurance might not be valid internationally. Needless to say, it’s incredibly important that you check this before traveling. Aside from this, in an unknown country, you might be unaware of the location of the hospital or even the number of the emergency room. In the digital era, and especially to a digital nomad, this is quite easy to check. Still, it would be a lot better if you were to do this preemptively rather than reactively.
A work-life balance
We’ve mentioned that if you do everything right, you have a chance of spending more time with your family. Doing so is not easy but it’s vital for your happiness and success. If you were to leave for work and spend 8 hours straight at the office, upon returning home you would be free to socialize with family and friends. However, what if there’s no office (not even a home office or a shared working space). What if you’re working in an improvised setting and seemingly random hours? How much time would you have for your family? Even if you did have the best intentions of spending time with them, how would your odd free hours coincide with theirs? All of these questions are something that you’ll have to find a way to answer.
The very last thing you need to understand is that even with all of these downsides, the fact is that a lot of people still choose the life of digital nomadism. Why? Well, because with some discipline and sacrifices, it’s possible for you to make it all work out for the best. The unique set of benefits that you would get this way will more than make up for any downside that you’ll encounter. Each of the above-listed problems has a solution, you just have to start looking for it hard enough.