The Mount Batur from Kintamani

The circle is complete! After leaving for Bali and staying there for many months,
I continued on to countries like the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, and India. And over the past few months, I wrapped things up back in Bali a place where I truly felt at home.

But it all started as an adventure where I had no idea what to expect especially when it came to digital entrepreneurship. My plan: work remotely and be location independent! I had experience with working from home (sparked by COVID), plus a few exploratory short (work) trips to Spain and Asia. Before leaving, I’d also spoken with a few potential clients who thought it was a great plan and saw opportunities to work together especially because of the time difference. With all of that,
I felt it was the perfect moment to make my dream of becoming a digital nomad a reality and gain real experience. Over the past two years, I regularly took you along through my blogs.

Once I had landed and gotten used to the temperatures of the Far East,
I eventually realized it could feel overwhelming with all the activities I could pursue technology, personal development, spirituality, dance everything was interesting and fun.
That also taught me to say no and make conscious choices about how I wanted to spend my time. To stay active and consistent, I worked with a “tight” morning and evening routine. That came with ups and downs. It wasn’t until Thailand that I really found a good rhythm partly by intentionally being less active and gradually shifting my internal clock a bit later 😉. That helped me run productive days with all the work and activities that came with it.

Another thing I experienced: friends come and go. Nothing wrong with that, of course. My advice: focus on friends who will be around for a longer period so you can truly build a personal connection. Another tip: get actively involved in a fun community. If things get tough and you need help, there will almost always be a few community nomads ready to support you. I was very grateful that I could rely on community friends after I had a scooter accident.

A digital nomad lifestyle is definitely achievable but you do need sufficient income. That requires entrepreneurship, daily choices, and discipline.
It’s not just sipping coconuts on the beach 😊. I successfully completed several IT assignments as well. But in practice, it turned out to be more difficult than expected to consistently find new long-term remote IT assignments.
After all, you’re still working from a distance 😉. It required more effort and time than I anticipated I did underestimate that a bit. But it also made me realize that networking and “online” visibility are essential if you want to sustain a digital nomad life long-term…
On the upside, I did build a truly global network and gained all kinds of expertise that I may be able to use for future assignments and ventures 😉.

If you want to travel with your laptop, I would definitely recommend having a “steady” source of income already. That said, I also met nomads who found creative ways to earn income offline. So don’t let it stop you if it’s not fully sorted out beforehand.

I also noticed that IT doesn’t work everywhere the way you might expect. During my Microsoft certification, for example, it turned out that servers in East Asia were blocked. Good to keep in mind: IT infrastructure isn’t always smooth everywhere. But overall, the Wi-Fi is usually good.

One final thought: step out of your comfort zone. It’s an amazing time and place to try new things things you can later grow from and enjoy. For me, that’s also a reflection question: did I truly cross the edge, or did I still play it too safe?
I did catch myself a few times. But no matter what, this journey has given me a solid dose of life experience and I’m deeply grateful for that.

For now, thank you for reading and liking my stories. I hope they’ve sparked new ideas for you too maybe even for the next chapter of your own “digital” life.
And thank you to all the people I met over the past years, both online and offline. You were definitely part of my experience.

I’m back in the Netherlands for now, and my travel ambitions are on pause but my entrepreneurship won’t be. I already feel the itch to host a webinar 😉.
Maybe I’ll take you along again with all the insights and lessons learned.
And if you’d like to hear my stories and experiences in person, or if you see possibilities to collaborate, I’m definitely open to meeting up for a nice cup of coffee. Nothing wrong with a bit of Dutch gezelligheid 😊.

With a Dutch “Hollandsche Nieuwe” greeting,
Sander