The digital nomad: Pros and cons of a life on the move

Achieving ultimate flexibility by working on the road may sound like a dream to some and a nightmare to others. As with anything in life, there are pros and cons to this lifestyle.

The idea of a digital nomad isn’t new. Employees who use tech to work on the move have been around for years. The term was pioneered in 1997, and since then, there have been an estimated 35 million worldwide.

Someone who has embraced the digital nomadic lifestyle is Carly Koemptgen. Ms Koemptgen has built a career as a social media specialist and quickly decided that the office wasn’t for her. She’s since become a freelancer, working on the move.

“I got to a point where I had a reckoning with myself, and I realised, do I really want to spend the rest of my career sitting in my apartment in front of a laptop for eight hours a day straight? I feel like there’s just so much more out there and life that needs to be lived, and I wanted to find a way to be flexible with my work while also maintaining a life outside of work,” said Ms Koemptgen.

“That is when I decided to quit the agency life and go freelance. I took my skills that I learned in social media, the network that I had gained there, and started obtaining clients of my own. I have been freelance for a little bit over a year now, working with a couple of different clients to create their social media and do strategy work.”

Since then, Ms Koemptgen has begun work with Deel, which offered her a job working from a van in New Zealand and Australia for six months.

“I was like, this is perfect. This is exactly what I’m doing already. I’ve always wanted to live a van life, always wanted to go to New Zealand and Australia. So, I made a little TikTok video as my application, sent that to them, and then ended up going through the interview process, and that’s how I ended up here,” Ms Koemptgen said.

The decision to take up a nomadic lifestyle has helped Ms Koemptgen to prioritise her mental wellbeing.

She continued: “My mental health started to take a decline. I started to feel really purposeless, and I was just like, am I really going to have to do this for the rest of my working career? And I want to make an impact on the world in some way. I want to see the world. I want to get out.

“I quit without a plan ... I made the decision to leave … I did have a little bit of money saved up, so I felt comfortable leaving that role for at least a little bit. But it was very much like a low point where I realised that I just could not continue in the way that I was in the direction that I was going, and I needed to change something.”

Another benefit that comes with the lifestyle is the flexibility. Being able to go virtually anywhere breaks up the usual routine and adds some excitement. Ms Koemptgen also appreciates being in nature and seeing the world.

“The different ways that I fill up my cup is by being outside, being able to take breaks, especially in such a creative role as well. It’s important for me to get out and kind of be in the world while also finding time to do my work,” she explained.

“A big thing was that flexibility of time and adjusting my schedule to fit what works for me. So now, for example, I don’t have to be on during the hours of nine and five for my agency. I can work when it is best for me.”

While the benefits are great, as with most things in life, there are challenges. Being on the move adds flexibility but can also reduce it when called upon.

“Sometimes I just have to drop everything and get something done. A client will have a request that needs to be done within the next 24 hours, and I’ll be out on the highway hot spotting and making sure that things get done,” said Ms Koemptgen.

“I had that happen last week where I was going to go out sailing on the Whitsundays. And then, I had a client ask me for some content that they needed within 24 hours. So, I had to delay my sailing trip.”

The transcript of this podcast episode was slightly edited for publishing purposes. To listen to the full conversation with Carly Koemptgen, click below: