If you\’ve ever had the dream of trading in a life of abject slavery and 40-hour work weeks for one of continual travel where the world is your home, there is no time like the present to explore the lifestyle of the digital nomad. While most people will only ever see or experience the world through the television or a copy of National Geographic, location independent expats are out there in the world, using their Western salaries to enjoy a life of continual travel and adventure that sees them actually living the excitement that most people only ever watch on The Travel Channel.
The expat lifestyle is not anything new; it has existed for thousands of years in the form of people choosing to live in other countries. However, it is easier now in the 21st century than it has ever been before simply because the Internet has allowed for globalization on a level that was never previously available. When you can work via the Internet you can take your job anywhere you want to go, which means you can very literally be working while sipping mojitos on the beach in Mexico just as easily as you can be stuffed into a tiny cubicle while wearing a restrictive suit in a New York City office.
One of the best parts about living as a digital nomad is how accessible it is to everyone. You don\’t need a million dollars to enjoy a life of continual travel and early retirement. All you need is the tenacity to trade in your life of wage slavery for one of absolute freedom. Forget spending 40 years of your life in a cubicle environment where you are working for someone else\’s benefit. Instead, realize that the entire world is ripe with possibilities, and by choosing to explore them through a life of continual travel you will obtain the greatest levels of freedom available.
Consider this for a moment: the cost of living in New York City is around $30,000 a year for the average individual. This amount assumes a minimum level of creature comforts and amenities; in other words, you are living at the poverty level without any extra money to spend per month. If you look at Mexico City in comparison, expats are enjoying an upper middle-class lifestyle on merely $10,000 a year. That means they not only have more creature comforts than a person living in poverty in NYC, but they also have plenty of money every month to spend gratuitously.
The power of the digital nomad lifestyle is in the simple math. The median salary for American citizens is $36,000 a year before taxes, or around $30,000 a year after tax. If you live in a median cost of living city in the United States of America you can expect to spend your full $30,000 a year on the cost of living, which means you are never getting ahead and never putting any money in the savings. But when you choose to live in another city such as Mexico City like other expats around the world, you can actually put the lion\’s share of profit back into your bank account and see returns that are a minimum of $15,000 a year.
Food poisoning is something to watch out for on the digital nomad adventure. While you can generally enjoy the expat lifestyle without hazards, there are always exceptions to the rule.
The cost of living for the expat lifestyle
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