Traveling the world as a freelance translator – heaven or hell?

Post by Ivonne M.

Not everybody is made for a life on the road. Before you sell everything and pack your bags, consider doing a few “dry runs”.

Plan a long weekend in a nice location. How about Carnival in Venice, a trip to London or Rome or a short beach vacation? You can also go hiking as long as there is internet in your guesthouse. If you are already a freelance translator then just take your work with you and inform your customers that you will be online only during certain times. If you still work for a company, ask if you could do “home office” on Friday and Monday.

Do sightseeing and fun activities every day and work a bit as well. Are you still motivated to translate a boring legal contract after a 4 hour hike up a mountain or after seeing every historical place in Rome? Is it better for you to work a bit in the morning and then again in the evening or do you prefer to finish your work first and then head out to have fun?

Can you work in unfamiliar places? Do you like to work in your hotel room, in a cafe or beach bar? Do you prefer to work outside or inside? Or do you need an office environment to be productive?

Experiment as much as possible and try to find out if a life on the road would be heaven or hell for you. If you enjoy your long weekends, start traveling and working for one, two, three, four… weeks.

Is it still fun? Do you prefer to be in one place for a while or do you travel to new places every second day? It is very important to find out what type of digital nomad you are. This will determine which strategy will work best for you. Some digital nomads prefer to stay in one place for a while, use it as a base and discover the surroundings on short trips. Other nomads hop from on interesting place to the next.

You are ready to hit the road? Yes … but what about my house and dog?

If you want to try the life of a digital nomad without selling all your stuff and dog, consider renting out your place. You will have some cash to put in your travel fund and somebody to feed your dog. You can look for some long time tenant or offer your place on AirBnB to short time visitors.

You could also exchange or swap your place with an apartment in New York, a 16th century palazzo in Mdina, Malta or a houseboat in Amsterdam. Or treat yourself to a 6 star ****** SPA resort experience in sunny San Diego.

If the exchange does not work for you, you could find a house and pet sitter for your place.

Now that you have taken care of your house and dog it is time to pack your bags and hit the road.

In my next post I will tell you how you can find free accommodation and make friends around the world and other proven digital nomad strategies.