Of All the Reasons Not to Travel and Work Remotely, Age Shouldn’t Be One of Them

Why let the 20-somethings have all the fun?

So you think all remote workers are 20-something frat boys in IT intent on ravaging a cheap country for all it’s worth?

Yeah, I thought that too.

It turns out, the average age of a traveling remote worker is 40. I’ve just spent a couple of weeks immersed in the “digital nomad” (can we retire that phrase yet?) world and I’d wager ~75% of the ones I met were my age (37) or older.

Yet my friends at home tell me they couldn’t possibly travel and work remotely because they’re too old for that now. That time has passed, it’s a young person’s game. They — my friends — have kids, mortgages, responsibilities.

What they don’t realize is that so do many people on the road— they just carry their responsibilities (and kids) with them.

If you really want to travel full-time, to work from the road, age should the last thing that stops you.

Why does growing up have to be so boring?

OMG adulting is dull.

Or at least, the way we’re taught to adult is dull, especially if your parents and the people you hang around with are those American Dream types.

Get a 9–5 job, don’t worry if you hate it, so does everyone else. Get a car payment, a partner, a mortgage, a couple of kids. Grind, grumble, hello grim reaper.

Throughout modern history, there have been movements that rally against the inflexibility of the American Dream. People who say nah, that sounds super dull, mate.

Digital nomadism is just another example. It’s a big two fingers up to What You Do. It’s people who realized that the “normal” way of adulting simply doesn’t suit them. The sort of people who used to spend a large amount of their spare time staring out the window thinking there must be more to life than this.

With the resources we have at our fingertips, crafting a life based on travel is no longer just the realm of 20-something trust fund kids or empty-nesters. It can be for people who are bored of their “adult” life and are desperate for something to stop the inertia. It can be for people who understand there are millions of ways to live — mortgage, kids, and office job is only one of them.

IMO, the most grown-up thing you can do is figure out how you want to live your life and actually live it.

If that’s travel in your mid-life years, then get to it.

The kid conundrum

Yes I know, it’s alright for me, I don’t have children in tow.

And yes, as I sat on a bus for 8 hours yesterday, the thought did cross my mind — how the frick does anyone do this with children?

But they do. Very much so.

Just last week I met an Albanian family who spends 3 months of the year in Albania and the other 9 traveling the world. I met another dude with 6 kids in tow.

Worldschooling — a movement where students use the world around them as their classroom — is less of a fringe faction nowadays and more of a legit educational path.

Gone are the days when homeschooled kids were considered weirdos. They are in fact healthier, happier, more well-adjusted, and confident. From my own experience with the traditional school system, I can see why.

I love it when I encounter kids who travel with their parents — largely because they’re always so confident, mature, and interesting. It’s inspirational and a far cry from many of the immature, insecure, anxiety-ridden kids I sadly see back in the UK.

Kids shouldn’t be used as an excuse to not get out there and explore. There are ways to make it work, from grappling with childcare to grappling with traveling teenagers (ask me for resources if you want them).

It could be the best thing that happened to your children — and you as parents.

Sod the judgment

A couple of days ago I happened to bump into an old wine trade friend in Belgrade (the world is so small these days, it’s amazing how often this happens).

As we reminisced about times gone by, we landed on the subject of judgment. Specifically, the judgment both of us have felt about being older travelers (I’m 37, he’s 44).

I lamented that the judgment weighs heavy on my mind. There are my parents and parents-in-law who ask how much longer will you keep up this charade? There are friends who say it’ll be different when you have children.

I think about it a lot and on my darker days, I worry they might be right. What if I’m screwing up my life here?

As I banged on about this, my friend stopped eating his burek and looked me dead in the eyes.

Charlie, sod the judgment. If you listen to it, you’ll never do anything or enjoy it if you do.

He’s right of course.

Make no bones about it, if you travel in your older years, you will be on the sticky end of people’s judgment. Most people won’t understand it and they will be all too happy to tell you so.

I feel like I’m stating the bleeding obvious here but it’s worth saying because so many people worry about it:

Listen to my friend. Sod the judgment.

And remember — judgment is a mirror. If people are judging your decision to pack up and get on the road, that says more about them than it does about you.

You’re not dead in the ground yet

Many of us love comfort and convenience — we want everything and we want it in the next 10 minutes please, Mr Uber Eats.

Traveling isn’t always comfortable and it certainly isn’t very convenient. Working remotely is not so easy when you’re changing Airbnbs every few weeks or months and have no permanent desk setup. Apartments will lack basic equipment or home comforts. Alas, it’s just the way it is.

But if you’re able-bodied, healthy and under say 80 (or sometimes more), that shouldn’t stop you. You’re not dead yet. You don’t need to sink into a La-Z boy chair aged 35 and not rouse from it for the next 40 years.

Until you’re 6 feet under, travel is always there and it’s always an option.

If you’re anything like me, you will have been told time and again that your life only counts as “successful” or even “normal” if you do it a certain way. Stay in one place. Climb some metaphorical ladders (housing, careers etc).

Poppycock.

The TL:DR here is if you want to join the remote work traveling cohort but think you’re too old or stuck in your ways to do it, you’re wrong.

You’re not too old. You’re not too stuck. Countless people make this lifestyle work for them at all ages.

And that’s a freaking awesome thought.

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