What I Learned from Nomading in Thailand for the First Time

Incredible experience. But for first-timers, mistakes can be made.

Living on an exotic island for a more extended period was always my dream. It was on a bucket list in my life that I had to do.

I wanted to do this long ago but had to wait for the moment or conditions to brew up to it.

And my dream came true. It happened.

I met many interesting people there, who also did the same. Some have been doing it for quite some time. But for many, it was also their first time.

Pandemic Impact

Not gonna deny saying that the global pandemic definitely boosted remote work culture.

Suddenly, working remotely for everyone has become mandatory. It is a shock at first. But the next stage is freedom and the benefits you see of remote work.

Some people never even had an idea of the opportunity to work remotely from abroad. But here we are.

Opportunities are open to even more people. Especially those who are working at companies. The comfort and security of full-time employment on an exotic island far away.

Remote work will not disappear. The pandemic might be “almost gone”, but once people got a taste of working remotely, it is here to stay.

Of course, it depends on the company policy if they allow working abroad.

If it is done correctly, it is possible to be productive even on an exotic island.

How I Started and Chose the Location

It differs from person to person, but several factors impacted my choice. I chose Thailand for the nomad adventure.

At first, I looked at trends, data, and statistics. Locations for remote work on an exotic island. It should be affordable, with good quality of life and decent infrastructure for working remotely.

Since I travelled during the pandemic, the location had to be accessible to vaccinated travellers. For example, some Asian countries were closed for good.

Reliable internet is an essential factor here. I scouted the website “Nomadlist” for trends and statistics about each country.

Another critical factor for me was the time zone. Asian countries are in a range of somewhat possible to catch up during business hours.

But for example, Mexico would be impossible for me at the moment.

My friends were going to Thailand anyway, so the choice became simple. Also, they were the country with the clearest COVID requirements in Asia.

The New Work-Life Balance

The lifestyle I had was so much different from back home. I would say it was an improvement.

My new work schedule was from 13:00 to 21:00 evening. I know I don’t have much of a day then, but that is the price you pay for being in such a place.

At least I had weekends available and could make trips and adventures. My free time during weekends was maximized.

Since I had long mornings available, I made the best out of it. Signed up for the gym and started doing Muay Thai boxing also. At 07:00 every day, I go to the gym or the Muay Thai session. After that, I go to have breakfast at about 09:00 in some place with a view.

The food was terrific. Since there were few healthy food restaurants, it was easy to eat healthily. I don’t think I ever had such a clean and good diet. This was a blast in my fitness journey with my sports activities.

Later on, you can go for a swim in the sea and then it is time to start working.

During business days, I don’t see much besides my work. In the evening I go for dinner somewhere, come home to read a book for hours, and then it is time to sleep.

I kept such a routine for a long time, which helped me establish good habits there.

The challenge to Work from Home

At first, I tried working from home. The internet was mediocre. I would say just okay. But during longer meetings, it would start cutting out.

I was lucky I had a local Thai internet plan and could use the internet from the phone when I wanted. This was not a long-term solution, not to mention it was not so comfortable working from home.

It depends on what kind of place you choose for your living. Mine was cheap with not many amenities.

You can choose a more expensive place to live with comfortable working conditions. Or you can pay less for rent and invest in a coworking office.

Finding an Office to Work From

So the next thing I did — was to find a decent place for work. I tried some coworking places around the island. One was particularly good and I stuck with it.

Good internet, great coffee, and interesting people around. It was perfect. Since I started working from a coworking office, my working day has improved dramatically.

The coworking place had a lot of activities and events going on. It was hard to find some time for it.

I was a bit jealous of those who hadn’t worked much and had a lot of time to “live the life”.

Some people worked about 4–5 hours a day and had extra time to connect with others and do some stuff after work.

Also, the beach was nearby, so mentally was distracting seeing other people having fun on the beach while you have to work.

Lifestyle Differs On How Much Free Time You Have

One big difference was that I worked full-time at a European company. Of course, there were some other people who also worked at a company remotely.

While many others were entrepreneurs, small business owners, and content creators.

The difference between us was the freedom of how we lived there. I was tied to the schedule, while others had the privilege to do whatever they wanted.

I would say this was an inspiration for me. Every person I met I took as inspiration and my next goal is to have the ability to control time.

How much to work would be my choice, rather than having someone else choose it for me.

#1 Lesson Learned — Get a Good Office

The first lesson I learned is that a good and comfortable office makes a difference. It is an additional investment I don’t regret. It made my working day so much better.

I had a lot of human connections and met incredible people from different countries. Everyone has a unique story and how they got there.

I would change next time to get a coworking near the jungle rather than near the beach.

The beach is good for holidays, but you have fewer temptations by having a view of the jungle. If you are willing to work — it is beneficial.

#2 Lesson Learned — Know What you Want There

You must set goals and things you want to achieve there. If you don’t have a plan, it will be hard.

Mine was food and fitness mostly. For some was human connections. For others business only. If you know what you want — life will be easier there.

Even though I had great food, my fitness has never been better. I learned some martial arts. My side business projects I was doing at that time halted. But that was the sacrifice I made for other goals.

Outro

I am not on this island anymore. I spent half a year there. Had a fantastic time. It was all worth it. The bucket list is complete.

The next time I travel, I will have this experience and plan life accordingly. I have an idea to do this again in Thailand or Indonesia.

The energy is exciting there. The vibes, people, and leisure is on another level. The downside is that, at least for me, is hard to work a lot.

Temptations eventually can catch up to you if you are in such an environment.

It has its ups and downs, but overall such a lifestyle improved my mood. I had much less stress in that place compared to everywhere else.

Loved this? Want to help me keep it up? Consider signing up to become a Medium member. It’s $5 a month. You unlocked unlimited access to all the fantastic stories on Medium.