4 Proven Methods In Becoming A Digital Nomad
You’ve seen people working from beach cafés in Bali, mountain chalets in Switzerland, or rooftop terraces in Mexico City and thought - How do they do that?
Here’s the thing: there isn’t just one way to become a digital nomad. There are many. And depending on where you are right now in your career, some paths will make more sense for you than others.
In this post, I’ll break down four proven methods that I’ve personally tested over the last eight years while travelling to more than 60 countries. These are the same paths I teach in my programs to help people like you take their careers remote, make a full-time income from anywhere, and live in freedom and alignment.
Because that’s what this is really about - not just travel for travel’s sake.
It’s about living a life that feels good. One where your work, your values, and your freedom are actually aligned.
I’m Christa Romano, founder of the Digital Nomad Life Academy, and I’m a career coach specialising in helping people create passion-led, location-independent remote businesses.
If you want the full roadmap, you can watch my free 90-minute masterclass on how to get started as a digital nomad at www.digitalnomadlifeacademy.com/masterclass.
I am excited to teach you what works!
Now, let’s dive into the four methods that can help you build your dream digital nomad life - starting exactly where you are.
1. How to Turn Your Existing Job into a Remote Career
The simplest way to start your digital nomad journey? Take your current job remote.
If you’ve ever worked from home, especially during the pandemic, you’ve already proven that you can get your work done without being in an office. That’s all remote work is. Doing the same job… from a different location.
So if you’ve performed well while working from home, you have a solid case for making your role fully remote.
But don’t just stroll into your boss’s office and say, “Hey, can I work from Bali?”
You need to think like your employer.
What do they value? Productivity? Team culture? Profitability?
Now, craft your argument around how their letting you go remote benefits them.
For example:
If your company wants to grow, explain how your remote setup frees up office space (and budget) to hire more people.
If they care about culture, offer to lead virtual team events that strengthen remote connection.
If they want to attract better talent, show data on how offering remote options increases retention and widens the talent pool.
And for bonus points?
Come prepared.
Create a professional proposal or slide deck outlining your plan - showing you’ve thought through time zones, communication, and accountability.
When you can make your employer feel safe about the decision, they’re far more likely to say yes.
Now, here’s the honest part: having a remote job does give you freedom, but not total freedom. You’ll still have schedules, meetings, and maybe certain time zones you can’t stray too far from.
But if you want a safe way to dip your toe into the digital nomad lifestyle while still earning a steady paycheck, this is the best first step.
2. How to Build Your Own Remote Business
Once you’ve had a taste of freedom, there’s a good chance you’ll crave more.
Enter: doing your own thing.
This is the method I’m most passionate about because it’s what I personally do, and what I help my clients create inside the Digital Nomad Life Academy.
When you build your own remote business, whether that’s freelancing, consulting, coaching, or offering a specific service, you unlock true freedom.
You decide your hours. You choose your clients. You can grow, pivot, or scale as you wish.
And best of all? You get to do something that actually lights you up.
Yes, it’s scarier than having a steady paycheck. But it’s also limitless.
You’re no longer stuck asking permission to take time off or wondering if your boss will approve your travel plans. You’re in charge.
And before you say, “But Christa, I don’t have any skills people would pay for,” I need you to hear me:
Everyone has a skill that’s valuable to someone else.
When my clients come to me, they usually think they have “no idea where to start.” But after a few weeks, they realise they do have something the world needs—it just takes clarity and confidence to find it.
Here’s a truth that might change how you see yourself:
You don’t need to be the best at something to make money doing it.
You just need to know more than the people who know nothing.
Let’s say you’ve learned Pinterest marketing. Maybe you’re only 20% fluent in it. There are millions of small business owners who know 0%. You can offer a Pinterest management service and help them grow their visibility online, and get paid for it.
When you work for yourself, you’re not waiting for someone to “hire” you. You’re choosing to serve.
That shift changes everything.
3. How to Land a New Remote Job
If your current boss won’t budge and you’re not quite ready to freelance, this next option is for you: get a new remote job.
There are hundreds of companies now hiring fully remote teams, and entire job boards dedicated to these roles.
Here’s your strategy:
When applying, never say you want the job “so you can travel.”
That’s a big no.
Employers don’t care about your travel dreams; they care about how you’ll solve their problems.
So instead, position yourself as the solution. Show how your skills will increase their revenue, improve their processes, or lighten their workload. Be specific. Confident. Clear.
If you’ve already been working remotely, highlight that experience. If not, demonstrate self-management skills, including meeting deadlines, clear communication, and problem-solving.
The downside of this path is that finding a great remote job can take time. There are scams, competition, and hiring processes that move more slowly than you’d like.
But if you’re consistent, strategic, and show up like the pro you are, you can land a fully remote job that lets you live anywhere - without needing to build a business from scratch.
It’s not the most freedom-filled path, but it’s the most stable one.
And once you’re in, you can always transition into entrepreneurship later when the time feels right.
4. How to Take Your Work-From-Home Job and Make It Nomadic
This one’s for you if you’re already working remotely, but still sitting at the same desk, in the same house, day after day, dreaming about the world.
If you can work from home… You can work from anywhere.
Yet so many people don’t. Why? Because of fear and logistics.
They overthink things like:
How do I manage time zones with clients or my team?
How do I handle taxes while travelling?
What if I don’t know anyone in a new country?
How do I find affordable long-term stays?
What if I forget to pack something important?
These are all valid questions, and ones I’ve answered hundreds of times. But none of them are deal-breakers.
They’re just logistics. And logistics can be learned.
In fact, I created an online course called Mastering Your Digital Nomad Life that walks you through everything: visas, taxes, time zones, budgeting, packing, relationships, and more. It’s everything I wish I’d known when I started.
If you’ve been waiting for a “sign” to finally take your laptop life on the road, this is it.
Seriously - why are you working from a freezing apartment in winter when you could be sending emails from a sunny terrace in Portugal?
You’re already halfway there. Just take the next step.
Which Path Should You Choose?
Here’s the summary:
Take your current job remote. Safest route with steady income, limited flexibility.
Start your own remote business. Ultimate freedom, unlimited growth, most empowering long-term option.
Get a new remote job. Secure income, new environment, good for those who crave structure.
Make your WFH job nomadic. You already have the setup, just change your scenery and learn the logistics.
Every one of these works. I’ve done them all.
The key is to start.
Stop overthinking which method is “right.” Start with what’s possible right now. Once you’ve built some momentum, you’ll naturally evolve into the next stage of freedom.
Freedom Comes From Action, Not Daydreaming
You don’t need to quit your job tomorrow and buy a one-way ticket. You just need to start taking small, intentional steps toward your version of freedom.
Maybe that’s pitching your boss for remote work.
Maybe it’s learning one new digital skill this month.
Maybe it’s updating your LinkedIn headline to attract remote opportunities.
Whatever it is, do it.
Because here’s what I know for sure:
You deserve to have a career that supports your life, not the other way around.
You deserve to wake up excited about what you do and where you do it.
You deserve to feel free, fulfilled, and in alignment.
And it’s 100% possible for you.
Your next step, if you want guidance and community
I’ve helped hundreds of people turn their skills into remote careers, and I’d love to show you how.
If you want the full blueprint and a realistic path forward, watch my free 90 minute masterclass on how to get started as a digital nomad at www.digitalnomadlifeacademy.com/masterclass. It is the best place to begin.
You’re not behind. You’re not too late.
You’re right on time to start building the life you’ve always dreamed of.
Let’s make it happen.
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(4) Four Proven Methods in Becoming a Successful Digital Nomad
[Christa] (0:00 - 24:57): Hey, this is Christa here from Christabellatravels, and today I'm going to be sharing with you four proven methods that you can implement to take your career on the road, become a digital nomad, make a full-time income from anywhere, and just truly live your life of freedom and alignment. Freedom and alignment are two of my biggest values in life. It's really what I live by as someone who has been traveling the world since 2013. At this point, I've been to 60 countries. It's been about eight years, and I have tried all the things. I have tried all the ways to make sure that this lifestyle was sustainable for me and that I was still focusing on not just these two values of freedom and alignment, but also of career. Ever since I remember, I always wanted to have a job. I wanted to be able to make money. I wanted to have a career that was respected. Even before I graduated college, I remember dreaming of moving to New York City and wearing pencil skirts and heels to work, walking down the subway, which literally now I can't think of anything I'd rather do less.But at the time, it was really just that vision was indicative of my dreams of being a career woman. Today, many, many years later, I still very much feel like a career woman. If you don't know what I do, I'm actually a coach. I have my own business and, yeah, living that digital nomad entrepreneur life now. As a coach, I specifically focus on helping people who want to become digital nomads but, and I quote, have no idea where to start, get started as a digital nomad. What I do with my clients is essentially they come to me having usually a pretty low confidence in their abilities. They think they have no translatable skills. I give them this big, intense career assessment. I tune into their energy. We end up coming up with an idea of a digital nomadic career that they can do. And I guarantee you, if I did this with you, I could surface something because I always do. Literally, it's 100% success rate. And I don't say that lightly. I know how to help people find their jam, right?
Find out what their digital nomad job should be. So that's the first step. And then basically, I walk people through the process of creating a small service provider business around that new skill that they either already have or the skill that they are planning on going out and learning over the next couple months. So yeah, that is what I do. I run group programs now. I've backed off from one-on-one coaching because I'm really looking to help as many people as I can in 2022. And that's actually a big reason why I'm creating this podcast. This podcast is my way of giving as much information and advice as I can for free because, of course, coaching is a luxury service. The reason why coaching is a luxury service is because you're paying someone who's an expert, aka moi, to cut off the years and years and years of research and trial and error that the expert did in order to become an expert.
So hiring a coach, you essentially get to take a huge life shortcut. And that's why it is a luxury service and costs a premium. So I know not everybody can afford my coaching. And that's why I'm here today delivering to you these four proven methods, again, to take your career on the road, become a full-time digital nomad, and gain the freedom to travel the world. So last thing before I get into the four proven methods, I would love to hear from you. If you heard this podcast, please slide into my DMs at ChristabellatravelsCoaching. That's my secret Instagrams account that I only publicize in the middle of long-form content. So I have a much, much higher rate of being able to actually see those messages. So if you have any questions, if you have any requests for other podcast episodes, I'd love to hear your ideas. And yeah, just slide in, say hi. Okay, let's get into method number one. And that first method is to take your existing job remote. All being a digital nomad means is that you're making an income from your laptop and you are taking the liberty of traveling around while you're doing that job.
So if you're listening to this podcast, it's definitely at least midway in the pandemic. Hopefully, you're listening to this after the pandemic. Hopefully, somebody will find this after the pandemic, but you're probably listening to this and the pandemic is still totes a thing. So if you were ever working in your job and then you were sent home with your laptop, there you have the most obvious proof ever that it's totally possible for you to get your work done from home. And if you can get your work done from home, there's zero reason why you shouldn't be able to get your work done from somewhere else that isn't your office. Now, the only caveat to this one is if you were in that situation and you did take your laptop and you worked from home, but you actually did a shit job at your job, but like you didn't really care, you were not very communicative, you were not really pulling your weight at your job, then yeah, this might not be the best option for you. You might not have two legs to stand on. But if you got your work done while you were working from home, then you have a huge advantage and opportunity for you to make the case to your boss that this is an arrangement that you would prefer.
Now, if you are going to do this, do not go into this conversation unprepared. You need to think about this conversation from your employer's standpoint. What does your employer want from you? What does your employer believe about productivity? What does your employer want to believe about their company culture? When you can predict all of these things, and you know, you're not just going to come up with them off the top of your head, sleep on it, meditate on it, ask other employees, maybe even have a conversation with your boss, you know, get that inside information, find out all the things that your employer believes, and then go ahead and come up with an answer to each of those things.
For example, let's say that your company is looking to expand, maybe they want to grow at this point. Technically, you not filling up a desk anymore is leaving your employer with more square footage in their office to host another employee without any extra overhead. Or maybe your employer really wants to foster a super fun company culture and wanting to attract the best talent. So what you can say in response to that is that if you were able to go remote, that you would take ownership of creating a weekly online happy hour or show your boss some statistics that when you actually do allow more employees to go remote, you're actually able to attract more talent because you're not just limited to the talent pool that's in that local area. But instead, now you're able to access talented people from all over the world, which could really help elevate the company. There is so much information on Google where it's like these are the top 10 reasons why an employer should allow their employees to go remote, why it's actually a benefit to the employer.
Put on your empathy hat guys, make sure that you are keeping in mind the other person's winning situation where you still get what you want. This is the art of negotiation, and you need to learn how to master it. Final tip on this, do not go into this conversation thinking that it's just going to be a conversation, create a beautiful PowerPoint, create a slide deck, something that shows that you are serious about this, that you've really put in the thought and effort. And then if your boss wants to interrupt you or the conversation goes astray, you can actually just come back on track, not forget anything that you've got to say and yeah, just make a truly winning argument. So of course, all these things that I was just talking about, like this first method to become a digital nomad, this of course is a method for you to work from home. And there's a lot of reasons why you might want to work from home, but why might you want to be a digital nomad with a job?
Well, when you have a job, you have a very steady paycheck, and that is a very safe way to begin your digital nomad journey. I would like to point out though, that when you do have a job and you are a digital nomad, it does in a way limit you from the freedoms that come along with digital nomadism. And freedom is a big value of people who want to become digital nomads. So as someone who was a remote employee for years, I think it was four years, I worked for a tech startup and I worked remotely for them. It was great. I definitely had obviously an amazing experience, an amazing life. However, there definitely are some cons to this. If you need to be online during certain hours, then you might be limited to certain parts of the world. At the time, all of Asia was pretty much off limits. So was Australia and that whole Pacific region. Not to mention, I was constantly in situations where I would be meeting other travelers and other digital nomads who were more free than me, who would invite me to go do something super fun, but it'd be like a Wednesday afternoon and I had to clock into work.
So it was a little bit of this push-pull situation, I guess, where I'm being pulled, pulled, pulled deeper into the freedom lifestyle, but then snapped back into the matrix with the remote job. So yeah, if you have a job that can go remote, your boss says, okay, I definitely recommend taking this approach, but then ultimately going into step number two or method number two, which is to do your own thing. Doing your own thing is definitely what I recommend that all of my clients do. And I mean, maybe I'm biased. It's what I built my business around, but why did I build my business around teaching people how to do their own thing as a digital nomad? It's because with my eight years of experience, I know that it is the best way to be a digital nomad when you do your own thing. And by that, I mean, creating your own business, becoming a freelancer, offering a service, or even creating a business like an e-commerce business, something like that.
When you do those things and you work for yourself, you have uncapped earning potential, not to mention you have complete freedom over your schedule and of your whereabouts. And if you want the digital nomad lifestyle, it's probably because you currently feel aware of the fact that you are trapped in a matrix, that you are running on a hamster wheel, that you are doing the same damn thing over and over and over again, that there's not necessarily room for you to grow and expand into your most authentic version of yourself. So yeah, that's why I do recommend doing your own thing. Of course, it's a little bit, quote-unquote, scarier to do your own thing. But if you just have a plan and you have a little bit of guidance, you can do it. And I know that's true because that's the path that I take my clients through. As I said, I have a group coaching program and I have 32 people in each cohort. I run it twice a year. And all those people come in feeling like they have no idea where to start. They don't think they have any skills. And then I teach them how to create a business around a new skill. And at the end of the day, they all get to do work that's truly aligned with their authentic selves.
And they can grow and scale the business as big as they want. And this is really, yeah, in my opinion, the most exciting thing about being a digital nomad is just the absolutely limitless potential in all areas. So if you want to do your own thing, I definitely recommend, like I said, sliding into my DMs, Christabellatravels Coaching, and let's talk about it. I would love to help you. But if you want some free advice, I actually created an entire podcast episode. I think it's podcast number two, which is how anyone can become a digital nomad. And yeah, again, the reason why I'm saying anyone can become a digital nomad with this particular method is because not everyone already has a remote job or not everybody has a job that can go remote. Not everybody has skills that an employer would want to hire you for. But when you're working for yourself, there's nobody that's judging you, telling you that you're hire able or not.
It's up to you to go get clients. But you can get really, really niche and specific with the kind of clients that you go for. And the amazing thing about working for yourself is that here's the thing. There are billions of people on the internet. And even if you only know how to do one thing, and you only know how to do 20 percent of that thing. And sure, there are other experts that know how to do 100 percent of that thing. There are lots of people out there who don't know how to do any of that thing. They know zero percent. So if you even know 20 percent, you know more than many other people. And therefore, you can charge for that. Whereas if you were going for a job, you might be expected to know 80 to 100 percent of the thing before an employer can deem you worthy of being paid a regular salary. For example, you could go learn Pinterest management for a very cheap cost or even for free using the internet resources. And Pinterest is something that a lot of small businesses want to use in their marketing strategy, but they just don't have the time for it. And they also just maybe don't even really know how the Pinterest algorithm works.
So if you go learn Pinterest, you can freelance out your Pinterest skills to those very specific small businesses that need exactly what it is that you offer. But are you going to get a job as a social media manager at a company if you've only been studying Pinterest for the past few months? Probably not. So yeah, that's why the episode is called How Anyone Can Get Started as a Digital Nomad. Because I mean, it literally is anyone. It is anyone. As I said, this is what I do for a living. I've seen it hundreds of times. And this method works. So go listen to that episode if you find this method interesting. On to the third method, which is to get a new remote job. So I guess I'm doing this a little bit out of order, but sorry, guys. Yeah. So to get a new remote job, basically, there's lots of job boards out there that are specifically only hiring for remote employees. And you can go onto those job boards and you can find one. If your boss at your current job refuses to let you go remote, or because it's just not possible, and if you are absolutely terrified, so sure that you don't want to work for yourself, then yeah, getting a new remote job, I would say, would be the next best option.
So my one biggest tip for that is that when you are applying to jobs that are remote, don't you dare say... Don't you dare say it. Don't you dare say that the reason why you want a remote job is so that you can travel the world, take care of your dog, spend time in your garden. That employer does not give a bleep about your personal life. Do not bring it into the conversation ever, ever, ever, ever. This is a very similar concept of what I talked about in the first method, which is, you know, make a PowerPoint telling the employer why it's beneficial to them that they should let you take your job remote. In this situation, obviously, you're not going to make a PowerPoint. You're going to apply like a normal human, and you don't need to convince them to let you go remote because you're only applying for a remote job. But if you are going to, you know, ask someone to hire you, make sure you put all the emphasis on what they have to gain hiring you.
It's all about them. Empathy hat, again, put on your empathy hat and think about why is your employer going to make out like a bandit for hiring you? And what I mean by that is sell yourself, sell yourself hard, make sure that you are speaking about yourself super confidently, and that you're really, really, really focused on what is the company, how is the company going to benefit again, if they hire you. Now, the challenge about getting a remote job is that it can be a little bit hard to trust if that remote job is legit. And also, you have to go through the whole process of getting a remote job, which could take weeks at minimum, months, or even possibly a year or never. You know, you're really relying on, you're really putting all of your eggs in one basket when you do try to get a new remote job. So again, that is another reason why I recommend that the best option is to do your own thing, like create your own small service provider business, because you can diversify the risk, right? Like you can have three clients, one maybe is your biggest client, but then you have two other ones. So even if you lose your biggest client, you're not going to be left out in the cold on the streets.
Like you can always go find more clients, especially because you have access to the entire internet of people. That's billions and billions of people who need your help. So yeah, anyway, to summarize, we've got take your existing job remote. So pitching your boss on why they will benefit if they let you go remote, then doing your own thing. Again, make sure you listen to episode two, or check out my group coaching programs. I would love to take your hand and hold it all along the journey of you becoming a digital nomad. Or you could go on to one of the many remote only job boards. I have a whole list of them, actually, in the link in my bio on Instagrams. I'm selling it for 11 bucks. You can go check that out if you don't want to go do the research for all the best remote job boards on your own. And anyway, now we are here on the final tip, which is to take your work from home situation and make it nomadic. So maybe you're actually already working from home.
And this is pretty similar to the first tip, right? Where you can have your laptop and you're already working from home. What's crazy to me is I see actually so many people who are like, oh my gosh, your lifestyle, Christa, it's so amazing. How do I do that? And I'm like, you work from your laptop. Why aren't you in Bali? Why aren't you in Mexico? What are you doing not road tripping in a van and just working from your Airbnbs? But the reason why they're not being nomadic when they could be is because they have some fears and some logistics that they don't really understand how to sort out. Logistics of a digital nomad lifestyle that I find people tend to be confused about might include how to manage working from different time zones. So if your clients or your boss expects you to be online from nine to five Eastern time, how do you manage working from places like South Africa or Portugal or Hawaii? Another fear or concern might be how do you manage your money?
How do you manage budgeting when you're constantly going into different currencies? How do you not totally screw up all of your current relationships and chances of a future romantic partnership? How do you afford constantly booking long haul flights? How do you find accommodation that's suitable for a midterm stay? Something that's longer than a few days, but not a six-month commitment. How do you deal with paying taxes while you are traveling all over the world? Are you obligated to still pay taxes in your home country? Do you need to pay taxes in the new country? What kind of visas do you get in the new country? Oh my gosh. And then there's all those questions about packing. I have fielded so many questions about things that you should pack, things that you definitely shouldn't pack. It's hilarious the things that I see new digital nomads take because they're so scared that they're going to forget something. And then they do end up not taking the right thing anyway. So yeah, pretty much from what I've seen from my many, many years of experience is that when someone could be nomadic and they want to be but they're not doing it, it's because they have these questions.
So because I don't have time to go in detail answering everybody's questions about this stuff, I did make an online course. And you can access that online course. It retails for like $4.97. But if you have gotten this far in this episode, I'd love to reward you with a 50% discount. And a code that you can use is the word podcast. So if you go to the link in my bio on Instagrams, it's a link tree, you'll see the course called Mastering Your Digital Nomad Life. And when you go to the checkout page, just enter the word podcast and it will give you 50% off. So you can literally get all of the information in my head that I have neatly packaged up for you answers literally all of your questions about how to actually thrive in this digital nomad lifestyle so that you can cut it with all the BS excuses about why you haven't made this lifestyle happen for yourself and just freaking go for it. Go for it. Go for it. Go for it. There's no reason why you should be stuck at home all through the winter working from your laptop when you could be on a tropical paradise.
Wouldn't it be so amazing if you ended up in Bali and then sent me a message on Instagrams and you were like, hey, the reason why I got here is because of your podcast? Literally that those kinds of things do happen to me in Bali. And it's amazing. I love meeting you guys. It's so much fun, especially when I meet you out in the wild. But if you tell me in advance, we can go organize a coconut together or something. It would be super fun. So yeah, go check it out and follow your dreams, man. Right? Like you deserve to have the ultimate lifestyle. You deserve to have everything you've ever wanted. And if you want to have a career where you are living and working authentically on something that you feel passionate about, that you feel excited about, that you can make as much money as you want from, and you can do it from anywhere in the world. And I don't just mean that you are moving to a different country.
I mean, if you go to Thailand and you think you're going to be there for four months, but then after one month, you know, something happens with your family and you need to fly home or you decide that you want to make it back for your friend's surprise engagement party, you have that freedom to make that decision. And you know how to book really long haul flights for really cheap. So it's not even going to be any skin off your back. That is what you have to look forward to when you are a digital nomad, fully embodied and doing your own damn thing, living life freedom. And that of course is what I wish for you. So I think that wraps up all of the tips and thank you so much for listening. I'll see you in the next episode.