Digital Nomad Lifestyle in Thailand

Work from everywhere has taken on a whole new definition in Thailand.

A digital nomad is generally understood to be someone who works predominantly location-independently and exclusively with digital technologies, or more simply, a notebook. By working location-independently, it is also possible for a digital nomad to lead a multi-local life and also travel to different countries. All you need as a digital nomad is basically your notebook, a stable internet connection and a place to work. And of course, the possibility to earn money online or remotely.

So, if you have wanderlust, want to explore the world and live a very flexible life, and are willing to give up the comfort of your own home, then the life of a digital nomad is just right. I have to admit, it can be a big overcoming to part with certain things. I often miss my own soft bed with the thick blanket or even the very comfortable pillows. A decent couch or even a good desk are not necessarily easy to find while traveling.

You also have to think carefully about what you want to take with you on your trip. Marc and I both travel with just a suitcase and our backpack. The backpacks are already quickly full just by the cameras, our notebooks and of course batteries. A few more small things and then no more fits in. And in the suitcase you have to limit yourself accordingly. The choice of clothing or in general, what you take in the suitcase, should be well thought out. Over time, we have sorted out again and again things and added others. But it is still not perfect :-D

The life of a digital nomad

But the life as a digital nomad brings in my opinion significantly more advantages than disadvantages. The fact that you are very flexible and can explore the world is a huge plus for me. I’m happy to do without my own bed or a closet full of clothes and shoes. Sure, now and then you miss one or the other but on the other hand you also realize what you really need and think more about the usefulness of things. Actually a very good way to live.

Because you can explore the world and lead a location-independent life, you can then also travel to vacation regions. We’ve actually only been traveling in Asia so far. We have been to Dubai, Sri Lanka, Kuala Lumpur and Penang. Oh and of course Thailand! And Thailand is our absolute favorite so far. Where others go on vacation, we have our everyday life. And yet sometimes it feels like a vacation. We change accommodation about every month — sometimes more often — and then of course look at some sights or visit tourist destinations. Although we are always oriented to the work and the workload, which we have to create but we are very flexible.

When we leave the apartment in the morning, we actually always have our notebooks with us. With backpack swung on the scooter and off we go. Especially when we are new to a place, we usually don’t have a specific destination. Sometimes I inform myself beforehand about cool cafes, malls or places that you could go to. But just as often it happens that we drive off aimlessly and then look for a place to work while we’re driving. It doesn’t matter if we end up in a mall, visit a cafe in the city or are directly in a bar or restaurant at the beach.

The fact that we have our notebooks with us and also have a stable Internet connection everywhere thanks to the SIM of the smartphone means that we are hardly restricted in our choice of workplace. Another advantage is that we often move from cafe to cafe or from one place to another. We work for a couple of hours, then take a short break where we go somewhere else and continue working in a new place. So the day actually always goes by very fast and you see a lot of new places even though you are basically working.

Mall, cafe, cinema or directly on the beach?

As I said before, Thailand is our absolute favorite place to travel and also work location-independently. In Dubai, we often had to rely on free Wi-Fi because the SIM cards and data volume there are relatively expensive. This makes the whole thing a bit less flexible, of course, since we always had to find a place with stable Wi-Fi first. In Sri Lanka it was even worse. There was often free Wi-Fi but it was so bad that we could not use it. Here, the SIMs are cheaper again but as soon as you move away from the big places like Colombo or Galle — even just a few kilometers — the internet connection is quickly very poor or even non-existent. Therefore, we often worked from home in Sri Lanka and therefore could not explore the whole country.

Thailand and also Malaysia are therefore the best countries to travel and work. At least according to what we have experienced ourselves so far. And Thailand is even more suitable, as the country is very much geared towards digital nomads or general location-independent working. There are some co-working spaces with tables, external screens and a small cafe inside. You can just sit down there and work as you please. But the malls are also great. Many of the cafes and even some restaurants have electricity at the seats and it’s not uncommon to find someone with a laptop on their lap in the mall.

But not only in cafes or restaurants there is the possibility to work. There are also in between always benches or seating — also often with electricity — which are simply on the corridors of the mall. So a few days ago we just worked in the cinema. Yes, in the cinema. Then there are some very comfortable chairs there with tables and outlets on the side where you can just sit down. It’s kind of an experience to work on a notebook with the smell of popcorn and cinema advertising in the background. It’s just as crazy and cool to do your tasks by the pool or on a lounger on the beach. I mean hey, it doesn’t get much cooler than that, does it? :-D

Thailand: the ideal place for digital nomads

Yes, in Thailand you feel very comfortable as a digital nomad. I already mentioned most of the reasons but here is a short summary of what makes Thailand the ideal place for digital nomads:

• cheap SIM cards with unlimited data volume
• almost everywhere there is free WLAN
• everywhere you have a stable internet connection via hotspot
• there are many cafes & co-working spaces with tables and power sockets
• even in the malls there are possibilities to work everywhere
• there is even a work corner directly in the cinema (popcorn unfortunately not included)
• the cost of living in Thailand is very cheap (food, accommodation, etc.)
• nobody looks funny when you unpack your notebook — not even on the beach

The only thing we find a bit stupid is the visa. If you are not doing an Erasmus year or have a job in Thailand, you have to take care of the right visa. There are also visas — such as the Educational Visa — with which you can stay several months in Thailand. But for this you have to participate in a course, a training course or similar according to the visa conditions. The participation is checked sporadically and the duration of stay also corresponds to the duration of the course.

We have now so often dealt with the visa, what requirements there are and which is the best for us. So far, we have always fallen back on the single-entry or the multiple-entry visa. Normally I would advise everyone to use the multiple-entry visa. A short exit to Malaysia or Indonesia and then back to Thailand. But since a multiple entry is very complicated with Corona at the moment, we decided to go for the single entry visa. With this we can stay 90 days in Thailand. We still hope for an extension of the Covid-Extension, so that we could stay even longer.
But we also hear more and more about a visa, especially for digital nomads. How exactly that looks like, what the requirements are and how long you can stay in Thailand, is still unclear. But it is at least under discussion to enable such a visa in the future. Presumably one can stay with this visa then 1 year in Thailand and must show a certain basic income (approx. 50,000€/year). Whether this is really true and also when and if there will be this visa, remains to be seen.

Our everyday life as digital nomads

We have been in Pattaya for a couple of weeks now and have adopted a daily routine. After getting up, Marc usually has breakfast of cornflakes and I drink a cocoa — I don’t like breakfast that much :-D Afterwards, we usually work a bit from home first. Once when we arrived at Terminak 21 (a mall) at just before 11, we found out that it doesn’t open until 11. It is the same with some cafes and restaurants. Here in Thailand, life starts a little later than in Germany. Therefore it offers itself then to work first of all from home something.

We sometimes spend our lunch break doing sports and then cool off a bit in the pool. Since we don’t have such an inviting gym in our current accommodation — the Wongamat Privacy Residences — we changed it a bit and just take a little break in the pool. Here the pool is even comparatively warm. Although still cool but in contrast to the last pools at least usable without freezing directly. After a small cooling in the water we warm up again in the sun before we finally get ready to continue working.

Most of the time, I go to a mall and quickly eat a snack in the food court. I love the food court of Terminal 21, where you can get a big portion of super tasty Pad Thai for just 80 cents and a rice with Morning Glory costs just under a euro. In general, the food here is very cheap and also very good. Marc finds the food court of the Central Festival better, because there is an Indian there. So everyone has his favorite food :-D But no matter where we are, the selection is always very large and there is something for everyone.

Then we are already working again. Whether we are sitting in a cafe, a restaurant or in a movie theater, it doesn’t matter. We just always look for a place with a power outlet. After our work is done we often walk through the mall or along the beach. Sometimes we also pack the camera and go out to take some photos. That is always quite different. Sometimes we have dinner at the food court again, other times we go to a restaurant or order food to eat at home while watching a series on the couch. And then the whole thing starts all over again the next morning. :-D