Best countries I have lived in as a web designer

Jun 25, 2024

4 min read

I guess in the beginning I was just traveling around randomly without having a solid plan. Cash burns out quickly as you are moving around. After two years, I couldn't do it anymore. I cannot handle more stress about money. The feeling of traveling when you are actually not travel is a loss-loss situation.

Therefore, like I said many times, be prepared to manage your expectations when you decide to travel and work.

How I started my journey

After the pandemic I needed some sunlight so I left the United Kingdom to move to Spain. I first stayed in the South of Spain. It was great but I didn't have an income so it quickly became expensive.

I later traveled to Tunisia and Peru, now here are the things to consider when I travel to a new place

Timezone
Price
Language barrier
Safety
Internet

Time is important, the timezone is even more important. You don't want to have Friday night meetings just because you are working with teams in Asia while you are on the Eastern Time Zone.

Be prepared to work weekends. Remember, it's not a 9-5 anymore. Everyday can be a work day and it depends on how you schedule it.

After such a long time traveling and working, I slowly lost the feeling of being excited for the weekend. I shouldn't be excited about the weekend. A Friday morning should be treated like a Monday morning with the same amount of productivity.

Price is everything. When you run out of cash, the journey is over. You need to have budget and be very careful how you spend.

Click here to download my traveling budget worksheet.

Language barrier. If you don't speak the local language, you are destined to be stuck in an expat bubble. It's totally up to you if you want to learn the language. Also, it is also a bit difficult when you arrive a new country without knowing the language, you will be charged foreigner's prices and often have to pay more. But this will also be fine tuned once you meet other travelers.

While living in South America, I don't speak any Spanish but I managed to learn the basic phrases and they really helped.

Safety is the most important factory to consider. I am sure travelers like us coming from developed countries will find living in a new country, especially developing countries, quite challenging. I would say in the beginning, try to stay in nice neighborhoods even if you have to spend a bit more. Soon you will meet other travelers and learn some new hacks to save money.

Fast Internet is gold. It's important to make sure it is working properly. I used to do a lot of Zoom calls so I needed a quiet place with high speed internet. However, I later became very frustrated having to find such places so I stopped doing so many Zoom calls.

Some countries, especially in China and Russia, have certain internet restrictions so be sure to look into that as well.

Stay healthy. It's not common to get sick when you travel for an extended period of time. Especially when you are moving from countries to countries. Different climates, altitude, food allergies, etc. can make you sick. Be sure to get travel insurance and make sure to study the terms on the contract to see what is covered.

Airbnb VS Hostel

I personally avoid staying in hostels, unless it's only for a quick night. Remember, your computer is your livelihood and you don't want to lose it. You don't want to take the risk of having your things stolen. And I personally don't like the vibe of hostels. I constantly have to remind myself that I am not a university student backpacking. I am a professional on an endless business trip. I can't afford to stay at Marriot hotels but I can spend a few extra bucks to have a good night sleep. Good night sleep is important!

Coliving

There are hostels they are geared towards travelers and digital nomads. I was staying at a coliving hostal in Mexico when I was editing this post.

Airbnb shared apartment is great and you get to meet people. It's most cost efficient because you will be eating out less.

Planning carefully when to fly will save money, lots.

I always fly out on a Wednesday. I make sure I have nothing work-wise booked on Wednesday and I make it very clear to people I work with that I don't work on Wednesdays. I also only do one-way ticket. I seldom buy return ticket because this will keep my journey open and flexible.

Why do I fly on Wednesdays?

Cheaper price. Flights are cheaper usually on Wednesdays. Monday and Tuesdays my busiest day with work and I can use Wednesday as a buffer. Another day to move around would be Sunday. So if I fly on Wednesday, arrive at a place that I don't really like, I check out on Sunday and move to a new place. Wednesday lost time MUST be substituted by extra work on a different day, Saturday in my case.

Why do I only fly one way?

Flexibility. It's economically wiser to fly one-way because of the flexibility. Change fees are expensive and you want to be flexible in case you find new opportunity, new friends, new destinations, etc. Keep your options option.

Fly one way. But, there's an exception. One time I found a return ticket from Hong Kong to Los Angeles was only $800USD, when one way was costing $600USD. So I jumped at the opportunity.

Best countries I have lived in as a web designer

South America

Mexico
Peru

Asia

Thailand
Vietnam

Conclusion

I have no regret one bit taking on this journey. It allowed me to see the world and most importantly it helped me grow and overcome my personal circumstances, struggles. It put my in a much better mental space.