How to stay safe as a digital nomad?
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While this isn’t always the case, being a digital nomad usually involves leaving your comfort zone in terms of location, routine and business practices. This can be quite problematic, seeing as how the way you travel, find lodging and lead your day-to-day life may expose you to all sorts of dangers that you wouldn’t otherwise have to worry about. Fortunately, staying safe as a digital nomad is not that complex either, due to the fact that there are always some steps of precaution that you can take. With that in mind and without further ado, here are several tips for you to keep in mind.
Couchsurfing
People who travel on their own, often use the option of couch surfing in order to stay on the budget. The problem is that has its downsides, as well. In fact, being a great couchsurfing guest is a challenge and you’ll have to learn how to pull it off if you aim to embrace this kind of lifestyle. Previously, we’ve mentioned that most people who couchsurf tend to be singles traveling alone, yet, couchsurfing with kids is also an option. Still, this means that you have to be even more cautious, open both of your eyes while staying at the place and be extra picky when choosing who you’re going to stay at.
Doing the research on the location
This section may be a bit confusing depending on your interpretation of this advice. You see, if a person is going abroad they would only read a thing or two about the country and the city that they’re staying in. Nonetheless, in the age of the internet, you have the privilege of checking the reputation of the neighborhood that you’re staying in, the reliability of public transportation and several other, relevant, factors. In this way, you’ll have a much better idea of what’ you’re up against.
Check your insurance
The next thing you need to understand is the fact that there are some accidents that are unavoidable, even for those who lead the most sedentary of lifestyles. This is why you need to make sure that, no matter what happens, you are at least covered from a legal and financial standpoint. For instance, if heading out on the road with your personal vehicle or via a rent-a-car, you need to consider the probability of a car accident and get informed on legal actions that need to be taken in the aftermath.
Secure you luggage
When you’re outside of your comfort zone, especially when you’re half a world away from it, all that you own (in terms of material possessions) will be safely stored in your luggage. However, how safe is your luggage, to begin with. The problem with answering this question lies in the fact that the security of your luggage as a whole may be quite dubious. This is why purchasing a small GPS tracking device and inserting it amongst your possessions may be a great idea. With this simple and inexpensive device, you’ll always be able to track your luggage via a smartphone application.
Download some offline media
As a digital nomad, you’ll depend on your access to the internet, however, what if there’s no free or accessible Wi-Fi in the area. To avoid this, you should probably download a Wi-Fi map app, nonetheless, having an offline map application is also a good idea. This way, you’ll at least be able to safely get around without having to worry about the connection. Another alternative, that a lot of people use is getting a local SIM card for their phone. This way, you can access local 3G or 4G at any given moment.
Manage your money
Finally, in an unknown area, you need to avoid traveling on foot during the night in fear of getting mugged or pickpocketed. Second, you need to be extra careful with your credit cards and personal information, in general. Next, you need to tell your bank that you aim to use the card abroad, seeing as how they may otherwise block it as a step of precaution. Lastly, your budget is not only endangered by others. It may also suffer greatly due to your own inability to handle prices in a different currency than that of your own. Therefore, consulting the Big Mac Index (BMI) and downloading a currency exchange app might be a good idea.
In conclusion
The very last thing that you should keep in mind is the fact that staying safe as a digital nomad requires you to change your definition of danger and understand that it comes from all sides. Losing your luggage, getting into an accident and getting mugged are all potential inconveniences that, with the right set of safety measures you can avoid or, at least, reduce the risk from. Still, in order to achieve this, you need to invest quite a bit of active effort.