This interview in my series of interviews with digital nomads features travel couple Jimmy and Tah.
They are American and Thai millennials, who met and fell in love with each other in August 2015 in South Korea.
Two years later they decided to take a leap of faith; left a career in military and finance and kicked off travelling in September 2017.
They first started publishing their journey on Youtube and later branched out into a written blog, Instagram and Facebook.
What made you decide you wanted to be digital nomads?
Jimmy: It wasn’t about being a digital nomad at first. It was about wanting to travel and in order to do that we needed money, so being a digital nomad was really the best option.
We really had no clue what a digital nomad was when we first started this whole trip.
Tah: When I worked in Thailand before being a digital nomad, I realized that I didn’t like working in an office at all, and I also didn’t like the 9-5 routine.
It just doesn’t make sense to me that you are set to these specific hours and days to work. I just personally feel like it’s not efficient.
Also, when I worked for a finance firm in Thailand back then you were only allowed to have 1 week vacation a year. That’s a total nightmare for me.
Since then, I decided that I wanted to be able to work wherever and whenever I want, and that is when the idea of being a digital nomad came to my mind.
How do you make a living working from anywhere?
From the Divert Living side of things our main source of income is from Brand collaboration on Youtube and Instagram, followed by Google Adsense for our Youtube videos and blog and then our products we sell, like merchandise.
On the other hand we also own a production company called Optimum Influence Media that allows us to take on commercial work through photo and video production as we travel.
What are the best cities for digital nomads from your experience?
- Bali, Indonesia (of course haha)
- Chaing Mai, Thailand
- Puerto Morelos, Mexico
- Seoul, South Korea
- Taipei, Taiwan
What apps do you use and recommend for digital nomads or long term travellers?
- Google Maps offline
- Currency exchange rate
- Google Translate offline
- Charles Schwab banking App.
What’s your favourite thing about this lifestyle?
Freedom and the opportunity to meet people and see so many places.
What has been your biggest challenge?
Having enough passive sources of income that you don’t have to stress or worry.
Having both digital products and physical products are essential, so that no matter what happens your products will be needed.
How many hours a day do you work on average?
Well, there is two of us working towards the same goal and we work 12+ hours a day, 6-7 days a week.
How do you stay productive while you travel?
You realize that no one will cause you to fail but yourself so the fear of failure makes us never stop working.
What are your plans for the future?
We would like to continue to develop our businesses and also continue to branch out.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give someone who’s starting out as a digital nomad?
Be ready to work a lot and be willing to work 10x harder than you would for a normal company because you are starting from scratch and can only rely on yourself.
Once you get to the point that you’re comfortable, start branching out and continue to grow/develop.
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