5 Things That Will Help You Settle In Quickly When You Lead A Nomadic Lifestyle As A Web Worker
Photo by MumbleyJoe
With our arrival in Thailand last week, it is the 8th place we’ll have lived in during the past 14 months for a period of 4 weeks or more. You might say we’ve become accustomed to hitting the ground running, sussing out our new surroundings and getting used to a new way of doing things!
It’s figuring out the simple things that can prove a challenge - things like…
- Figuring out how to fill up with petrol - self serve or not? To tip or not?
- Working out how supermarkets work - weigh fruit & veg before checking out? Handing in handbag/other shopping bags to security before you enter the store?
- Checking out the TV channels and working out which ones have the best movies on.
- Figuring out the driving rules and whether tooting your horn is rude or friendly.
Moving round as a modern nomad can be unsettling and stressful - you begin to crave routine, you seek out the familiar and you find yourself constantly comparing one place to another. Achieving a sense of feeling settled might be the very thing you were trying to escape when you left home - and yet it may well be the thing you find yourself constantly striving for whilst you’re away.
(No, I’m not feeling homesick - nor unsettled - but it struck me recently that no matter how well this lifestyle suits us, it can be pretty stressful when it comes to moving on!)
There are a number of things however, which will help you get settled in and accustomed to your new surroundings more quickly…
#1 Re-establish your sleeping patterns
I’m sure you know how rotten you feel when you don’t get enough sleep - and there’s nothing worse than having jet lag and lying awake until 4am only to feel sleepy when it’s time to get up. If you’re crossing multiple time zones, then help your body adjust for the first few days and re-establish a healthy sleeping pattern.
Things that can help are:
- Try and avoid staying up or getting up too late on your first few nights/mornings.
- Help your body re-establish its circadian rhythms by getting up no later than 9am and going outside in the sunshine (no matter how tired you feel).
- If you feel able, try and do some exercise during the day; it’ll help tire you out and get to sleep.
- Similarly, wind down and dim the lights after 9pm - your body’s circadian rhythm is designed in part to respond to light and dark so give it some help to adjust when you’re in a new time zone.
- If all else fails and you can’t get to sleep, I’ve usually found that one big night out helps tire you out, puts you to sleep and gets you right back on track (but you didn’t get that from me!!!).
#2 Get connected!
One of the first things we do is buy a local SIM card to use in our unlocked handset. It’s cheaper to make local calls with and is often useful to be able to provide a local number when you book restaurants, taxis, car rentals and other services.
You will also want to find out about wireless internet services or internet cafes in your area for when you’re ready to get back to some work.
One unexpected thing we found out about the internet services once we arrived in South Africa is that access is typically charged by data - and we get through the MBs quickly. Costs to access the internet wherever you are might be something you want to include in your budget if you haven’t already - they can add up.
#3 Find out where the nearest essential amenities are
Getting your bearings and establishing where some of the key facilities are will help you feel more in control and can be useful in an emergency. Use Google Earth to find out where the following are:
- Supermarket
- Bank or cash machine
- Hospital or medical facility including emergency numbers to dial for fire, ambulance and police
- Internet cafe should you need it
Don’t forget to plan into your budget all the basic condiments etc. that you’ll need to purchase to get yourself set up.
#4 Set up your workspace
If you’re a LIP/web worker, the chances are you’ll want to get stuck into some work before too long.
With all the excitement of your new surroundings beckoning you to go and explore, it can be hard to get back to some work; setting up your own workspace - even if that means getting out your laptop, mouse mat and mouse and putting it on a table - might help entice you back to it when you need to.
Additional tip: If you can set your workspace up so that you’re facing out on to an inspiring view of your new home then it’ll be a daily reminder of how fortunate you are to be there rather than back ‘home’!
#5 Re-establish daily routines
As creatures of habit, we humans tend to crave routines - I believe it’s one of the reasons why so many people love to travel. Exotic new destinations, changes in surroundings and immersing oneself in a new culture shakes up staid routines and keeps us fresh and alert.
However, if location independent living is your typical lifestyle and if you, like us, move around every few months - then it’s likely that re-establishing some usual routines will help you settle in more quickly.
We find the following routines help us to feel at home more quickly:
- Getting up in the morning to exercise.
- Going for our regular afternoon coffee or tea break during which we discuss what we’ve both got on our plates and what our priorities are for the coming week.
- Cooking dinner to sit down and eat by about 7pm each day - it’s our ’switch off’ time and signal to chill out for the day.
Arriving in each new destination is a thrill - or at least it should be. There are times when it’s stressful, challenging and altogether a bit too much for you.
Based on our experiences of the past year when some destinations have posed more challenges than others, indulging yourself a little at times when you need it and actively helping yourself settle in, is a sure fire way to get the most out of your time in a new location and minimise the stress it can cause.
What about you? What routines do you find useful and productive when your life is disrupted? (either by choice, travel or unplanned events).
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What I dream of is travelling to a place and getting settled for perhaps around 3 months, then, almost as the season changes, moving on.
I love my sleep and the thought of dealing with jet lag every 4 or so weeks isnt something I would look forward to.
To roam along with the seasons much like humans were before we became famers. Boy, that was such a bad move….
Lea, this is such great information and personally very timely. Over the past few years, I have really simplified my life. Recently, I have been thinking how wonderful it would be to be location independent and now I find you someone who is doing just that. Thank you for sharing your journey. I am deeply inspired.
Karen
@Perfect Life Project - We’re enjoying Thailand a lot thanks altho today it’s absolutely pouring down!! Not properly considered Malaysia altho we’re coming back to Asia beg. of 2009 so it’s on the list! I’ve been to Borneo/Sabah before in my teens - it’s beautiful.
@Guy at Midlife - That’s pretty much what we’ve been doing; 2-3 months then moving on when the weather changes…bit screwed up this year seeing as we’re in Thailand in monsoon season and we’ll be going back to SA in winter 
Fortunately jet lag hasn’t been an issue this year, despite travelling between SA, Dubai, Asia…the stops in Dubai help and SA is only 1 hour difference from the UK now. Very smart of us - but not exactly something we planned!!!
@Karen Swim - Welcome to the blog and thanks for commenting…do you have any forthcoming plans to travel?
Lea,
do you ever include the USA on your travels? are there any countries you would avoid or are you focused on SA (for example) for business purposes?
All the best.. how you getting on with your off shore article (cheeky!!) ? :O)
We were in the Americas last year but not really USA (Panama - 2 months, Buenos Aires - 1 month, Toronto - 1 month, Grenada - 5 months & NYC for a weekend) - and Jonathan really wants to do a road trip across the US which I’m sure we’ll do at some point but we were keen to get back to Asia having not been over this way for about 4 years. Quite keen to do a trip to the US to go to some of the conventions, meet up with online friends etc. so it’s a possibility perhaps next year…
No particular countries we’ll avoid (except perhaps those constantly at war - altho my brother regularly travels to Beirut!)…SA for the rest of this year is for business (check out the 2nd to last post on my personal blog - http://www.leawoodward.com) but we do like it and is one of our favourite places so far.
Unfortunately I’ve not quite started the offshore article yet….oops but it is on my list and I do promise that I will do one at some point 
Lea,
Welcome to Thailand.
I’ve been on the move since toddler times (my parents were expats). After I left the fold, I kept on going.
One main help in this modern age is the Internet.
Before I move to another country, I google to find the different online groups. Informative mailing lists, forums, and websites are a huge help in smoothing the transfer.
So before I leave one country for another, I already know the areas I desire to live close to, I’ll have houses set up, maps with stores and interesting places marked out. And at times, I’ll even have new ‘friends’ waiting for my arrival.
Putting all this in place makes it easier to walk out of one lifestyle and right into another.
Except for the travel time, setting up new accommodation and the obligatory getting lost, after the first week (I usually give myself a week of ‘emotional settle time’) the daily schedule pretty much just keeps on rolling.
“Re-establish your sleeping patterns”
I travel a lot yet this one continues to be a fight on longhauls. A year will go by and all will be fine. Then bam. I’m stuck. I don’t sleep and don’t settle in the following week either (which is what happened to me just a week ago).
I have tricks I pull out of a hat one by one until something works. Eventually they do. On the first day in stay up until the regular night time of my new host country. Exercise. Cut down on caffeine. Quiet the mind an hour before bed. Use an iPod with relaxation music. Hot baths. Etc. etc.
And out here, there’s always the Thai massage to assist.
Thanks Cat for sharing your experiences - always nice to hear from other experienced travellers.
Has your research ever led you astray? We’ve found that whilst you can do any amount of research on the internet by trawling forums, hearing from locals etc., nothing beats arriving somewhere and walking round to get a feel for the place and neighbourhoods yourself.
Hope you’re over the jetlag/sleep pattern troubles now!
Lea…hope you enjoy Thailand. Its a fun and fascinating place. I was there last year and had a blast. Such a different culture for us Westerners. Away from the tourist traps it just get better and better.
Are you considering Malaysia? I have just returned from Sabah and really enjoyed it too. Some amazing cultural experiences on offer there without the hustle and bustle of Bangkok or even Phuket. Not quite as cheap as Thailand though.
Happy travels.