Is the Digital Nomad Dream Dead?

As borders closed and remote work boomed, the rules of the game changed overnight. For digital nomads, this brought unexpected challenges — and new opportunities.

Closed borders, national lockdowns, travel restrictions, fewer and more expensive flights. It sure seems like a bad time to be a digital nomad. Yet in the post-pandemic landscape that’s emerging, more people work remotely than ever before and mainstream interest in nomadic lifestyles is soaring. So, how did we get here — and what happens next?

Early digital nomads

The digital nomad movement began in the 2010s when remote workers from North America and Western Europe began relocating to lower-cost destinations including Thailand, Indonesia, and Colombia. Inspired by Tim Ferriss’s bestselling book The 4-Hour Workweek, these early adopters combined online work and international travel, building careers and lives on the road.

When the pandemic hit in March 2020, many nomads returned to their countries of origin to wait out the crisis near friends and family. A smaller number continued to travel, albeit more slowly and with many new restrictions on where they could go. Interestingly, though, nomads found themselves with an unfair…