Flickr credit: adactio. Used under CC license.
Sharon Sarmiento writes an entertaining article about nomadic web workers (called Digital Bedouins) who are following in the footsteps of Lost Generation writers like Ernest Hemingway and Henry Miller. Don’t forget travel writers like The Lost Girls, who are travelling the world and blogging about it. (They just won The Travvies for best group blog.) I’ve actually been dreaming of doing this since 1999, and still plan to some day.
She mentions mentions Henry Miller, who wrote a number of books while in Paris. After reading (most of) his Tropic of Capricorn “novel” (both entertaining and revolting), it inspired me to write a short story, Fall From Grace, about a geek who sells everything but his clothes, Boblebee backpack, laptop, cellphone and pager (this was in 2002, when people still used pagers). He then wanders around the city (probably New York) trying to find himself, living with friends or in hostels, or even on the street. The character started out as an NYC stockbroker but ended up as a geek with some savings. The story is incomplete, but I’ll post it somewhere once it’s done.
Knowing people myself who have lived in the streets in Toronto, and having done it myself (in Ottawa) to see what it’s like, I can very much see more and more Digital Bedouins who actually travel and still manage to earn a living. The only real issues to work out is tax and citizenship. Canada has some law that says you need to live here at least 3 months (maybe 6?) each year to continue as a citizen. A lot of people become expats this way, because they get tired of the back and forth. I know someone who teaches English in Vietnam; he’s been there near 20 years now. Rarely returns to Canada - maybe once every ten years. I don’t know his status, but I assume he’s in limbo.
As I mentioned previously, I’ve been wanting to walk around the world and record my travels. Being a Digital Bedouin makes sense. I can download language lessons on the fly, get paid by PayPal, and if PayPal extends their credit card beta test to countries other than the US, pay for things with credit card. (The card would simply take money from my PayPal account.) I could withdraw cash in local currencies in many countries, or book flights and hotel rooms online with credit.
Aside from the logistics, issues of taxes, and ensuring that I have Internet access when needed, I can’t see many drawbacks of travelling the world this way. It’s not something for everyone, but for Digital Bedouins, it’s an exciting way to live.
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