Tag Archives: digital nomad

Travel Jacket and More Clothing for the Digital Nomad

October 26, 2016 curiouscat Leave a comment

This jacket from ScottyeVest (Mens – Womens) is designed with a huge number of pockets to secure all your gadgets and accessories. Sure your phone, headphones, keys, passport but also your iPad, Macbook and power supply. The jacket offers 29 pockets specifically engineered to hold your items and make them easily accessible and usable (for example letting you swipe and use your phone while it remains in your pocket).

ScottyeVest offers many different tech ready clothing options including:
Men Travel Pants (9 pockets)
Men’s RFID Travel Vest (26 pockets)
Women’s Travel Vest (17 pockets)
Follow any of those links to see many more great options.

This is the type of clothing I would create for my travels if they hadn’t done it for me. The convenience and safety offered by these many options are essentially for convent travel with all your devices and important papers (passport, credit cards, etc.).

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Location Independent Living Can Be In Your Comfort Zone and a Good Experience

November 1, 2015 curiouscat 2 Comments

A location independent lifestyle (digital nomad etc.) isn’t just for those that want to challenge themselves and step outside their comfort zone. There are many different types of people that a location independent lifestyle works for. I don’t really fit with “stepping outside your comfort zone” etc.. But quitting a “normal job” and traveling and working online works for me.

I think way more it is about this type of thing being in your comfort zone. When I hear people talking about how they stepped out of their comfort zone it seems to me they just aren’t comfortable plodding through an office for 40 years. Doing that is outside their comfort zone. The reason they did something else was because it was in their comfort zone.

I think there are benefits to shaking things up and trying things you are not comfortable with. I think way more often when people talk about that being successful for them what they really did was shake off the shackles of an uncomfortable situation and found one that is more in their comfort zone.

view of Johor Bahru and Singapore from my balcony

View of Johor Bahru, Malaysia (link to my blog on living in Malaysia with Singapore in the far background. This is the view I would see as I worked from my home office.

I think it sounds cool to say you are being adventurous and brave by doing things those boring friends are not willing to do as they stick with their boring jobs. But I don’t think that is really the most accurate way to view it.

If you want the best chance of a change making you happy figure out what you really are comfortable with and create that.

If you want to grow, challenge yourself and try different things.

There is a small group that is most comfortable constantly challenging things. For them their comfort zone is to constantly be taking challenges most people would find uncomfortable. If those people really want to step outside their comfort zone they should seek the opposite of wha they are comfortable with which they don’t want to do. They also tend to like to see themselves as mavericks and brave, etc. so the story of challenging themselves sounds good to them so they use it.

For most people, fairly small attempts to live outside your comfort zone, followed by a chance to reconcile what you learned during your challenge into your lifestyle will be the most effective way to grow. We (the types of people reading this) tend to think of growth as really important. I agree but I think we may also emphasize that a bit too much and just plain happiness too little.

But who knows, I certainly don’t. These are just my thoughts this day on this topic. I do think Aristotle was right about the importance of an examined life. But at the same time I don’t see a huge correlation with that thinking and how satisfied people are with their lives.

Still I believe accurate self evaluation is useful in figuring out what to do next. I think the whole step outside your comfort zone thing is largely a myth – especially the way people explain what they mean by that.

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My Early Experience as a Digital Nomad: Part One, Technology

April 28, 2015 curiouscat 2 Comments

My early experience as a digital nomad has been enjoyable. It has also been filled with a series of small missteps and some small things that have worked out well that I haven’t read about from others (several might just be so simple that no-one bothers to mention them, but they may give you something to think about if you are planning to try the nomadic lifestyle.

Choosing to start in Chiang Mai, Thailand was fortuitous. It really is very convenient for digital nomads. Monthly renting is easy. Lots of great food and co-work spaces options. Good internet all over. It is an easy and enjoyable place to live.

In this post I will explore my experience with technology and in part two I will discuss other topics.

Getting a large data plan has been great (10 Gb+). That is the biggest tip I have for digital nomads. If you only work in a cafe or co-working space I guess it doesn’t matter. But I like to work when I wake up and late at night in my room. And making video calls, uploading photos and videos or streaming video also required a good connection. Sometimes the place I am staying has good or great wifi and things are good. But it is very nice not to have to worry about connectivity.

Lizard on golden Buddha statue in Luang Prabang, Laos (see more of my photos from Laos)

My first 3 destinations (Thailand, Laos, Cambodia) has had 10 Gb plus high speed data plans for about $10 (for a month). My 4th, Vietnam only offers 3 Gb for about $10 and Viettel blocks a personal hotspot, I thought only the USA was that lame). I think I will try another that offers 5Gb (I still need to find the price – a hotspot will let you tether your laptop for them).

I went to 3 Viettel stores and none were able to help or really seem to know what personal hotspot or tethering was. An authorized Apple reseller understood but was unable to get Viettel to work and could see Mobifone worked fine so suggested I just use that.

I went to a mobiphone store in Hoi An (location marked on our Hoi An map) and with trouble got the new sim card. They eventually went to the back and got a supervisor (I suppose) and then things went fine. It still didn’t work so the supervisor took me to a nearby mobile phone store where their tech person was able to get it to work quickly. You need to update the APN listing for cellular data and personal hotspot (she forgot the 2nd one).

The first APN field is m-wap with username mms and password mms (I think). There is lots of stuff online about editing APN to get Viettel to work, none of that worked for me or the various people that tried it (1 Viettel employee did and the authorized Apple store did).

In Luang Prabag, Laos I was 95% on my data plan as the great place I stayed didn’t have wifi essentially at all (much worse than ancient dial up). By using a data plan I could stay there.

I actually brought an extension cord (again I probably wouldn’t have but I had the room so…). It has been very helpful: I only need one converter (though I have 3) and can attach lots of devices with them all sharing the right type of connector (laptop, dumb cell phone, razor, battery charger (for my camera). It is also helpful in stretching from the power outlet to a convenient place.

I keep a dumb cell phone because some places require 2 factor authentication (credit card for making a payment online and I have some sites setup to require 2 factor authentication also). I get sim cards in whatever country I am in and only have an iPad mini (data but no cell phone capability). So even if I could get the phone number updated in each country (probably could for sensible places like Google) I don’t have one to update too. But even more critical to keeping the dumb phone is I can’t image getting the bank to make something work. Getting normally stuff is like pulling teeth. Changing my phone number all the time seems like it would be a recipe for trouble. I added money to my long life mobile phone plan in Malaysia (it lasts a year for something like US$10 and you just pay per call – I figure it is also an emergency phone in case something happens) and I have gotten text messages (for those 2-factor authentication needs) everywhere I have been, for no charge as far as I can tell.

Not having a local number is actually a bit annoying, but not critical. I wanted a larger screen to view maps while walking around (so didn’t want an iPhone – and I didn’t want Android). I would likely get the new iPhone 6+ instead of an iPad mini if making a decision now.

Continued in: Part Two

Related: Online Plane Reservations (also on my trip I have found online is not always the cheapest airline fares) – Extending Your Visa in Chiang Mai, Thailand – Curious Cat Gadgets Blog

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Finding a Dentist in Chiang Mai, Thailand

January 25, 2015 curiouscat 4 Comments

Digital nomads and full time expats must take care of regular life while abroad. You don’t read much about this other than the wonderful views they have from their latest wifi cafe. One of those tasks you must address is finding a dentist.

Some locations are better than others for taking care of these items. Chiang Mai is a good location for finding a dentist. Chiang Mai University, as with many universities produces many qualified people and usually a surplus find they like the city and stay.

Dental 4 You Clinic

Chiang Mai has a steady supply of retirees, tourists and recently digital nomads supplementing the local population. Reading online I was able to find several highly recommended dental practices and I selected Dental 4U. They had many recommendations for quality and price.

My experience was very good and I recommend Dental 4U as a wise place to take care of your dental needs. The whole process was excellent, arranging the appointment, showing up and being seen as scheduled (in the USA I almost always have waits, sometimes long ones and so do others I talk to) and the appointment itself.

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