It’s clear remote work, and especially working from home, are trends that are being amplified and accelerated by the COVID 19 pandemic and related economic shutdown.
But one group of remote workers are mostly not benefiting from the pandemic - digital nomads.
These are people who embrace a location-independent, technology-enabled lifestyle that allows them to travel and work remotely, anywhere in the world that has decent Internet connections.
But being nomadic is challenging when the world’s locked down due to a pandemic.
And because of a variety of factors – virus fears, concerns about access to and the quality of developing world healthcare systems, travel restrictions, etc. – nomadic life will continue to be challenging even after countries open back up.
But the desire to travel, experience other places and cultures, and have new adventures isn't going away.
So over the next 3-5 years, we expect the digital nomad trend to re-emerge as strong, if not stronger, than before.
In the shorter term, we expect two types of digital nomads to come back the fastest and likely increase in numbers. These are longer stay nomads and Vanlifers.
Longer stay nomads are people who choose to live in new locations but do so for several months or more at a time.
This was already a sub-trend of digital nomadism, with “living as service” firms starting up to serve this small but growing group.
And their numbers have significantly increased recently due to people sheltering in place away from their primary residence.
Airbnb’s CEO nicely sums up this trend. Key quote from his recent interview in the business travel magazine Skift:
“A whole new generation will look for multi-month stays so they can work for a San Francisco company, for example, but engage in extended stays in other cities …”
We also expect Vanlifers to return to the road relatively quickly and for their numbers to grow.
Vanlife travel is done relatively close to home (mostly within a few days’ drive) and limits exposure to airports, airplanes, and other places with tight quarters.
So while the digital nomad trend is down, it's not out. And like so many other aspects of daily life, it will return. But the form will be changed.
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