I think I can finally say I qualify as a female digital nomad and you know what? It wasn’t that hard.

I really enjoyed my last job in Australia and the others before weren’t that bad, bar the strawberries. That was terrible. But farm work was actually enjoyable.  Yeah, there were a few hiccups but what job doesn’t. The thing is that when we decided to go back to the UK for peoples weddings and what not, we not only spent money going there and back but also took time out of our jobs so there’s a loss of earnings there too. I don’t really want to go into detail but it was in the thousands.  As bitter as I can be sometimes about that money, I would still do it again and it’s a decision we made, so we’ve made peace with it.  Money comes and goes but time doesn’t.

It’s no secret that we were on the Australia working holiday visa and are now on the New Zealand working holiday visa and with being on those comes the title backpacker. So the jobs you apply for are backpacker jobs. Companies hire you on a temporary basis because they know you are in the country temporarily. If they are looking for somebody long term they usually put in their ads for backpackers or non-permanent residents not to apply.

I’m all for working and leaving, taking breaks but the constant having to find a new job can be a bit of a pain. Not to mention it takes a lot of planning because sometimes you have to sign up for a timeframe or short contract.

There are pros and cons to everything right?

We were maybe 6 months into our Australia working holiday visa when these cons occurred to me and I started looking up alternative ways to keep our current lifestyle going plus be able to save money. The intention being never to have to return to the UK with our tails between our legs living with family and starting from zero.

I came across the term whilst reading ‘digital nomad’ someone who works from their computer anywhere in the world. Funnily enough, I sold my computer just before I left to go to Australia.
I researched everything from affiliate marketing to drop-shipping, freelancing, opening an online business and so on. Not as easy as it’s all made out to be, then there’s online teaching.  I’ve been a teacher before so I thought I’d give it a go. I hated it in the UK but loved it in Nepal.

Did you know you can get a prescription online nowadays from an app? You can speak to a doctor on an app and get a prescription.  You can take live yoga or exercise classes online. You can take any lessons online. Kinda makes me wonder why the hell anyone would pay to go to University nowadays.

So when Alex and Emma, a couple we met back in Thailand who have been living the digital nomad life for a while now, suggested teaching English online on one of their youtube videos, seriously check out their channel, they’re both ace! I finally, just before Christmas got up the courage to sign up for the company they suggested, Cambly.
There are many more but I only have experience of this one as of yet, without going into too much detail, the basic gist of the job is that you don’t really need any formal qualifications although they help to get students, you get paid for every minute you’re talking with a student and conversations can range from literally anything.

I enjoy it thoroughly! I can choose my own hours and I meet lots of interesting people from all over the world. I have regular students from Colombia, Brazil, Turkey and Saudi Arabia and they are all incredibly intelligent, fast learning, funny and amazing people.  I’m grateful to be able to help them, even in my own small way by explaining what words mean or teaching them phrases (idioms).  I may not be the best teacher but I’m working on it.  In the future, I want to improve my own English enough that I can teach students how to pass exams.

Now, pay-wise it’s not fantastic but I can certainly see how someone could live a very comfortable lifestyle in a cheaper country say in Thailand, Cambodia or Mexico with just this as their income. Fortunately, I get paid in USD which is great considering the value of the currency right now but it is also just under minimum wage for NZD and not even comparable to Australia. That’s where the money is folks. Australia. So saving is hard.  That’s not to say you couldn’t pick up extra hours whenever you want. You can. There is a helpful Facebook group, lots of resources and the fantastic thing about it, you can work wherever there is wifi! It’s great! I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to get on it!

If you fancy giving it a go sign up through this link here!

P.s If you have any more questions about it feel free to comment below or send me a message on my facebook link.

P.p.s Let me know if you’ve used my Cambly link too!