3 Ways To Thrive As A Digital Nomad

Yup, we know – in these dystopian times it’s still a little early to be booking holidays abroad, especially if you’re a seasoned traveller whose idea of adventure is a round the world trip rather than a long weekend in Lanzarote.

If you’re a time-served global traveller who is used to life on the road and the endless excitement of experiencing new cultures, this past year must have made your feet intolerably itchy.

Watching David Attenborough reruns and reading Lonely Planet just don’t compare with the real deal, do they?

Don’t despair, because one way to get yourself through the next few months until travel corridors open up fully is to start planning how you’ll spend your next extended trip.

If you’ve been in a contemplative mood about life’s big questions, you might want this next voyage to be more transformative than ever, in which case there are a few steps to take to ensure conditions are right for a safe but superb adventure.

Without further ado, here are three ways to thrive as a digital nomad.

1. Learn the language

If you’re a fan of the 80s wartime comedy ‘Allo ‘Allo, you might be labouring under the misapprehension that the best way to make people abroad understand you is by talking English with their accent.

It’s not. You’re far less likely to offend and more likely to be understood if you actually learn the language – at least a few words of it.

There’s no need to shell out on an expensive tutor though – a language app like Babbel will do the trick.

2. Volunteer as you travel

Volunteering as you make your way around the world is a wonderful way to get to know people in the local community and contribute to worthwhile causes.

You might work at a project where you teach English as a foreign accent, help to build schools or even clean up beaches and collect litter to improve the environment.

There are several volunteering organisations to choose from, but Voluntary Service Overseas is one of the best.

3. Study on the move

Fancy migrating careers while you’re travelling the globe?

Studying for a degree online is still one of the most reliable ways to change careers and with a respected provider like ARU Distance Learning you can take a course in anything from digital marketing to management or psychology.

As long as you’ve got a reliable internet connection and a decent laptop, you can study course units and keep in touch with classmates and tutors completely flexibly, squeezing in coursework during your downtime.

So there you have it – a terrific triad of travel tips to help you thrive as a digital nomad.

Take this advice on board and you’ll have a brilliant time the next time you take off – bon voyage!

The Strange Story of Snowglobes in Hot Countries

Hey Owlets,

“Take only memories, leave only footprints”. If you’ve been anywhere on the internet before then you’ve probably read that hundreds of times, and you’ve probably ignored it just as many times. You only need to look at the main shopping street in any touristy area to realise that selling souvenirs is a HUGE business. You can get souvenirs of just about everything - if you go to Spain you’ll most likely come home with a fan or some castanets, visit Paris and you’ll probably have a mini Eiffel Tower on your keys for the next few months, or Big Ben or the London Eye, or maybe even a bulldog if your holiday of choice was London. I’ll admit, I do like to buy a fridge magnet from every country I visit, but my main souvenir of choice is something much more unusual - snow globes. Given that it’s both a very specific item and, for the most part, I only visit hot countries you’d think they would be nearly impossible to find, but they’re surprisingly common, and it’s all down to a story I heard by chance in Italy a few years ago.

How to Shop more Sustainably in 2021

*This blog contains sponsored content*

Hey Owlets,

Being in lockdown throughout 2020 gave us chance to see the negative effects of the things we do every day without thinking. Having had chance to step back and watch the world heal for a while, you may be wondering how you can continue to make your own positive impact on the world by way of making small, affordable and easy swaps in your day to day life. 

One of the biggest sources of pollution and waste comes from the fashion industry. It’s estimated that by 2050 the fashion industry will use up to a quarter of the world’s carbon budget, making it the most polluting industry after oil. When you buy from a big fast fashion brand you might be getting a brand new wardrobe without taking a big chunk out of your bank balance but the reality is that there’s no such thing as a free lunch and the benefit to your wallet and the brand’s profits has to come from somewhere. The cost is usually mistreating workers, unfair pay and questionable environmental practices. So, if you’re wondering how you can shop more sustainably this year, here’s a few suggestions.

Hello, It's Been a While

Hi! Remember me? 

That girl who used to be obsessed with writing essays on her little corner of the internet? I still am, but let's be honest - at best my uploading schedule has been sporadic, at worst it's been absolutely abysmal. It's not that I haven't been writing - I have tonnes of posts sitting in my drafts just waiting for their time to shine, but the actual uploading has been a little allusive. 

Let me be frank - 2020 was meant to be the best year ever for me and The Owlet, and instead calling it a trainwreck seems a little too nice. 2020 was hard for everyone - I'm not even going to pretend that it wasn't and I know I was not even close to one of the worst affected people in the world. "You had a few holidays cancelled, boohoo, poor you" - I mean they were mainly work trips but the point still stands.

My Potential Plans for 2021

*Update: this article was written in December 2020 when travel felt like a possibility in Spring/Summer 2021. Since then the number of cases of COVID and deaths have sadly spirallded out of control. Obviously these plans won't be going ahead unless entirely safe to do so but I wanted to leave it published for you to enjoy daydreaming with me.

Hey Owlets,

I almost don’t know if I want to write this article. As you can see from the title I’m discussing potential travel plans for this year, and after the mess of 2020 it almost feels like I’m tempting fate. However, despite being a travel blogger I’ve not travelled for a year and it is a part of my job that I need to get back to as soon as it’s safe. With that in mind I’ve made a few tentative plans, but nothing is set in stone and I don’t really have any dates- it’s more just a list of ideas and potential options, but maybe it will give you a little inspiration of where to go when things are safer. 

What 2020 has Taught Me

Hey Owlets,

2020 was the year that no one expected, could prepare for or even knew how to even survive. It’s undoubtably been one of the hardest years for everyone, but while so many people are wishing this awful year would be erased from their memories I’m not entirely mad at it. Don’t get me wrong, this year has been pretty horrific, but there are a few saving graces for me just from the fact that I’ve learnt so much. I’ve done a few of these “What this year has taught me” so it probably looks like I’m just doing it for clicks, but I genuinely do write these from a place of learning something about myself. I think the last one I wrote was in 2018 when a close friend died, because he definitely taught me a lot. I’ve been lucky enough to not know anyone who has contracted COVID and I am a little conscious that I’m writing this when compared to some people I’ve really not had the worst year. However, I do believe that we can all take something away from this year, even if we’ve been lucky enough to not be badly affected.

Good Things that Happened in 2020

Hey Owlets,

This year has been a whirlwind, not in terms of time going fast but in everything that’s happened. Recently I’ve noticed online that it’s become cool to hate this year, and yes this year has been pretty terrible, but I’m a firm believer of trying to find the positives in everything. Growing up with my Dad’s poor health I’ve always been taught to make the most of every day, and jumping on the “I hate this year” bandwagon totally goes against that. Instead, I wanted to spread a little positivity by discussing a few good things that have happened to me this year, and I hope that this will encourage you to look for some positives too.

Desenio: An Honest Review

Hey Owlets,

I am so excited to bring you this review today. If you’ve been anywhere on the homewares/fashion blogger internet circle then you’ve probably heard of Desenio. It feels as if they just popped up out of nowhere one day and every single blogger I followed had Desenio artwork in their homes. I can’t lie, I’m quite easily influenced if a blogger I really like is talking about something, and having seen so many people mention Desenio I desperately wanted some of their prints. At the time as a 15 year old girl with only pocket money in my bank it wasn’t a priority purchase but I still loved going through the website just because I enjoyed looking at pretty pieces. Fast forward almost a decade and, having just moved into my first home, I was so excited to finally be able to shop on Desenio and fill my walls with the beautiful artwork that I’d been staring at for years!