I left the United States to pursue a nomadic lifestyle in January 2019, and I’ve been traveling the world ever since that time. I spent considerable time preparing for a life of travel—about 18 months in fact.
I was not comfortable leaving the US until I had saved up enough money to live comfortably in low-cost countries for at least 1 year. With proper planning, a nomad can live comfortably in eastern Europe or southeast Asia on $1500 per month.
You’ll see tales of people living off of $600 per month in Bali or Chiang Mai. Yes, but they’re forgoing restaurants, air conditioning, and they’re made to use squat toilets. If you’re comfortable without having various western conveniences, then you can keep your costs extraordinarily low. There are a number of hostels throughout southeast Asia where you can stay for less than $5 per night, but be warned that they’re gross.
With this in mind, I saved enough such that I could live abroad comfortably for at least 1 year, which amounted to about $20k USD. Also, I had an additional part of my savings earmarked for 6 months of expenses in the US if I had to return. All in all, I was comfortable leaving the US with $30k USD in savings. This is probably more than the average nomad will save before leaving. I’m particularly risk-averse. Consider your own risk-tolerance and budget with that in mind.
You may ask why I thought a year of savings was necessary. Well, I did not have a plan to earn an income remotely. I felt confident in my ability to figure things out though. And indeed I did figure things out; I run a digital marketing agency now, but there was no guarantee of this.
I felt that one year was the lead time I would need in order to piece together an income that would support my nomadic lifestyle. It turns out that I’ve earned more money than I’ve spent every month since I’ve left, even in the very early days of my journey. I understand that it helps to have ready access to western markets, which is a supreme privilege.
