INTERVJU: Kako nedovisno od lokacije dela Viktorija? (v angleščini)

Viktorija je simpatična digitalna nomadka, prevajalka iz Rusije, ki živi in dela v različnih državah po svetu – vse preko interneta. Postavila je tudi spletno stran digitalnomadhub, kjer lahko najdete vse polno informacij o tem, kako delati in potovati.

Za vas sem z njo pripravila kratek intervju v angleščini ☺

1. What’s your name and what do you do?
I’m Victoria, originally Russian, but a citizen of the world at heart. For the last 2 years I’ve lived in France, Italy, Morocco, the Philippines and visited some other countries. My journey started in Megeve, France, where I was an au pair – it was the easiest way for me to get a long-term Shengen visa and later the residence permit of France. With that, I moved to Italy and fell in love with it from the first sight. But life turned in a way that I got an opportunity to see other parts of the world a bit. However, I keep on coming back to Italy every now and then!

2. Do you consider yourself a digital nomad?:)
I don’t really consider myself a traveler, but I’m definitely a nomad. And working online while living anywhere in the world makes me a digital nomad, right? ϑ I’m saying living instead of traveling on purpose – because that’s what I actually do. I pick up a certain place in the world through deep research, and then move directly there, and stay there for 2-3 months. Being a remote worker means you have to be available at almost any time – instead of hiking somewhere or lying on the beach. So, I have a “normal” working week and I have weekends, and everyday routines…the difference is that I live wherever I want, in a truly nomadic way, and able to bring my job with me just anywhere wifi is. This is what I call freedom.

3. How did you start this kind of lifestyle?
At first, I was an au pair in France and in Italy. Lucky enough, I got a job offer from the auntie of those Italian kids who I was taking care of. After working for her company as an office and do-it-all worker for about 6 months, it suddenly became clear that the Italian immigration authorities are not going to extend my residency permit, so I had to leave the EU better sooner than later. However, after a long and conscious preparation period, following the step-by-step advice of Tim Ferriss, I managed to convince my boss that I can do the same job remotely. By that time my position in the company was more or less established, and not allowing me to work via Internet would cause more troubles for them like finding a new employee, teaching him/her all the skills I already had, losing time and money during that introduction stage…The company was wise enough to let me go, and I grabbed a ticket to Morocco right away!

4. What are the pros and cons of such lifestyle?
The very first and strongest positive thing about this lifestyle is freedom. You owe your time, you choose where to go, what to do, at what part of day or night you want to work and how long you want to sleep. No commuting, no morning stress, no rush at all.

Another great thing is the educating side of living abroad. You learn to deal with extreme situations and different points of view. You learn to cope with cultural misunderstanding and become more flexible and wise. You learn not just about the world around, but you learn a lot about yourself and who you really are and want to be.

The negative side of nomadic lifestyle, however, includes lack of things you’re used to.Something is always a bit wrong, something is always broken, unavailable, or just not like what it has to be. Internet in Africa? Hot shower in Asia? Falafel in Europe? The more you travel, the more things are missing wherever else you go.
Another, more significant thing, might be the time zone difference, especially if you are a remote worker and have to follow the office hours of your company. Imagine living in a time zone which is 8 hours different from your physical location! Tough.

5. How did you come up with an idea for you website digitalnomadhub?

I’ve never stopped thinking about nomadic lifestyle since I started reading Benny Lewis’ blog, and his post “How to Become a Location Independent Freelance Translator” completely blew my mind. So I started to look for more resources about location independent living, and just got overwhelmed with the amounts of them! I was like a blind kitten in all those flows of information, helpful and useless. So I decided to create a site where all the necessary resources for would-be nomads will be gathered together, all at one place.

6. What’s the main goal of the website?

Digital Nomad Hub contains manually curated, carefully selected, inspiring and handy resources on such topics as location independence, online income and travel lifestyle. Now you can browse through blogs, podcasts, books, locations and communities, and new sections appear on Digital Nomad Hub regularly. In the nearest future the audience will also see events, movies, tools and training programs for digital nomads.

7. Did you “meet” any interesting people through this project?

Of course! While publishing interesting resources on my website, I always try to connect with their owners. Also, people reach me out through social media channels and these new connections sometimes grow into common projects or something else interesting. I also meet nomads while traveling, and it’s especially pleasant to spread the word of the resources created by people you know personally.

8. Are the books or other resources that you would like to point out on you website?

There is a section of Must-Read Digital Nomad Books, which contains short reviews of the most mind-changing and inspiring works of some well-known authors. These are the books that you really have to read. Seriously.

9. What are your 5 best tips to people starting out in a global digital nomadic business?

1. Create your location independent income before you hit the road. That’s fundamental.
2. Automate, optimize, outsource. It saves lots of time and eventually increases the revenue! And don’t hesitate to pay for the tools which save your time and efforts.
3. Establish your daily routine. Keep the track of your tasks, don’t get overwhelmed. Try to do only one thing at once, moving to the next one only when the first is finished – otherwise your attention is distracted and you find nothing done at all.
4. Choose when you work, and when you travel. Doing both at once is not a good idea.
5. Find your network, interact as much as possible with people who have the same mindset. They can give you the most valuable advice, but for free.
10. What did you learn from your experience?

I’ve learnt that everyone needs a home, even a nomad. What you consider to be your “home” really depends and varies, but you need one. There must be a place where you can come back to at any time and feel safe. It can be a home for 1 month only, but it has to be your home. It must have your touch and energy, which you keep there and can get recharged when needed. I even have a space in my 30L backpack for a small Moroccan rug – for extra coziness! ☺

 

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