Digital nomadism is here to stay, say remote employees exploring the terrain

The legacy of the pandemic will be discussed and dissected for decades to come. The jury is still out on the immediate and long term impact, but what is indisputable is how our socio-cultural lives have been transformed, with new behaviour patterns and preferences emerging, and forgotten ones gaining traction. A prolonged period of working remotely has changed how we view work.

While hobbies such as gardening and baking have seen a renaissance, a rejection of the 9 to 5 in-person work has been commonplace, especially among young professionals who seek a work-life balance. No wonder that the digital nomad lifestyle, which has been gaining popularity for a few years now globally, also hit Indian shores with a force yet unseen.

Mid-day Online spoke to digital nomads who share their passion, enriching experiences, challenges, and their hopes for the future.

Sonali Sabharwal Bamba
31, Bangalore
Senior Account Strategist (EMEA) at LinkedIn

Sonali has been travelling with her spouse and working out of remote hotspots such as Goa and Dharamshala. Pic/Sonali Sabharwal Bamba

Sonali Sabharwal Bamba has been working remotely and travelling with her husband since 2019. Her innate desire to see new places and experience different cultures is what keeps her moving, from Shimla to Maldives. She's managed to hit India's two remote working hotspots Dharamshala (where she stayed for six months) and Goa (where she stuck around for two).

She believes in striking a balance between exploring new places and immersing oneself in the local culture "Being a nomad at heart and an explorer by choice, I would love to stay in each place till I feel like a local, and can play the part of a tourist guide."

The nomadic community she had the chance to intermingle with is what made her stay longer in places like Dharamshala and Goa. "Being a social animal, community is inherently important to us--and I am no different. I feel this is one of the reasons I enjoy a nomadic life. I believe meeting new people, connecting, and learning from their experiences is vital to my survival and growth." It helps that her husband shares her love of travel and has been her companion on the numerous journeys. "You have a constant source of belonging. You also see each other grow and learn about different perspectives. It is amazing to have someone to reflect with."

Over two years of being a digital nomad has caused a shift in her perspective towards life - one which she hopes will stay. "I've realised the importance of being in the moment, because it might never repeat itself. Things, people, and situations are temporary. We must value every moment, because joy as well as sorrow are mere perceptions of a situation."

When asked if she sees herself ever returning to working from a physical office, Bamba says, "It's hard to imagine. I would love to continue working from anywhere and become part of a new place every few days.

Not so surprisingly, internet connectivity remains a challenge that is yet to be overcome, especially in remote locales. "Being a working professional, I spend 8 to 9 hours of my day with my laptop and bad Internet can be a turnoff."

Prateek Kotha
35, Bangalore
Associate Director: Marketing and Brand Solutions/Monetization at Myntra

Meeting new people and expanding his world view is what keeps Prateek Kotha moving. Pic/Prakeet Kotha

Prateek Kotha was quick to capitalise on the opportunity to work remotely. His drive to explore new places, and reconnect with his roots took him to the Gurudwaras of Punjab to the snow-capped peaks of Kashmir. "Travelling fulfills me. The nomadic way of living helps break monotony and helps in expanding my understanding of different cultures and people through new experiences"

Kotha enrolled himself in residencies which provided a space to interact, engage, and learn from like-minded individuals. "This nomadic lifestyle allows me to widen my social circle, and that too from different domains. I've met quite an interesting set of people during my travels that I might have not encountered otherwise in a corporate set up."

Many might end up slacking off work, or overspending while pursuing this stimulating lifestyle. But being a digital nomad also requires a lot of planning as trade-offs need to be made. "Balancing work while exploring places, endlessly evaluating the pros and cons of doing an activity, and managing time and finances are extremely important."

Meeting new people is exciting, but finding a sense of belonging while you're constantly moving around can be trying at times, especially when you're trying to connect on a deeper level. "Finding your base and anchoring yourself is a bittersweet challenge," admits Kotha.

His travels fuel his renewed vigour to learn. "Nature can be the best therapist in my opinion. Learning never stops when you travel whether it is about culture, food, or even human behaviour."

It is only natural that Kotha wants to continue exploring. "I would want to go back to the office but in a hybrid format, so I can continue my travels and work from anywhere for the years to come," concludes Kotha.

Mudit Subodh
33, Mumbai
Category Manager at Myntra

Mudit has been travelling solo and working remotely since 2019. Pic/Mudit Subodh

Solo travelling across India since the pandemic hit, Mudit Subodh packed up his belongings and vacated his apartment after a stint in Uttarakhand and Himachal. "This new way of co-living and working really excited me. In March 2021, I decided to vacate my apartment and put all of my stuff in a storage unit to return to Himachal. I have been to popular destinations such as Nainital and Almora, as well as villages in and around Tirthan Valley and Spiti."

His nomadic lifestyle has allowed him to take the slow travel path, "I usually decide to stay at a place for a minimum of 2 to 3 weeks. This gives me enough time to explore the place at my leisure. Before starting work, after finishing work for the day, or over the weekends - allows a good amount of time to cover the places, explore eateries, and bond with the people. I decide to extend my stay if I enjoy the vibe of the place and the people around. This way of slow traveling has really helped me to explore places in a better way."

Finding a community is what keeps him going. "Community gives one a sense of belonging. Since I stay at a place for a long duration it's important to bond with people because you will be living, eating, and sharing a space with them. While traveling you meet all kinds of folks -- from solo travellers, backpackers to people traveling with friends, family, etc. The important thing is to find people with similar interests. Also, since the concept of co-living is fairly new to the country, it's important to understand when one needs personal space. I've met some amazing people while traveling from all kinds of professional backgrounds and this has helped with networking as well."

Dwelling on the challenges he faced while navigating a new way of life, Subodh shares, "The biggest challenge initially was to focus on work. With the mountains in your backyard and the constant urge to go out and explore, it becomes difficult to work. The key is to find the right balance between work and leisure. Once I did that, I realised I was enjoying my work more. Another issue is having too many people around - with work from mountains becoming a norm slowly, there was a huge influx of people, which consumes internet bandwidth and sometimes overlapping meetings make it difficult to work."

The one thing that has fundamentally changed for him is the belief that an office environment is required to be productive. "If one is dedicated to their work, makes the effort, and has their priorities straight, it is possible to work from anywhere. I have been more productive than ever in this way of working and co-living. I would like to work remotely permanently."

Nihar Manwatkar
37, Goa
Musician, entrepreneur

A digital nomad himself Nihar opened Clay- a co-working space in Goa in 2019. Pic/Nihar Manwatkar

A jack of multiple trades, Nihar Manwatkar is a design consultant, musician, and founder of a co-working space in Goa. He founded The Banana Design Co - a fully remote boutique design agency - over six years ago with the intention of joining the global remote working movement, by hiring talent not just available locally but anywhere in the country.

Working while you travel is an exciting proposition which draws people to this lifestyle initially, but the key element to sustain this is discipline, according to Manwatkar, "I say this from personal experience. As a generation I believe many of us are used to living a relatively structured life. It's what most of us grew up preparing for. Working as you travel is a drastic change in that behaviour and such an un-hinged lifestyle definitely has good potential to derail an individual's time, health, and overall productivity. It is discipline, the ability to always be mindful of your actions, how one spends their time, and what one really prioritises for themselves, which become extremely critical constituents to sustaining this lifestyle."

After moving to Goa in 2018, he felt the need to have a dedicated workspace for remote workers which led to Clay - a co-working space he founded pre-pandemic in 2019. During the pandemic, Goa saw a barrage of remote employees from all across the country, and Manwatkar had front seat to this explosion. "It's been extremely interesting seeing our audience change with global events. We started off attracting a very local audience - people who lived within a 2 km radius of the space who had heard of us purely through word of mouth. Post the first lockdown opening, we were one of the very first spaces in these parts of town to re-open our doors. That led to a wave of people from all over the country who jumped on the 'remote working' opportunity and decided to work out of Goa by simply searching on Google. An eclectic mix of designers, consultants, IT professionals, painters, content writers, entrepreneurs, data scientists, biologists...the list really goes on. Clay, in essence, is really a home for anyone looking for a stable and consistent work environment, looking to network, not work alone, meet people, and of course grow as people."

When asked to describe the evolution of the nomadic community, from pre-pandemic to post-pandemic Manwatkar shares, "It's still so nascent. People aren't sure if their offices will call them back. And with such a degree of uncertainty it's too early to spot any trends with respect to this entire eco-systems evolution. I can say, without a doubt, however that it's here to stay. Clay is now working toward elevating this experience through its 'culture' vertical by connecting our members with spiritual advisors, small habit experts, nutritional guides, meditation experts, etc. to fuse the amazing world of well-being with work, which is a concept and a philosophy I've personally missed seeing in all my work stints and that can have a significantly positive impact on a person's life."

The entrepreneur believes there is much to gain from collaboration, "We all have tremendous amounts of value to add to each others' lives. With a little bit of mindfulness, gratitude, self-faith and discipline, we truly can enter this new world, where the norms of 9 to 5 have almost collapsed, stronger, more collaborative and empathetic."

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