Danish couple quit their jobs and now lives as digital nomads in Thailand

[Thunglom]

So what's the position now with work permits?

[somchai jones]

Predictably, the envy drips from their every post....????

 

[bkk_mike]

4 hours ago, scorecard said:

"Not a lot of them have jobs that make it possible." Very true, and I would emphasis '...not a lot...'

 

Many jobs require daily/many times a day interactions with customers  (7/11 and many other stores).

 

Folks who work on factory production lines can't work remotely as digital nomads.

 

Many jobs require daily/many times a day interactions with other employees.

 

There's also the point that regular face to face communication builds innovation and cretaivity, valuable cooperation and teamwork, and motivation.

 

• Several times my executive MBA students (Thailand, SIngapore, Vietnam and I'm aware of the same happening in Australia) have tried to write their thesis on this very subject. 
• As to be be expected their: surveys, one on one interviews, small group interviews (peer groups/supervisors & management groups) produced comments / points which the students hadn't expected.
•  Example comments / observations from a small face to face group of mid and Snr level managers _{(from different companies - the 10 people in the discussion group didn't know the others in the interview/discussion group and didn't know what industries they came from).}
•  
  • E.g. 'I quickly found:
  •  - Expected output was not fully satisfactory and
  •  - That I needed to spend more time supervising / pushing the remote digital nomads than I wanted to.
  •  - Outputs/submissions from the digital nomads contained very litte/zero innovations or creativity  and when this point was raided the digital nomads mostly commented 'not my job'.
  •  - Trying to get all the digital nomads together in the same room for a six monthly (?) review was a
  •     nightmare and not productive.
  •  - At the request of one then several digital nomads to conduct the six monthly review by zoom or skype was also unproductive - in fact a waste of time.

 

 

For business operations set up to offer: business solutions, improvements in business effectiveness, improvements in operating costs and more, seems to me a team in one locations is much better placed to build/offer/propose suggestions/strategies etc.

 

In many cases to grant a contract for the actual work the client would want to quickly have the solution offerer quickly visit, with their solutions development team, and discuss with the client.

 

In a circumstance like this I would not give a contract to a solutions company who do all their internal work by using remote digital nomads. 

 

Sure lots of things being written about the NEW world of work.

 

Seems to me the world of work is still 90% the same as it ever was but of course with a lot of good/valuable electronic aids.

It's not the NEW world of work.

I was working remotely from Bangkok 20 years ago as a contractor. I knew other contractors working remotely from Spain before that.

It was harder in the days when Thailand just had dialup - needing a second phone line for a start...

if I had an occasion where I had to go to the office, usually for a few weeks or a month, I had to log in on Saturday just after flying back, to give the connection the weekend to synchronise the email to my PC (and getting signoff to use my own PC was "interesting" - and eventually permission was removed).

 

Ironically now, I'm in the UK on ADSL (with starlink as a backup connection), where in Bangkok we have fibre to the home. I haven't been in the office once for almost two years because of Covid, but HR won't let me work from Thailand nowadays as I'm an employee.

[Pattaya Spotter]

Working as "digital nomads"... is that the same as "eBegging."

[scorecard]

4 hours ago, racket said:

Most digital nomads I know work every day all the time. That 9-5 became 24/7 all of a sudden. 

So the digital nomads love of work life balance is a myth?

[brucegoniners]

Now that's news!

[dj230]

4 hours ago, racket said:

Most digital nomads I know work every day all the time. That 9-5 became 24/7 all of a sudden. 

Depends what work you do, most regular jobs would be the same whether you work online in a big city in america in your room vs in a different room in a different Country, albiet time zone differences. 
 

I barely work, I’d say it’s equivalent to a part time job. Much less work as my expenses are 50% or less in Thailand, so I can cover all my expenses and still put money into my savings while doing less.

 

Just curious which digital nomad jobs are requiring 24/7 type of work?

Edited February 17, 2022 by dj230

[Thailimpan]

They are young, the plan is to be away for a year, hardly nomads. But kudos to them taking the opportunity to travel and get paid along the way.

[khunpa]

1 hour ago, fdsa said:

I totally agree with every single word, had the very same experience managing several remote workers and even a few living on the very same island in Thailand. And being a kind of such remote worker myself I could confirm that it is extremely difficult to work productively from home, it's just a very different atmosphere compared to the office.

So if you want your project to succeed - you should rent an office and collect your "digital nomads" there, for a usual 5/2 schedule.

 

+

The main problem is “attitude”. Most think working remotely from home is easy, while in fact it requires a huge amount of self-discipline and is often also more time-consuming, as you get disturbed during your day.

 

Add to that issues with communication and time-differences and things can get really messed up.

 

I have worked with many who could not do it in the long-run. You really need to be super organized and truly love what you do, to make it work.

 

”Freedom” comes at a price…

 

 

 

[DezLez]

How much was every individual, paper, web site etc  paid for the postings of this non story on all the various papers. sites, blogs etc. And how many "clicks" does it earn a web site who posts/re-posts it?

Money all round for SFA!

[Jimbo53]

6 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I hope they are happy with their way of life.

 

And I hope they won't complain in Thailand or any other country about all those unfair regulations with work permits, visas, paying taxes, etc.

It is easy to work in Thailand or many other countries for a month or two. It is not so easy to do that same i.e. for a year in the same place. If they have i.e. a baby, what will they do? Still move every couple of month to another country to another hotel?

All that doesn't mean people shouldn't try to live the way they want. But it is also a good idea to look at reality and the legal situation. Maybe it is more complicated then you think... 

Maybe it is not as complicated as you think....

I would presume, that,as their totally invested in it,that all things would have been analysed and taken into consideration prior to leaving!!

Good luck to them!

[OneMoreFarang]

14 minutes ago, Jimbo53 said:

Maybe it is not as complicated as you think....

I would presume, that,as their totally invested in it,that all things would have been analysed and taken into consideration prior to leaving!!

Good luck to them!

Good that you wrote you presume and not you assume... 

I am sure some people plan in detail. But it seems many don't.

[Jimbo53]

2 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Good that you wrote you presume and not you assume... 

I am sure some people plan in detail. But it seems many don't.

• Assume nothing.

• Check everything.

And you'll never be disappointed!

[jts-khorat]

5 hours ago, racket said:

Most digital nomads I know work every day all the time. That 9-5 became 24/7 all of a sudden. 

So true. But...

 

I made a similar jump to Thailand as I was just 24. From being an aimless student to having my own company seemed to have happened from one moment to the next and frankly I was wholly unprepared for that: work hours were often gruelling to make ends meet.

 

Compared to my peers that stayed put and worked their normal 9/5 days, my pension will be rather smallish (I went back to Europe after 15 years in Thailand, to make up for this a little bit and to find the golden middle).

 

Still, I was young, it was an incredible adventure generating memories that I will cherish to my last day -- memories the average pensioner finally arriving in Thailand after an exhaustive work life will not be able to buy with any money.

 

Given the choice to relive my life, this part I would not do any different.

[SAFETY FIRST]

14 minutes ago, Jimbo53 said:

• Assume nothing.

• Check everything.

And you'll never be disappointed!

Not bad but I go by the 

 

ABC

 

Assume nothing. 
Believe no one 
Confirm everything

 

[SAFETY FIRST]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

couple recently quit their jobs and traveled to Thailand where they currently live as digital nomads. 

 

As long as they don't come here and start complaining about the infrastructure, soi dogs, dual pricing etc I'm OK.

 

We have enough of the complainers, whingers and whiners here

[CartagenaWarlock]

Who works on the beach?

[TropicalGuy]

9 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Don't let it slip completely mate, a day off to the barber for a shampoo and trim would be good!

My exact initial thoughts on that photo. Lady looks delightful & immaculate . Bloke needs a decent short haircut, shave and eye op. to lose those daft geeky glasses.
 

Really no excuse for young people to now wear spectacles ; indicating either cowardice over correctable disability (medical reasons aside) or affecting some pseudo-academic look. Get Rid ! 

[Jeff Olssson]

6 hours ago, racket said:

Most digital nomads I know work every day all the time. That 9-5 became 24/7 all of a sudden. 

True, but maybe they prefer to do something they love 24/7 than doing something they would hate 9-5. But as another poster pointed out, that privilege comes at a price.

 

Edited February 17, 2022 by Jeff Olssson

[tjintx]

7 hours ago, arithai12 said:

Is this really the most newsworthy story that happened in all of Scandinavia? A couple decided to work online. Wow.

Have you been to Scandinavia?  ????

[TropicalGuy]

7 hours ago, johnnybangkok said:

Spoken like a true Boomer.

 

Work/life balance is a HUGE thing now, with forward thinking employers embracing the concept. I currently have 10 people working remotely (and plan on hiring another 10 soon). Some are part-time, some also have a second job but all are working from home. Technology today means all you need is a laptop and a mobile phone and you can conduct large swathes of business from anywhere you choose. This couple are obviously tech orientated so why not sit on a beach rather than a freezing cold Danish town?

 

Monday to Friday 9- 5 is rapidly becoming a concept of the past; the future is work when you want and where you want and as long as the job gets done, what does it matter? 

 

 

Partly true certainly. My daughter 34 works in isolation from home on specific research assignments like this. Psychologist Consultant in private sector. Never goes to HQ. 

However Project Work (my area) requiring hundreds of dedicated people interfacing daily by human face to face group & personal interaction will still require conventional office working for the foreseeable future. Humans are primarily Social Animals. WFH will never fully cut it for most business activity. 

[darrendsd]

10 hours ago, DaLa said:

It would be interesting for them to place a definition on 'more freedom'. Everything comes with a price in the long term and it's difficult to predict the positives and negatives especially in a foreign country.

 

Always makes me smile when youngsters talk about work/life balance.  Work is a large  part of your life and can be the part that forms your social life, your enjoyment of life, your quality of life and your funds for later in life. 

 

I wonder how much they will enjoy the sunburn after 8 hours unable to see a screen in bright sunlight.

I came here as a DN in 2006, I was going to write a detailed post about the pros and cons of being a DN but then I read your last paragraph and  I'm not going to bother now

 

[cncltd1973]

10 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I hope they are happy with their way of life.

 

And I hope they won't complain in Thailand or any other country about all those unfair regulations with work permits, visas, paying taxes, etc.

It is easy to work in Thailand or many other countries for a month or two. It is not so easy to do that same i.e. for a year in the same place. If they have i.e. a baby, what will they do? Still move every couple of month to another country to another hotel?

All that doesn't mean people shouldn't try to live the way they want. But it is also a good idea to look at reality and the legal situation. Maybe it is more complicated then you think... 

I'm really curious how long they stick it out in Thailand before they go running to the next country on their list!

[Black Angus]

Technology work wonderful when it works well. But what happens when it fails. Look at all those Postmasters that were ruined in the UK when the PO computer was at fault and now years on their still fighting their corner and the PO will be proved wrong. Will never compensate what the went through. Yep Tech is fine WHEN it works.

[sqwakvfr]

I have asked for years to those who self identify as “Digital Nomads, Online Entrepreneurs” etc what exactly do you do?  I have never heard a clear explanation.  I went to “Camp” which is located in CNX and is one of the popular places for “Digital Nomads” and saw several of them watching videos on their laptops.  

[thaibreaker]

17 hours ago, dj230 said:

I think this will become the norm soon, im in my mid 20's, moved to Thailand and make all my income online, more than enough to support my living in Thailand. 

May I ask what kind of visa you are on? I am always amazed by the amount of people who think it's a peace of cake to just "live" in Thailand, being under 50 years old.

 

That was my first thought reading this story too.

 

Thailand is not just handing out visas. You are allowed to stay there until one day, you're not anymore.

Been there, done that.

 

Are you on an Elite Visa? Renewable every 6th or 11th year?

That's one solution, but a quite expensive one.

 

I wonder how the Danish couple solves this too.

Edited February 17, 2022 by thaibreaker

[Jimbo53]

8 hours ago, cncltd1973 said:

I'm really curious how long they stick it out in Thailand before they go running to the next country on their list!

Why the interest? They can stay as long as their visa lets them! It's their prerogative!

I don't think there will be any running involved,and i am sure the last thing on their mind is your curiosity  of the length of their stay!

You need to get out a bit more!

[Bkktodd]

22 hours ago, RandiRona said:

Sounds more like Dumb nomads than Digital!!

Crime rates in DK are rising….maybe not so dumb

[Karma80]

2 hours ago, thaibreaker said:

May I ask what kind of visa you are on? I am always amazed by the amount of people who think it's a peace of cake to just "live" in Thailand, being under 50 years old.

 

That was my first thought reading this story too.

 

Thailand is not just handing out visas. You are allowed to stay there until one day, you're not anymore.

Been there, done that.

 

Are you on an Elite Visa? Renewable every 6th or 11th year?

That's one solution, but a quite expensive one.

The cold, hard reality. Most digital nomads/remote workers have no access to any sort of visa which is a legitimate long term stay for work/business purposes.

They are here on a tourist visa, covid extensions, STV, or just fake volunteer/student and then leave.

If you're a national of an APEC country you can get a business travel card, and exist on 90-day entries around Asia. In and out of Thailand too often and you still run the risk of an awkward immigration conversation.

Some might get an Elite visa to be left alone, but either/or you can end up in a murky tax situation if you don't plan well.

A few might work under umbrella employment programs like Iglu, which does give a pathway to a PR application.

 

But, you're bang on. It's not easy to just decide to move here and live long term. Very rarely do people want to discuss and share what strategy they have outside employment, retirement or spouse options.

 

[Orinoco]

18 hours ago, Captain Monday said:

Thailand authorities  seem to not want digital pikeys living as tourists, 

I like the terminology.