What Are Digital Nomad Families And Why There Are Suddenly So Many?
Digital nomad families are families who choose a life filled with travel and experiences rather than staying put.
Travel, work, just vibing and communing with local culture. Welcome to digital nomad families and their lifestyles. It may sound like the path followed by a 20-something or a retired person enjoying their freedom, but now in a post-pandemic world, young families are enjoying the digital nomad lifestyle as well.
The amount of these digital nomad families—aptly named because they travel the country, sometimes the world—and are digitally connected to work and school, has risen significantly in the last couple of years. Blame, once again, the COVID-19 pandemic. But is it really something that deserves “blame” in this respect? Maybe, in this case, we should be thanking it for eye-opening opportunities.
The Rise of the Digital Nomad Family
A recent study first reported by Lonely Plant, a travel publication, said that “Of the 1,400 people from 67 nationalities surveyed, 54% identified as anywhere workers – and 70% of those were parents who took their children with them on their travels.” These folks that take their children are indeed digital nomad families.
Who would do this? Who would want a life based on travel, never knowing what or who you will encounter next? If stats are correct, pretty much everyone would like it—if they could make it a reality. Digital nomad families have a life that typically consists of either one parent or a nanny, “homeschooling” the children or creating a curriculum based on the travel, while either both, or one parent works from anywhere because of the flexibility their job allows.
Pre-Covid, digital nomad families were rare. Most people put down roots, stay in one area and work there too. If children were homeschooled, they stayed at home or in a small microschool—within a community. And some experts believe this is necessary for a young child’s development. Other proponents of the lifestyle say the pros outweigh the cons.
During the Covid pandemic, almost all workers were shuttered at home while businesses had to scramble to adjust their work-from-home policies, and update remote technology. One travel obstacle was solved. Children had to do the same during that pandemic and go to school online. Another travel obstacle was solved. Some people got very good at being remote and decided they were not going back and decided to become a part of the digital nomad family community. They weren’t going back to their desks, and they weren’t going back to being stationary. They decided they were free—nomadic, so to speak.
Digital nomad families say that their family, and families like them benefit greatly from travel, cultural immersion, adaptability, and new languages. Those critical of the lifestyle cite studies that say children require a routine and larger support network. Actual digital nomad families say that the decision to embrace the nomad lifestyle depends upon the family and the personalities that exist within it.
As Tell Me Best reported, the number of children being homeschooled rose by 600%. More and more families are comfortable with educating their children on their own terms and in their own homes. And many companies are allowing remote work. When those two ideas come together, the result is a brand-new lifestyle. And brand-new ideas.
