It's so hard... The difficulties and possibilities of being a digital nomad in China

I've found that becoming a digital nomad in China is really not easy.

Limited remote work opportunities: Domestic companies rarely accept remote work.

Language disadvantage: Unlike some digital nomads abroad who survive by teaching English.

Limited RMB purchasing power: Cross-border living expenses create pressure.

Then in recent years, in an economic downturn environment, the concept of "digital nomad" has been hyped up, forming a collective imagination of "ideal life." The bigger the expectations, the bigger the disappointment. There's no one lifestyle/career that can solve everyone's life problems. Some tried it, some quit. And think this path is not feasible.

These mixed messages from multiple sources have also made becoming a digital nomad in China difficult. But it's not that becoming a digital nomad in China is impossible. It's just that the requirements for people's skills and internal drive are higher.

I initiated a discussion on this topic within our nomadic community, talking about the differences between Chinese and foreign digital nomads, and the resulting differences in digital nomad communities.

Through our discussion, we found there are three relatively mainstream viable paths for being a digital nomad in China:

First is finding remote work abroad, where web3 remote work has more options. To choose this path, English is a basic threshold.

Second is doing individual entrepreneurship/freelancing, doing your own thing. The more mainstream ones here are programmers developing their own products, content entrepreneurship, selling your skills/services, etc. This path is more difficult, requiring comprehensive abilities in product production, sales, and marketing simultaneously.

Third is combining with China's rural revitalization policy to do local entrepreneurship projects. This is a path with Chinese characteristics, because as domestic rural revitalization rises, the pan-digital nomad group wanting to stay away from big cities has become possible participants. However, here digital nomad is a generalized concept. Stone, who participated in the discussion, mentioned that domestic policy support in this area is relatively abundant. Although mobility isn't strong, it provides opportunities to jump out of traditional workplaces. Some people choose to stay and start businesses or do other work.

Based on this, we also discovered that compared to foreign digital nomad communities, domestic digital nomad communities need to take on more functions related to career development and co-creation/co-learning. Because when a large number of groups wanting to become digital nomads break away from the company work system, they don't have channels to learn how to earn online income. And digital nomadism is after all a choice for a minority, so everyone also needs to band together for warmth. This important life exploration and transition period needs support and companionship.

One friend who has lived in many domestic digital nomad communities mentioned that "digital nomad communities have a very high confusion index." According to NCC's digital nomad report, there's a large group of digital nomad explorers in China, including many post-00s with less than 1 year of work experience.

Another friend also mentioned that some digital nomad communities aren't just digital nomad communities, but want to replicate the "Dali" community feeling, letting villages/small cities also gather more diverse young people.

Relatively speaking, foreign digital nomad communities serve more mature digital nomad groups, providing high-quality accommodation, 24h coworking areas, and rich weekend entertainment and leisure activities. These spaces aren't cheap, especially in popular digital nomad places. Some need to be booked far in advance.

But in providing like-minded connections and increasing the sense of belonging for the nomad group, I think this is what both domestic and foreign digital nomad communities provide.

Another friend who just went from Chengdu to Chiang Mai to live mentioned the atmosphere is so different. Chiang Mai's digital nomad population is richer and more diverse. Not only are there white remote workers from Europe and America, but also Filipinos and Indians. Because they've spoken English since childhood, finding an online job is relatively easy. Although the income isn't very high, living in Thailand with dollar income is already quite comfortable. The digital nomad group's profile is more concrete and diverse.

Another friend who's looking for remote work was immediately inspired and plans to immediately transfer abroad to Chiang Mai to check it out.

Among the 8 friends who came to the discussion, everyone's state was different—some just quit, some have been exploring living abroad for a year or two, some just started overseas living in Chiang Mai, some have stable income sources and just want to understand diverse life samples, and one is an art creator who can be nomadic anytime.

On this so-called "becoming a digital nomad" path, everyone's starting point and endpoint are different. "Digital nomad" seems to just pry open that part of yourself that wants to change and take the first step. This change is not just about breaking away from traditional workplaces, but also pursuing inner and life freedom.

Finding remote work and earning online income is indeed a very important part of becoming a free nomad. But what I see from myself and many partners in our nomadic community goes beyond this. I feel that more people in our community want to be the second type of group—people who hope to break away from traditional workplaces and pursue a freer lifestyle. After jumping out of the original traditional workplace system, they no longer want to return to the original work system, but hope to create their own career or work. They want to explore life's diversity and find paths to self-realization within it.

The final part of the online discussion was letting everyone share their takeaways. One friend mentioned "courage." The word courage is also often associated with quitting without backup and digital nomadism online. I think becoming a digital nomad and changing your life does require courage. But I also clearly know that courage in the world doesn't only come in this one form. I've always thought the greatest courage is maintaining love after facing life's truth.

Digital nomadism is not a perfect solution and is not suitable for everyone. But through this tea discussion, I've also become clearer about one point: the digital nomad lifestyle not only pursues economic advantages or geographic freedom, but is also a way to get close to technological frontiers and different cultures. This closeness can broaden our horizons and provide new possibilities for achieving a more ideal life.

If you're also interested in the digital nomad life of living around the world, welcome to join our nomadic community.