Staying safe as a DN | Issue #0006

It’s October, a month when seasons are changing everywhere. Fall in Europe and the US, dry season approaching in Thailand (we hope!), and Springtime hitting the southern hemisphere.

This month also serves up a reason to assess how safe you are while doing your digital nomad thing. Take a couple of minutes to check your online safety protocols below.

Also this week:

 👩‍💼 Are you good at making decisions?
 🛫 New flights already having a price impact
  📲 The apps that might save you a ton of time AND get results
🗺️ Which country suits you the best?
 🤝 Connect with digital nomads in Chiang Mai’s community groups

Go well this week!

NEWS
The most costly safety risks for digital nomads are not down dark alleys

It’s National Cybersecurity Awareness Month in the US. As a digital nomad, you rely on the internet and it is likely the #1 thing that’ll make or break where you work and stay. But, are you staying as safe online as you could?

As a pre-cursor, last week we surveyed you on VPNs and - unsurprisingly - most of you use one regularly.

While public Wi-Fi in cafés, coworking spaces, or hotels is convenient, it can also be a gateway for hackers. A good number of you still only use one for a bit of Netflix or streaming, but a VPN acts as a security blanket for your online activity.

So, as a reminder, here’s why VPNs are an essential bit of kit for digital nomads:

- Security: Encrypts your data and keeps it safe from hackers, especially when using public Wi-Fi.
- Privacy: Masks your IP address and location, keeping your online activities anonymous.
- Access: Lets you bypass geo-restrictions and access region-locked content and services, as well as pricing.
- Remote Work: Ensures that sensitive work data remains protected while collaborating across borders.

How to Choose the Right VPN

When selecting a VPN, keep these factors in mind:

• Server locations: Ensure the VPN has servers in multiple countries for better access.

• Speed: Look for one with high-speed servers to avoid interruptions in video calls or streaming.

• Security protocols: Opt for VPNs with advanced encryption methods like AES-256.

• No-log policy: Choose one that guarantees it does not store or track your data.

NordVPN is the most common one amongst DNs passing through here that ticks all these boxes, but do your research to find the one that keeps you safest and doesn’t disrupt your web access.

WHAT ELSE…

💻 Remote working ruined, er…Google?: Eric Schmidt - formerly Google CEO - was pretty candid in a recent talk at Stanford. The full video of the talk has been restricted from public view, but there are some clips flying around X he’d probably prefer weren’t.

❌❌ Even MORE red tape for entry into Bali: We noted a new entry requirement for Bali last week, but there is now reporting that some visas are also getting more stringent testing. A spate of deportations indicates they are tightening up on misuse of a longer-term visa.

🐌 Delays for the newest DN visa: There’s a lot to like about South Africa’s proposed visa, which would have been the newest on offer. However a complicated work permit system and changes to tax regulations have put the launch back further.

🐌 It’s not all bad news this week though… British Airways reopen the direct route from London to Bangkok following a post-pandemic hiatus. Not just great for travellers from the UK, but from all over Europe. Travellers are already reporting lower prices into Bangkok from London.

🗻 Getaway from your getaway: This is one for those in or coming to Chiang Mai, but rainy season is on its way out making this the perfect time for a night away in Mon Jam. Only 45 minutes away, the flower gardens at this mountain top will be in full bloom, so just book a glamping pod and take in the spectacular views above the clouds.

7 QUESTIONS WITH A DIGITAL NOMAD
How do you know if you are making a good decision?

In a recent networking meet-up in Chiang Mai, as is usual, entrepreneurs were invited to stand up and introduce themselves. One created more of a stir than any of them.

She introduced herself as a decision-making coach, and nearly everyone started nodding or whispering to the person next to them, mostly saying “wow, I need to talk to her!”. Everything you do involves making decisions that connect together, yet where do you go to make good ones?

This entrepreneur was Hannah Wang, and we got a quick chat with her in between her workshops and client calls:

Who do you work with?
Now I work mostly with entrepreneurs and intercultural professionals, but I work with more corporate, bigger companies too. It isn’t always for work-based decision-making either, we work on personal decisions too.

What makes a good and bad decision?
Good vs bad isn’t just what the direct result is. It depends on the moral and ethical principles driving the decision-maker. The direction of their life and their values - so who they are - will determine if a decision is good for them.

How do you recommend someone goes about making a big decision?
Recognising what is a big decision for you is key. Without assessment, often a big decision won’t feel like one at the time. Deciding on a career change, romantic relationship, marriage, relocation, financial, etc. could be big decisions in one circumstance, but small ones in another. To help asess this I created a framework with 7 steps that I use - for me and for clients.

Are big decisions sometimes the easiest to make?
Younger people, so those in their 20s, are in an exploring mode still. Consciously or not, they know they have many years ahead of them to change direction, meet more people, make more money. After 30, responsibilities start to influence decisions - other people, finances, energy - and they become more analytical and selective.

What is the first step to making better decisions?
Recognise if it is a big decision for you. A big decision for one person won’t be for another. Moving from one town to another can be a big decision for many people, but most digital nomads can move country without it feeling like a big deal. Identifying the core values and your purpose - so the direction you are pursuing to achieve your perfect life - will make the rest of the decision process much easier.

How should digital nomads go about identifying their core values?
What we think are our values are often not what our core ones are. They aren’t always obvious. Take a values assessment such as the one at PersonalValues. Also try a strengths test like Via, which can help tie your skills and values together.

Do values stand up to the test in the working world?
Look at the successful companies. They all have core values - the things they really care about are plainly obvious. When they pick people to work for them they are careful to match values. We need to consider ourselves as our own organisation.

Hannah is a decision-making strategist, focussing on value-based decision making.

If you want a free consultation to discuss where you want to improve how you go about making decisions or get help deciphering your values, get in touch with her on LinkedIn and mention you saw her here.

SPREAD THE WORD

Do you have friends who are digital nomads roaming the world? If you think they could use a quick weekly fix of what’s happening in their world, then share this link so they can get The Digital Nomad each week too.

Or, share it on your socials with the links at the top of this newsletter.

ESSENTIALS
How many of the top 100 generative AI apps do you use?

There is no way you’ll have heard of most of these, but by now AI is likely to have impacted into your processes somehow.

Whether planning your next trip, creating code, writing slightly better content than you can, or just planning your content, there are millions of uses for generative AI that will save you time and - if you know how to use it - improve your results.

Andreesen Horowitz have released their latest list of the most used AI apps on mobile and desktop.

Perhaps as you’d expect, they’ve used AI to write this article, but there are dozens of AI apps you are likely to have never heard of that might just solve a problem you face.

COWORKING IN CHIANG MAI

If you are in the city, or heading over soon, then check out Yellow’s current packages - from day passes to monthly or annual memberships - here.

Or get in touch with Mickey or the team at Yellow Coworking at [email protected].

BRAIN FOOD
What we’ve been recommended this week

Book: If you’re a productivity kinda person, then you have almost certainly read Eat That Frog! by Brian Tracy. If you haven't, then it is short, easy to understand and strips productivity back to simple principles It is an o.g. in this genre.

YouTube: Are you into finding remote places and getting in with the locals? Then check out Seal on Tour’s adventures on YouTube. Looks like he’ll be cruising down the Amazon next.

Read/Watch: This week marks 50 years of Saturday Night Live. Love it or loathe it (or maybe it has somehow slipped you by), some of the worlds biggest names in acting and comedy have appeared. Vanity Fair picked their 50 favorite skits.

Quiz: Find the best country for you to live in with this quiz from US News. Now, you can’t replicate variables such as the feeling you get in a place, but a bit of fun anyway!

Drop us an email at [email protected] if you have any recommendations we should share!

COMMUNITY
Get seen by digital nomads everywhere

We would love to hear from you if you have some valuable knowledge, products or services, information, or just a fun or crazy digital nomad story.

This is an opportunity to get some extra eyes on what your thing is, or if you just like to write or provide information to other nomads.

Drop us an email at [email protected] if you:

• have a travel blog, channel or platform that we can spotlight

• your portfolio could do with more eyes on it

• have a product or service that could help other digital nomads

• know a great event or place in Chiang Mai we might have missed

• …just have a great digital nomad story!

CONNECT TO CHIANG MAI
Fill your social calendar while in Chiang Mai

Steve’s Email: A weekly resource and email for events around the city. Steve’s away for a couple of weeks, but bookmark it for next week!

Digital Nomad WhatsApp: The longest-standing group that spawned a range of sub-groups for almost any niche and interest in the city.

ChiangMai Fit WhatsApp: If you want to do something active (trust us, being fit isn’t a prerequisite!) there are wholesome activities throughout the week in here.

Yellow Coworking Telegram: For more about what is happening at Yellow, and to be part of their conversation, join here.

WHAT DID YOU MISS?

If you are new to The Digital Nomad, or just want to go back and read a previous issue, then you can find them all here.

THE DIGITAL RESOURCE

We’ve shared some useful resources over the first few weeks, and while you can access back issues here, several have asked us to share them again. So, to save lots of email back-and-forths, or searching through previous newsletters, here are the most asked for resources:

• Safety Wing, who also offer digital nomad insurance, have started running community events in various locations around the world. A few participants in a Chiang Mai one even won a meal out at a top restaurant in the city!

• Genki also do worldwide digital nomad insurance.

• Healthy Junk is the go-to for healthy food near Yellow. Dine in, out or get it delivered.

• Get your meal prep from Chef Fuji. Healthy, macro-focussed food delivered in Chiang Mai.

• Contact Liselle for a LinkedIn or resume revamp.

QUIZ
Know your animals?

This Friday is World Animal Day. What do you know, and which of these have you come across irl?

1. Which famed colourful fish species are all born as male?

2. This safari mammal has no vocal chords.

3. The female of this four-legged animal is known as a Jenny.

4. It takes 30 days for this tree-hugging animal to digest its food.

5. A group of these animals is called a prickle.

6. These guys can go a week without water.

Answer below.

NEXT WEEK

🧘‍♂️ Getting away from it all, while you are getting away from it all
 🤖 Do you fall for the “scams” common in these countries?
🤙🏽 Staying in touch with your people

…and news and events we spot for digital nomads everywhere.

See you then.

ANSWERS

1. Clownfish. 2. Giraffe. 3. Donkey. 4. Sloth. 5. Hedgehogs. 6. Camels.