In this post I share my digital nomad journey and how I was able to produce and record music while traveling the world.

1. rossobrown@gmail.com May 3, 2018
How I Became A Digital Nomad Musician
rossobrown.com/digital-nomad-musician
The other day I was chatting with a friend over the phone and he kept asking me questions
about how I’ve travel the world, make money online, and play music as I go.
He’d ask were you ever scared for your life? How much money did you need? Where did you
find clients? Did you have health insurance?
And I went on and answered them all. After our call, we were both feeling inspired and he said
I should write this all down somewhere, so here it is.
How I became a digital nomad musician/marketer/accountant/videographer
Workaway International
When we first decided to leave we went to one of our favorite websites ever, workaway.info
I always suggest people go and browse on here, even if they’re not planning on traveling
because once you get in there and see that you could work on a huskie farm in Sweden in
exchange for room and board, you’re much more likely to go and actually travel.
There are so many available opportunities on Workaway like to work on a horse ranch in Costa
Rica, pick olives in Tuscany, or go Glamping in Portugal (we did all these)
We did Workaways in Europe because it’s more expensive to hang out there, and we only
1/5

2. worked on our computers in the inexpensive countries in Asia.
Digital Nomad Lifestyle
A lot of people don’t realize that there is an entire community of people working from their
laptops in countries all over the world. They’re called digital nomads because they float around
to multiple countries while still working to pay for it all.
Thanks to the internet, these things are possible.
We managed Instagram accounts, created videos, did SEO, wrote blogs, ran Facebook ads,
created websites. Pretty much anything that was creative, needed in the marketplace and
could be done remotely.
The only reason we knew how to do these things was because of a wonderful website called
YouTube.com
Here you can learn any skill you need, then prove the results you can deliver and people will
hire you. That’s how I’ve learned so much of what I do every day today.
Remember in The Matrix when he just loads up a file into his brain and he suddenly knows how
to fly a helicopter? YouTube is like that, by typing the right questions into the search box you
will have learned how to do it in less than 5 minutes.
I’ll link all of my favorite websites, tools, and resources for digital nomad jobs below, they just
might inspire you.
Travel Safety
The world is a safe place. You don’t realize it but you’re living in a total bubble in America. You
think you know what life is like but you really don’t until you travel.
Fear is a powerful emotion that is berated at you daily but we said it a million times over our
journey, people are good.
We always tell everyone don’t party, drink, do drugs, stay out late, hang out with unsavory
characters, and you’ll be fine. It’s the same status in America if you hang out with crazys and
do crazy things, stuff might happen to you.
If you find the right people, you will be rewarded with amazing friendships. The people we’ve
met are truly amazing.
One thing you should look out for is air pollution. This is no joke in certain places and I had an
asthmatic effect that I’d never experienced before, we met Americans developing Asthma
from being in Ubud, Bali. Be careful and get a purifier, and use a mask.
Travel Music
2/5

3. So I’m a fiddle player by trade and I did bring it with me. I wanted to write songs, produce
music, and play in epic locations around the world and that’s what I did. I even started a band
while I was out and we played a show in Cambodia. I also played about 10 shows in Australia
and a house concert in Canada.
While out I built a kind of mobile studio into a Pelican case which I wrote a post about HERE,
and that really helped me get organized. I started producing cover songs on YouTube and
wrote a good amount of original music about travel as well.
Digital Nomad Visas
As an American, you can go to just about any country and get a Visa On Arrival, it usually
permits you around 3 months so it naturally, keeps you moving.
Visas are never really a problem, especially if you have an American passport. While traveling
we realized how much of a luxury American passports are.
Long Term Travel Insurance
The insurance that most everyone uses is called World Nomads.
This company provides a very good plan for a very good price, they cover too many things to
list here, but I suggest you check out their site below.
Digital Nomad Ergonomics
When working while traveling, you end up in some strange positions. You might be sitting in a
lounge chair on the beach, crammed between people at a Starbucks, or sending emails from
the floor of an airport.
That being said, I highly recommend focusing on your working posture and getting ergonomic
computer equipment to make sure you can do this long-term.
I like to think of myself as an athlete. The soul lives forever but the body is only temporary so
take care of it. I’ve listed some of my favorite ergonomic office supplies below, and trust me,
I’ve tried all the options.
Conclusion
Whenever I talk to a friend about traveling the world I let them know that it is easier than you
think, it’s not as scary as you think, and it will open your eyes and breathe depth into your life.
I highly recommend the digital nomad lifestyle and I believe we should take advantage of this
opportunity in our lifetimes. The people before us could only dream about living a life like this!
3/5

4. Have fun out there
++——->>
Digital Nomad Jobs
Fiverr – Freelance website where you can sell any digital skills you have.
Upwork – Freelance website where you can sell any digital skills you have for more
money.
RemoteOk – Remote work website where you can be hired as a full or part-time
employee.
Digital Nomad Lifestyle
Nomad List – Research website to see the best countries and locations to visit as a
digital nomad.
Workaway – Find work in exchange for room and sometimes board in amazing places
doing amazing things.
Home Exchange – If you have a home, use this site to trade houses in other countries.
Trusted House Sitters – If you love animals, this site allows you to pet sit and house sit
around the world.
World Nomads Insurance – We found this to be one of the best industry standard
insurance offerings.
Digital Nomad Tools
WordPress
Adobe Creative Cloud
YouTube
AppSumo
Teachable
Canva
Digital Nomad Ergonomic Office Supplies
Logitech trackball mouse
Split keyboard
Portable laptop stand
[Video] 7 Digital Nomad Jobs
4/5

5. https://youtu.be/GteTLqq0SjI
5/5