The Digital Nomad Lifestyle
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Steemit is special because it is one of the best platforms in crypto for facilitating the Digital Nomad lifestyle. A perfect example of a Steemit member who lives this lifestyle is the travel blogger @sweetsssj. She is a blogger who originates from China. She travels, posts pictures and tells stories of her traveling, whilst earning Steem rewards for doing so.  She is also extremely effective and successful, having earned 127,362.855 SP.

To be a Digital Nomad is to be able to live a location independent lifestyle.  To quote a travel [blog](http://www.nomadtopia.com/faq-what-is-location-independence/):

> The phrase “location independent” is frequently used in certain circles, but it isn’t a term that everyone knows, and I often get asked what it means. I wanted to address this question, because somebody might be longing for this kind of lifestyle and not know what to call it! In fact, I was location independent long before the term existed. (I wish I’d come up with it myself, but I must give props to Lea Woodward, who I believe first coined the term.)

If you like traveling then the Digital Nomad lifestyle may be for you. To fully embrace location independence requires having a passport or perhaps even multiple passports. To be location independent requires following certain rules which I'll discuss also.

The method and strategy for successful international integration
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**Rule #1:** - Follow the laws and social norms of the location you visit. I cannot stress this enough. It's a bad idea to go to a foreign country and break their laws or violate their social norms. Even if you don't understand their laws, even if their norms make no sense, it's a matter of respect for their government, the authorities of their country, and their culture.

**Rule #2:** - Try to learn at least some of the language. This is not a must do, but it certainly will make life a lot easier if you can speak greetings. In addition, if you plan to visit plenty of times in the future then knowing the language only becomes increasingly more useful over time.

**Rule #3:** - Post and share your knowledge about what you're learning or seeing. This may not be for everyone because not everyone is big on record keeping but record keeping is important for people who cannot travel like you're doing. In addition it helps to promote the digital nomad lifestyle (if you're trying to prove to the world that it's awesome).

These are only the three basic rules. There are plenty of others such as being polite, avoiding political discussion with people in certain countries, avoiding religious discussion in certain countries. At the same time, being a digital nomad affords you the opportunity to learn.

Being a Digital Nomad is not easy
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Being a digital nomad is not easier and is in fact more challenging. At the same time the adventure opens you up to more opportunities and more fun. In a world where opportunities (good opportunities) are very scarce it may be helpful to make yourself location independent. By being location independent you can be mobile enough to follow the opportunities, the trends, etc. When something interesting is happening somewhere in the world you can go to that location if you choose to gain first hand experience.

Compared to a 9 to 5 ordinary lifestyle this definitely is not easy. You may have a difficult time making friends. You may not be so good at learning new languages and cultures. You may struggle to make money if you don't already. If you choose the digital nomad lifestyle, learn all you can about it here on Steem prior to taking that step. Some misconceptions:

- You won't be living on a resort 100% of the time. If you're not financially independent, you will struggle financially.
- It's not as cheap to live overseas as you might be led to believe online. If you cannot speak the language and are a foreigner you may find yourself paying foreigner prices.
- You do have to pay the IRS taxes even if you live and work overseas.