Scroll through Instagram these days, and chances are you’ll see a familiar trope: a laptop perfectly positioned on a table in a chic café or beachfront location, with the caption “office of the day.” It’s meant to sell the idea that remote work is effortless, and that the daily grind can happen just as easily from a hammock on a beach in Thailand as it can from a fluorescently lit cubicle.
But what those posts don’t capture is the other side of the story — the tradeoffs that come with trying to maintain a routine and a sense of normalcy while constantly on the move. Over time, reality begins to set in, and what began as a dream lifestyle can quickly turn into digital nomad burnout. Here is some of the truth behind those wanderlust-inducing photos.
Accommodation Roulette
One of the first lessons a digital nomad will learn is that “home” is a fluid concept. Every new destination brings a fresh set of keys, a new neighborhood, and exciting new experiences — but also a long list of quirks to adapt to. Airbnb photos are notoriously misleading. That cozy studio apartment might be above a nightclub, and that “fully equipped” kitchen might mean one small frying pan. Even when things go better than expected after check-in, there’s still always something new to adjust to — a different mattress, different water pressure in the shower, and different neighbors.
On a week-long vacation, it’s easy to look past any minor hiccups, especially since you probably won’t be spending much time inside your hotel or accommodation anyway. But when your temporary apartment also doubles as your office and there’s a major flaw — a dog barking nonstop next door or a bad smell coming from the sink drain — that constant need for adjustment can quickly wear you down.
Never-Ending Goodbyes
Many people worry that solo travel means they will be lonely, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. As long as you push yourself to join events, strike up conversations, and just say yes whenever someone invites you out, it’s surprisingly easy to build a social life on the road. In fact, for many new travelers, one of the best parts of nomading is discovering how easy it is to make new friends simply by being in a new city.
The catch is that most of these friendships are temporary. Everyone is moving on a different timeline, and it’s rare to find people whose itineraries line up with yours for more than a few weeks. Even in popular nomad hubs like Lisbon, Medellín, or Bali, the social scene is a revolving door. Goodbyes become part of the routine, and while you might see these new friends again in another corner of the world in a few months, that constant turnover can leave you with dozens of great memories but very few lasting connections.
Staying Healthy is Tough
No matter how hard you try to stick to healthy habits, your diet will inevitably change with each new country. In one place you might be living on smoothie bowls, and in the next it might be meat and potatoes — and sometimes it will involve crossing your fingers and pointing at whatever looks best from a street food stand. At first it’s exciting — in fact, exploring a new place through its food is one of the best ways to understand other cultures — but after a while, the constant flux in your diet is bound to take a toll on your body and energy.
The same thing happens with exercise. Some walkable destinations might easily build movement into your day without you even realizing it, while others will leave you relying on taxis or scooters just to get around. One city might have a beautiful jogging path along the water, while the next place forces you onto a treadmill inside a windowless gym. Each move resets the habits you work so hard to maintain, and that lack of stability will no doubt impact your motivation and health in ways you might only notice after a few months.
FOMO Like Never Before
Even the most disciplined nomads can find it difficult to keep work at the center of their routine. Jet lag chips away at productivity, time zones complicate meetings, and whatever city is outside your door is a constant reminder that you could be doing something more memorable than answering emails. You didn’t take a trip to Peru to skip Machu Picchu and you’re probably not going to spend a month in Greece without seeing some of the islands — and saying yes to those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities usually means saying no to a few hours of work.
Coworking spaces and longer stays can help anchor you to a more normal routine, but even with some structure in place, the tug-of-war between focus and fun is relentless. Spending a few months in another part of the world is absolutely a life experience worth pursuing, but for the long-term, it might not be the most sustainable way to live, especially for those focused on climbing the career ladder or building a business of their own.
Travel is Not a Spectator Sport
While solo travel has its benefits, many nomads tend to travel in big groups — what’s better than renting a beachfront villa for a month with seven of your closest friends? Rent is cheaper, social plans are built in, and you don’t have to face the challenge of navigating a new place alone. At first, that safety net feels like a luxury, especially when you’re a few thousand miles from home.
The problem is that if you never leave that bubble, you’ll completely miss out on the place you came to experience. Weeks go by and you might realize you’ve eaten the same familiar meals, spoken the same language, and moved from one organized tour to the next without making a local friend or having a single authentic experience. You’ll probably see the highlights of each place, but after a while, you might start to feel like more of a spectator than a participant in the culture around you.
Going Home Again is Hard
You know that dreadful feeling on the last day of a vacation, when the reality of the upcoming week’s to-do list starts to creep in? Fortunately, this rarely happens as a digital nomad — Mondays tend to be a bit more enjoyable when they start off with an espresso in Florence or a morning stroll through the tree-lined streets of Mexico City.
But even just a few months abroad can alter the way you see your work, your relationships, and your “regular” life back home. Once you’ve experienced other versions of yourself — in new cities, with new friends, and trying new hobbies — the predictability of your old life can feel constricting. Friends and family might expect you to pick up exactly where you left off, but you’ll be changed in ways that are difficult to explain. That shift isn’t necessarily a bad thing — it’s what makes travel so meaningful in the first place. But it does mean that nomading isn’t something you can simply switch off whenever you’re ready to “go back.”
Spending a few months in another country comes with endless upsides — it’s an experience that will stay with you long after you’ve left, and anyone who is lucky enough to be able to do so should give it a try. But at the same time, it’s important to realize that it’s not a life spent in constant vacation mode, and there will inevitably be challenges along the way. But for anyone who is thinking about giving digital nomading a try, it’s an opportunity worth pursuing — just know the reality doesn’t always match the highlight reel you might see on Instagram.
Emily is a freelance writer who has been traveling full-time for over five years She has visited dozens of countries but can often be found in Spain and Mexico. In her Substack, Extracurricular Pursuits, she shares personal essays and travel stories that document the quirks, chaos and realities of living abroad.