Digital Nomad In Brazil series: Everything you need to know

A lot of people who move to Brazil turn to teaching English to get by. But in this digital age, there are many other opportunities to take advantage of – like becoming a digital nomad. But what does that mean? What skills do you need? And how do you get started?  In this series, will share all the must-have tips, tricks and advice to help you kick things off.

One of the most daunting things about moving to another country is working out how you are going to make a living. This becomes particularly intimidating when you don’t speak the language.

Teaching English is usually the default option for many who move to Brazil, allowing them to take a bit more time to get their Portuguese up to speed before looking further afield. But the ‘digital nomad’ movement is really starting to take off as a way of life for some, and a dream of many.

So, what kind of jobs do digital nomads do?

In a nutshell, a digital nomad is someone who travels when and where they want to, using their laptop and the internet to generate income. There are plenty of skills that lend themselves well to the digital nomadic life – particularly designers, developers, writers, bloggers, coders, photographers, social media marketers, researchers, editors or virtual assistants.

Most digital nomads either own their own businesses, work for clients as freelance contractors or are employees who have managed to convince their bosses to let them work remotely (or all of the above).

Whats good about being a digital nomad in Brazil?

At the moment, with the recession starting to bite in Brazil, being paid in a foreign currency may work in your favour. In addition, if you’re working online for foreign clients while on a student or tourist visa, you’re not breaking immigration laws by working this way in Brazil. Plus, if you’ve already built up a career in a suitable digital field, it also means that you don’t have to leave all this hard work behind when you move abroad. 

How do I know if this is for me?

The only person equipped to answer this question is yourself. If you’ve found yourself looking around the office thinking ‘there’s more to life than this’, you’re probably a prime candidate. A lot of people feel held back by the unknown, wishing they could travel the world and get paid for it, but not knowing where to start or if they’re suited to it. 

To be an effective digital nomad, these are the key ingredients you will need: 

• self-belief and an entrepreneurial spirit 
• ability to handle responsibility
• good ideas
• strong organisational skills: being able to multi-task and plan ahead is essential
• a solid work ethic
• a keen eye for opportunities

Of course, Rome wasn’t built in a day. You may be stuck in a desk job now, but there’s no reason why you can’t put a plan in place ( has been great for me!) and be sitting somewhere entirely different this time next year. Or even sooner than that. Over the last year I’ve been working very hard to cross over from full-time employee to freelancer. I’ll be sharing tips and what I’ve learned from the process in future articles. 

Read more: 

• I want to be a digital nomad. How do I get started?
• Is Brazil a good place to be a digital nomad? 

Over the coming weeks and months, I’ll be publishing further articles in this series which will guide you through the process of becoming a digital nomad in Brazil – or anywhere else in the world for that matter!  As always, if you have any questions or comments, leave them below! You can also follow me on Twitter .

Valeu, 

Christian