Frontpage
๐ Dark mode
โค๏ธ Your favorites
๐ Nomad insurance
You won't be notified by email when a reply is posted, to change your notification settings. Posts must follow the TOS: No ads, self promotion, commercial posts, surveys etc. For customer support questions, don't post here but use the feedback box in the bottom right of this page instead.
Hello 
I am going to buy a new laptop, a lightweight one. And I am considering removing the battery as a option to remove extra weight (~350g / ~0,77lbs, I guess).
Because I used to work on my laptop at library, I am not able to image situations where there is no plug.
So, when are you using your laptop on battery ?
For those who wonders on which laptop, Iโm on iPad Pro for 4 month now, the big one, and itโs so easy to carry and has such a battery that I rarely feel the need for my laptop anymore. I guess Surface Pro users will say the same.
By easy to carry I mean : almost 0 space and 0 weight added in my travel backpack, easy to hide from thief anywhere, or to carry with you in a non laptop-y bag. charger is also very very small compare to a regular laptop one, so you can carry it anywhere, same charging cable as my phone, etc.
Now for specific task I do prefer my laptop (coding, etc), but still, the practicality is just off chart, MSoffice and other software has been ported properly to iPad, so to me the experiment outcome is crystal clear : these big tablets are the new nomad laptop.
Thanks everyone for all this precious informations !
I have fallowed the idea of getting a lighter laptop instead of removing the battery (I bought a second hand Toshiba Portรฉgรฉ Z830: 1,1kg / 2,43lbs).
Some of the situations where I rely on battery:
while travelling
cafes - not all of them have power outlets and sometimes itโs hard to ask upfront (not knowing the local language, for example).
when you realised you left your power adapter still plugged in at your last destination.
Time used while on the battery is relatively small (sometimes you go for months without going out from the plug), but when you use the battery itโs a life saver.
If youโre sure you will be working from somewhere where you will get to plug it when itโs fine to take it out to make it lighter (not taking into consideration that without battery you lose the balance or might fry your laptop).
If you will be going through cafes or traveling around wouldnโt bet on getting the plug. My approach in those situations is to go on the battery life and charge it if thereโs a chance and I will need to use my laptop (e.g., plane delayed and my battery is already red).
Also youโre kind of removing one of the most useful things in the laptop - battery. One of the reasons I use the laptop is because it has a battery so I donโt need to be plugged to use it (another is single package for easy transportation). So I just want to have a laptop with battery for when the electricity is out or Iโm too lazy to plug it. Fun to remember all the times in the office when you suddenly hear angry shouts through whole office due to electricity going out when you just shrug your shoulders thinking โwho caresโ 
It would depend on your workflow, but I would better say buy a laptop which is lighter rather than removing the battery from it, you might not use 90% of the time, but itโs worth for that 10%.
after years of using 12-13" laptops with great (sometimes hot swappable) battery life, i have found that screen real estate is more valuable as i have to work with multiple windows. the trade off is i now have < 5 hours of battery life (and this reduces every week with the batteryโs age).
i now use a 15.6" screen laptop so itโs difficult to work if thereโs no space (eg, some plane and train seats intrude into my seat back tray). i have shifted to doing some of my work on my blackberry and 10" tablet in such situations.
i usually work out of places with a power point, so iโm plugged in almost all the time. many cafes and libraries provide them.
my regret is not getting a laptop with a bigger screen years ago, when they started making them small (15.6" in the body of 14" laptop).
finally, a laptop without a battery can be annoying to work on. i have a small laptop with a bad battery which i removed (by opening the whole thing up as the battery is not meant to be replaced by users).
itโs now too light and flops around when my palms are not on itโฆ it is now unused and left at home.
Bad idea, if you accidentally detach power jack on the laptop or on the power socket (or in case of power outtage) youโre not only losing your work, you also have the risk of corrupting files on disk. Also, many modern Ultrabooks (and all Macbook) donโt have a removable battery.
I rarely use battery power - usually itโs whilst Iโm in-between locations, eg busses, trains, planes etc. In most cases though, Iโll work off my phone until I get a power point.
In case you werenโt aware, many laptops wonโt work without a battery, even on AC. Best to check.
Hi Jean
I have to say I use my laptop often on battery - on busses, trains, in cafes without plugs, on a terrace etc. For me it is much more comfortable to work on battery than with a cable
Best,
Feli
Thereโs been a lot of discussion on this recently.
Nomads usually stay in hostels, hotels and short-term apartments. But itโs all not very optimal.
Iโve heard people suggest getting funding and building a network of houses you can stay at for a subscription price (e.g. Bruno Haid is working on that).
I donโt want do physical stuff, so Iโm thinking of building a platform around making housing better for nomads.
What are the housing problems nomads face? And how can we solve them with products/services?
Hi, Iโve seen that Nomad List offers different options that could work for connecting with other nomads that are in the same place as me (forum, Slack, user maps, matches and maybe even more options I havenโt seen), but Iโm not sure what is the best/recommended way to use all these options.
Should I use all of them? Start with a message in the forum and/or Slack?
Sending private messages to a lot of people feels a little bit โaggressiveโ. And matches are not based on current location if I understood it correctly.
By the way, I just arrived at Budapest 
I am trying to figure out three things. An average of how much data everyone uses per month, a low end of how little data is used, and a high end of how much data can be used? I am not interested in your methods of acquiring data. I am just interested in how much you use as a whole. This includes both work data usage and your personal data usage.
Has anybody traveled as a DN with a one way ticket and two laptops?
Iโm going to Chile in a couple weeks and I only have a one way ticket and Iโm going to Argentina after Chile. I donโt know when so that is why I still have not bought my onward ticket to Argentina but I will go there before my Chilean visa expires. Iโm also going to carry my work windows laptop and my personal mac with me.
Now my question is, is this enough reason for an immigration officer to get suspicious and not let me in Chile? What would you tell them if they try to give me a hard time about my one way ticket and two laptops?
Thanks for you help in advance!
Hello everyone, I usually carry my laptop in my day backpack, walk around the town in my home country (Poland) and work in coffee shops / shopping centers, other quiet places I find or like.
My question is, how would carrying around my laptop on myself every day around the town work in practice in those places in terms of safety in South America.
I prefer to travel by a city communication than taxis and like to walk around too, but my concern is that I will get blatantly robbed with a gun or knife in a side street and lose my whole backpack with a laptop.
If anyone living in those cities could share their experience about how likely this situation is to occur, as obviously being white and foreign will make me stand out in the first place.
Iโm looking for a case in which I can put my laptop charger, mouse, power bank and proprietary cables, and then put that case into a backpack. Any ideas? Thx!
Hi nomads! Iโm trying to figure out all props and cons of using Charles Schwab vs N26 banks. Is anyone using those banks? If yea - what you like/dont like about it. And if income is mostly in US which one is better to open?
Thanks
Iโm considering traveling with a 3G amplifier.
Has anyone been testing such device while traveling?
I know it sounds ridiculous to travel with such thing, but it would allow one to still be able to work while in rather unusual places, far away from coworking spacesโฆ
Cheers,
Adrien
Now that Iโve been working for a few days without my Cinema Display (just sold it!), Iโm definitely considering getting a travel stand for my 13" Macbook Pro. Do any of you travel with one? Any recommendations?
Hi,
as Iโm looking into buying a new laptop/tablet, Iโm wondering what everybody is using here for work and why?
Mentioning your profession or business, location, travel activities or anything related to this will be appreciated.
Thanks,
Robert
Going by the website, this shared work space sounds good:
Does anyone here have actual experience with it?
I hear more and more about digital nomads (mainly from the US and Canada) flying cheap (almost for free) by taking advantage of bonuses given by banks / credit card companies. Iโm not exactly sure how the system works.
Is it also possible to do for Europeans ? If so, how ?
If not, do know any other hacks to fly cheaper ?
Many thanks for your help.
When using a VPN you will almost always share your IP with others (several members connect to the VPN server and all members on that server now share the serverโs IP address).
If someone using the same IP address gets flagged, it could pass on to you as well.
A lot of companies have incorporated IP address filters. For example your PayPal account could get limited because you share an IP address with a scammer.
Has using a shared IP resulted in problems for you?
Can anyone recommend an insurance company that will specifically insure a laptop for a few months or more for a UK citizen whilst already abroad for over a year and without a return date?
Hi all,
Iโve been doing some research on external batteries for the MacBook having seen a HyperJuice in someoneโs desk shot. There was also a thread on this about a year ago: Whatโs the best portable battery charger for a MacBook?
My findings so far are that itโs very important which laptop you have. A MacBook โNewโ (USB-C) seems to have the most options, followed by a MacBook Air which has a low power requirement, the MacBook Pro 13" which has a medium power requirement and the MacBook Pro 15" which has a very high power requirement and very limited options.
Iโve found the below, have any of you used/tried them? Do you know of any alternatives? Personally Iโm looking for something that works well with the MacBook Pro 15" but share anything as others may find it useful!
Looking on Airbnb but it is really expensive. Anyone have any other options or sites that Dutch people use? Need a place from May to July.
Iโm considering traveling to Panama, Colombia, Ecuador or Peru in the coming month and it is important for me to be able to work from a coffee shop at an outside table. Is it normal for DNs to be working with their laptops at coffeeshops in these countries, or am I just marking myself to be mugged on the way home?
I was sure there was already a topic on this but I canโt find it.
If you have to replace your laptop while travelling, how do you go about it?
Iโm assuming itโs best to blitz everything before throwing it out. Also, do you just bin it or is there some process (I guess that would depend on location).
Hypothetical Scenario: Letโs say Iโm traveling, and Iโm using a Windows 10 laptop to get some work done. Itโs 12 midnight, and my laptop(s) and luggage are suddenly lost. Maybe I went to a restaurant/bar/club, and thieves ransacked my hotel room while I was away. Whatever the case, I still have my wallet & smartphone, and thatโs about it.
At this point, I need a replacement Windows 10 laptop, that I can install programs on, and I need it ASAP, so I can meet a deadline. What are my options?
Is there some 24 hour laptop-replacement-on-demand service out there?
BA has recently reduced the permissible dimensions for a carry-on personal item to 40 x 30 x 15 cms (i.e. 16 x 12 x 6 ins). Iโve been travelling by train since June, but Iโm about to fly again and see that my wonderful laptop backpack is now oversized. Can anyone recommend a laptop backpack that fits within the new dimensions?
Can't login? See the FAQ
Nomads.com
By signing up, you agree to our terms of service and community guidelines.
One-time-payment: $39.98 $19.99 ๐ซ 0% off
Billed once. Then never again
Nomads.com members
work remotely at
Nomads.com
๐ Thanks for signing up! I hope you like my site. I put a lot of effort into making it.
๐ฌ First, please go to your email and click the confirm link first to verify your email address, check your spam folder if you can't find it
๐ After you confirm your email we'll send you an email with more info
๐ฉโ๐ป You can start using Nomads.com's member-only features now!
