How to become a digital nomad: Sven’s real-life journey

Hi Sven! Please tell us about your background and what brought you to data science. 

I studied Business Administration in Germany and landed my first internship as a Business Analyst at one of the world’s largest automotive suppliers. I had seen a bit of VBA (a scripting language built into Microsoft Office) at university, but this was the first time I actually used it on the job. I mainly used it to automate Excel tasks and reports.

I stayed with the same company and was later assigned to work in Tokyo. During the pandemic, I started getting more interested in machine and deep learning and wanted to see how I could apply it to my work.

I started looking into learning opportunities and came across Le Wagon Tokyo’s Data Science & AI bootcamp, which focused on Python. That was really the starting point for my journey into data science.

After returning to my job after Le Wagon Tokyo, I continued experimenting with Python. I automated tasks, built internal tools, created desktop applications, developed a backend service, and even built a web app for internal use.

How did you become a digital nomad?

A few years ago, I started feeling this little inner itch, this desire to travel and explore a bit more while I still had the freedom. I don’t have a family, kids or mortgage, so I felt like this was the right moment.

I also wanted to work on some other ideas I had in mind, like building Excel tools I’d always wanted to create but never really had the time for.

Still, the decision wasn’t easy. I actually liked my job and the company. I’d been with them ever since my internship, and the work, the management, and the environment were all great.

My manager actually suggested I take a sabbatical instead. That would mean staying employed by the company but taking a year off without pay, with the option to return. I liked the idea, to be honest, but I didn’t like having a fixed end date.

Also, if I took the sabbatical, I’d have to return to the same city, and I didn’t want to commit to that. So, I decided to take a clean break and just quit my job.

So what are you doing now? Are you mainly working, learning, or something else?

Right now, I spend most of my time building tools and creating content. I make Excel-based solutions that help small businesses and office workers save time through automation and ready-to-use templates. You can find them on my website.

I also still post tutorials on YouTube, mostly showing how to use Python and VBA with Excel in a practical way.

So, which countries have you lived in since becoming a digital nomad, and for how long?

It’s been about a year and a half now.

The UK was my first stop. I wanted to brush up on my English, so I joined a language school in Leeds for two months.

After that, I spent about a month in Bucharest, Romania. I’d never been there before, and it’s close to Greece, so it made sense as a stop while waiting for the summer break to end at the boxing gym in Athens.

Then I went to Athens for two months. There’s a good boxing gym there where I wanted to train.

Around November, things started getting a bit too cold, and I came across a video about the Destination Thailand Visa. That’s what brought me to Thailand, where I ended up staying for a while.

I’m currently staying in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Do you have other destinations in mind?

I’m currently considering staying in Southeast Asia for a while. Countries like Malaysia, Cambodia, or the Philippines are on my list, but I haven’t made any fixed plans yet.

I’d also love to go back to Japan for a few months to visit friends and catch up with former colleagues.

And how does your routine look now in Vietnam?

I’m an early bird, so even though I don’t have a fixed schedule, I usually wake up around 6 a.m. I start with a short workout just to get the blood flowing.

Then I get ready, open my laptop, and check what needs to be done. I usually have a plan for the day, but if a customer reports a critical bug or something urgent, I’ll shift my priorities and work on that first. Otherwise, I’ll stick to my plan, which could involve creating a YouTube video, working on feature requests, improving my website or developing a new solution.

Around 3 p.m., my productivity starts dropping, I find it hard to focus after that.

In the evenings, I either go to the gym or, more recently, to a boxing club here in Hanoi. Occasionally I’ll go out, meet people, maybe grab dinner or drinks.

How do you stay motivated and productive?

I constantly have new ideas popping into my head for my YouTube channel, website, or Excel solutions I want to build. To stay on track, I write everything down. I mainly use one productivity tool: a to-do list app called Todoist that I kind of repurposed for everything. It’s connected to my calendar, customer tickets, and scheduled tasks.

I also like building automation workflows, especially for backend processes around my tools. They free up a lot of my time and help me stay organised.

Can you describe your working setup?

I brought pretty much all of my equipment with me. That includes my laptop, an external mouse and keyboard, a microphone for YouTube recordings, a compact camera DJI Osmo Pocket, really small, great for both YouTube and travel vlogging, and a 27-inch external monitor. It’s pretty much the same as I had at home.

And how much luggage are you carrying with all of that?

I travel with one suitcase and one backpack. On my last flight, from Thailand to Vietnam, my luggage weighed about 25 kilograms. But to be fair, that included 2 kilograms of protein powder.

Did you spend a lot of time preparing for insurance, finances, and so on?

As a business analyst, I enjoy working with data and spreadsheets, so I track all my income and expenses.

I enrolled into two types of insurance. The first is an international medical insurance policy that covers me in case of illness or injury abroad. The second is private liability insurance if I accidentally damage a rental apartment or cause any other kind of damage.

That said, I didn’t really plan my travel destinations in detail. I often chose places based on practical things like the weather, visa options, or whether there was a good boxing gym nearby.

What are the pros and cons of being a digital nomad for you?

I do miss having colleagues sometimes. Working in a team brings a certain energy: you get that social interaction, you have people to bounce ideas off, and you can learn from each other.

And then there’s also the financial side. When you’re employed, your income is predictable. You give that up when you go freelance or start your own thing.

But on the other hand, I also really value the freedom and flexibility I’ve gained now. I enjoy building useful tools and being able to explore the world while doing it.