Do you have what it takes to be a digital nomad? We discuss the digital nomad experience with the following intrepid travellers: Juleen Gentles, who is from Jamaica, but spoke with us from Ghana; Marsiya Issah who is from Ghana, but has been living in Barbados; and Andres Phillips, who is from Barbados, but recently ended a 10-month stint in Colombia and Mexico.

 

This episode is also available on SoundCloud, Apple iTunes, Google Play Music, Spotify, Amazon Music (NEW!) and on Stitcher!

To some degree, the digital nomad segment of the tourism market has been overlooked in the Caribbean region. Generally, and to the Average Joe, a digital nomad would have been step up from the typical backpacker: living cheaply, but open to picking up an odd job here or there, and usually staying in country no more than a few weeks. To some degree, there might not have appeared to be much benefit to Caribbean countries to cater to the backpacker or digital nomad crowd, especially since generally, the region is promoted as an upmarket tourist location.

However, thanks to the pandemic, some Caribbean countries began to pay greater attention to the digital nomad segment, but usually with an emphasis on longer-term stay visitors. This segment may need a bit more stability, in terms of their travel arrangements; they are already employed or working for clients overseas, and so are likely to have more disposable income than the typical backpacker.

On the flipside and over the past two years, Caribbean employers have been adopting remote work arrangements, which means that individuals could essentially work from anywhere – as long as they have decent internet access. As a result, there are those of us who enjoyed ‘staycations’, whilst others have travelled much further afield, such as our guests for this episode.

 

Introducing our guests

Juleen Gentles

Juleen Gentles is a Digital Product Analyst for ZS/Medullan, a United States-based firm with a footprint in Jamaica. In 2020, she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Computing, Information Systems.  Over the past 7 months, Juleen has been spending time in different African countries, including Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and most recently, Ghana, where she was when we recorded this episode.

Juleen is an advocate for both women and the black community in technology to empower and enable others to be not only consumers of digital content, but also creators. She has also worked with regional social enterprises such as Youth Can Do I.T. and is currently an Ambassador of Caribbean Girls Hack. Her work and mission have been acknowledged by entities such as Microsoft Windows Insider, the International Telecommunications Union, the Food and Agriculture Organisation, Huawei Technologies Limited, and the National Commercial Bank (Jamaica), to name a few. She is also a is a public speaker and storyteller, who is deeply inspired by her heritage.

 

Marsiya Issah

 

Originally from Ghana, Marsiya Issah has been in Barbados since March 2020, having arrived just before the first country-wide lockdown ensued. She is a self-taught Software Developer with knowledge in areas such as Front End and Back End Development, and Responsive Web Design. She is still practising and developing her skills, whilst working as a Volunteer for an international special interest organisation.

Prior to arriving in Barbados, Marsiya worked as a Data Analyst for an insurance company in Ghana, though her academic qualifications is in Agricultural Economics.

 

 

Andres Phillips

Andres Phillips is a Technical Writer and Content Marketer. He has been working remotely in the tech space for the last five years, leveraging Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Engineering to turn complex ideas into easy to understand material, and began his journey as a digital nomad in 2019.

Andres is currently the Head of Content at Wordify and DXPReport.com, a Dubai/London based content marketing agency and media publication for the headless CMS (content management system) and DXP (digital experience platform) space. He also does freelance writing for start-ups across other disciplines including product management, blockchain and cryptocurrency.

Andres is originally from Barbados. He recently returned from Mexico City, where he was based for four months, and prior to that and for six months, he was in Medellin, Colombia.

 

Insights into conversations

Many of us aspire to be digital nomads, but may not be able to pursue it for a broad range of reasons. It was thus wonderful to be able to live vicariously through Andres, Marsiya and Juleen. They all travelled to locations that typically might be considered outside their comfort zone, and so truly opened themselves up to adventure! Additionally, and with regard to Marsiya and Juleen, in particular, it is exciting that young women are embracing the digital nomad lifestyle, as concerns about their security and safety, whilst being so far away from home, could have overshadowed the experience.

Below are a few of the questions posed during our conversation:

  1. What was the journey to becoming a digital nomad?
  2. What has been your experience with regard to internet connectivity, and what do you look for on that front?
  3. Has the pandemic caused any challenges, new opportunities or adjustment to your digital nomad experience and/or plans?
  4. How important is knowing the local language of the country to which you are travelling?
  5. If someone was thinking of becoming a digital nomad, what advice would you give?
  6. What is next for you? Are there plans to continue being a digital nomad?

 

We would love to hear from you!

Do leave us a comment either here beneath this article, or on our Facebook or LinkedIn pages, or via Twitter, @ICTPulse.

Also, if you or a member of your network is interested in joining us for an episode, do get in touch.
Let’s make it happen!

 

Select links

Below are links to some of the organisations and resources that either were mentioned during the episode, or otherwise, might be useful:

 

 

Image credits: J Gentles; M Issah; A Phillips; Wikimedia Commons; Wikimedia Commons; Jorge Lascar (flickr); Julianza (Pixabay); Victormattei (Pixabay); Andrea Piacquadio (Pexels)

Music credit: The Last Word (Oui Ma Chérie), by Andy Narrell;

Podcast editing: Michele Marius