Is the pandemic the end of the road for expat freelancers?

For international freelance digital nomads, where to go to escape the worst of the pandemic?

Nowadays, international digital nomads make up a good proportion of expats overseas, but rarely confine themselves to a single destination. Now that almost nowhere seems safe as regards infection, getting trapped in a single country or simply losing online work aimed at travellers and would-be expats, what’s the best way to keep on with the preferred lifestyle?

For many digital nomads, the effect of the pandemic on their cherished way of life is only now becoming clear, with travel restrictions and flight issues preventing the freedom of movement fuelling the lifestyle itself. Even sitting on a deserted beach writing to the sound of the waves is almost impossible, as the vast majority of such beaches are now closed to humans. For those blogging about their experiences there’s half a chance, but many are now deciding to stay put and others are forced to do so as borders are closed and flights are non-existent.

Expat writers who travel the world looking for fascinating stories have a good few to choose from and will stay put for a while until they run out of material, cash or both. Africa seems to be escaping the full wrath of the coronavirus, making much of the huge continent safer for wanderers than Europe, Asia or the Middle East. Those who report back to major world news outlets such as the BBC, Al Jazeera, the New York Times and suchlike are still working, keeping the outlets supplied with the latest developments even if they themselves can’t or don’t want to leave.

For many, they’ve become used to their present countries of residence and now call them home, thus making the decision to repatriate difficult at best especially if they’ve built up possessions in the meantime. South America is another favourite, even although Brazil is now in lockdown, and those few who’d decided to get out to avoid being caught up in the pandemic are now safely back in their home countries. However, the vast majority are determined to stay exactly where they are until the situation improves.