Good news for digital nomads

I'm mostly retired now, but for the last 15+ years of my actual career, I was a freelancer. During my freelancing prime, I was a stay-at-homer, blissfully unaware that I could have been a digital nomad - at least during the later years when good enough Internet connectivity was widespread enough to enable la vie nomade. 

I actually don't think I'd have made a very good nomad worker. Oh, I could have happily plunked down in Paris or Ireland for a month or two at a time while working, but I never would have been all that happy upping stakes every so often. Not to mention that it's decades too late for me to want to live out of a backpack. Been there, done that. But when I been there, done that, I was in my early 20's. Once you're in your early 70's, you're a bit more attached to your stuff, a little less willing to get by on a couple of changes of clothing. (Although since I've been sheltering in place, I've had to force myself not to live in the same old, same old, week in, week out.)

But if I were to decide on a late career/late in life move to nomadism, the US response to the coronavirus pandemic has made us something of a pariah nation. And most of the places (i.e., Canada, countries in Europe) where I'd want to go aren't letting Americans in. Being toxic and scorned is nothing new for us, but now we're infecting people. Swell! Talk about the ugly American!

Fortunately, there's some good news here for those who want to work abroad. 

Come August 1st, Estonia is instituting a digital nomad visa that "will allow foreigners to stay in Estonia for up to a year." Americans still can't go to Estonia as tourists, but we are included in that foreigner bucket. 

“We saw that there was kind of a lack of opportunities for [digital nomads], so we wanted Estonia to solve the problem,” Ott Vatter, the managing director of e-Residency, told The Washington Post. “Estonia aims to be the hub for these kinds of new entrepreneurs that we see trending globally."  (Source: Wapo)

You need to be able to demonstrate that you're remotely grossing 3,000 Euros per month,  but that's not an especially steep hill to climb. 

Estonia is actually a place I wouldn't mind going. It wasn't exactly on my bucket list, mostly because I don't have one. (Other than seeing Trump out of the White House.) But I would be interested in seeing the Baltics. So if I were a digital nomad, Estonia would be a consideration.

Barbados is also welcoming outsiders, including Americans, with something called the "Barbados Welcome Stamp."  This program lets those who can demonstrate that they have $50K in annual income to come hang out there for up to a year, visa-free. Applying costs $2K ($3K for families), and there are pandemic-related protocols to follow. But if sunny skies and mild temps are your thing - they're not really mine - this would be a good port o' nomadic call. Plus Barbados, unlike other spots in the Caribbean, isn't prone to hurricanes. 

If you're indifferent to sunny skies and mild temps, Georgia is offering digital nomads a welcome. No, not that Georgia. Seriously, who wants to nomad to a state where the governor seems to be actively trying to kill its citizens. No, we're talking former member of USSR. Birthplace of Josef Stalin. A different sort of Georgia. But they'll be providing safe harbor to remote workers, even, it seems, Americans.

“Georgia has the image of an epidemiologically safe country in the world and we want to use this opportunity," the country’s minister of economy, Natia Turnava, said in a statement. “We are talking about opening the border in a way to protect the health of our citizens, but, on the other hand, to bring to Georgia citizens of all countries who can work remotely.”

As with the other countries, you must be able to prove that you're remotely employed, and isolate yourself for 14 days when you get there, as the Georgians don't want folks coming from epidemiologically unsafe countries like ours. 

Finally, Jamaica, mon, is saying let's get together and feel all right. And you don't even have to be digital nomad to dive in. They're letting in regular old travelers from the U.S., with pre-trip travel authorization, to pay a touristic visit. 

However, the entry requirements vary depending on their home state... At this time, visitors from Florida, Arizona, Texas and New York are classified as high-risk states by the Jamaican government and are required to provide a proof of negative covid-19 PCR tests from an accredited lab to receive a travel authorization.

Everyone can apply for a 30-day visitor visa, but longer stays are available to digital nomads. One heart, one love coming at us from the Jamaicans. 

Not that we don't deserve it, but it's kind of nice to know that we're not considered pariahs everywhere - especially if you're a digital nomad looking for a place to hang out during the pandemic.