11: Overcoming the first obstacles in the digital nomad lifestyle with MS with Lina

Balancing work, life, and relationships can already be tough. But for Lina Miclea, she is a digital nomad who has to worry about the health practicalities of her multiple sclerosis. Even though she started her planning her nomad lifestyle in 2020, Lina only began nomadding in January 2022. In this episode, Lina discusses her journey, how she manages her life, the unanticipated struggles she faces, and advice she has for new digital nomads like herself.

Meet Digital Nomad Lina and learn how her remote lifestyle journey started

Lina’s nomadding journey began because of COVID-19 pandemic. As she mentioned, if you stay in one place constantly, it can drive you crazy. Hence, she took the time to explore the world and take her work elsewhere. Unfortunately, during her planning process, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). She thought it wasn’t fate to travel and work remotely anymore. Lina had to stay put in Toronto to maintain her infusions, MRIs, doctor appointments, and health insurance. One day, the opposite happened – Lina figured out a way to embark on her digital nomad adventures. In this article we cover:

• How does Lina sustain herself?
• Balancing work, life, relationships, and health practicalities.
• Unexpected struggles of the digital nomad lifestyle Tips for digital nomads

Combing passive income with following your passion

We all have one common question: how does she financially support herself? Lina shares that a chunk of her money comes from the investment property she purchased 7 years ago. She committed to paying the mortgage completely and having tenants move in and her husband is also actively working in the tech space of marketing. This gives her financial freedom and she is now following her passion for creating content and building an online community. Essentially, she relies on something concrete like her property to sustain herself, while doing something that she enjoys as an additional hustle.

Balancing work, life, relationships, and health practicalities

A typical day in Lina’s week consists of a combination of things. She can either work the entire day on building content and writing posts, managing her investment property, or both. But one thing is for sure – she loves to plan her schedule weeks in advance. She’s been married to her husband for 2 years. Since her husband is pretty busy himself she has lots of free time. Lina heavily prioritizes and values their time together but she loves her me-time as well. By going to the beach and workout daily she ensures to set aside a few hours a day for work and brainstorming content. Her investment property is one way of achieving passive income and Lina shares to always come up with inventive ideas for investing to have her passive income excel. She and her husband strive for a life where they can be freer and do the things they wish for like many other digital nomads. Learn more about achieving passive income with digital nomad Dean on our podcast. In order to keep her health insurance, she has to be a part of the social system in her home country. Becoming a digital nomad full-time though is not an option but she is always researching dig into the types of local and global assistance programs that exist.  

Unexpected struggles of the digital nomad lifestyle

Lina likes to always plan, but she realizes that the digital nomad lifestyle can be very spontaneous; a plan is not always possible. One time, her husband and she planned to go on a shuttle through town in San Jose. However, they were late and missed it completely. When they went themselves and arrived in town, the circumstances became worse. It was pouring rain, and it was very dark as there were no street lights. They also did not stay in the most ideal accommodation as the area was rough and the internet was poor. As first-time nomadders, they were lost and did not know what to do. Lina talks these struggles as the hiccups of her digital nomad lifestyle and reflected how more research is essential. Nevertheless, they stuck through it all and did not move out until recently. She described the experience as character building as it taught her a lot about the nomad. More tips on how to plan your digital nomad lifestyle are shared in Anastasia and Tomer’s episode. They also planned their nomad life in advance and enjoy passive income while building their online business. Initially, they jumped right away into staying at a new place for a month because they wanted to feel at home – not like they were traveling somewhere. Going forward, Lina is eager to test the waters first by staying at a place for just a few days.  

Lina’s tips for new digital nomads

• Pack light: When you’re always on the move, overpacking will drag you down. You can also get rid of things on the way. If you’re going to a city, you can get your essentials there (toothbrush, toothpaste, etc).
• Research your nomad destination well: Take the time to read other bloggers’ experiences and reviews. Some accounts are not always credible. They are your trusted sources.
• Sell worn-out and unnecessary stuff: This is a good strategy to make extra pocket changes for your trips.
• Look into coworking spaces: If you are not confident about the Internet at your new home, search for backups. The Internet is very important, especially for digital nomads – it will be your new best friend!

Quick links: Find her on Instagram @linamiclea Visit her website www.lihive.com to discover her personal stories, struggles, and recommendations.  More Digital Nomad Stories Instagram @digitalnomadsdaily Meet your host Nienke Nina Instagram @nienkeninatravels