Your Nomad Dream Needs Boring Infrastructure

Follow me on X and Instagram: My Links

The nomad dream is intoxicating…

We’ve all seen the posts of the laptop on a café table in Lisbon, the sunset over a Thai beach, the caption about "breaking free from the 9 to 5."

And yes, those moments exist. But as I look toward 2026, I’ve realized something crucial that few people talk about honestly. The view is only 10% of the reality. The other 90% is the boring, "invisible infrastructure."

If you are treating it as an extended vacation, fine. Pack your bags and go. But if you want to turn location independence into a sustainable lifestyle, one where you don’t wake up in a panic because your bank account is frozen or you can’t submit client work, you need to stop fantasizing about the destination and start thinking hard about your tech stack.

Here is the reality of what it actually takes to keep the show on the road.

The Connectivity Anxiety

The fastest way to kill the nomad vibe is terrible Wi-Fi when you have a deadline in forty minutes. You cannot rely on "free Wi-Fi." You need redundancy.

My strategy for 2026 isn’t just "hoping for the best." It involves a multi-layered setup, like eSIMs and Starlink. Managed global eSIMs (like Airalo or Saily) are incredibly convenient for landing in a new country and having immediate data. But if you’re staying somewhere for a month or more, the local rates are almost always better and you should look into them. Having an extra phone or one that allows you to store many eSIMs is best.

Having a multi-SIM phone with your home country number parked on a cheap plan for 2FA texts, and a rotating eSIM slot for local data wherever you land, and it’s actually really easy to set up. I have been using Tello in the US and it works fine for receiving 2FA texts abroad. Do remember to enable WiFi calling in the settings.

The "Plan B" Banking Protocol

This is the one that truly keeps me up at night.

Traditional banks get very nervous when they see transactions popping up in in one country on Tuesday and another on Friday. Their fraud algorithms are designed for people who stay put.

If your primary bank card gets swallowed by an ATM in the Balkans on a Friday night, and that’s your only source of funds, you are not having a good weekend.

You need a "Plan B" financial stack. You need modern fintech solutions (like Wise or Revolut) that understand borderless living. You need multiple cards kept in different bags. You need to know exactly how you are getting paid and how you are spending money without getting hit with 3% foreign transaction fees every time you buy a coffee. Call your banks and make sure that they know you are travelling and even check if they ship debit cards internationally. I will cover the best banks in a later post.

The Legal Shield (The Boring Stuff)

Finally, the part everyone ignores until tax season rolls around and panic sets in.

If you are freelancing or consulting internationally, you eventually have to graduate from just being a "person with a laptop" to a proper business entity.

Setting up an LLC structure isn’t just about looking professional; it’s about liability protection and managing international contracts efficiently. It’s about separating your personal travel expenses from your business overhead. It’s the difference between a side-hustle and a career.

Preparation is Freedom

I’m not trying to scare you off the lifestyle. I’m trying to ensure you stay in it.

The people who burn out and go home after three months aren’t usually the ones who ran out of money; they’re the ones who got exhausted by the constant friction of bad logistics and poor planning.

Building this invisible infrastructure is tedious. It involves spreadsheets, confusing government websites, and sitting on hold with banks.

But once it’s built? That’s when the real freedom kicks in. Because when you know your foundation is solid, you can finally actually enjoy that sunset.

Follow For My Specific Recommendations In Later Posts

I will soon post articles on the things I’ve done and the services I use as I Slow Travel around the world with my wife and dog. Feel free to check out my Socials: My Links