Travel vlogging: Is the juice worth the squeeze?

In today’s issue

• A Public Service Announcement from Palmtree

• Travel vlogging: a tough but fulfilling niche 🎥

• Bali: the good, the bad, and…we’ll skip over the ugly

• Headlines: the newest “undiscovered” nomad hotspot, one woman’s awful year abroad, an up and coming place to be a nomad (and why)

• Where in the world? The answer to our photo quiz 🪷

🌴 PSA: Palmtree is here for you

Let’s be real: Being a digital nomad sounds too good to be true.

You get to travel the world on a whim, mingle with like-minded people, eat well for super cheap, and repeat…without the pressures of “the real world.”

The honest truth is that nomading is tough. Rewarding, but tough. You need income. Good housing is hard to find. Relationships are easy come, easy go. You get sick a lot. Places and people are not always what they seem. And so on…

So please keep reading as we research and offer the best insights to help you life your best nomad or remote work life. And be sure to share us with your favorite people 🙏🏼

Travel vlogging: 5 truths you should know

It’s all too easy: you dream of a place to visit, search it on YouTube, and voila! — hours of free content from dozens of vloggers who’ve been there and done that.

YouTube is such a convenience for travelers, but what about all the hard work these content creators put into their videos? Is it worth it? Would you do it?

Like anything with a potential for profit, travel vlogging has its upsides and downsides.

Here are some keen insights from TheTravelingClatt, a travel vlogger from New York:

1. Travel vlogging is a rewarding way to live. You get to travel all over the world, work from anywhere, and meet all kinds of interesting people along the way.

2. It’s becoming much harder to stand out. The travel vlog genre has become repetitive and saturated, and dominated by similar types of content and creators.

3. Audiences are varied and fickle. Westerners focus on travel inspiration, while others appreciate foreigners exploring their culture.

4. Being genuine can be challenging, especially when you want to talk about the sensitive or negative aspects of a place. This can lead to backlash from both local and non-local viewers.

5. Food is usually the best way to connect with locals and learn about their culture. Exaggerating reactions to local food can boost views and audience engagement.

Stay tuned as we explore travel vlogging in detail in future issues 🔜

5 good things and 5 bad things: Bali, Indonesia

Recent headlines

• Another tropical island has been “discovered” (hyped?) as the next nomad hotspot…can you guess where it is?

• Not all people dig it: this woman quit her office job, became a freelance writer, and traveled for a year. It sucked.

• Infrastructure, lifestyle, access to health care, and affordability puts this ancient and sunny European city 17th in the world for nomad appeal.

Answer to yesterday’s “Where in the world?” photo

Borobudur temple on the island of Java in Indonesia. Built in the 8th and 9th centuries, Borobudur is the world’s largest Buddhist temple and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The temple is a reasonably quick drive from the culturally rich town of Yogyakarta. Tips:

• book the extra tour to the top of the temple (worth it), and book it ahead of time

• book a suite at the Hyatt Regency Yogyakarta — it’s affordable and they’ll treat you like royalty.

Stay shaded,
—the Palmtree Editorial Team

🧘🏻‍♂️

P.S. Reply with anything you want to say.