Australia for Digital Nomads: 10 tips for survival

“Everything in Australia is designed to kill you!” is what a local told me. However, this post is not about saving your life while travelling the bush, but on how to make your life easier as a digital nomad in Australia.

Travelling Australia as a Digital Nomad can be a real challenge! Most coffee shops don’t have Wifi and don’t even ask about plugs! The internet at a lot of places would even make a snail look fast. 😉 Go ahead and try to tell people that you want to work online. You will probably get the answer: “What do you want to do, mate?” while they look at you rather puzzled.

But as a real traveller or digital nomad, nothing challenges us more, than a little resistance! To say it as a true Aussie would: No worries! What we do best is to get creative and find some solutions! By the time you leave a destination, you usually just found out all the hacks. To make sure, you don’t have to struggle and find everything out yourself – like I did-  I have put some of the best tips together on how to get around Australia as a Digital Nomad, that will save you time and money!

 

The easiest and cheapest places to get work done

1. The cheapest and fastest way is the library. Most libraries offer free Wifi and you can just walk in and work from there. Some libraries lock there plug sockets up, but all of them let me in without being a member. The Wifi is usually free and you don’t need a password.
   
2. There are Coworking spaces in the big cities. If you stay a longer time and you are already earning a rockstar wage; they are great. I stayed for a short time and the daypasses, where not affordable for my budget. In Perth there is Hive-Coworking, Spacecubed (starting at $500/ a month, if you work fulltime) and Techhub (membership starts at $200), FLUX and Hubdesk and there are more too.
3. Work from Hostels. Some Hostels have great Wifi, but most don’t. Your best bet is to have your phone ready for Tethering. Get a mobile phone package from TELSTRA (Vodafone only works well in big cities!) and use Tethering with your phone. It costs 40 dollars per month and your get 8 GB and some free calls and sms in Australia and abroad. I liked staying at the YHA’s, because they often offer a library. Usually, there are many other people working from there as well. The free wifi there is absolutely useless however, but they do offer a premium version which is ok.
4. Finally, if you plan to travel around on one of the buses, Greyhound offers free wifi and USB plugs on all their buses. For this you also pay a premium price however. But there is a cheaper alternative (keep reading)!

 

How to survive on a limited budget on the EAST COAST:

Australia is not just a little bit expensive, it is really expensive! A night in a 6-people dorm in Sydney costs around 35 dollars per night. A beer costs anywhere from 7 to 10 dollars and if you thought of getting an ice cream, you will think twice, because the cheapest price I have seen for ONE scoop was 5 dollars! Even when you are on a budget, there are some tricks, to save some money:

1. You can do a workaway. In many hostels you can work for free accommodation (and food). You work for about 2,5 – 3 hours a day and for this you can stay for free. Still a decent amount of time left, to get some work done as well! Many hostels are pretty much looking for staff all the time and the work for accommodation usually requires only a minimum stay of 2 weeks. I regret that I did not have the time to do work for accommodation at the Backpackers@1770. It is a relaxed place (the owner is a hippy 😉 and the team consists of some really nice people. The kitchen there is one of the cleanest and best organized Hostel kitchen’s I have seen on my travels and they make everybody feel welcome, no matter who you are and what you look like. If you do work for accommodation there, you can use the surf boards for free as well and in my opinion 1770 / Agnes Water is the best place to learn surfing!

1. A lot of people travel with Greyhound. Not many people know that there is Premier bus as well, which only costs about half the price. The buses don’t have Wifi and don’t go as often, but you save a lot of money. Another tip is to do the trip by train. If you are a student, this can even be much cheaper than the bus and at many stations you get a free drop-off or pick up to your hostel, if the train is not stopping close to the popular destinations! Definitely worth to check it out!
2. There are so many groups to get rides in Australia (Join the Facebook Groups “Lift Australia” and definitely have a look at GUMTREE. The website to find anything from a car to a job.
3. The weekend food and vegetable markets are way cheaper than Coles or Woolworth. Check out if your destination has a market. By the way, some town have ALDI too!
   
4. The water in Australia tastes the same as I remember it from the USA: like you are drinking from a swimming pool! Instead of buying bottled water every day, you can get a filter bottle at Coles or Woolworth for only about $9. It gets rid of the bad taste and smell completely!
5. In some cities, you get free vouchers from travel agents or hostels. They have vouchers for a meal and a drink (beer, wine, soft drinks) for $9 dollars. In Cairns you can use these to eat at the Irish Pub P.J. O’Brien’s or the Woolshed. They even offer everything from a good looking Rumpsteak, to pasta and even a veggie burger. The quality of the food and drinks is great, which makes it a perfect way to eat out once in awhile!

In my next post, I will tell you more about all the awesome stuff you should explore on the East Coast of Australia!