How to live a digital nomad life in 2023, from 3 people who did it save money and see the world

When Michelle Checchi, 29, left the US in 2019, she planned to be gone for only a few months — as long as it took to drain her savings account.

Today, she's still traversing the globe, working remotely as a freelance writer and video producer and making $4,000 in the typical month while working 15 to 30 hours per week.

After graduating in 2015, Checchi had a persistent desire to "travel and experience freedom." In September 2019, she sold most of her possessions and hopped on a one-way flight to Tel Aviv, Israel.

In her first months abroad, Checchi traveled and tried to stretch out her savings for as long as possible. But after about three months, when it looked like her fun was coming to an end,  Checchi had a "spark of an idea": What if she found a way to make money working remotely so she could continue traveling?

Read more: A 29-year-old part-time remote worker living abroad and making $4,000 a month explains how she finds work and affords her lifestyle

Lona Alia has never liked being stuck in one country — particularly one as expensive as the US.

As a remote worker since 2018, she said she's visited dozens of countries, lived in multiple continents, and learned seven languages over the past few years.

At the same time, she says she's saved a lot of money through "geographic arbitrage." The term refers to living in a lower-cost country while earning income in a higher-paying country. 

But four years ago, she feared she'd have to give up the lifestyle she adored.

"Whenever I thought about having kids, I was worried that my life would end, that it would be over, and the fun would be cut short," she told Insider. 

But then she and her husband decided maybe it didn't have to be like that. 

Read more: How a digital nomad mom of 2 used 'geo-arbitrage' to save thousands on food and childcare while working from multiple countries

Sojourner White, 28, hates the cold and has the travel bug.

That's why she spent this past January to April traveling from hostel-to-hostel around the US while working remotely — and she said she plans to hit the road again this winter. 

While this lifestyle can be expensive, White has arranged her life in such a way that allows her to work year-round, save money for part of the year, and travel for the rest.

In her off-months, White lives at home in Milwaukee with her mom, step-dad, and brother — working remotely as a social worker. She makes roughly $80,000 per year, but said it's the savings she's accumulated from living at home that's allowed her to not only travel as much as she does, but pay down much of her original $70,000 student-debt load.

"Until I see rent become a reasonable price, which honestly I'm not convinced is ever going to go down, I plan on living at home and just hopping around," she said. 

Read more: How a 28-year-old digital nomad has arranged her life so she can travel for months at a time and still pay down her student loans