The rise of the techpats

For many years, remote working has largely been the territory of digital nomads, technologically savvy entrepreneurs with a thirst for travel, but the arrival of Covid-19 has given birth to a new way of working and a new kind of worker – the techpat.

A mix of grounded nomads and workers no longer tied to an office, the techpats are moving in and setting up base in countries offering warmer weather, a relaxed lifestyle and, quite often, more attractive tax regimes.

Daniel Goebel, co-founder of the Malta Digital Nomad Association, said: “Until the end of 2019, the digital nomad trend was seen as some kind of hippie movement though we knew at one point it would become big, we were 100% sure about that, but then corona started and we made a leap 10 years into the future because everyone now has to work from home, but home can actually be anywhere.”

Although the numbers are vague, a 2018 survey by US-based business services company MBO Partners found that 4.8 million independent workers described themselves as digital nomads, with up to 17 million aspiring to become one. The Facebook group Digital Nomads Around the World has also grown in popularity over the past year, now boasting more than 141,000 followers.

Alistair Webster, founder of freelancesuccess.co.uk, said: “I am finding a lot of interest from all kinds of people these days who want to work for themselves abroad, but don’t know how to go about it.”