Why Every Digital Nomad Needs A Virtual Mailbox

Post-pandemic shifts in employee expectations have led to more fluid and adaptable working arrangements, with remote and hybrid workers representing a full 48% of the world’s total knowledge worker base today, according to Gartner. Digital nomads, who leverage coworking spaces and mobile hotspots to work remotely from anywhere in the world, embody the ultimate expression of this new work paradigm, enjoying their freedom from the traditional office-bound model and their penchant for travel and adventure.

In the US alone, the number of digital nomads has quadrupled since the start of the pandemic. Globally, Nomad List founder Pieter Levels has predicted the number of digital nomads will reach a whopping 1 billion by 2035, a close to 3,000% increase from today’s figures. The rise of nomadism has seen countries like Greece and Portugal introduce programs for these on-the-go entrepreneurs and professionals, and all sorts of services, including travel planning and insurance have sprung up to meet the demands of this burgeoning global community. But no one is talking about what happens to all of their postal mail while they’re traveling the world.

At PilotoMail, we believe that every digital nomad needs a virtual mailbox. If you’re reading this article while sipping a Mai Tai on a remote beach and you don’t know the next time you’ll get to see your postal mail, then you’ve come to the right place. If you’ve always dreamed of racking up miles and joining the ranks of the digital nomad community, you might not have thought about how to make your postal mail follow you around the world. Read on to find out why a virtual mailbox is a must-have add-on to the nomad toolkit.

Address stability and mail security are a thing.

The pandemic also brought us a shift in housing preferences, with concerns about affordability, the desire for increased flexibility, and changing lifestyles contributing to a softening of rental markets in many regions. If you're globe-trotting while working remotely, chances are you’ve checked the boxes on storage space for your possessions, but perhaps you haven’t given much thought to finding a stable and convenient address where you can receive important postal mail.

Getting a Virtual Office that comes with a reliable address will not only ensure that you receive your postal mail consistently but also securely. You won’t have to worry about stolen packages or lost mail post-delivery ever again.

Importantly, if you’re renting and changing your home address frequently, arranging for forwarded mail to a different address is one less thing you have to worry about if you have a virtual mailbox.

Yes, time-sensitive mail still exists.

If you’re reading this and thinking “this doesn’t apply to me because I don’t receive postal mail,” or “none of the mail I receive is important,” think again.

All sorts of time-sensitive government notifications come through the mail. IRS notifications, important tax-related documents, and in the case of businesses, notifications from the Department of Labor, and a whole host of other government entities as well. You might also receive important mail from private companies informing you of security breaches in their software or offering you exclusive deals. If you own a company or are an independent contractor, there’s a not-so-slim chance that you’ll receive payments for your services in checks depending on your customer base (yes, those still exist too).

Having a virtual mailbox ensures you can see all the postal mail you receive from the comfort of your phone while you’re checking off things from your bucket list. You won’t ever have to worry about missing an important deadline again.

Static PO Boxes and mailboxes are a blast from the past.

We’re dumbfounded that static PO Boxes still exist when mail management software such as PilotoMail’s can instantly transform them into 21st-century virtual mailboxes.

With a virtual mailbox, you won’t have to ask your friend, relative, or coworker to check your box every couple of weeks only to find that all you’ve received is junk mail. Or worst yet, ask them to take pictures of the mail they somehow agreed to receive on your behalf while you’re off to new places.

Instead, you can easily see pictures of all your postal mail and packages through a convenient app, and request different mail handling options for each with the click of a button. Depending on where you choose to get your now essential virtual mailbox, those services can include opening and scanning, forwarding to anywhere in the world, shredding, and yes, even depositing those pesky paper checks!

Skip the favors from friends and relatives and find yourself a convenient virtual mailbox at your favorite coworking space or postal mail store back home. With it, you can enjoy the freedom of accessing and managing your postal mail 24/7, no matter where your travels and adventures take you.