Cape Verde is an excellent choice if youve ever looked at Caribbean islands with longing eyes but decided it was too far: Cape Verde is way more accessible for Europe and boasts a similar landscape of pristine white-sand beaches framed by lazy palms. A new challenger emerges: the Caribbeans! Cape Verde, or Cabo Verde as its known in its native Portuguese, has just launched a new visa scheme that might just make it one of the best countries for digital nomads hungry for a laid-back island life. Some travellers dont even know they need it, but those travellers need it more than anyone. There are a couple of tips Id like to throw at you before we dive into the hottest locations and illustrious locales for digital nomads. SafetyWing is cheap, easy, and admin-free: just sign up lickety-split so you can get back to work! Work from anywhere, change some lives, and earn some dollaridoos while you do it! SPOILERS! Its surprising that its taken this long for the wider DN community to discover Malaysia considering it has everything you need: stunning nature, space-aged metropolises, and abundant Krispy Kreme Doughnuts at low low prices! More gentrified, and dare I say it? Tribal Bali: The Best Coworking Hostel in the World Has Opened Its Doors. Ukraine is big on tech start-ups and its a home to a plethora of young and talented IT professionals; this means that the information infrastructure is already excellent. Both are over-bustling metropolitan jungles where deeply-ordered chaos is the only law. Will there be decent wifi? Jobs are everywhere, remote work is steadily becoming the new norm, and us eccentric traveller-types have more opportunities to put on our business shirts, take off our pants, and work from home in our Spongebob Squarepants boxers! The best time for digital nomads to go to Bulgaria is in the summer when the communitys size is at its peak and everyone gathers in the local coworking spots. Even the disadvantages, like annoying tourists, spotty WiFi and petty crime are pretty easily avoided by simply intelligently choosing where in Mexico to stay. From the tried-and-true to the best up-and-comers to a couple of surprise candidates, these are the countries all you hustlers want to get in on. Admittedly, the Caribbeans can get quite expensive, maybe more than many digital nomads would feel comfortable paying. However, Colombia is much much more than its unfair reputation. The resort now boasts multiple. The tech at our disposal has made it easier than ever to work remotely. Dont even get me started on the community. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); And for transparencys sake, please know that some of the links in our content are affiliate links. What is the One Item Every Traveller NEEDS??? Were itching to move again: thats why we do this! English is widely spoken and internet speed is excellent which makes Kuala Lumpur one of the best places to live in Southeast Asia for its accessibility. Still, digital nomads in Southeast Asia get it easy and doing a visa run to the next two countries on this list (for example) is a sinch! The second most popular spot is Porto, a lively student city known for its gorgeous old town huddled along the river and blue-tiled buildings. Again, thank you! Read about how e-Sims work or click below to see one of the top eSIM providers on the market andditch the plastic. Glad you asked cause weve got the answers! Having a vehicle gives you the freedom to work and sleep almost anywhere, save on accommodation costs, and go pretty much anywhere you damn well please! So whats the best city for digital nomads in Mexico? Theres no other place like it; travelling to Bali is a dream. Now heres an idea: buy a campervan, hit the highway, and literally work from the road! Find a cool place to stay in Vietnam, settle in, and while away the days drilling those hours. Travelling as an online worker has always been a bit of a legal grey area While tax evasion is fun and never gets old, constantly border-hopping and changing locales when maybe youd just like to stay put for a year DOES get tiresome. You wouldnt be wrong to base yourself here in the winter either; there may be fewer digital nomads overall, but the Bulgarian mountains pull in snowbums from the world over. So where are they? After your visa is up but youre not quite ready to leave South America, head to Ecuador next. That was a joke; reggaeton is bad and you should feel bad for liking it. Plus, you can get an awesome vacation rental in Barbados thats right on the beach for a good price. Holiday times means the seasonal rush but that also just means more people foreign and Croats alike to rub shoulders with! Theres a reason why so many digital nomads feel attracted to the life of financially independent road-hobo. And then you realise that the beach is 98% sand and the exact antithesis to a laptop-appropriate workspace. The digital nomad community in Croatia is scattered about, so take your pick out of many great options. Ay caramba! If theres one good thing that has come out of 2020s kick to the balls of the global community, its that employers everywhere are now realising that most work CAN actually be done remotely. But the playing field has changed; a lot of the most popular destinations for digital nomads have been flipped on their head. Nights can be topped off with a street food banquet and a well-earned food coma! If youre looking for a real digital nomad community experience, Las Palmas in Gran Canaria is home to Nomad City,an established remote work community offering coliving accommodation, recommendations for private coworking spaces and a Facebook group for nomads to connect and socialise. Where will you stay? For the longest time, digital nomad visas seemed to be an unlikely pipedream of us wayward souls falling through the cracks of the system. Elina is a translator, travel writer, and digital nomad with a great passion for weird museums and fun facts. So, youve cleared with your boss that you can work remotely as a digital nomad for a few weeks or months, but where do you choose to jet off to? Theres always plenty happening down at Tribal so rest assured, if youre looking to find the perfect place to blend fun and hustle, Tribal truly has everything you need. You can read a review of SafetyWing Travel Insurance or skip the humdrum and click the big shiny button down below to take you to their site. English is widely spoken, BUT its also one of the best spots in the world to learn Spanish since the Colombian accent is very clear and easy to understand. If youre equally serious about getting your work done and a peaceful home, Cape Verde could be the spot to head. However, its growing at a rather astounding rate; there are events almost every night of the week to keep you busy! Its a journey, its a passion, and its a choice. Georgias been popping up a lot recently in headlines. So, they launched Trento Remote, a so-called all-in-one programme for remote living. The well-entrenched expat communities are a big driver, not to mention the accessibility of everything. Just south of Georgia, Armenia offers a similar free visa for one year, and its capital Yerevan is a terrific city with lots of potential to develop into the next big nomad centre hub of the Caucasus. Some days, you may even wish you had an asshat boss yelling at you and telling you what to do because its actually way easier to work for somebody else, its just nowhere near as rewarding. Month to month payments, no lock-in contracts, and no itineraries required: thats the exact kind of insurance digital nomads and long-term traveller types need. What to Look for in an Epic Digital Nomad Destination, Oldies But Goldies: The Best Countries for Digital Nomads, The Future is Here: Countries that Offer Digital Nomad Visas, Current Favourites: The Best Countries for Digital Nomads Right Now, Shiny New Things: The Best Countries for Digital Nomads of the Future. 2022 Sifted EU Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Nothing about internet speed in this article. This ex-Soviet state on the shores of the Baltic Sea has really raised its profile in recent years for the young and geographically loose professionals. As more and more people take to the road in pursuit of the laptop lifestyle, the golden oldies are bound to become overcrowded and eventually less appealing. Soak in some sun and relax in the infinity pool or hit the billiards table for a game of rapido pool. You really cant blame them: Thailand is a crowd-pleaser. The regular tourist visa is available for a bunch of nationalities for a whole six months, or you can apply for a Temporary Residents Permit which allows you to stay up to four years. During the summer months the town becomes a haven for hikers, climbers and mountain bikers, and is one of the cheapest places to live on Europes digital nomad map. The best place to set up shop would be the bustling capital. But with digital nomad visas emerging for several countries, staying put is finally becoming more feasible. So if youre looking for some mind expanding ways to unwind after the working day is done, Lagos might be the digital nomad community for you. For a couple of years now, Georgia has made great efforts to attract digital nomads. These tend to be loosely organised communities of nomads that centre around coworking spaces and coliving apartments, with a central social media group to plan communal activities and events. (Im thinking of a scrumptious joint, followed by egg tarts, and then topped off with a glass of port mmm.). No one can tell what the future holds exactly But these are the destinations digital nomads will want to keep their keen eyes on. If you crave more peace of mind, there are excellent, quieter spots all over Vietnam like Hoi An and Da Nang. Thank you for your support . As of February 2021, a few countries/islands in the Caribbeans have digital nomad visas available. We bring you epic FREE content!Find out how YOU can help support us. If none of those locations take your fancy, theres still plenty on offer for the digital nomad you might need to head to a bigger city to find what youre looking for. SafetyWing is convenient, cheap, and trouble-free Insurance was never this easy! Budapest and Prague sure are cool, but theres a new kid on the block and his name is Bulgaria. If anything, the only reputation you should consider is its reputation as a damn awesome digital nomad destination! It doesnt hurt that Malaysia is insanely well-connected; Kuala Lumpur is one of the busiest travel hubs in the region so hopping around other Southeast Asian backpacking destinations or even dashing off to Europe or America is super easy and very cheap, even if you book tickets last minute. I say seem because I honestly have no bloody clue why they do those cities are madness. At any given time Canggu, Uluwatu, and Ubud are bustling with short-term nomads and lifelong expats. document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Though never having been much of a blip on DN radars due to their high living costs and relative remoteness, many Caribbean island nations have now started offering official digital nomad visas. And its less like a Holy Grail and more like a regular ol kitchen mug. Shit. Many of Europes top digital nomad destinations are still in big cities like Lisbon, Barcelona and Budapest, but nomad villages are now starting to provide city infrastructure in more tranquil pockets of Europe. an established remote work community offering coliving accommodation, recommendations for private coworking spaces and a Facebook group for nomads to connect and socialise. Vietnam gets it good in both the beaches AND mountains department. Thailand: the country that basically sells itself. And as long as they have a smile and some internet connectivity, its all good. are still in big cities like Lisbon, Barcelona and Budapest, but nomad villages are now starting to provide city infrastructure in more tranquil pockets of Europe. However, most of the country is completely safe to visit and is home to some of the most underexplored cities in the region. Other potential new hometowns include Bogota (the capital), Cali, and Cartagena. The internet connectivity is great (there are even coworking spaces in the middle of the mountains!). 2022, The Broke Backpacker. Who the hell isnt? Get unlimited access to all of Sifteds free coverage and analysis. Mexico also has some pretty excellent visa schemes available for remote workers too! So where are they? So, youve cleared with your boss that you can work remotely as a digital nomad for a few weeks or months, but where do you choose to jet off to? But like a majestic phoenix, exciting destinations will emerge from the ashes as the best places for digital nomads to live. I warned you about the suicidal roos, yeah? Working in an office is so 2019. So are pools with all that damn water splashback. Five years ago, a couple from San Francisco moved to a picturesque town close to Trento, Italy hoping, like many other nomads, to experience something new. Mexico City is a chaotic shambles of a city but has a great expat community (and seems to be especially favoured by travellers working abroad as English teachers). . Instead, lets check out some of the most popular digital nomad destinations right now. Its one of the cheapest places for digital nomads to live in Europe PLUS travelling Georgia is easy with snow-capped mountains or gorgeous beaches never too far away. Its just that easy. One of the biggest advantages of living in Thailand is the proverbial cheese platter of beautiful areas and locales to base yourself. For people looking for a less hectic workation, they can make a perfect place to settle for a short time and meet like minded people. The vanlife is BOOMING. (Based on digital nomad statistics). Other popular areas in Malaysia to stay include Penang, known for its street art; Langkawi which is great for scuba divers; and Malacca, one of the most popular tourist destinations in Malaysia. Croatia is smashed with beautiful areas and has endless potential for digital nomads! Arrivals get access to a free coworking space, guidance on finding accommodation and permission to join the nomads Slack group where events such as hiking trips and sundown fitness classes on the beach are posted every week. Actually, there are quite a lot of sexy candidates! Where will you stay? So if youre looking for some mind expanding ways to unwind after the working day is done, Lagos might be the digital nomad community for you. But until that day comes, well just have to settle for indefinitely roaming the globe, making bank, living the damn dream! Ditch Your Desk, amigos its just holding you back. Easily taking pole position on every list of the top 10 digital nomad destinations, it doesnt get any more iconic than being a digital nomad in Bali. If youre looking for a real digital nomad community experience, Las Palmas in Gran Canaria is home to. Its shocking how many nomads are yet to find this gem in Eastern Europe. Were living in the digital dystopia and all that us working travellers want to do now is TRAVEL. Another great advantage is Vietnams visa schemes. They recently launched a project on the island of Madeira to create a digital nomad village! An eSIM works just like an app: you buy it, you download it, and BOOM! Its the cheapest country in Europe, one of the few countries there where you can live like a king while paying Asia-tier prices. In January 2021, Croatia announced an official digital nomad visa to make staying in the country even easier! Thats the travellers code. in Tenerife and Fuerteventura to check out, all offering coworking spaces with fast wifi. Ditch your desk and break the chains, friends. And Pina Coladas from the resort bar are going to be wayyy out of the price range for a budding digital nomad. After a while, you just want some goddamn Dominos! All rights reserved. Alright and now on to the roundup: the best places for digital nomads! If you want MORE top-tier Broke Backpacker content like this, then sign up for our weekly newsletter below to get the latest and greatest! Thats old news. A tropical island of paradise full of Pinterest-perfect cafs with high-speed WiFI, gorgeous beaches and lush jungles, luxury villas for ridiculously great prices, and a culture that supports self-development spiritually, physically, and professionally. Its even possible to score a visa that lasts up to a year! These tend to be loosely organised communities of nomads that centre around coworking spaces and coliving apartments, with a central social media group to plan communal activities and events. Nomads have previously told Sifted that Lagoss. The cost of living, the weather, the community these are all valid variables. Bansko is a ski resort in the Bulgarian mountains and has become one of Europes top digital nomad communities in recent years. There are few places in the world as complex and gorgeous as Vietnam. Located just minutes from the beach, Tribal is a very special hostel With sleek, custom designed private and dorm rooms to ensure a good nights sleep, Tribal is Balis newest and most modern hostel and comes with a twist Check out the MASSIVE coworking area with dedicated booths, plentiful power sockets, high-speed wifi and super tasty coffee and kitchen to fuel a days hard hustle! New to the digital nomad game? If youre after a slightly less intense and organised experience, there are other, smaller nomad communities in Tenerife and Fuerteventura to check out, all offering coworking spaces with fast wifi. And another hot tip for choosing the best country for your digital nomad endeavours: just choose somewhere that you feel at home in. San Miguel de Allende also has a great digital nomad community. 29 July 2022. That means that if you book your accommodation, buy your gear, or sort your insurance through our link, we earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you). The life of a working traveller is equal parts magnificent and exhausting. For people looking for a less hectic workation, they can make a perfect place to settle for a short time and meet like minded people. While getting long-term visas in Asia is often a hassle, the process in Vietnam is simpler than in Thailand, for example. Outside of the pandemic-times, getting a visa is incredibly simple. Rumours persist too of a digital nomad visa for Indonesia in the works. Ive rounded up my top picks for EPIC places for digital nomads to base themself. The best cities for digital nomads in Vietnam seem to be Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and the capital city Hanoi, which is especially popular with English teachers. And a never-going-home type really should be considering their personal safety very wisely. Kuala Lumpur, although a dull city, has a lot of expats and international workers and a relatively small but growing community of more mobile remote workers. Last year, Georgia became one of the first countries to offer a digital nomad visa. Go where your heart tells you thats why we do this. Will there be decent wifi? Croatia managed to keep its borders open for most of last year which helped attract many misplaced digital nomads, and now that it has established itself as a serious contender to age-old Eastern European backpacking favourites like Poland and Hungary. Currently, the community in Tallinn mostly consists of expats who work for the numerous international companies in the city. The crypto millionaires arent happy. We are living in the digital age WiFi is EVERYWHERE! Especially as were currently seeing the rise of digital nomad visas worldwide as well as entrenched communities of remote workers and expats settle in hotspots and hubs across the globe. Seed stage is the perfect place to start your startup career, Europes top 10 unicorn universities 2022, Meet the UKs largest pre-seed fund with an 80% ethnic minority LP base, Portugal is thinking of taxing crypto. While the hiking, skiing and summers on the lake not to mention the great schools and beautiful town nearby were appealing, they realised the digital nomad village was missing one thing: community. . Southeast Asia is really not about that tourist life at the moment. The world of remote work is getting very interesting and these countries are leading the charge. Most people get a visa on arrival that allows them to stay for a month or two even, though this means having to do visa runs to nearby countries whenever that expires. Its hard to find much to complain about with Thailand. From offering free one-year visas to launching initiatives that allow remote workers to share office spaces with Georgian workers, this gem of the Caucasus triplets is determined to make a name as the new digital nomad favourite. The lifestyle definitely has its own challenges, but the rewards are so damn sweet. Your laptop, your cool-looking nomad backpack, and, of course, your travel insurance. Tbilisi the capital of Georgia is potentially one of the most awesome cities in the world! Set up in February 2021 when most of Europe was steeped in Covid restrictions the village is designed to be a one-stop-shop to help nomads settle on the island. The weather in the south stays warm for most of the year, and even though its not dirt cheap, the prices are really nothing to complain about. And there are plenty of sinful things to do after-hours when you slam your laptop shut too. Its the first stop for many budding budget backpackers, and similarly one of the household names for digital nomads just starting out. Read: What do the locals think of digital nomads? Plus, eventually, beach things can get kinda boring: the laid-back island life is definitely not everyones cup of tea. caters particularly well to those looking for consciousness activities (think meditation, yoga, ecstatic dance and holotropic breathwork). Even the language is a plus. He tweets from@timmpsmith. Just look out for those damn kamikaze kangaroos in Oz. And for a good reason: its almost too damn perfect. They may not be the best option for you contingent on your type of work and how much you like to move around, but these countries are certainly worth the consideration. These first few are the old guard (featuring Southeast Asia). That said, we only link to the gear we trust and never recommend services we dont believe are up to scratch. You might not get points for originality for moving to Bali, but there is only so long you can go down the path less travelled. South America is a criminally underrated digital nomad destination (pun intended many people are scared off by the horror stories about the crime in South America).