So you’ve decided to hit the road and work remotely as a digital nomad. Now for the hard part. Which remote is right for you?
Nomad List can help. Crunching over 1 million data points a second, Nomad List ranks 2500+ destinations around the world. The data comes from the WHO, IMF, public APIs, veteran digital nomads and more. Rankings change every 10 minutes.
At-a-glance free basics include rank, wifi speed, weather and air quality and cost of living. Click on a city for the latest scores on new-to-you essentials including safety, quality of hospitals, walkability, racial tolerance and fun. It’s like swiping right on a dating app, except the reality isn’t bald, fat, and 30 years older than you expected.
For more options, there’s a pay version that includes information on remote working in the city, access to expat forums, and more.
Not quite so destination-determined?
Use filters to determine price, climate, internet speed, time of year. Also visa-free destinations based on your passport, city size preferences, gender, religion, and attitude toward alternative smoking blends. Add language, cultural enclaves, (Little Mexico, Little Paris) sports, food, weather and more.
Still not sure?
Check out the Cost of Living guide, that breaks down coworking and accommodation expenses. The page includes the price of coffee, a different kind of start up for working travellers, and a little something for quitting time: the price of a local beer.
Coworking spaces by neighbourhood
You want to be able to access reliable wifi near your home, right? Maybe you crave air conditioning or just a chance to kvetch with other people doing what you’re doing.
Coworking sites are plotted on a map colour-coded by hilarious-but-useful neighbourhood categories: Suits, Rich, Hip, Tourist, Student and Normie.
Pros and cons
The Pros and Cons offers a quick look at what’s great about a place and what’s not so great in a single page. Beware: some of the info is based on crunchy numbers, the rest is crowd-sourced.
Insider info
The Nomad Guide tab takes you to local detes about quantitative granular stuff: voltage and plug types, population, as well as more qualitative, subjective tips: best coffee place, best wireless carrier, and best taxi service.
These evaluations can be hit or miss. For example, I’d really love to know how Hamburg is more fun than New Orleans. Y’all gotta take this bit with a grain of salt.
Not just for digital nomads
Thinking of changing a career or just looking for a more local experience as a traveller? This site is great for people interested in the B-sides of travel.
Is this info absolutely reliable?
Of course not! People travel and work in different ways. Data changes daily. What are two things everyone has? Opinions and….
Experienced digital nomads use networking, research, and sometimes plain-old curiousity about new destinations. How does Jack Davidson, a battleface contributor and 7 year+ digital nomad do it?
‘Some places just appeal because they look pretty. Others are steeped in culture or history. Some have great weather. Others, a minuscule cost of living.’
Think negative.
What’s absolutely off the list? That’s a good start. Vegans: rural Uzbekistan may not be your best bet.
Triangulate
Nomad List is just one of many sites that can help you get where you’re going. It’s a tool to help get you started.
Be positive!
Your first destination isn’t ideal? Keep moving.
Employment trends are on your side
The stats aren’t clear number-wise on digital nomads: hundreds of thousands to millions, depending on how you count it. What IS clear: workplaces are changing. The old-fart idea of seeing butts-on-seats is moving to a more result-based (and lower real-estate-based) economy. Can you do your job as effectively in Cambodia as you can in Compton?
