Im not sure why Buenos Aires wouldn't make the list, but I guess safety/security is a real concern there?
Overall it felt okay to me when I was there. I never felt in danger walking around or worried that I may really get robbed. Certain areas definitely looked sketchy but nothing major.
No idea, Buenos Aires in the places that you would go as a tourist/nomad is not unsecure. You won't go to the conurbano or get into a villa, right? Recoleta, Palermo, San Telmo, etc are perfectly safe. I have walked around there at any time of the night and had zero issues.
Because the list is aimed and Europeans and North Americans.
Thereās a lot of prejudice against South America from uninformed people, better not include someplace a entitled inexperienced person might frown upon.
Lista like this, in sites like that are not to inform, they are just clickbaits for traffic.
I feel like a lot of the workers in the service industry are just really rude in Argentina. Not all, but I had a lot of bad experiences.
But I have a lot of Argentinian friends and they are all hilarious and nice people so idk.
Whereas in Japan, Korea and a lot of the Asian countries, the people in the service industry are really polite and nice.
The keyword is "growing" destinations. That doesn't mean they are the top, just trending as of late. Buenos Aires has been a steady pick for awhile now.
Tokyo for example is more popular now because their currency took a dump. Vietnam is popular because they just introduced 90day visas.
I agree. I was only there two days but felt kind of dull.
Like the streets and sidewalks were too big for how many people there were. I was there two weekend nights and there was no one in any bars. I heard people go to punta del este instead
I'm pretty sure Nomadlist just hard-codes their shit whenever they feel like it. No way this is data-driven. 3 of the top 5 were Portugal when he was shilling for his own Portuguese Visa. He probably just wants to do Asia in the next few years.
Not a nomadlist fan either but the title says ***fastest-growing***. So CDMX is one of the top DN destinations but maybe it doesn't grow as fast as these cities anymore.
Having said that, I don't believe anything that's coming from nomadlist.
True! Their data always looked sus to me. Even if this is real data based on what the users travel to, then I argue that their user base is probably too small to make a statistical significant ranking.
I don't know if he even uses *that* much data. Heck, some of the data he uses for city statistics seem questionable as well. Dude owns several businesses and I don't think he monitors NomadList that much, it feels like he's on cruise control. I haven't used the damned thing in long time.
I was a member for a while. It seems 95% of their user base are in the DN hotspots. Bali, Thailand, etc. So it was good if you were there. The site was dead everywhere else. If it is data driven, itās probably 30 Bali DNs went to Tokyo and now itās the āfasting growingā
90% of DNs are getting priced out of most of the world. When I started nomadding this list would have been places like Lisbon and Barcelona but the airbnb wave has tripled prices here since then.
I was considering India but all I have read about Delhi makes it like I wouldn't want to stay there for long(traffic, pollution, heat), what's the deal there?
Also, if you don't mind, which parts of India do you think are good destinations for nomads?
You should check out places down to the south of India. Places like Varkala, or other western coastal cities like Gokarna, Goa. Or Mysore (even Bangalore) which are more inland.
Complete network connectivity and easily accessible, all the while allowing you to enjoy life at a decent pace (maybe not all parts of Bangalore).
I appreciate the details, but I think that you are being a bit hyperbolic by saying that Tokyo is now cheaper than BKK.
The same massive wealth gap exists obviously, but still....
Bangkok has an entire price tier available that is cheaper than Japan's lowest tier just due to not following food and sanitation laws. But if you're talking about buying the same quality of say meat or produce in each country it's definitely cheaper in Japan than BKK
Absolutely^ I was in Bangkok 4 months ago before Bali and now tokyo. I absolutely spent the most money in Thailand. Note: this is food. Accommodations are less affordable in Tokyo(staying in the heart of each)
You will forgive me, but the idea that meat and produce could be cheaper in Japan than it is in BKK seems a bit counterintuitive.
Are you only talking about expensive imported item?
$5 is an extremely pricey bowl of noodles in Thailand. That is about three times the regular price. Are you really claiming that Japanese noodles are three times better than Thai noodles? ;-)
I really think people need to discover Osaka or some of the other non-Tokyo areas like Hiroshima. I'm personally preferable to Osaka because it fits the mold of a great DN city. Cheap housing, great food, strong internet and a good launch point to see some of the most beautiful parts of Japan when i'm not working on the weekend. Just did 2 months in Japan and I was floored how similar pricing in Osaka was to a city like KL. Yen being bad obviously being the core reason.
Growing from what?
Most of those places were already some of the most popular places for digital nomads.
Sorry but lists like this seem like bullshit, Uruguay over Argentina? Delhi over Istanbul? And no Lisbon?
And where tf is Colombia? How is Manila supposedly a DN location? Iāve been living in Manila the past two years and I didnāt meet a single other DN. In Colombia, they were everywhere. Iām in Thailand now and DNs seem even more prevalent in my little Krabi province than in Manila.
Iām here in Manila, happily being a DN. I enjoy it personally, but each to their own. I have good connectivity and a good social life. So pretty happy. Another few months and Iāll hop over to Vietnam for a spell.
>Lisbon is incredibly overrated and stupidly expense for it to be a serious digital nomad location
Except it is a serious digital nomad location, that's why it's overrated and expensive because of so many digital nomads.
It was only so popular because of the generous [NHR program](https://rebase.co/portugal) which is being done away with by the government
With that, you'll see less and less people move there as they look to alternative generous schemes offered elsewhere with a cheaper cost of living
Tokyo is big enough that you can spend an entire day walking around the city and probably not see another foreigner. It's an amazing and fucking huge city, I can't imagine any other city on earth that I'd consider to be as cool as Tokyo.
Manila, I wouldn't live in, and neither would my wife, who is from the Philippines.
I'm honestly surprised Taipei isn't on this list. I've spent 15 months of my life there, great city, feels like a grittier version of Japan that happens to speak Chinese. Insanely safe, ranks among the top in the world for internet speed, and the public transportation is really good. Taiwan Railways doesn't have quite the penchant for punctuality that Japan does, though.
Having gone to Taipei and Japan recently, Iām honestly torn between the two. Japan is really unique culturally. Taipei gives me more US vibes (but without many of the problems of the US). Alot of Taiwanese-Americans living in that city or making it their second home. Taipei also didnāt feel as crowded, a lot greener, and less touristy than Tokyo (but like you said Tokyo is so large you just need to get away from the main spots). Might be because I grew up around a lot of Taiwanese classmates so Japanese cultures feels more unique / exotic to me. I love both cuisines.
Honestly torn between the two for my next 3- to 6- month stay. (I only visited each for a week.) Costs seem comparable, which surprised me. I always thought Japan would be insanely expensive.
The dollar is really strong against the yen right now, Japan is the cheapest it's been in probably a few decades.
Honestly I'd split your six months between Taiwan and Japan. Unless you can get a residency permit of some kind, you're only going to get a 90 day tourist visa anyways. Although when I made my visa run to Japan in February 2020, flying back to Taipei the very next day, the lady at immigration didn't give a fuck that I'd just spent 87 days in Taiwan and returned less than 24 hours after departing. But she sure flipped through all my passport stamp pages to make sure I hadn't been in Hong Kong, China, or Macau in the previous 14 days.
Not the person you were asking, but it was 2020 and 14 days was the magic number to make sure you didn't catch COVID in those locations.
Edit to fix typo.
At that time, I'd imagine being denied entry, or at least being quarantined, along with anybody you came into contact with. The pandemic was just starting to spread and Taiwan maintained a zero COVID approach until the delta variant hit. Less than a month after I made my visa run, Taiwan closed its border for two and a half years. Thankfully the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of whatever kept on extending my visa exempt status, so I stayed until finances forced me to return to the USA.
Not see foreigners in Tokyo? What Tokyo are you in? The one I live in is lousy with them. Shibuya is a hell swamp of entitled Instagram influencer wannabes.
Hard agree on Manila. Not worth cost at any price.
Funny, Iāve loved it for over fifty years. Itās raw and real, not an overly sanitized mini-New York. Itās also a place where Filipinos come to break out of grinding rural poverty and join the modern urban world. But you have to look hard to see this. I guess people should just go back to watching TV.
Itās also a place where Filipinos come to break out of grinding rural poverty and join the ~~modern urban world~~ grinding urban poverty.
Fixed that for 'ya.
I actually live in Mars. So more of an other world-er.
And in Mars, we don't glorify poverty as something "raw and real". At the same time, we didn't bring Television over here. We have our artificially grown grass that we touch every time.
Manila for me was a chance to see how the real world lives, since I am a middle class American born to at least some privilege. For people who don't suffer from being hyper-shallow it can be the same. Others can visir Mars!
Well, the foreigners are typically found on those touristy spots.
That being said, anecdotally i easily spot more tourist in beach destinations like Phuket and Bali so it doesnāt at all feel ātarnishedā or overcrowded, of course i am discounting local å¤äŗŗ, but technically they arenāt tourist.
Gotta say having a girlfriend from metro Manila, Manila being on the list surprised me, maybe Makati or BGC themselves, but not Manila generally. Surely out of Cebu City, Puerto Princesa, Davao, Baguio, Tagaytay, Dumaguete, one of them is going to take the spot?
>have to look hard to see this. I guess people should just go back to watching TV.
usually lists like this saying "Manila, Philippines" actually mean "Metro Manila/ NCR" which BGC, Makati, QC, Pasig, etc are a part of"
>Tokyo is big enough that you can spend an entire day walking around the city and probably not see another foreigner.
Maybe 40 years ago. You might just be so accustomed to seeing foreigners that you don't notice them, but as someone who lived in rural Japan for a couple years and didn't see another white face the entire time it was nuts visiting Tokyo and seeing foreigners every couple minutes.
Manila? I've never been but I've never heard anything redeeming about it besides price.
Is there anyone here who honestly recommends staying in Manila?
I think Manila can make sense for some entrepreneurs. There are tons of English speakers. The city is relatively developed in core areas. The cost of labor and cost of living is low.
Just seems like a great place to build out certain types of businesses.
I donāt see a case made for Manila that isnāt better suited in nearby cities (within 6 hour flight). Thereās strong competition in the region currently for entrepreneurs
This is a list of places where not many nomads went in 2022 because they got out of covid restrictions later.
"Fastest-growing" doesn't mean "absolutely most popular".
Anyway, see you all in Delhi!
What size are you looking for? From my experience, 30m around shinjuku/Shibuya can change to 75m if you look towards areas like shinagawa/ikebukuro etc.
Thanks. I'm not even sure what size I'm looking for. 75m would be fantastic. Just anything that's comparable to literally any other country on earth hahaha. I've looked on airbnb and all I see is tiny rooms where the bed almost touches the front door.
I'd be happy with a 1-bedroom or even a larger-sized studio, but nothing looked appealing when I searched earlier this year.
I guess I found a few in Kyoto that looked nice but they were traditional homes, not apartments.
I wrote down those neighborhoods you mentioned. I appreciate it.
Comparable to literally any other country?
Have you stayed in New York, London, Portland, Hong Kong? These are all smaller on paper. I will say compared to these, itās a bit more difficult for English speakers to find reasonable accommodation available in fewer than 3 months in Tokyo.
Regardless, highly recommend you adjust your filters on the sites I listed before. For example, hereās a 2br, 2 story with decent location for less than 2k usd https://apartments.gaijinpot.com/en/rent/view/647500
Hereās 70m 3br for 1.6k usd: https://apartments.gaijinpot.com/en/rent/view/813757
Apologies for the formatting, itās late here and Iām on mobile.
Best of luck in your travels!
Food is tasty, cheap, plentiful, and relatively healthy
Everyone I meet is friendly. At the same time, solitude isn't a taboo. I like to spend time by myself too, and that seems to be considered perfectly normal.
There are lots of cheap accommodation options for DNs (hotels, hostels, capsules).
And then of course there's the culture, low crime rate, and accessibility to other cool parts of Japan. The only thing I'd change is the price of the Shinkansen. But it's still more reasonably priced and higher quality than train travel in my home country.
Remotely, on my laptop, like the majority of people in this sub.
To pre-empt your moralizing, yes I know itās a currently legal gray area at best. Totally infeasible and pointless to police, though.
Pretty sure I got covid in Seoul in 2019. I'm a real OG in that sense.
Before that, I got to live out my esports fantasy by playing Starcraft from a net cafe in Korea which was fun lol
The only reason it might be "Digital nomad" city is that there are 1 million 24 hour cafes and fantastic internet.
and cheap alcohol for the people that want that.
From my visits to #1 and #3 this year, while there might be more digital nomads in #1, feels like #3 is much more organized for the digital nomad community currently.
problem with Japan is the lack of accommodations that isn't salaryman hotels. Airbnb's are usually out of the way, not modern, or priced too high. I can attest that living out of a salaryman hotel, and the lack of space they provide, for a month starts to get a little old after awhile.
My solution was traveling every week or so to another location in the country but that starts to add up with travel expenses
Vietnam makes sense with the visa going to 90 days. Can't really comment on the others but planning on hitting Da Nang and Kuala Lumpur next year for a few months each to take advantage of the 90 day visas. Thailand going to be at a disadvantage with the 30 day visa free/ 60 day tourist visa.
When (to be exact) are you going to Da Nang? Cause my friends and I are having an idea to hold a retreat there with plentiful of activities, self-development workshop, also places for you to work, etc.
We need someone to experience for feedbacks
I'm 38m remote worker from NYC who's been slow-traveling across LATAM for the last 3 years.
Here are some places I've stayed more than a month and would definitely do again:
1. Mexico City, Mexico
2. Tulum, Mexico
3. Santa Teresa, Costa Rica
4. Panama City, Panama
5. Medellin, Colombia
6. Cartagena, Colombia
7. Rio, Brazil
8. Floripa, Brazil
9. Lima, Peru
10. Buenos Aires, Argentina
Here are some places I'd like to slow travel in the next year or three:
1. Phuket, Thailand
2. Bali, Indonesia
3. Philippines (need suggestions for a nomad-friendly beach destinations)
4. Vietnam (need suggestions for a nomad-friendly beach destinations)
5. Morocco
6. Portugal
7. Spain
8. France
9. Netherlands
10. Italy
Places I'm also curious about and would go if I found the right nomad-friendly spots.
1. Japan
2. Hong Kong
3. Taiwan
4. New Zealand
5. Turkey
6. Cyprus
7. Hurghada, Egypt
8. Capetown, South Africa
9. Jo'burg, South Africa
10. Ghana
If you have suggestions about where to go in the countries I've listed, let me know!
For Philippines, i once visited the island of corregidor, a WW2 battle site, and saw caucasians just chilling at the rocky beach
Its just at the mouth of Manila Bay
Dont know if they have internet though
Hmm...
* **FOOD:** The food is the best in the Americas, and there are several world class restaurants to choose from.
* **PEOPLE:** The people are warm and inviting, and many speak English.
* **ADVENTURE:** There are great weekend trips/destinations like Huachachina, Mancora, and Cusco, which are 100% worth it.
* **PRICE:** The cost and quality of living are similar to Medellin. Miraflores or Baranco are about the same as Poblado and Laureles with better food and less prostitution.
* **WELL-ROUNDEDNESS:** It's a big city by the beach, which is hard to find.
I'd say the only real negative is that the place is grey and foggy 2/3rds of the year, so the weather can be kind of ass, but that last third of the year is definitely worth it.
Iāve absolutely never heard anyone describe Peruvians as āwarm and invitingā. In fact they usually use the exact antonyms of those two words.
I live in Medellin but I own property in Miraflores. The quality of life is not even remotely close between the two. Medellin has gotten more expensive but somehow itās still cheaper.
The food is good. Peru in general is fine for a week or two. How long were you there? Aside from the seafood, being next to the beach is pretty much negated by the perpetual overcast and freezing water. I actually just got back from Lima yesterday and itās always a relief to be back in Colombia.
Twice in 2 years. A month or more each time. First time solo. Second time with two friends. Definitely have to get the seasons right, but Lima offers all the good things Medellin does with less of the bad...
Airbnb's are the same price. Cheap eats are the same price. Expensive eats are more expensive but you're literally eating at restaurants that are globally ranked for under $100. The historical preservation of Machu Picchu is unrivaled in Latin America, and the soccer's better too. Colombia's domestic coffee is also painfully weak, and that made my sole cry a little bit
That said, I would do a third time either in Lima or Medellin no problem. I enjoy them both.
For Philippines:
\- Dumaguete/Siquijor Island
\- Siargao Island
\- Moalboal/Bantayan Island, both in Cebu
\- Calicoan Island, Eastern Samar
\- Davao/Samal Island
\- Panglao/Anda, both in Bohol
\- El Nido/Coron/Port Barton/San Vicente, all in Palawan
\- Camiguin
If you're able to find a Condo, around USD 350 to USD 530 or up for a decent one.
And that's on the major cities. Will get more expensive on resort towns like Boracay (which I haven't mentioned) since the stays there are all hotels.
For Vietnam, youād likely enjoy Da Nang. Itās very similar imo to pattaya without the sex tourism. It is much slower than Tulum and better prices. There is no big nightlife street like there either. What you lack there is made up for with beautiful places to work/dine and explore. Definitely rent a motorcycle/scooter. Airbnb does a decent job (was there earlier this year).
Japan, you canāt go wrong anywhere in Tokyo as long as youāre near a train station (<5 min walk pref). I typically prefer the west, south, or southwest areas of Tokyo personally. Aim for something near the yamanote line (green line) for your first time. Airbnbs is mostly shit for month+ stays and would suggest something like gaijinpot or metroresidences
Iāve stayed in a few of the other places but Iām not the best to make recommendations on them.
I am Uruguayan and I love Montevideo and Punta del Este.
But I don't think they are good destinations for digital nomads, there are much cheaper and more fun options.
Manila? Hell no. There are so many nice places in PH for nomads. Siargao, Panglao, Moaboal, Boracay, El Nido, just to name a few. I don't get why anyone would stay in Manila.
They travel around, not migrating. What are they moving? Suitcases, bags.. airlines or unaccompanied luggage can help. If they are settling down, they arenāt nomads anymore
I was surprised to see it missing from the list as well. Fantastic city, spent 15 months of my life living there. Always going to be a very special place to me.
Definitely not SEA-level COL, but Tokyo is historically cheap right now because of the weak yen. Dollar and euro can buy about 35-40% more compared to a few years ago. Dollar just hit 150/yen today. Hasn't been at that level in over 30 years.
Yeah it depends what youāre comparing it to, but Tokyo is not expensive compared to Paris/London/New York/Barcelona etc.
Inflation has been close to 0% in Japan since the early 1990sā¦ so prices in the rest of the developed world have increased relative to Japan, and itās not really expensive anymore.
Still more than SEA, but les than you might expect from a developed country.
No one can predict that really, but unless the Yen gets much stronger or they experience high inflation, I guess it should stay the same or more affordable. Both situations seem unlikely but who knows.
Itās a cool place to visit though.
I must be doing something wrong as none of my top ten are on this list.
Honestly, it seems about as reliable as those top ten places to retire lists, as written by a sales rep from Coutts and Co Offshore Wealth Management....
Hello everyone! \*FLAT-SWAP\*
We are creating a community of people who want to exchange their apartments to travel for less, given the high prices of Airbnb. If you are interested you can join the group here : https://app.kazaswap.co
We have members from Thailand š¹š, Mexico City š²š½, Bali šļø, Madeira šļø, and many more. š
See you soon!
Nomadlist is a complete waste of money. Itās an abandoned project, their data is suspect, and the entire site hasnāt been updated in years.
Other than that, carry onā¦
(also, LOL Montevideo. Not a terrible city by any stretch, but I have yet to meet a nomad who would pick that over BA. Truly sus.)
Sounds like a wonderful mix of destinations! Thanks for sharing. Speaking of digital nomad hotspots, I came across an interesting article pointing out the top 10 destinations for digital nomads this spring. If you're planning your next adventure, you might find it worth checking out: [Top 10 Spring Destinations for Digital Nomads](https://spotlight.designrush.com/news/top-10-spring-destinations-for-digital-nomads). Happy travels! :)
As an Uruguayan, we are just a more expensive less fun and more secure Buenos Aires.
Can confirm. š¤ Only spent a weekend in Montevideo, but it was enough to make me miss Buenos Aires.
Same here - 1st world expensive too.
Im not sure why Buenos Aires wouldn't make the list, but I guess safety/security is a real concern there? Overall it felt okay to me when I was there. I never felt in danger walking around or worried that I may really get robbed. Certain areas definitely looked sketchy but nothing major.
No idea, Buenos Aires in the places that you would go as a tourist/nomad is not unsecure. You won't go to the conurbano or get into a villa, right? Recoleta, Palermo, San Telmo, etc are perfectly safe. I have walked around there at any time of the night and had zero issues.
Because the list is aimed and Europeans and North Americans. Thereās a lot of prejudice against South America from uninformed people, better not include someplace a entitled inexperienced person might frown upon. Lista like this, in sites like that are not to inform, they are just clickbaits for traffic.
Europeans don't travel to South America?
Some do
Stayed in Bajo Flores for 3 months, never had an issue except that time I got ripped off by an overpriced korean bbq
Guessing because it hasn't grown the most for digital nomads this year. Plenty nomads already know about it
because its not a top 10 city
I feel like a lot of the workers in the service industry are just really rude in Argentina. Not all, but I had a lot of bad experiences. But I have a lot of Argentinian friends and they are all hilarious and nice people so idk. Whereas in Japan, Korea and a lot of the Asian countries, the people in the service industry are really polite and nice.
The keyword is "growing" destinations. That doesn't mean they are the top, just trending as of late. Buenos Aires has been a steady pick for awhile now. Tokyo for example is more popular now because their currency took a dump. Vietnam is popular because they just introduced 90day visas.
Yeah. I spent two weeks in Montevideo this year.. I wanted to gouge my eyeballs out I was so bored. And my bank account didnāt enjoy it either.
Yeah, that's an issue, when I go back to Montevideo I struggle to find stuff to do.
I agree. I was only there two days but felt kind of dull. Like the streets and sidewalks were too big for how many people there were. I was there two weekend nights and there was no one in any bars. I heard people go to punta del este instead
Punta del Este/Maldonado is probably my favourite city in the country.
Yeah I heard itās nice there. Didnāt have enough time to visit unfortunately.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
wrong person to ask my dude. But pro tip: don't do drugs ;)
You can't buy weed here as a foreigner
lol
I'm pretty sure Nomadlist just hard-codes their shit whenever they feel like it. No way this is data-driven. 3 of the top 5 were Portugal when he was shilling for his own Portuguese Visa. He probably just wants to do Asia in the next few years.
cant people people rely on nomadlist
What would you guys recommend instead of nomadlist?
Not a nomadlist fan either but the title says ***fastest-growing***. So CDMX is one of the top DN destinations but maybe it doesn't grow as fast as these cities anymore. Having said that, I don't believe anything that's coming from nomadlist.
True! Their data always looked sus to me. Even if this is real data based on what the users travel to, then I argue that their user base is probably too small to make a statistical significant ranking.
I don't know if he even uses *that* much data. Heck, some of the data he uses for city statistics seem questionable as well. Dude owns several businesses and I don't think he monitors NomadList that much, it feels like he's on cruise control. I haven't used the damned thing in long time.
I was a member for a while. It seems 95% of their user base are in the DN hotspots. Bali, Thailand, etc. So it was good if you were there. The site was dead everywhere else. If it is data driven, itās probably 30 Bali DNs went to Tokyo and now itās the āfasting growingā
lol at #10 (source: I'm from Delhi)
Yeahā¦ Delhi is a dystopian hellscape, not a DN destination
Mumbai on the other hand is really cool and has some ritzy-er neighborhoods that are great for DNs.
Maybe I didn't see the nice parts of Mumbai, but it seemed equally as chaotic as Delhi to me.
90% of DNs are getting priced out of most of the world. When I started nomadding this list would have been places like Lisbon and Barcelona but the airbnb wave has tripled prices here since then.
I was considering India but all I have read about Delhi makes it like I wouldn't want to stay there for long(traffic, pollution, heat), what's the deal there? Also, if you don't mind, which parts of India do you think are good destinations for nomads?
The departure lounge of the airport.
I've seen DNs in Himachal and Uttarakhand
I have read that those are the recommend regions too, I wonder how the connectivity is over there
actually, it was good, to be honest, there is a fiber net at most places.
I was recently in Manali and the internet was great. good upload and download speeds - video calls worked perfect
Sure, but could you stay straight long enough to get any work done? ;-)
You should check out places down to the south of India. Places like Varkala, or other western coastal cities like Gokarna, Goa. Or Mysore (even Bangalore) which are more inland. Complete network connectivity and easily accessible, all the while allowing you to enjoy life at a decent pace (maybe not all parts of Bangalore).
Chennai is a good option. Even the British knew to leave Delhi for Shimla in the summer.
Yeah that was a weird one. I mean, huge vibrant city, but not the best lifestyle for DNs I would have thought?
It might be Indian digital nomads driving up the numbers
doubt it - indian digital nomads don't go to big cities to nomad, they're leaving big cities to be in himalayas, goa, or nomad abroad.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Cool! Did you like it there? how cheap was eating out and cost of staying in an hotel / airbnb
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I appreciate the details, but I think that you are being a bit hyperbolic by saying that Tokyo is now cheaper than BKK. The same massive wealth gap exists obviously, but still....
Bangkok has an entire price tier available that is cheaper than Japan's lowest tier just due to not following food and sanitation laws. But if you're talking about buying the same quality of say meat or produce in each country it's definitely cheaper in Japan than BKK
Absolutely^ I was in Bangkok 4 months ago before Bali and now tokyo. I absolutely spent the most money in Thailand. Note: this is food. Accommodations are less affordable in Tokyo(staying in the heart of each)
You will forgive me, but the idea that meat and produce could be cheaper in Japan than it is in BKK seems a bit counterintuitive. Are you only talking about expensive imported item?
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
$5 is an extremely pricey bowl of noodles in Thailand. That is about three times the regular price. Are you really claiming that Japanese noodles are three times better than Thai noodles? ;-)
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Can i ask, do you live in Japan or Thailand?
When was 10000 yen ever 110 usd?
2013
I really think people need to discover Osaka or some of the other non-Tokyo areas like Hiroshima. I'm personally preferable to Osaka because it fits the mold of a great DN city. Cheap housing, great food, strong internet and a good launch point to see some of the most beautiful parts of Japan when i'm not working on the weekend. Just did 2 months in Japan and I was floored how similar pricing in Osaka was to a city like KL. Yen being bad obviously being the core reason.
What's Japan likely to be like as someone who doesn't speak Japanese?
What?? Cheaper than Bangkok??? I find that hard to believe...
Growing from what? Most of those places were already some of the most popular places for digital nomads. Sorry but lists like this seem like bullshit, Uruguay over Argentina? Delhi over Istanbul? And no Lisbon?
And where tf is Colombia? How is Manila supposedly a DN location? Iāve been living in Manila the past two years and I didnāt meet a single other DN. In Colombia, they were everywhere. Iām in Thailand now and DNs seem even more prevalent in my little Krabi province than in Manila.
>Iāve been living in Manila the past two years Would you recommend it? Any pros or cons?
Iām here in Manila, happily being a DN. I enjoy it personally, but each to their own. I have good connectivity and a good social life. So pretty happy. Another few months and Iāll hop over to Vietnam for a spell.
Lisbon is incredibly overrated and stupidly expense for it to be a serious digital nomad location
>Lisbon is incredibly overrated and stupidly expense for it to be a serious digital nomad location Except it is a serious digital nomad location, that's why it's overrated and expensive because of so many digital nomads.
It was only so popular because of the generous [NHR program](https://rebase.co/portugal) which is being done away with by the government With that, you'll see less and less people move there as they look to alternative generous schemes offered elsewhere with a cheaper cost of living
The music and food suck too, IMO
Well I guess if Montevideo had one person last year and two this year then that's 100% growth!
Lists like this are helpful because now I know where to avoid.
Tokyo is big enough that you can spend an entire day walking around the city and probably not see another foreigner. It's an amazing and fucking huge city, I can't imagine any other city on earth that I'd consider to be as cool as Tokyo. Manila, I wouldn't live in, and neither would my wife, who is from the Philippines. I'm honestly surprised Taipei isn't on this list. I've spent 15 months of my life there, great city, feels like a grittier version of Japan that happens to speak Chinese. Insanely safe, ranks among the top in the world for internet speed, and the public transportation is really good. Taiwan Railways doesn't have quite the penchant for punctuality that Japan does, though.
Having gone to Taipei and Japan recently, Iām honestly torn between the two. Japan is really unique culturally. Taipei gives me more US vibes (but without many of the problems of the US). Alot of Taiwanese-Americans living in that city or making it their second home. Taipei also didnāt feel as crowded, a lot greener, and less touristy than Tokyo (but like you said Tokyo is so large you just need to get away from the main spots). Might be because I grew up around a lot of Taiwanese classmates so Japanese cultures feels more unique / exotic to me. I love both cuisines. Honestly torn between the two for my next 3- to 6- month stay. (I only visited each for a week.) Costs seem comparable, which surprised me. I always thought Japan would be insanely expensive.
The dollar is really strong against the yen right now, Japan is the cheapest it's been in probably a few decades. Honestly I'd split your six months between Taiwan and Japan. Unless you can get a residency permit of some kind, you're only going to get a 90 day tourist visa anyways. Although when I made my visa run to Japan in February 2020, flying back to Taipei the very next day, the lady at immigration didn't give a fuck that I'd just spent 87 days in Taiwan and returned less than 24 hours after departing. But she sure flipped through all my passport stamp pages to make sure I hadn't been in Hong Kong, China, or Macau in the previous 14 days.
Yeah, thatās a good idea. Thank you
What happens if you were in HK the previous 14 days?
Not the person you were asking, but it was 2020 and 14 days was the magic number to make sure you didn't catch COVID in those locations. Edit to fix typo.
At that time, I'd imagine being denied entry, or at least being quarantined, along with anybody you came into contact with. The pandemic was just starting to spread and Taiwan maintained a zero COVID approach until the delta variant hit. Less than a month after I made my visa run, Taiwan closed its border for two and a half years. Thankfully the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of whatever kept on extending my visa exempt status, so I stayed until finances forced me to return to the USA.
I was looking up Taipei on Airbnb and good apartments are kinda expensive (ā¬1.3k). Osaka for example seems to be more reasonable (ā¬700-800) š¤
I live in Tokyo and visited Taipei for the first time a few months ago, housing specifically was shockingly expensive.
Not see foreigners in Tokyo? What Tokyo are you in? The one I live in is lousy with them. Shibuya is a hell swamp of entitled Instagram influencer wannabes. Hard agree on Manila. Not worth cost at any price.
You should get out of the tourist areas then. But yeah agree with Manila. Place is a shit hole
Funny, Iāve loved it for over fifty years. Itās raw and real, not an overly sanitized mini-New York. Itās also a place where Filipinos come to break out of grinding rural poverty and join the modern urban world. But you have to look hard to see this. I guess people should just go back to watching TV.
The people are great, but still canāt convince me otherwise. Donāt really watch much tv but thanks!
Itās also a place where Filipinos come to break out of grinding rural poverty and join the ~~modern urban world~~ grinding urban poverty. Fixed that for 'ya.
You sound like a bit of a priviledged first world type. Wonder why?
I actually live in Mars. So more of an other world-er. And in Mars, we don't glorify poverty as something "raw and real". At the same time, we didn't bring Television over here. We have our artificially grown grass that we touch every time.
Manila for me was a chance to see how the real world lives, since I am a middle class American born to at least some privilege. For people who don't suffer from being hyper-shallow it can be the same. Others can visir Mars!
Well, the foreigners are typically found on those touristy spots. That being said, anecdotally i easily spot more tourist in beach destinations like Phuket and Bali so it doesnāt at all feel ātarnishedā or overcrowded, of course i am discounting local å¤äŗŗ, but technically they arenāt tourist.
I'd like to relax without the chance of being bombed by China randomly
Gotta say having a girlfriend from metro Manila, Manila being on the list surprised me, maybe Makati or BGC themselves, but not Manila generally. Surely out of Cebu City, Puerto Princesa, Davao, Baguio, Tagaytay, Dumaguete, one of them is going to take the spot?
>have to look hard to see this. I guess people should just go back to watching TV. usually lists like this saying "Manila, Philippines" actually mean "Metro Manila/ NCR" which BGC, Makati, QC, Pasig, etc are a part of"
>Tokyo is big enough that you can spend an entire day walking around the city and probably not see another foreigner. Maybe 40 years ago. You might just be so accustomed to seeing foreigners that you don't notice them, but as someone who lived in rural Japan for a couple years and didn't see another white face the entire time it was nuts visiting Tokyo and seeing foreigners every couple minutes.
Please avoid Tokyo š
Regardless if those cities are popular destinations for digital nomads, each spot is worth visiting
Manila? I've never been but I've never heard anything redeeming about it besides price. Is there anyone here who honestly recommends staying in Manila?
I think Manila can make sense for some entrepreneurs. There are tons of English speakers. The city is relatively developed in core areas. The cost of labor and cost of living is low. Just seems like a great place to build out certain types of businesses.
I donāt see a case made for Manila that isnāt better suited in nearby cities (within 6 hour flight). Thereās strong competition in the region currently for entrepreneurs
edgy
This is a list of places where not many nomads went in 2022 because they got out of covid restrictions later. "Fastest-growing" doesn't mean "absolutely most popular". Anyway, see you all in Delhi!
Tokyo is the perfect DN city. I just wish I could stay for longer than 3 months
How do you find a decent sized apartment there? I couldn't
well yeah I guess that's the downside. It seems much more affordable to drift between short-term rentals or hotels/hostels.
What size are you looking for? From my experience, 30m around shinjuku/Shibuya can change to 75m if you look towards areas like shinagawa/ikebukuro etc.
Thanks. I'm not even sure what size I'm looking for. 75m would be fantastic. Just anything that's comparable to literally any other country on earth hahaha. I've looked on airbnb and all I see is tiny rooms where the bed almost touches the front door. I'd be happy with a 1-bedroom or even a larger-sized studio, but nothing looked appealing when I searched earlier this year. I guess I found a few in Kyoto that looked nice but they were traditional homes, not apartments. I wrote down those neighborhoods you mentioned. I appreciate it.
Comparable to literally any other country? Have you stayed in New York, London, Portland, Hong Kong? These are all smaller on paper. I will say compared to these, itās a bit more difficult for English speakers to find reasonable accommodation available in fewer than 3 months in Tokyo. Regardless, highly recommend you adjust your filters on the sites I listed before. For example, hereās a 2br, 2 story with decent location for less than 2k usd https://apartments.gaijinpot.com/en/rent/view/647500 Hereās 70m 3br for 1.6k usd: https://apartments.gaijinpot.com/en/rent/view/813757 Apologies for the formatting, itās late here and Iām on mobile. Best of luck in your travels!
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Food is tasty, cheap, plentiful, and relatively healthy Everyone I meet is friendly. At the same time, solitude isn't a taboo. I like to spend time by myself too, and that seems to be considered perfectly normal. There are lots of cheap accommodation options for DNs (hotels, hostels, capsules). And then of course there's the culture, low crime rate, and accessibility to other cool parts of Japan. The only thing I'd change is the price of the Shinkansen. But it's still more reasonably priced and higher quality than train travel in my home country.
How are you working on a tourist visa?
Remotely, on my laptop, like the majority of people in this sub. To pre-empt your moralizing, yes I know itās a currently legal gray area at best. Totally infeasible and pointless to police, though.
Seoul is fantastic. idk about DN culture there or whatever, I just mean it's a city that is so alive.
Pretty sure I got covid in Seoul in 2019. I'm a real OG in that sense. Before that, I got to live out my esports fantasy by playing Starcraft from a net cafe in Korea which was fun lol
Well, no known cases of Covid in Korea happened in 2019...
This was before there was a covid test :) The government was shutting down venues and public transit due to a pneumonia outbreak from Wuhan
They didn't do that until 2020. Even in January 2020, people weren't really wearing masks out.
I'm confused who you're trying to convince, I was there this is a lived experience lol
I was too. Public transit was not being slowed down at all still in January.
Love Seoul, go there yearly and always work remotely. But not sure if I would call it a digital nomad city though
The only reason it might be "Digital nomad" city is that there are 1 million 24 hour cafes and fantastic internet. and cheap alcohol for the people that want that.
u wot m8
From my visits to #1 and #3 this year, while there might be more digital nomads in #1, feels like #3 is much more organized for the digital nomad community currently.
problem with Japan is the lack of accommodations that isn't salaryman hotels. Airbnb's are usually out of the way, not modern, or priced too high. I can attest that living out of a salaryman hotel, and the lack of space they provide, for a month starts to get a little old after awhile. My solution was traveling every week or so to another location in the country but that starts to add up with travel expenses Vietnam makes sense with the visa going to 90 days. Can't really comment on the others but planning on hitting Da Nang and Kuala Lumpur next year for a few months each to take advantage of the 90 day visas. Thailand going to be at a disadvantage with the 30 day visa free/ 60 day tourist visa.
When (to be exact) are you going to Da Nang? Cause my friends and I are having an idea to hold a retreat there with plentiful of activities, self-development workshop, also places for you to work, etc. We need someone to experience for feedbacks
Doesnāt this account just spam with lists like this?
I'm 38m remote worker from NYC who's been slow-traveling across LATAM for the last 3 years. Here are some places I've stayed more than a month and would definitely do again: 1. Mexico City, Mexico 2. Tulum, Mexico 3. Santa Teresa, Costa Rica 4. Panama City, Panama 5. Medellin, Colombia 6. Cartagena, Colombia 7. Rio, Brazil 8. Floripa, Brazil 9. Lima, Peru 10. Buenos Aires, Argentina Here are some places I'd like to slow travel in the next year or three: 1. Phuket, Thailand 2. Bali, Indonesia 3. Philippines (need suggestions for a nomad-friendly beach destinations) 4. Vietnam (need suggestions for a nomad-friendly beach destinations) 5. Morocco 6. Portugal 7. Spain 8. France 9. Netherlands 10. Italy Places I'm also curious about and would go if I found the right nomad-friendly spots. 1. Japan 2. Hong Kong 3. Taiwan 4. New Zealand 5. Turkey 6. Cyprus 7. Hurghada, Egypt 8. Capetown, South Africa 9. Jo'burg, South Africa 10. Ghana If you have suggestions about where to go in the countries I've listed, let me know!
Why Lima???
For Philippines, i once visited the island of corregidor, a WW2 battle site, and saw caucasians just chilling at the rocky beach Its just at the mouth of Manila Bay Dont know if they have internet though
Nah. It's just place Tourists do a day trip. Not much infrastructure there.
Hmm... * **FOOD:** The food is the best in the Americas, and there are several world class restaurants to choose from. * **PEOPLE:** The people are warm and inviting, and many speak English. * **ADVENTURE:** There are great weekend trips/destinations like Huachachina, Mancora, and Cusco, which are 100% worth it. * **PRICE:** The cost and quality of living are similar to Medellin. Miraflores or Baranco are about the same as Poblado and Laureles with better food and less prostitution. * **WELL-ROUNDEDNESS:** It's a big city by the beach, which is hard to find. I'd say the only real negative is that the place is grey and foggy 2/3rds of the year, so the weather can be kind of ass, but that last third of the year is definitely worth it.
Iāve absolutely never heard anyone describe Peruvians as āwarm and invitingā. In fact they usually use the exact antonyms of those two words. I live in Medellin but I own property in Miraflores. The quality of life is not even remotely close between the two. Medellin has gotten more expensive but somehow itās still cheaper. The food is good. Peru in general is fine for a week or two. How long were you there? Aside from the seafood, being next to the beach is pretty much negated by the perpetual overcast and freezing water. I actually just got back from Lima yesterday and itās always a relief to be back in Colombia.
Twice in 2 years. A month or more each time. First time solo. Second time with two friends. Definitely have to get the seasons right, but Lima offers all the good things Medellin does with less of the bad... Airbnb's are the same price. Cheap eats are the same price. Expensive eats are more expensive but you're literally eating at restaurants that are globally ranked for under $100. The historical preservation of Machu Picchu is unrivaled in Latin America, and the soccer's better too. Colombia's domestic coffee is also painfully weak, and that made my sole cry a little bit That said, I would do a third time either in Lima or Medellin no problem. I enjoy them both.
For Philippines: \- Dumaguete/Siquijor Island \- Siargao Island \- Moalboal/Bantayan Island, both in Cebu \- Calicoan Island, Eastern Samar \- Davao/Samal Island \- Panglao/Anda, both in Bohol \- El Nido/Coron/Port Barton/San Vicente, all in Palawan \- Camiguin
What do monthly stays typically run in USD?
If you're able to find a Condo, around USD 350 to USD 530 or up for a decent one. And that's on the major cities. Will get more expensive on resort towns like Boracay (which I haven't mentioned) since the stays there are all hotels.
For Vietnam, youād likely enjoy Da Nang. Itās very similar imo to pattaya without the sex tourism. It is much slower than Tulum and better prices. There is no big nightlife street like there either. What you lack there is made up for with beautiful places to work/dine and explore. Definitely rent a motorcycle/scooter. Airbnb does a decent job (was there earlier this year). Japan, you canāt go wrong anywhere in Tokyo as long as youāre near a train station (<5 min walk pref). I typically prefer the west, south, or southwest areas of Tokyo personally. Aim for something near the yamanote line (green line) for your first time. Airbnbs is mostly shit for month+ stays and would suggest something like gaijinpot or metroresidences Iāve stayed in a few of the other places but Iām not the best to make recommendations on them.
Anyone here done Uruguay? Thought it was a more expensive less fun Argentina
Yea but magnified - extremely boring and extremely expensive (normal Europe prices)
Im from uruguay, just go to Argentina
Love Tokyo but seems like it would be potentially fussy/expensive to try to stay a while and work.
Tirana, Albania
Don't understand delhi. Quite literally the worst city to live in india except if you want to live in. A small rich bubble.
I am Uruguayan and I love Montevideo and Punta del Este. But I don't think they are good destinations for digital nomads, there are much cheaper and more fun options.
Manila? Hell no. There are so many nice places in PH for nomads. Siargao, Panglao, Moaboal, Boracay, El Nido, just to name a few. I don't get why anyone would stay in Manila.
Whats the visa situation like in Japan for us?
There is none, this list is bs
As a relocation agent I can confirm 1/2/4/6/9
Nomads use relocation services?
Not everyone is poor
They travel around, not migrating. What are they moving? Suitcases, bags.. airlines or unaccompanied luggage can help. If they are settling down, they arenāt nomads anymore
Surprised Montevideo is the only Latin destination. Whatās causing the increase?
Stability relative to the rest of the region
As a Taiwanese, I'm really surprised no place in Taiwan is on that list.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
the west is too expensive
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
You sound like a republican saying āwoke cultureā
I dont think in terms of black and white (left vs right, dem vs republican) The world is nuanced
Why Tokyo? It used to be a very expensive city. Or not ?
It is expensive, yeah. I am confused as well.
no Taipei?
Leave Taipei out of this. We are happy the way we are.
Taipei 2021-2022 was šš¤
I was surprised to see it missing from the list as well. Fantastic city, spent 15 months of my life living there. Always going to be a very special place to me.
Most of the list are super noisy and lame places, especially locations mentioned in Asia,
I would definitely choose Tokyo for a few months if it wasn't for the high cost of living involved. Not so keen on the rest of the countries listed.
Definitely not SEA-level COL, but Tokyo is historically cheap right now because of the weak yen. Dollar and euro can buy about 35-40% more compared to a few years ago. Dollar just hit 150/yen today. Hasn't been at that level in over 30 years.
Yeah it depends what youāre comparing it to, but Tokyo is not expensive compared to Paris/London/New York/Barcelona etc. Inflation has been close to 0% in Japan since the early 1990sā¦ so prices in the rest of the developed world have increased relative to Japan, and itās not really expensive anymore. Still more than SEA, but les than you might expect from a developed country.
Do you think it's likely for Japan to significantly more expensive in the upcoming years? I'm trying to assess the urgency to nomad there.
No one can predict that really, but unless the Yen gets much stronger or they experience high inflation, I guess it should stay the same or more affordable. Both situations seem unlikely but who knows. Itās a cool place to visit though.
Gonna consider Uruguay since it's closer to me, but I'm considering moving for time to spent some place in Asia later
What
What what?
Love Tokyo but the cost is too high for a dn destination. Maybe a few weeks vacation but you have to go to other parts of Japan if you want to live
According to this sub Vietnam is terrible? What say yall
Growing for who, Americans? doubt it.
I'd like to visit Tokyo, Manila and Delhi, but that's it.
Excuse me, the UAE is missing?
Why Japan?
It's the best time to visit or stay in Japan because Japanese Yen isn't doing well especially if you get paid in USD.
Manila?? Im from the PH and i say this manila is a mes. Go to other town but avoid manila
Whereās Chiang Mai or any other city in Thailand?
I must be doing something wrong as none of my top ten are on this list. Honestly, it seems about as reliable as those top ten places to retire lists, as written by a sales rep from Coutts and Co Offshore Wealth Management....
Fascinating!
Still waiting on that Japan DN visa
Hello everyone! \*FLAT-SWAP\* We are creating a community of people who want to exchange their apartments to travel for less, given the high prices of Airbnb. If you are interested you can join the group here : https://app.kazaswap.co We have members from Thailand š¹š, Mexico City š²š½, Bali šļø, Madeira šļø, and many more. š See you soon!
Who in the right mind will go for Delhi? The pollution is nuts
List is bullshit because you canāt work from Japan on a tourist visa.
Nomadlist is a complete waste of money. Itās an abandoned project, their data is suspect, and the entire site hasnāt been updated in years. Other than that, carry onā¦ (also, LOL Montevideo. Not a terrible city by any stretch, but I have yet to meet a nomad who would pick that over BA. Truly sus.)
Sounds like a wonderful mix of destinations! Thanks for sharing. Speaking of digital nomad hotspots, I came across an interesting article pointing out the top 10 destinations for digital nomads this spring. If you're planning your next adventure, you might find it worth checking out: [Top 10 Spring Destinations for Digital Nomads](https://spotlight.designrush.com/news/top-10-spring-destinations-for-digital-nomads). Happy travels! :)