Buenos Aires, Argentina
These are just five of many pro-digital nomad cities in the world, but if you’re right at the start of your new career, we think traveling between these five will take up at least your first two years – and perhaps even longer than that.
A few years ago, freelancing started to become an increasingly popular way for self-employed people to make money. So long as you have a skill, and you can find people willing to pay you for that skill, you can set your own hours, become your own boss, and work on your own terms. You might not have the job security and pension package that would come with traditional employment, but for the millions of people who work as full-time freelancers all over the world, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.
More recently, freelancers have become digital nomads. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, a digital nomad is someone who travels around the world with their laptop, working from whatever location they wish to, and taking in some of the world’s greatest sights while they’re at it. There are more ways to make money as a digital nomad than you probably imagine there are, and young people are particularly likely to embrace it as a temporary way of life.
If the idea of becoming a digital nomad appeals to you, you might be wondering which cities offer you the best ‘digital nomad package’ in terms of living conditions, cost of living, and resources. We’re here to help you with your decision making process. These are five great cities that are being lived in, worked in, and loved by digital nomads right now.
Buenos Aires, Argentina
The big appeal of Argentina's capital cities for digital nomads is its relaxed approach to regulations for business owners – and as a digital nomad, you're a business owner even if you're working alone. This beautiful location combines a vibrant nightlife, incredible scenery, and a wide array of co-working spaces in city center locations. Renting a private apartment in the middle of Buenos Aires is unlikely to cost you more than four hundred dollars so long as you're prepared to settle for a one-bedroom setup. Palermo and Recoleta are particularly likely to welcome you as a young single traveler and are considered to be the safest districts in the city. If you want to travel around and do some sightseeing, a monthly pass for the city's Metro service costs just fifteen dollars. Free WiFi is everywhere, and the weather is generally great. Food and drink might be a little more expensive than you'd ideally like, but there has to be a drawback somewhere!
Playa del Carmen, Mexico
Digital nomads tend to work to a budget, and the majority of that budget will be spent on food and accommodation. That's why Playa del Carmen holds such great appeal. If you're not overly familiar with Mexican cuisine, you might have the impression that Mexican menus are overly dependent on chili. That's the feeling you'd get if you're an online slots player, and you've played some of the more popular Mexican-themed online slots like 'Hot Chilli' and 'Chilli Heat' on websites such as Money Reels. Don't pay attention to them. The representations of Mexicans and Mexico at online slots websites aren't as flattering as they should be! The average cost of a meal in Playa del Carmen is around three dollars. If you want a beer with your meal, it probably won't cost you much more than a dollar.
Accommodation is a little more expensive, with an average price of $650 per month, but you can solve that problem by staying in a hotel instead. That's unlikely to cost you any more than one hundred dollars per week. You'll also be in the same time zone as the United States of America, which (for Americans at least) makes it easier to stay in touch with people back home.
Belgrade, Serbia
Belgrade is often named as the friendliest city in the world, and it deserves to hold that reputation. The people here love visitors and will go out of their way to help you if they see you lost on the city's streets. They also embrace their status as a go-to destination for freelancers, with a lot of co-working spaces in convenient locations. One-bedroom apartments cost an average of four hundred dollars each month (a price we're seeing a lot in this article!), and you can get to most places in the city on foot. The average cost of a meal is six dollars, and if you're looking for entertainment, you'll find the bars and nightclubs full of similarly-minded young people looking for fun and adventures. Just be sure to bring your travel insurance up to date before you arrive because healthcare here isn't as easy to access as it is in other places.
Medellin, Colombia
If we were writing this list a year ago, Medellin wouldn't be on it. The city has become the world's newest digital nomad hotspot during the past twelve months and has a reputation for nurturing entrepreneurs. You'll find that the city has plenty of English speakers, both native and non-native, so making friends and communicating with people shouldn't be an issue. Medellin also has the advantage of being one of very few digital nomad destinations where monthly apartment rentals fall below the four hundred dollar mark, which helps out enormously with the cost of living. There's a Metro service to help you get around, but taxis are so cheap that it often makes more sense just to jump in an Uber. This is a large city, and yet it costs less than ten dollars to cross it in a taxi from one side to the other. Meal prices come in at around the three-dollar mark, and the weather is so good that the Medellin's nickname is "The City of Eternal Spring."
Koh Lanta, Thailand
Thailand is so popular with digital nomads that it's almost become a cliche to mental it, but it would be wrong of us not to do so. The country was one of the first in the world to embrace this emerging industry, and Koh Lanta is probably the best of the many cities that welcome young entrepreneurs. Expats are everywhere, the co-working spaces are full of friendly, supportive people, and a one-bedroom studio apartment can cost as little as three hundred dollars per month. If you don't like the idea of living in a studio, you can probably get a month's stay in a hotel for even less than that. There's no taxi or bus service here, but you can get around by tuk-tuk if your legs are too tired for a long walk. If you're happy to eat street food for every meal of the day, you'll never spend more than two dollars per serving. It's a beautiful, peaceful, unspoiled destination. It might not have a thriving nightclub scene, but you can find that elsewhere if you want. Koh Lanta is a place for the dreamers.
These are just five of many pro-digital nomad cities in the world, but if you're right at the start of your new career, we think traveling between these five will take up at least your first two years – and perhaps even longer than that. Happy traveling!
