Over the course of 4 years of working remotely, we’ve been able to test out living and working (and teaching online) from many cities around the world. We’ve tried many of the Digital Nomad “hotspots,” and we’ve ventured out and tried places with little to no digital nomad scene.

This list features the locations that stood out to us as being to best for working online; for our budget, internet, climate, community and scene.

Each location includes information on budget, style, climate, internet situation, who will like it and why we liked it. We have lived in and worked remotely from all of these for at least 1 month; some for up to 3 months. So this list is based on our own experiences in each city, in no particular order.

Budget

Low ($)

Average monthly rent for a private short-term apartment: $300-500/ave
A cheap lunch: $2-4USD

Midrange ($$-$$$)

Average monthly rent for a private short-term apartment: $500-$700
A typical cheap lunch $5-7USD

High End ($$$$)

Average monthly rent for a private short-term apartment: $1000+
A cheap lunch: $10-15+

Internet Sitch

1 – Cinch; no issues finding stable, blazing fast internet

2 – Mixed: Mostly fine, but have a backup just in case

3 – Challenging; not for the newbie DN

Keep in mind these types of lists are quite subjective and completely dependent on where we, personally, have gone. We still haven’t ventured into Central or Eastern Europe, Eastern South America or Central or South Africa.

Da Nang, Vietnam

I mean, tell me you don’t want to work from here…

Budget

Low ($)

*Could comfortably live off $1000/month total.

Style

Chill, beachy, tropical, adventure, healthy, foodie

Climate

Hot, tropical most of the year. Monsoon season starts near the end of September, peaks in October and November, tapering off in December, when the weather is a bit cooler. January can still be a bit wet and cooler, but from February on temperatures can be quite warm and are drier.

Internet Sitch

2- Mixed: While most of the time we were fine, we did verify good speeds (50mbps) & a private router before booking and often found that plugging in via ethernet cable made a huge difference for stability. If you rely on a good connection for your job, always have a backup sim to use as a hotspot for random power outages or internet issues. Mobile data is cheap, easy and plentiful.

Who will dig it:
Adventurous people
People looking to get off the beaten path
Foodies or those interested in South East Asian food.
Beach bums

Why We Loved it:

We loved it so much we wrote a whole post about it! See: Is Da Nang, Vietnam the next digital nomad hotspot?

Digital Nomad Community

We worked from A Space. Also, check out the regular digital nomad meetups at My Casa; join the Digital Nomads in Da Nang and Hoi An group on Facebook for more information.

Hualien, Taiwan

Coastal Hualien; a bike/walking path runs along the entire coastal border of the city.

Budget: $-$$

Style: Healthy, Chill, Beachy, Mountains, Natural, Fresh, Tropical, Productive, Adventure, Foodie

Climate:

Humid subtropical

Internet Sitch:

Cinch. Taiwan, as a whole, has fabulous internet.

Who will dig it:
Nature Lovers
Those looking for a laid back midsize city
Travelers looking for off-the-beaten-path spots
People wanting to live by both the sea and the mountains
Bicyclists
Adventure junkies
Couples

Why We Loved it:

Hualien is a charming little city on Taiwan's ridiculously beautiful east coast. The town itself has almost everything you’d need–such as nice apartment rentals, a selection of restaurants, a lovely seaside walking/running path, good internet–while also serving as the ideal base from which to explore the amazing nearby beaches, trails, and landscapes, including Taroko National Park.

We are often happiest when we can be near nature and Hualien definitely allows for this. We rented bikes and used them to get around and explore miles of paved trails. Taiwan, in general, is one of our favorite countries for working while traveling, and Hualien deserves some of your time.

Hualien is definitely not a digital nomad hotspot by any means as there aren’t any coworking spaces yet. If you are the type of digital nomad that looks for a large DN community–this is not for you. Taipei, Kaohsiung, and Tainan are likely better options if you are traveling alone as there is more of an expat/nomad community there.

We wrote an entire post about why we love Taiwan: Check it out: 7 Reasons to Add Taiwan to your Bucket List

Digital Nomad Community

Depending on your style, this could be a big downside of Hualien–there isn’t really a digital nomad community. Try joining the “Living Hualien” facebook group, for more information or to learn more about the city. If you prefer a bustling big city, we loved Taipei too. You can check out Impact Hub Taipei for a coworking scene. Taiwan is one of our favorite places in the world, and we think there’s definitely potential for a bigger DN and coworking scene in the future.

Guangzhou, China

Lovely riverfront walking path in Guangzhou.

Budget: $$

Style:

Productive, adventure, culture, historical, foodie

Climate:

Guangzhou, being in Southern China, is warm and humid year round, with a humid subtropical climate. We visited in May and found it to be warm and a little wet, but generally pretty nice.

Internet Sitch: Mostly a cinch. Our airbnb had 50 mbp internet and we worked from a coworking space with much faster. As always, double check before committing to a place if internet is important for your work.

Who will dig it:
Big city lovers
Those interested in Chinese culture
People looking for something different
Foodies

Why We Loved it:

Guangzhou is a fascinating Chinese city. It’s all at once historical, old and traditional; yet modern, shiny, new. Though it's definitely a mega city, it has fabulous city parks, and is extremely pedestrian friendly with walking paths, sidewalks, foot bridges and a very well connected public metro. Its close to nature reserves and impressive amusement parks. It’s got that great southern Chinese cuisine; classic and flavorful Cantonese dishes, dumplings, dim sum and great seafood.

When the city overwhelms you, you can take a 3 hour high speed train to gorgeous rural countryside and visit Yangshou or Guilin.

And if or when China becomes a bit too much, It’s super well connected to Hong Kong. This fact also makes obtaining a visa quite easy. Just fly into Hong Kong, apply for a visa, use the wait time to explore Hong Kong, then take a high speed train into Guangzhou. It’s only about 2 hours away.

Just don’t forget to download a good VPN…

Digital Nomad Community

We worked from the coworking space in the IFC tower.

You might also enjoy nearby Shenzhen, which is a super modern mega city on the coast next to Hong Kong. We only spent 1 day exploring here, so we cannot vouch for it as a destination. However it has a great reputation for digital nomads and foreigners living in China. We found Guangzhou to have more character.

Medellin, Colombia

Budget:

Between low and midrange- $-$$

Style:

Healthy, Party, Mountains, Fresh, Productive, Social, Adventure, Culture

Climate:

“Spring-like,” rarely ever too hot or too cold.

Internet Sitch:

2- Mixed: Be sure to contact your rental host before verifying your booking to ensure sufficient speeds. We never had issues with ping or stability, however, make sure you get the speeds you need.

Who will dig it:
City lovers who also need nature nearby
Those that are into the nightlife
Socialites
People interested in learning Spanish
Digital nomads and online teachers looking for a community

Why We Loved it:

Colombia is a gem of a country that often gets overlooked or skipped due to it’s violent history. And while things aren’t quite perfect yet, they’ve improved substantially and you’re not likely to run into any trouble.

Medellin has a ton to offer. It’s a gorgeous city nestled between scenic low mountains. There's an easy to use public transport system that makes exploring easy. Colombians are vibrant, lovely, welcoming people. Medellin has great restaurants, a lively nightlife and regular events and festivals. There's already a large digital nomad community with coworking spaces and events.

When you get tired of the city or want an escape, there are countless places within a few hours to check out; picturesque little towns, hiking spots and coffee farms. The Viva Colombia budget airline makes it cheap and easy to fly to other destinations within Colombia such as the Carribean Coast, the Andes region or even the Amazon.

Digital Nomad Community

This is one of Medellin’s strong points. It’s definitely a Latin American hub for digital nomads. Check out the Laureles or Poblado neighborhoods for the highest concentration.