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Ask HN: Digital nomads, where's the best place in the world to work from?

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Re: Ask HN: Digital nomads, where's the best place in the world to work from?

#21

Post by trcarney »

mooreds wrote: post #11
namelosw wrote: post #7

I was fancying all those digital nomads crowded places. But after I thought about it seriously, I found there are a lot of wonderful domestic places (or nearby countries if you're living in a small country). Usually, those places speak similar languages, cultures are different but mutually understandable so I can live in those places and maximize the joy of living. There are nice and cheap places all over the world,…

> Seriously, remote-hostile places (expensive, terrible network, dangerous) are pretty easy to identify, and they are much fewer than remote-friendly places. What's an example? I can think of dangerous countries, but how would you find out about a terrible network?

By network, I'm assuming internet. If that is the case, speedtest.net keeps a list of average internet speeds around the world. I don't know if it is super accurate but it should be enough to tell you if a place has good internet or if it is terrible.

https://www.speedtest.net/global-index

Re: Ask HN: Digital nomads, where's the best place in the world to work from?

#23

Post by llampx »

namelosw wrote: post #7

I was fancying all those digital nomads crowded places. But after I thought about it seriously, I found there are a lot of wonderful domestic places (or nearby countries if you're living in a small country). Usually, those places speak similar languages, cultures are different but mutually understandable so I can live in those places and maximize the joy of living. There are nice and cheap places all over the world,…

I think it depends on where you live and what you want to have in your new location, or what you are running away from.

I live in Germany and I am running away from the weather, so I have to look at locations at least a 5 hour flight away if I want good weather all year round.

Re: Ask HN: Digital nomads, where's the best place in the world to work from?

#24

Post by crossroadsguy »

llampx wrote: post #23
namelosw wrote: post #7

I was fancying all those digital nomads crowded places. But after I thought about it seriously, I found there are a lot of wonderful domestic places (or nearby countries if you're living in a small country). Usually, those places speak similar languages, cultures are different but mutually understandable so I can live in those places and maximize the joy of living. There are nice and cheap places all over the world,…

I think it depends on where you live and what you want to have in your new location, or what you are running away from. I live in Germany and I am running away from the weather, so I have to look at locations at least a 5 hour flight away if I want good weather all year round.

Are there such places in Europe? Spain? Portugal?

And by good weather year round you meant warm or non-cold/wet weather, didn’t you?

Re: Ask HN: Digital nomads, where's the best place in the world to work from?

#25

Post by vineyardmike »

Not sure how’s you work out proper network but a coworking cruise sounds ideal.

Spend a few days at sea working, then dock and explore for a day or two. Then a few more days working.

Of course it’s an environmental nightmare but it seems nice.

Re: Ask HN: Digital nomads, where's the best place in the world to work from?

#26

Post by namelosw »

mooreds wrote: post #11
namelosw wrote: post #7

I was fancying all those digital nomads crowded places. But after I thought about it seriously, I found there are a lot of wonderful domestic places (or nearby countries if you're living in a small country). Usually, those places speak similar languages, cultures are different but mutually understandable so I can live in those places and maximize the joy of living. There are nice and cheap places all over the world,…

> Seriously, remote-hostile places (expensive, terrible network, dangerous) are pretty easy to identify, and they are much fewer than remote-friendly places. What's an example? I can think of dangerous countries, but how would you find out about a terrible network?

Sorry for being not clear, by the network I meant the Internet connection.

I would try to Google first to have a general idea, there are usually many complaints if the connection is bad or problematic. Also, websites like Nomad List scores Internet connection for most of the cities (gladly it's not behind the paywall). This should clear major pitfalls already.

In the end, I would travel there to see for myself for two or three days. It should be easy because it's domestic or neighboring countries. Not only for the Internet connection but for everything to see if I really want to stay here for a while.

Re: Ask HN: Digital nomads, where's the best place in the world to work from?

#27

Post by gregjor »

vineyardmike wrote: post #25

Not sure how’s you work out proper network but a coworking cruise sounds ideal. Spend a few days at sea working, then dock and explore for a day or two. Then a few more days working. Of course it’s an environmental nightmare but it seems nice.

Several companies have done this, just Google "digital nomad cruise."

As soon as the DN thing got a little popular scammers set up shop and left some DN groups hanging with no hotels or transportation. Be careful and do your research before signing up.

For me the best part of the DN lifestyle was doing it on my own. I didn't join groups or seek out DN hot-spots, but I met lots of great nomads and non-nomads just bouncing around to places I found interesting. The trick is to start conversations with people you meet. I was always amazed at the DNs sitting in Chiang Mai or Prague coffee shops with headphones on furiously blogging away about how lonely the DN lifestyle is.

Re: Ask HN: Digital nomads, where's the best place in the world to work from?

#28

Post by gregjor »

WorldPeas wrote: post #8

I've heard the Philippines are a pretty good place to stretch a buck... if you can stomach their draconian free speech restrictions and authoritarian politics

As an American who lived in Thailand for five years, with their draconian free speech restrictions and authoritarian regime, I think it's easy to just ignore it. You aren't part of the culture, the politics are opaque, there's no reason to form an opinion and go around telling everyone about it. I found it refreshing to live in the fog of not understanding or caring about Thai politics -- it let me focus on making friends and having fun.

Re: Ask HN: Digital nomads, where's the best place in the world to work from?

#29

Post by namelosw »

llampx wrote: post #23
namelosw wrote: post #7

I was fancying all those digital nomads crowded places. But after I thought about it seriously, I found there are a lot of wonderful domestic places (or nearby countries if you're living in a small country). Usually, those places speak similar languages, cultures are different but mutually understandable so I can live in those places and maximize the joy of living. There are nice and cheap places all over the world,…

I think it depends on where you live and what you want to have in your new location, or what you are running away from. I live in Germany and I am running away from the weather, so I have to look at locations at least a 5 hour flight away if I want good weather all year round.

> what you want to have in your new location, or what you are running away from.

Agreed, that's definitely the idea. It's just I found many people stuck with the stereotypical idea of digital nomads who work in Bali, all sunshine and beaches, which makes the first step harder. In fact, being a digital nomad is much easier than that - just find a place that is better than the current, experience things, and then repeat the process.

Also, many Mediterranean cities have pretty decent weather all year round for my taste. I'm not sure if that counts for you :)

Re: Ask HN: Digital nomads, where's the best place in the world to work from?

#30

Post by fy20 »

crossroadsguy wrote: post #24
llampx wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it depends on where you live and what you want to have in your new location, or what you are running away from. I live in Germany and I am running away from the weather, so I have to look at locations at least a 5 hour flight away if I want good weather all year round.

Are there such places in Europe? Spain? Portugal? And by good weather year round you meant warm or non-cold/wet weather, didn’t you?

The south coast of Portugal and the east coast of Spain have the mildest winters in mainland Europe, but it can still get a bit nippy (15c/60F highs in the day) during the coldest parts of the year. If you want to travel a bit further the Canary Islands will be warmer.

Compared to northern Europe where this year has seen 5 months of winter, that's like paradise though :-)

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