“Where’s the best place for me to live as a digital nomad?”
“Where should I travel to next?”

We understand why these are such popular questions, but to be honest, it’s hard to tell someone where to go & know that it’s going to be a good fit. The good news is that we can help you pick your next destination.

Location Scouting

Whether it’s a place you’ll call home for two weeks or two years, having the freedom to choose where to live – out of all the cities in the world – is one of the most exciting and rewarding aspects of being a digital nomad. Bangkok, Bali, Buenos Aires, or Budapest: the choice is yours. But it can be hard to choose.

In the self-assessment, you reflected on many aspects of both the digital nomad experience that appeals to you as well as other factors in your personal and work life that need to be taken into account.

Ensuring that you have a clear understanding of what you need (and what you don’t) is critical to setting yourself up for success. To sustain the digital nomad lifestyle, it’s important to put yourself in a location and environment where you’re happy and productive.

This isn’t to suggest you only visit destinations with the same comforts of home and only in familiar environments – a major draw of this lifestyle is stepping outside your world and into a new one. But understanding your dealbreakers and learning how to adapt are both key to having a rewarding and long-term lifestyle as a digital nomad.

Where Should I Start?

For your first location, in particular, it’s wise to choose somewhere that will set a positive tone for the experience and allow you to transition effectively. As you adjust to your new lifestyle, you can better identify your future needs as well as where you can push yourself outside your current comfort zone.

The idea is to start in a place where your enthusiasm for your new lifestyle can shift into momentum to continue it through the challenging days, weeks, and months that will inevitably come. The honeymoon period will end (because this is still “real life,” even if it looks different), and if you want to make this a long-term lifestyle, you’ll want to start with a solid foundation.

Define what you want out of the nomadic experience. Is it a home for several months or even a year? Or are you looking for many different locations during a month’s time? Make your list of all the qualifications of an ideal location and your daily lifestyle.

Parameters of a Place

First, you have to define what rubric you’ll use to evaluate destinations.

Weather

What is your ideal climate? What seasons do you enjoy – and what weather makes you miserable?

Part of the benefit of living where you want is living there when you want. You can help ensure the reality will match your imagination if you plan to be somewhere during the season you’re excited to experience.

Be sure to check the weather report and the general climate of the city or region to ensure you’re likely to land during a pleasant period – and don’t forget that seasons are flipped on the other side of the equator.

January in New York may be freezing while Rio will be blazing hot. Southeast Asia and India have monsoon and rainy seasons just as Europe and North America have white winters. Both can impact your daily activities or significantly affect travel and lifestyle options.

You’ll also need to determine whether you’ll be planning to “follow summer” (or another season) or live in ranging climates because that will impact your packing list. Prioritizing certain climates (warmer ones in particular) can reduce the volume and weight of your luggage significantly.

Wikipedia offers high-level summaries of climate data for cities and countries, and Climate List offers an interactive tool and comparison between different locations in different months.

Political Climate

The political climate and activities in regions and cities can impact both travel plans and daily life, so it’s important to take that into account.

While it’s wonderful to challenge your comfort zones while exploring the world, know what is reasonable for you. There’s always a balance when traveling in knowing what is safe, what is manageable given certain precautions, and what is too risky.

For US Citizens, you can register with the STEP (Smart Traveler Enrollment Program):

The Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) is a free service to allow U.S. citizens and nationals traveling abroad to enroll their trip with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate.

On the other hand, it’s important to balance those fears and risks with knowing the reality of the world – anywhere. We feel comfortable and confident in our home environment, but it may not actually be measurably more safe than foreign cities and countries. Perhaps we simply know how to avoid unsafe situations or areas at home.

Learning about the local culture and common challenges means you can often adapt to a reasonably safe lifestyle in what may initially seem like an overwhelming or risky environment. This is why research is key – know the facts and stats, understand the current political climate, be realistic about what is part of international travel, and define where to draw the line for your safety.

Connectivity

Know what you need to work is key to keeping yourself productive and your lifestyle sustainable. Determine your bandwidth requirements, and then evaluate internet and cellular data options for the countries and cities to decide where you can (or can’t) work.

It’s always important to check the average internet upload and download speeds as your ability to have video calls and manage work files will be critical to your professional success as a nomad.

Beyond the bandwidth issue, you should consider the type of work environment you need and enjoy – and not everyone wants to (or can) be on a beach with their laptop. Certain cities and locations may have coworking spaces that offer the amenities of an office and a more professional environment, which can be beneficial from a productivity and social perspective.

Think through where and how you like to work and what your technical needs are, then use that to evaluate where you can live (and where you may want to visit during slow periods or vacations).

Depending on how often you’ll be changing locations as well as taking “side trips,” you may need to choose easily accessible places only – or you may be able to live in more remote areas.

Friends & Family

You may be enticed to visit and live in locations where you know people. This is an excellent way to find a destination to start in, and having that “safety net” can help you overcome the initial inertia of picking a place and making such a big change.

However, as you become more acclimated to perpetual travel, consider traveling solo and venturing to new-to-you (and your network) places.

Being in a new environment on your own can be insightful and allow you to improve and grow as a person. It also allows (or forces) you to find ways to meet new people and establish new relationships.

Being vulnerable is a scary feeling, and we tend to make most life decisions to actively avoid it. But it’s also where we find personal growth, and becoming a digital nomad is often about more than being able to work from anywhere – it’s about discovering more about who you are and who you want to become.

Incorporating some solo travel is often a critical part of that self-discovery process. It also encourages you to fulfill your ambitions for adventure as well as meet new friends and potential collaborators.

Culture & Community

Discovering a culture is an exciting part of being a digital nomad, and while it’s generally positive to learn and encounter new things, it’s helpful to plan the cultural environment and type of community you want to live in.

The chapters on Lifestyle and Local Culture dive into that more, but it’s good to keep in mind what culture you can and want to live in when figuring out where you want to go.

Are you trying to practice a certain language? Do you have strong dietary restrictions or preferences? Are you curious about specific cultures? Do you enjoy certain outdoor activities or want to live in a particular geographic region?

It’s important to consider both culture and community from a local as well as a digital nomad and expat perspective. Different cities and locations may be easier to integrate into quickly while others may require longer to understand and find your footing in. You may want to be around an obvious and accessible expat / digital nomad community, or you might want to find somewhere less popular or populated.

Stay Organized

Outline your preferences, and consider making a rubric so you know what items are must-haves versus negotiables.

Once you start doing your research, figure out which application (Trello, Google Docs, a spreadsheet, notes, etc) allows you to record your research of different locations. (See the Digital Nomad Tool Kit in the book for organizational tool links.)

It’s helpful to keep track of both the locations you are interested in as well as ones you think you’ll want to avoid, and you’ll want to note key variables and data points for each for easy comparison and future planning.

Key Takeaways: Location Scouting

• Define your must-have list for your digital nomad destinations (considering personal preferences, work needs, climate, travel, and other factors).
• Research locations that meet your top requirements.
• Review nomad hotspots and compare with your priorities and needs to determine which you may want to visit and when.
• Find a system to organize your research and keep track of potential options.

Note: This post is almost the entire chapter on Location Scouting from our book – if you found it helpful, then imagine what you’ll learn from the whole guide! 🙂