3.29/5
306 reviews
Photo by Michele Bitetto via Unsplash

Palermo

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great

nice

food

locals

dirty

walking

extremely

quality

center

beautiful

cheap

towns

good

dysfunctional

travel

110

basically

enchanting

Sicily, particularly Palermo, seems to be a polarizing destination for digital nomads. Some appreciate its low cost of living, friendly locals, and great food—especially affordable dining options like pizza and traditional dishes. Neighborhoods like Carini are mentioned positively for being peaceful and good for focused work, and the expat scene is supported by a few active community members that help people connect, especially in Palermo.

However, many reviewers cite serious drawbacks to living in Sicily. Common complaints include widespread filth and garbage, especially in Palermo, making the city feel neglected and even unsafe—especially after dark or off the main streets. There's also limited nightlife, with few clubs or late-night venues, and the lack of a nearby beach is a downside. Difficulties integrating due to the low level of English spoken is another recurring issue. Quality of amenities and infrastructure was notably poor according to several reviews.

Some reviews note that while there are beautiful spots and historic areas, the overall experience of living there does not compare well with other parts of Europe. Therefore, while it may be fine for a short visit, many do not recommend it as a longer-term nomad base.

AI-generated summary of reviews
1 year ago

I mostly agree to another negative feedback, although I don't think it's really 1/10 city, but overall, yes, it's also one of most unlikable cities I've been nomading to (and I've been to basically all countries of Europe as of now). I guess "enchanting atmosphere", as one of reviewers said is represented in a way of heaps of garbage everywhere, groups of sketchy immigrant people right on the main walking street (I've been asked for money two times already there by beggars) and I really lol'd at notion of "it felt extremely safe" in another review - I'm a tall man, and still I don't feel comfortable walking around a city in evenings apart from the main streets, gave me really "i'm-not-feeling-that-safe-here" vibes. And the best quality grocery shop in all center is this Lidl sh*thole? I can't even buy quality food...

And also yes, basically all the people here just don't speak English.

And I can't deny - there are quite beautiful places in Palermo, nice squares and there are cozy streets, and beautiful churches, there are definitely places to see and visit, but nevertheless... For example Trapani felt more safe and less dirty (even still quite dirty tho).

3 years ago

Was there May 2023 for a month. Nice city, great expat group held by Piero/Davide/Angelo. If you are looking for meeting people I really advise to get in touch with them - you can find on FB.
Dolce vita with extremely cheap food in restaurants (excellent pizza for less than 5 euros). I found the city very typical and beautiful, the weather was great too.
3 drawbacks in my opinion:
- no night club (at this period at least) / big party - only bars.
- no beach very close to the city center (closest is Mondello)
- if you do not speak italian at all you might struggle a lot to integrate with locals.

3 years ago

Carini, a serene neighborhood near Palermo, Sicily, is a hidden gem for digital nomads seeking a peaceful retreat with ample work opportunities. The town's enchanting atmosphere and proximity to nature make it an ideal choice for those looking to focus on their work while enjoying the tranquility of their surroundings.

3 years ago

Palermo is waaaaay cheaper than this. Lived here for two months and loved it! You need to get in touch with locals because some more touristic places might get expensive, but I was renting a 70sqm apartment in the city center for less than 500€ (November 2021).

All in all a very good place, great food, friendly locals and nice coworking spaces :)

4 years ago

Worst place I've been to as a nomad. Every person I've met/spoken to also dislikes it and left ASAP. Not sure why anyone would like living here, even the locals all leave if they get a chance to and there are no expats, just overhyped and filled with tourists. It's incredibly dirty, highly dysfunctional (more dysfunctional than in Latin America), it's pricy for the sh*tty quality of everything. Food was not even good even though we only ate at places locals loved and avoided touristic places (was alright but nothing great). The hyped up towns on the island are subpar, you can go anywhere else in Europe and see cuter towns with less tourists, only Taormina was nice enough. Nature was subpar was well (I expected more since I've been around the Mediterranean and most costal areas are very nice). I never say I hated my experience living in a place but I strongly disliked Palermo. Catania looked inhabitable. Remember there is a difference between living somewhere and visiting/travelling in a place. Sicily might be nice to travel around for a bit (I did travel around the island and nothing was remotely impressive though so I'd rather save my time and money and travel in another place), but it's like not liveable at all. I am just shocked at how it is here. This is an honest opinion. Been all over Europe and in Eastern Europe and this place is the most degraded and dysfunctional place. 1/10.

4 years ago

Awesome city! Spent nearly 2 months in Palermo and the area (Nov-Dev). Weather was perfect (especially when comparing to Europe)
Good 1BR apartments can be found at at < $1,000/mo ( in the central area ). Internet can be a hit or miss, I lucked a 80/80 Mpbs.
There's a cool (and free) coworking space (Magneti Cowork). Great city to just roam around walking, there are nice areas along with multiple old markets and many places to get a good bite/drink.
Had a chance to hang with a bunch of local people, all were really really nice.

The old town area is great to stay at (anywhere between the train station and the politeama theater).
The city can be a little dirty (trash overload or dog piles at times) but shouldn't be a concern. (Crime shouldn't be either, it felt extremely safe)
Bottom line - very cheap (for EU), warm in the winter (again, relative to Europe), great people, great local food, bars.

7 years ago

Highly underrated. Lived here for 1.5 months, fantastic place, very cheap (155 euro/month rent on the East side). Sicilians have great food and are very friendly.

(Connect with me: scaur.nz)

8 years ago

✅ Very affordable

✅ Friendly people

✅ Great food

✅ Fast internet

✅ Warm now

✅ Good air quality on average

✅ Many Nomads.com members have been

✅ Spacious and not crowded

✅ Very easy to do business

✅ High quality of education

✅ Good hospitals

✅ Roads are very safe

✅ Freedom of speech

✅ Democratic

✅ People can speak basic English

✅ Safe for women

✅ Family friendly

✅ (Medical) marijuana MAY be legal, unenforced or decriminalized (always double check this)

❌ Very dirty

❌ Feels unsafe

❌ English not widely spoken

❌ Not suitable for nightlife

❌ Poor quality infrastructure

❌ Very expensive

❌ Not very safe

❌ Not much to do

❌ Gets cold in the winter

❌ Not many Nomads.com members right now

❌ Difficult to make friends

❌ Hostile towards LGBTQ+

❌ Many people smoke tobacco

Jan

Feb

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Apr

May

Jun

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Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Feels (median)

1254°
cool

1457°
cool

1559°
cool

2170°
mild

2781°
warm

3290°
hot

3595°
hot

2984°
warm

2068°
mild

1864°
cool

1152°
cool

Real (median)

1254°
cool

1457°
cool

1558°
cool

2068°
mild

2679°
warm

3085°
very warm

3188°
hot

2780°
warm

1966°
mild

1763°
cool

1253°
cool

Humidity

damp
73%

damp
74%

damp
71%

nice
66%

nice
60%

nice
59%

nice
58%

nice
69%

nice
73%

damp
74%

Most common

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

Rain

rainy
74mm

dry
39mm

rainy
69mm

dry
40mm

dry
12mm

dry
7mm

dry
6mm

dry
2mm

rainy
67mm

rainy
86mm

rainy
69mm

rainy
73mm

Cloud

cloudy
64%

pockets
32%

pockets
35%

cloudy
54%

pockets
43%

pockets
29%

pockets
13%

pockets
41%

cloudy
51%

cloudy
61%

cloudy
63%

Air quality

okay
53 US AQI

Sun

safe
2 UVI

safe
3 UVI

seek shade
4 UVI

seek shade
6 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
9 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

seek shade
6 UVI

seek shade
4 UVI

safe
2 UVI

Remote workers

1,680 people

1,629 people

1,400 people

2,700 people

3,000 people

1,650 people

1,271 people

2,000 people

1,636 people

2,127 people

1,714 people

1,050 people

Green is good. Red is bad. Values shown are the medians of all daily highs in a month based on past few years, not necessarily current numbers. Remote worker count is estimated based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members.

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Current weather data from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0)

Based on Palermo's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:

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✈️34min

$5,286 / mo

16 Mbps

Italy

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 19° 66° 19° 66° AQI 66 😷

✈️34min

$5,286 / mo

🌇 Also went here127 people

Athens

Greece

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 22° 72° 22° 71° AQI 63 😷

✈️1h

$3,731 / mo

🌇 Also went here112 people

Members who will be here soon

Members who have been here

Values shown are estimated visits by traveling remote workers based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Visits to a place are only counted once per year per user, even if they visit more in that year. Visits are also normalized by overall trips added per month on the site, so if site usage goes up or down it does not affect trends. Not all digital nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

The chart below shows visitors by nationality normalized for population size. This means we take all trips logged on Nomads.com, check which country of origin the user is from, then divide that total visit count by the country of origin's population. If we didn't, it'd just show the big countries like US, Brazil and India always on top. Instead, this shows which nationalities worldwide proportionally visit more or less, which is more useful.

🎒 Nomad Score™	3.29/5 (Rank #336) 306 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍6 liked it 👎2 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Good
👶 Family score	Okay
🎒 Community score	Okay
🤯 Overcrowding score	0% is nomad here
💵 Cost	🧐 Pricey: $3,874 / mo
📡 Internet	😡 Slow: 19 Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Okay
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🌞 Perfect: 22°C72°F (feels 22°C72°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	😊 Comfy: 66%
❄️ % of buildings with AC	😥 Medium: 60%
💨 Air quality (annual)	🌱 Good: 53 US AQI
👌 Safety	Okay
👩 Safe for women	Okay
🌈 Safe for LGBTQ+	Bad
🤮 Food safety*	Great
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Great
🤝 Lack of racism*	Okay
🎓 Education level*	High
⚡️ Power grid	Great
🌊 Resilience to climate change	Okay
💰 Income level*	Rich: $2,154 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Okay
😤 People density	🧘‍♀️ Low density: 4k ppl/km² (1 per 15x15m)
🚶 Walkability	Great
🚦 Traffic safety*	Okay
✈️ Airline scores*	Great
🧳 Lost luggage*	Great
🏥 Hospitals	Good
😄 Happiness*	Bad
🍸 Nightlife	Okay
📶 Free WiFi in city	Okay
🖥 Places to work from	Great
❄️ A/C or heating	Okay
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Okay
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Good
🎅 Startup Score	Okay

🌍 Continent	Europe
🚩 Country	Italy
🗓️ Average trip length	9 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	19 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	☀️ 22°C 72°F + 😊 Comfy (66%) = feels 22°C 72°F
💨 Air quality (annual avg)	👎😷 53 US AQI
🔌 Power	230V 50Hz
🚕 Best taxi app*	Uber
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
🏧 Suggested ATM take out:	EUR 100 = USD 112
💸 Tipping	No
💳 Cashless	💵 No, cash only (esp. for foreigners)
☕️ Best coffee place	Cioccolateria Lorenzo
🏪 Best 24/7 coffee place	PMO
🚰 Tap water	👌 Yes, safe to drink
🦷 Fluoride added	🚫 No fluoride added
🪨 Water hardness	Very hard · 298 mg/L
♻️ Return rate	8% of visitors return
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	670,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$25,850 / year
😤 Population density	🧘‍♀️ not busy: 15x15m (225m²) per person
👫 Gender ratio (population)	👨 45% 👱‍♀️ 55%
👫 Gender ratio (young adults)	👨 50% 👱‍♀️ 50%
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 75% 👱‍♀️ 25%
🏞 Foreign land ownership allowed	Yes
⛪️ Religious government	Religious
💻 Online electronics shop	Amazon
🏠 Apartment listings	Airbnb
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	KLM
🏥 Best hospital	UPMC ITALY

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$3,874 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$2,461 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$3,804 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$1,087 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$2,379 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$4,029 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$739 / month
🏠 Median home price	$201,981
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$111 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$132 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$136 / month
🍛 Dinner	$15
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$2
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$6
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$2
👩‍🏫 International school	$5,611 / year
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi)	$4 / trip

Palermo

600 remote workers in Palermo now, of which 1+ members checked in (some members are set to private)

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