2.74/5
62 reviews
Photo by K. P. D. Madhuka via Unsplash

Matara

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curfew

tuktuk

wifi

good

starts

drivers

super

understand

cost

Weligama can be a reasonable place to live and work as a digital nomad if you take the time to find reliable wifi, which can be a challenge. While the standard of internet isn't high across the board, some accommodations closer to the beach offer decent connections. The midday heat is intense, making it tough to be productive outside during that time. The area tends to feel slow-paced, which might be relaxing to some but frustrating for people looking for efficiency.

Tuktuk drivers are everywhere and often persistently offer rides, which can get annoying quickly. Despite this, most locals are friendly and usually try to help, although English levels can be limited. One of Weligama's strong points is surfing—it's a good spot for learning and improving, thanks to beginner-friendly waves and a relaxed surf culture. Post-COVID curfew, there was a noticeable drop in noise and traffic, making it feel more livable.

Costs are generally lower than places like Chiang Mai, though not drastically so unless sticking to very low-cost meals. If you're planning to work remotely from here, it’s best to either scout ahead for quality internet or invest in your own mobile broadband solution.

AI-generated summary of reviews

Have been in Weligama since Feb 25th and now I'm still here with the COVID-19 curfew going on. Before the curfew starts I was eager to get out of here because 1) it's too hot mid-day 2) tuktuk drivers are waiting around every corner asking "tuktuk?" and always horn at you when you're walking by the street - super annoying and 3) it's difficult to find workable wifi 4) everything just seemed super slow and it was hard to be productive.
But after the curfew starts I actually like it way better because 1) the traffic noise dies and 2) I found myself a place with good wifi right next to the beach. The locals (besides pushy tuktuk drivers) are very friendly though often times their English is too limited to understand you but they still pretend they understand just to be "helpful". It's also a great place for learning to surf (I made some real improvement with my skills).
The nomad cost is not accurate here. Expect similar or slighter lower cost than Chiang Mai, unless you're eating veggie rice and curry every day.
In summary it can be good for living and working if you spend the time to find a place with good wifi or get your own boardband.

5 years ago

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7 years ago

✅ Friendly people

✅ Great surfing

✅ Affordable to live

✅ Pretty safe

✅ Fast internet

✅ Lots of fun stuff to do

✅ Warm now

✅ Warm all year round

✅ Good air quality on average

✅ Nomads.com members liked going here a lot

✅ Spacious and not crowded

✅ High quality of education

✅ Roads are pretty safe

✅ Democratic

✅ Not many people smoke tobacco

✅ Not a lot of alcohol abuse

❌ Very hot mid-day

❌ Pushy tuktuk drivers

❌ Unreliable wifi

❌ Hard to be productive

❌ Freedom of speech is weak

❌ Very sweaty and humid now

❌ Not many Nomads.com members go here

❌ Difficult to do business

❌ Hospitals are bad

❌ People don't speak English well

❌ Not safe for women

❌ Not family friendly

❌ Hostile towards LGBTQ+

❌ Marijuana is illegal

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Feels (median)

33°C / 91°F hot

35°C / 95°F hot

36°C / 97°F hot

33°C / 91°F hot

36°C / 97°F hot

Real (median)

28°C / 82°F
very warm

29°C / 84°F
very warm

28°C / 82°F
very warm

29°C / 84°F
very warm

Humidity

sweaty
87%

sweaty
83%

sweaty
82%

sweaty
86%

sweaty
88%

sweaty
87%

sweaty
88%

sweaty
86%

Most common

☔️ Rain

Rain

rainy
105mm

rainy
79mm

rainy
108mm

rainy
169mm

rainy
237mm

rainy
199mm

rainy
172mm

rainy
199mm

rainy
226mm

rainy
285mm

rainy
308mm

rainy
210mm

Cloud

pockets
50%

pockets
32%

pockets
43%

pockets
39%

cloudy
53%

pockets
49%

cloudy
54%

cloudy
55%

cloudy
51%

cloudy
53%

pockets
41%

Sun

avoid sun
7 UVI

avoid sun
9 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
6 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

avoid sun
6 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

avoid sun
6 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

Remote workers

467 people

475 people

440 people

200 people

0 people

200 people

350 people

200 people

350 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.

If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomads.com's Climate Finder

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

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Help pick the best photos for Matara and improve this page's look by tappingclicking on them and the site saves your feedback Vote photos

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78pts

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36pts

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2pts

1pts

105pts

61pts

44pts

35pts

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85pts

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✈️3h

$1,839 / mo

🌇 Also went here22 people

Bangkok

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 41° 106° 34° 93° 🥵 AQI 53 😷

✈️3h

$1,542 / mo

🌇 Also went here38 people

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 36° 97° 30° 86° 🥵 AQI 59 😷

✈️3h

$1,440 / mo

🌇 Also went here26 people

No members are here right now. If you are, add it as a trip and you'll show up here!

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.

⭐️ Total score	2.74/5 (Rank #198) 62 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍2 liked it 👎0 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Okay
👶 Family score	Okay
🎒 Community score	Okay
💵 Cost	😙 Affordable: $1,011 / mo
📡 Internet	🙂 Good: 16Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Good
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🥵 Too hot: 30°C85°F (feels 38°C100°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	🥵 Sweaty: 81%
👌 Safety	Good
🤮 Food safety*	Okay
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Good
🤝 Lack of racism*	Okay
🎓 Education level*	High
⚡️ Power grid	Good
🌊 Vulnerability to climate change	Good
💰 Income level*	Very low: $326 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Bad
🚶 Walkability	Bad
🚦 Traffic safety*	Okay
✈️ Airline scores*	Good
🧳 Lost luggage*	Bad
😄 Happiness*	Bad
🍸 Nightlife	Bad
📶 Free WiFi in city	Good
🖥 Places to work from	Great
❄️ A/C or heating	Okay
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Great
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Okay
👩 Female friendly	Bad
🌈 LGBTQ+ friendly	Bad
🎅 Startup Score	Bad

🌍 Continent	Asia
🚩 Country	Sri Lanka
🗓️ Average trip length	14 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	16 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	🌦 30°C 85°F + 🥵 Sweaty (81%) = feels 38°C 100°F
🔌 Power	230V 50Hz
🚕 Best taxi app*	Pickme
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
💸 1,000 LKR in USD	USD 3.34
🏧 Suggested ATM take out:	LKR 100,000 = USD 334
💳 Cashless	💵 No, cash only (esp. for foreigners)
☕️ Best coffee place	Barista
☕️ Best alt. coffee place	Solis Hotel
🏪 Best 24/7 coffee place	Nomad Trails Thalpe Station
🚰 Tap water	🚫 No, not drinkable
♻️ Return rate	7% of visitors return
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	810,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$3,910 / year
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 69% 👱‍♀️ 31%
⛪️ Religious government	Non-religious
🏠 Apartment listings	Airbnb
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier	Sri Lankan Airlines
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	Sri Lankan Airlines
🏥 Best hospital	Sahana Medical Center

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$1,011 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$557 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$996 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$285 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$360 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$1,060 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$303 / month
🏠 Median home price	$53,482
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$17 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$35 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$144 / month
🍛 Dinner	$3
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$0
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$1
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$3
👩‍🏫 International school	$669 / year
📱 Mobile data (~10GB)	$1 / month
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi)	$2 / trip