Frontpage
๐ Dark mode
โค๏ธ Your favorites
๐ Nomad insurance
You won't be notified by email when a reply is posted, to change your notification settings. Posts must follow the TOS: No ads, self promotion, commercial posts, surveys etc. For customer support questions, don't post here but use the feedback box in the bottom right of this page instead.
Iโm moving to London for a year and would like to know where Iโll have the best โaccessโ to other digital nomads as well as facilities such as coworking spaces. If possible (I know itโs asking a lot for London), Iโd prefer to live somewhere cheap (a relative term I know, but Iโm looking to spend no more than ยฃ1,000), but still have the aforementioned items. Any help, guidance, or just simple insider advice would be much appreciated! Thank you =)
In my case my profession is centered on London so I need to spend some time there. If I were there longer term, I could be a property guardian (one of the few ways to make it affordable), but I donโt want to be there long term - the weather is dreadful and that may be my number one reason - so I am stuck with trying to find short-term house-sits and filling the gaps with Air B&B. The problem here is that London house-sits are very popular and London has the most expensive Air B&B offerings Iโve seen, with the โcheapโ rooms (if you can call them that) tending to be horrid. Hostels are no good - they drive me bonkers, and theyโre not exactly cheap either. London is a real problem, although itโs my base and the place I go back to throughout the year. Sigh.
Iโm here since July and i still want to experience the dreadful London weather, at least one time in my life 
Anyway i will be here until December when summer starts in South America 
Itโs true, Britain had a heatwave this summer along with the rest of Europe, although everyone seems to have forgot this and theyโre complaining about the incessant rain they had, and I was certainly glad to miss that part of it. I got out of the country after multiple years of unbearable weather - the summer of 2012 was a complete washout, more than forty consecutive days of downpours, followed by the seven-month winter when it was still snowing in April, followed by the summer of 2013 when it was possible to wear short sleeves on one day only, in the middle of July. I left after that. I was back for the summer of 2014, and I admit it was a nice summer. But summer 2015 in the south of France has been much, much, much nicer.
Where in the south of France did you stay? I am considering this location. Looking to enjoy natural beauty, and I figured places like Nice will be touristy and packed, but I assume itโs more than a tourist town. Thanks!
Yep, have just updated my reply. Iโd be hard-pressed to spend ยฃ1000 a month unless I were trying to give my money away. Maybe on Air B&B, but not securing a long-term furnished room rental via Spare Room. Anyone whoโs charging ยฃ1000 a month there is either on the game or in a very posh neighbourhood.
The current situation in london is the same as in San Francisco, NYC. etc. Its just a big scam, and lots of people are involved, rich owners, banks, property agencies, etc.
I see a bleak future for youngstersโฆ
[quote=โOskar, post:30, topic:4038โ]
The current situation in London is the same as in San Francisco, NYC.[/quote]
Exactly, I never fully understand why people who make < ยฃ4,000/month would want to live there.
You spend ยฃ2,000 on a 1-bedroom apartment in Shoreditch. If you make ยฃ50,000 per year, that means you spend 50% of your gross income on rent. Who would want to do that? Thereโs not much left for savings or retirement there.
Itโs especially dark since most of the time youโll be outside that house, to work long hours to afford that house.
Unless youโre rich, I donโt see why anyone would want to live in London in 2015. Thereโs so much better options right now.
Well, for me London is the greatest city in Europe easily.
Now, I acknowledge that there is a huge problem with this rent scam and overvalued property prices, distorted as I said before by a very complex arrangement of actors like banks, oligarchs, real estate agencies and the โdont give a sh*tโ attitude of the current and previous British governments.
I agree that currently London is not a place to live permanently, unless you are filthy rich, have an oligarch, mobster, bankster or sheik backgrounds, or you are a refugee in Calais hoping to cross the channel to live from benefits (thatโs something nobody talks about, its very easy to live in London without working if you are a refugee or very poor) but if you can afford it for a period of time i would say do it.
What other options do you have in mind? I guess you are thinking in third world options? Yes its cheaper but Iโm bored to death after a couple of weeks. Medellin? Living in El Poblado bubble and fearing to be mugged or killed outside of it? SEA ? Maybe?
The funny thing is that everyone complains about the prices in London, but as Iโm currently here, I still see loads and loads of young people from every single corner of this planet coming to work and live in the city, and that makes it even more expensive but Iโm far more interested and attracted of being part of it than staying in a third world option imho. At least for a period of time
I paid ยฃ420 plus my share of utilities for a very large room in a nice warm house in Barnes, just off the river, in 2010-2011. I know prices have gone up since then, but they canโt have gone up THAT much. Mind you, it was a good deal, but there are always good deals around if you take the time to find them.
Its clear that you have not been in London recentlyโฆ 
Rent prices are sky rocketing, and renting 1000 pounds rooms are not uncommonโฆ
Iโm not talking about a studio, just a room in a shared house. Thereโs no reason for someone to pay more than ยฃ600, for instance, unless they just want to spend their moneyโฆ That said, Iโd better go and take a look at Spare Room, and then eat my words if I have toโฆ
But the first room that came up for Barnes, after the featured ad, is ยฃ120 a week, all inclusive, and scrolling down, while there are plenty that cost too much (which is always the way Iโve looked at it), there are plenty in the ยฃ500-ยฃ600/month range.
ยฃ1000 should be plenty for a room, Iโm a little surprised people are telling you otherwise. I pay just under 1k, and thatโs for a room slap bang in the middle of Shoreditch.
Shoreditch is fun, but I wouldnโt recommend living here. Aim for Dalston, Hackney, Stoke Newington, I think average rent for a room is around ยฃ850. In my opinion, price is only half of the battle, competition for the rooms is frustratingly tough!
If you want cheaper, but decent locationโฆ then you can look around Clapton. Itโs a bit rougher, but itโs common in London for council flats to be mixed among high cost housing. Hereโs a music vid to get you in the mood 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIuQM_q0IUU
@magalhini @Ani - Thanks to you both! Funny you mention Gumtree as I have noticed some odd postings lately! I actually hadnโt heard of Spareroom, but it sounds good. Iโm looking into the premium membership.
@magalhini youโre spot on - Iโm def looking to cycle to work, so Iโll will keep this in mind.
Thanks again to everyone. The information provided here has helped tremendously. I canโt begin to imagine how long it would have taken to gather all of these nuggets of info on my own!
I agree about avoiding Gumtree. It used to be a better resource, but the many (would-be?) scam artists make it a pain to use. When I was living in London and I knew I was going to move, I would go ahead and pay for Spare Roomโs short-term premium membership (or whatever itโs called) and get myself sorted. There is more of a screening process on Spare Room; Gumtree is a free for all.
Hey there!
I strongly suggest you to try websites like Spareroom, and to stay away from Gumtree where a big percentage of the ads are scams. Every room I found in London was through Spareroom, you can pay a small fee to have early access to the newest ads and it seems to be worth it.
East London, like everyone else said, is a great place to be, but itโs getting harder and harder to find a decently priced room in the area. You can get away with paying 500 ~ 600ยฃ, but youโll have to be willing to share a house with 3 or 4 other peopleโฆ it can go very well, but it also can go very wrong.
If you stay around Hackney/Brick Lane, I can recommend the co-working space my company uses, called East One Studios. Not expensive and quite cheerful the benefit of this area is also having places like Google Campus relatively near. Free wifi and working areas, although they can get quite busy (itโs London after all).
Itโs definitely a challenge to save money in London, but after a while you learn the tricks. Iโd strongly recommend to be in cycling distance from whatever working space you choose to be in. This is the best way to save money on transportation, which is a good chunk of money per month.
Good luck!
I second everything @magalhini said! I live in Brick Lane, currently paying around ยฃ600 (small room & no living room, but Iโm really close to my work and friends). You can get cheaper & better, if you donโt mind spending a fair amount of time looking.
Regarding co-working spaces, look for something more indie & in line with the digital nomad mentality! 
Get in touch if you need anything! 
I lived in Haggerston/Hoxton for a couple of years (left 2 years ago). Definitely a fun and interesting area.
Agree with @NenaDodi , If I was to go back I would be looking at areas near London Field and Victoria Park. The connections arenโt the best but its such a good area. Followed by Stoke Newington!
Thanks @NomadAccountant !
Hope you found your surfing/climbing destination =)
Work in progress Nicholas! Got the diving and climbing in Southern Thailand now. Surf is on the backburner for a bitโฆ
@FootprintsImprints - Thanks again for the info and advice. Iโll check those places out and youโre prob right about the flat sharing situation.
@levelsio - I totally get it
Iโve spent some time doing just thatโฆ now Iโm in a special position
@NenaDodi - Thank you. It looks like East London is it. Iโll be sure to check out those areas and I really appreciate the links. Cheers!
Hi ! I think London is great for Digital Nomads. Expensive but very interesting for all that is around new tech, startups and digital platforms.
East London is the best place to be if you are a tech savvy (Shoreditch, Hackney, Haggerston, Stoke Newington)
Coworking wise check: copass.org/ itโs a global platform where you can find cool coworking places (ex. 90mainyard.co.uk)
If you need to look around the first days: cohome.space
have a remarkable stay!
Iโd suggest East and Southeast London. East London is getting gentrified though and has become โhipโ. BUT it also has lots of warehouses-turned-co-working/startup spaces. Itโs also lots of fun and creative, with markets, amazing cafes and street food.
SE is very cheap, but with lots of problematic and โpoorโ areas. Itโs not very well connected either (no tube, but there is overground and railway). Because of lots of immigrants, itโs culturally diverse, with small shops and food places.
If you donโt want in those areas, try NW or N, but mostly zone 3 <, if you want a whole place to yourself. SW and W is posh.
Btw, ยฃ1000 for a whole place or in a shared space?
@FootprintsImprints Thanks for the suggestions =)
Where in East London are you thinking? Any specific areas youโd recommend?
From the look of it, ยฃ1000 will not be enough for anything! Iโm looking for a 2 bdrm (I plan to find a flatmate) flat and would โpreferโ to pay no more than ยฃ1200, but so far ppl Iโve told that to have a essentially laughed at me! Lol.
Look at Shoreditch, Hackney, Hoxton, Brick Lane, Spitalfields, Bethnal Green
ยฃ1000 with a flatmate/housemate is good! (if itโs all for the rent, not your total monthly budget including food and transport!)
Check out this website
http://www.moveflat.com/ or Gumtree (beware of scams there, though)
As a newcomer, it might be easier to move in within existing flat, as new flatmate/housemate than renting a whole place and then looking for flatmates.
Thank you all for the sincere and thorough responses.
@levelsio - To give a bit of background info. I spent the last 3.5 years in SE Asia and just need a change in the direction of 'living where things work" for a change. Call it burnout or whateverโฆ itโs just what I need at the moment.
Iโm a dual national (German/US), so visas arenโt a problem and I do have a partner, so expenses will be shared for the most part.
@Ani - Thank you very much for the suggestions. I will look into these.
@Shayna , @jerriep & @Oskar - London is great! Perhaps a reason why itโs so expensive =) I agree that having a bit a of pressure is a good thing. "Necessity is the mother of innovation!"
Also, I feel like Iโm stagnating a bit and want to be in a place where I can renew/expand my current skill set. Again, @Shayna thank you for the detailed information. Iโve been looking around Shoreditch, but it is indeed a bit expensive. Iโll start scouring the the borderlines. Hopefully, something will turn up! Totally agreed about your point on the number of flatmates. Funny, 10 years ago it wouldnโt have made a difference!
I guess for those who have made the transition to more expensive places. What strategies have you employed to increase business? Anyone outsourcing/referring in order to handle more business?
Iโm in London currently and yes its expensive, but if you can afford go for it. Its the greatest city in europe where you can do and find whatever you could think of.
Iโm from South America so i will only stay no more than a couple of months because of UK rules.Remember the saying โWhen a man is tired of London, he is tired of lifeโ
Yes, it is possible to pay low levels of rent in London. Check out Camelot Guardians and other property guardian arrangements - I got by on around ยฃ300 a month, and I had an enormous room, etc. Otherwise look at Spare Room - you can get a room in a shared flat/house for around ยฃ500 - ยฃ600 a month. If you need your own flat, it will cost much more.
That budget sounds like very entry level for London. Student level budget. Or youโre sharing with a partner and s/he is footing a similar or higher budget.
You wonโt be finding great places to live for much less than 900ยฃ within any of the creative neighbourhoods.
Not to be facetious here, but I think for any digital nomad the goal would be to leave London rather than go there.
Not sure if youโre British or not, but if youโre from outside Europe, Iโd strongly suggest any other place in Europe than UK right now. Unless you make great money, itโs pretty much scraping by with the cost of living being so high.
Since you mentioned โcheapโ, Iโd recommend to reconsider moving to London.
P.S. I love London for its culture, music scene (dnb head here ).
Just to push back a bit, if one is a digital nomad and making a decent amount of money (or actively aiming to get to that level) why not live in London if one enjoys it?
One of the key moments in my DN journey was traveling through Germany and realizing that although my business supported me comfortably in Brazil (cost of living $1500/mo for two people), I was going to have to step it up in order to spend time in more expensive countries. And I did step it up, and more than tripled my income. Result: husband and I were able to spend six months in London without breaking the bank.
I definitely would NOT recommend London as a first destination when youโre still getting your work off the ground, but part of the perk of being a location independent entrepreneur is being able to live anywhere, not only in cheap places.
OK, back to original post! I lived in Elephant & Castle, you can find cheap and itโs quite close to the center, though not the โprettiestโ neighborhood. Everyone talks about Shoreditch as an alternative/creative area; prices there might be rising though. At under ยฃ1,000 you might have to share a flat but ideally try to share with only 1-2 other people (I lived in a house of 6, it was too much).
Check out this thread for the coworking spaces. Even if you donโt live right near them, you can try to find a place on the same tube line so that itโs a quick ride.
Another tip - some tube stations are on the border between zones, so if you can find a neighborhood thatโs borderline Zone 2/Zone 3, you might benefit from lower rent prices yet still only have to pay the Zone 1-2 fare for the tube to get into central London.
Alternatively - youโll save money if you manage to get a place that enables you to take buses to where you want to go (bus is quite a bit cheaper than the tube).
Look for places to live on Gumtree.com and Spareroom.co.uk and itโs best to text, I got way more responses when I texted the landlord than when sending e-mails.
Yeah, I can absolutely buy this argument. For the past 2 years I lived in Chiang Mai and I took it easy. For 20 years of my life I wrote software for other people and I decided it was time to work of things I enjoyed - my own projects, blogging and open source contributions.
Because the cost of living is so low here I never really pushed myself. Whenever I needed money I would pick up a paying project for a few months, saved up a bit of money again and then went right back to working on my own stuff.
So basically I earned according to my what I needed for expenses. Now that I am thinking of moving on to more expensive places, I am starting to take things more seriously. I can absolutely sense a change in attitude as I am focused more on maximising earning potential.
I think itโs natural that happens. But if youโre able to override that natural behavior, thereโs a lot to be won.
Living in a low-cost place, and still being ambitious and making lots of money (and making cool stuff) puts you in a very special position. E.g. make $10,000, spend $1,000, save $9,000. Thatโs $100,000+ saved per year (pre-tax). Thatโs more than most people are able to save in a lifetime (except for retirement)
I agree completely with you, the concept of DN is about traveling the world to anywhere, regardless of budget. However, OP wrote
So there
Does anyone ever travel to any Islands like Bermuda, Barbados, Barbuda and St. Kitts & Nevis?
I'm in need of a tax advisor who understands "our" typical situation. I'm all good on being legal on taxes at this point, but as I'm doing more investing and there's more compliance and KYC and such, it's getting more complicated to deal with this topic. Not living in my country of citizenship, company in another country, resident in yet another country, banking in a different country ... you know how it is, a pile of red flags.
Would be great to find a good tax advisor to sort things in a way that makes my situation as "explainable" and easily dealt with as possible. Any leads?
Hi, I've got a question to anyone who had experience with the digital nomad lifestyle. I'm 24, I'm in my last year of university doing computer science, got 3 years of experience mostly doing web development.
I never liked the idea of staying in one place, getting a job and growing roots - hence the will to take the opportunity and travel the world. My main question is โ how do I go about it? Are there any useful resources I could look into?
How do I go about insurance and such once I decide to move. I currently live in Switzerland and do freelance work for one company. It's not a lot, since my studies don't allow me to pick up a full time job, but it allows me to cover simple expenses.
I'd be happy to get some insight into how things work and also happy to network with anyone interested.
Hi guys ! hope you are doing well.
I would love to get your feedback regarding the best insurance for digital nomads. i'm traveling around Asia since 1 year and for next 4 or 5 years. Would love to buy an insurance to cover especially :
- health
- laptop, phone ...
- Flights
Anyone know of any groups or resources for Ph.D. students working on dissertation while living as a digital nomad? I know there are several virtual writing groups around, but wondered if there were any specifically for digital nomads, particularly those who are dissertating.
Thanks!
Hey Nomads!
Iโm looking for an international health insurance (no travel insurance) for my nomadic life. It should cover the basic services and at least be accepted in the EU (itโs ok if itโs not accepted in the US as Iโm aware they rarely are). Nice to have: enter into a contract online. Anyone got a good experience or a recommendation?
Thanks in advance!
Hello digital nomad!
I dream of being an independent digital nomad. But it feels very elusive & unattainable with my success rate. In full disclosure, whilst I have dreamed about making money online since high school; I have not earned a single cent making money online. $0, nada, zilch!! On the contrary, I have spent a lot of time & money on books, podcasts. Even though I have spent a lot of time reading/listening to others, I do not have anything to show for it!
I have made attempts in the past to start an online business, but these fizzle out quite quickly when I do not see traction especially when the goal I have set myself is too high.
Instead of reaching for the ultimate nomadic lifestyle goal, I want to start much smaller. Really small! I am simply looking to make $50 profit per month from a new online business. Thatโs it.
I need some advice from you please!
Is $50 profit too low? How long did it take you to earn $50 profit per month?
What is a good way of achieving this goal?
Thanks
Mark
aka the $0 online business entrepreneur
Hello everyone! Iโm new here and probably this is a very newbie question, but it doesnโt leave my head.
How do you, nomads, pay your taxes? I mean, if youโre constantly traveling, how are you going to pay taxes for a certain country if you are going to stay there a short period of time?
Or do you return to your โoriginal countryโ and then pay them?
By the way, this forum has very nice cool formatting features!
My girlfriend and I decided to spend NYE in London and we were trying to buy tickets for the fireworks show since mid-September and weโve couldnโt get it. So, do you guys know any other option? I heard about some boat parties, are they worth?
Hi!
I am planning to move to Latin America for 3-4 months (Oct-January). Iโve narrowed down 6 different places that I want to visit before committing to settling down, but Iโd love to get some community input.
Here are the cities Iโm considering:
The most important things Iโm looking for:
Anyone have any experience with these places and can give some insight? Iโm also completely open to other recommendations.
Thanks!
Rose
Thereโs been a lot of discussion on this recently.
Nomads usually stay in hostels, hotels and short-term apartments. But itโs all not very optimal.
Iโve heard people suggest getting funding and building a network of houses you can stay at for a subscription price (e.g. Bruno Haid is working on that).
I donโt want do physical stuff, so Iโm thinking of building a platform around making housing better for nomads.
What are the housing problems nomads face? And how can we solve them with products/services?
Hi all, I was looking for a cool spot in Southern Europe for winter and Iโm considering Sicilyโฆ Have you ever been there? If yes, how was your experience? If not, why?
thanks!
Greetings!
Does anyone have experience in Bari, Italy please? We are thinking of going from Dubrovnik, Croatia to Bari by boat in mid-March. Has anyone taken a boat across? Is it nice or can it be choppy? (We are trying to avoid planes, to reduce our carbon footprint, so adding more surface travel.) Also, any info you might be able to offer about Bari and the surrounds? Next step will likely be trains up Italy as the Spring progresses.
Hello all,
Iโm planning on spending a couple of month in Mauritius Island and even when Iโve been there for a week, never rented or worked there.
Does anyone here has tips or experience to share about Mauritius?
Cheers!
Hey all:
Does anyone here have any experience attending a full time fitness bootcamp or a fitness resort while working? I know there is one in Cambodia for digital nomads (Fitness Retreat Resort Kep Gym), unfortunately the time difference vs my work schedule would make my life suck if I tried to go there. Iโm looking for a place between US and Europe timezones that lets you live with them, kicks your butt with fitness, but would also have good WiFi/accommodate working eight hours a day. Iโm also open to other tangential ideas for something close-ish to get that same experience.
Thanks for any help!
Whatโs the best place?
For residency Iโm looking at Portugal and they have the NHR (non habitual resident) program which would exempt dividends from foreign income.
So all Iโm really looking for is the best place to actually start the company.
Biggest factors are of course low taxes and ease of setting up the company plus a business bank account that enables me to receive payments through Stripe.
What I found so far:
Hong Kong
Corporate tax rate of 16.5% (8.25% for the first HK$2 million)
โ/โ offshore income from outside HK is exempt from taxation but itโs not clear whether this can be done in the first year and prorated or if itโs only through filing the offshore exemption claim. This might take two years and requires not income from HK at all. More info on that would be great
โ seems very difficult to get a business bank account
โ necessary services and fees are roughly around โฌ2000 / year
โ accounting requirements seem to be very strict
โ Doesnโt require local partner
โ Agencies available that seem to handle most of the work
Singapore
Corporate tax rate of 17% (0% on the first S$100k, 8.5% up to S$300k)
โ requires a local director. What are the implications of this?
Malta
Corporate tax rate of 35%
There is the โfull imputation systemโ but I donโt really understand it.
"In most cases, the tax refund to the shareholder is 6/7 of the tax paid by the company on profits distributed as dividends. The tax refund rate may be different in the following cases: " This would result in an effective corporate tax of around 5%.
โ European customers would have to pay VAT and Iโd have to deal with that
Cyprus
Corporate tax rate of 12.5% and there seem to be ways to lower this
โ European customers would have to pay VAT and Iโd have to deal with that
โ requires staying in Cyprus for 2 months / year
I find it surprising how much research this requires and how much โit dependsโ information is out there when Iโd assume that there are probably thousands of digital nomads who probably have very similar requirements.
When you meet new people or reconnect with old friends, do you โoutโ yourself as a digital nomad? The simple question โwhere do you live?โ makes us uncertain now. We wonder if some places may be less welcoming to digital nomads, or if โdigital nomadโ has a negative connotation in some places. If you are forthcoming from the start, does your status as a digital nomad make it hard to form friendships?
We would love to hear how other people navigate thisโฆ how to balance being authentic in relationships vs. withholding the context (and allowing people to assume youโre on vacation, for example).
Thanks!
I have been a digital nomad for the last couple of years. I have always worked in tech and now run a couple of profitable online businesses that give me a reliable income and allow me to fund a nomadic lifestyle.
I recently exited one of my businesses and I am considering to invest the income from the sale in properties, mainly for 2 reasons:
a) I donโt want to keep wasting my money in renting apartments across the cities I stay
b) I believe in properties as investment and I want to diversify my investment portfolio (mainly stocks)
After years of constant wander from one place to another, now I am the type of digital nomad who sticks to few locations: I mainly rotate across 4 places each year (San Francisco, Medellin, Berlin, Bali). Buying a house in each of those location would be difficult and too expensive. Therefore, I was wondering if there was any sort of service that combines an investment opportunity with the ability to access different properties around the world (even if just for a limited time per year) ?
Imagine living in 4 cities per year and having a house in each place that you can exclusively use for 3 months and at the same time having your investment growing (this depending on the market, of course). Wouldnโt that be great? I believe it could be done via a property fund selling you a share and giving you access to some of their properties for a limited timeframe each year.
Has anyone heard of anything like that?
Thanks!
We launch in 2 weeks. In the US, we use Apple TV and Netflix regularly. Do these work abroad?
Iโm currently in Penang, Malaysia and I was thinking to head to Thailand next. What are the best islands in Thailand to get some work done? I was considering either Ko Lanta or Ko Phangan because those both islands have coworking spaces. I might need to take some client calls, also video. Is the wifi good enough? Are there any other differences between the islands?
Can't login? See the FAQ
Nomads.com
By signing up, you agree to our terms of service and community guidelines.
One-time-payment: $39.98 $19.99 ๐ซ 0% off
Billed once. Then never again
Nomads.com members
work remotely at
Nomads.com
๐ Thanks for signing up! I hope you like my site. I put a lot of effort into making it for years!
๐ฌ First, please go to your email and click the confirm link first to verify your email address
โ๏ธ Check your spam folder if you can't find it, because we got reports it ends up there sometimes
๐ After you confirm your email we'll send you an email with more info
๐ฉโ๐ป You can start using Nomads.com's member-only features now!
