Hey all! I tried researching this answer and I just can't figure it out. Colombia has a digital nomad visa but also a freelancers visa? Which one leads to permanent residency? I'm looking at getting a place in Colombia and want to start the process.

Thanks!

I work in online creative realm within graphics, film and music production. So a good running computer is needed.

For most my travels I only went with my MacBook and a pair of studio headphones. Works well for the most basics really. Then basic clothing and essentials really.

Now I am about to be "slowmadding" or just generally living in this new city/country I'm in as I got a visa I plan to remain here for the next 6-12 months and looking to get a good monitor, desk, nice working chair with wheels, a Bluetooth keyboard, music keyboard, microphone, studio monitors, mic stand etc just for a few. So I have my own little portable visual/audio studio. This is how I had it back home and it just flows better.

I think to myself as it sits in my Amazon basket, once I buy this I can't really just get up and leave I have all this clunky stuff.

I'm curious do those out there buy equipment where they go and then sell/donate it after a few months or?

I’m looking for websites like Furnished Finder, but for international cities—specifically for 1-6 month furnished rentals that are remote-work friendly. I know about Airbnb (their fee is killing all deals) but are there other platforms you’d recommend for longer stays abroad? Thanks!

Hi I’m a little bit a cross roads and need advice from someone who’s been a digital nomad. I consider myself ready to start this journey but I need guidance. I’m 25f,I plan to move to Portugal. I do e-commerce. Dms are open!

Best for portability or remote or needed in most areas? And do not require too much schooling. Unfortunately these days schooling and degrees or certificates doesn’t necessary prepare someone to use it nor attract others to use that person.

Especially for those who want to spend as much time in isolated areas or islands?

Does anyone know the support email address for Nomadlist? I can no longer log into my account and I have lifetime membership. I couldn’t have been banned since I rarely use the site or post any content.

Hi!

I just saw some people here talking about negotiating prices with airbnb hosts for long stays and it worked!

The host offered a 15% discount (plus the 30% discount of the platform for 28+ days).

He told to book 2 days and then treat the rest personally with him.

My question:

Can I send in the airbnb chat how much is going to be the final price, or sending that will be against the platform policy?

How do you do in this situation?

Just to make sure I will not have any bad surprises when I arrive…

Hi, I’m preparing my documents for the Spain Digital Nomad Visa. I have everything except for the certificate of good standing. I reside in Bangladesh but have been working for a USA-based company for the past two years.

Today, I received this document from my company. My lawyer informed me that it lacks crucial information, such as the company’s formation date and tax status. He also stated that it requires an apostille from the USA. I’ve spoken with a few agencies in the USA, and they estimated that the process will take approximately 3-4 weeks.

However, my visa appointment is scheduled for November 21st this month. If I miss this date, I’ll have to wait at least 4-6 months for another appointment. Moreover, if this situation arises, all my documents will expire, necessitating me to start the process all over again, including recollecting all my documents and obtaining apostilles from my country.

Could you please advise me on whether I genuinely need to apostille this document or if I can simply submit it?

https://preview.redd.it/k05g5yr1r20e1.jpg?width=2479&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e42bb8d0a13cd024d895c229ac8dcc9b0fb12e7f

Assuming you aren’t allowed to leave the airport or have access to an airport hotel/lounge with day beds.

Which city/country do you find has the best access to fitness and fun activities to get fit. I find that some cities have many gyms with day passes and nearby hiking trails ..etc and was wondering which city do you guys find to be the best choice for someone that wants to get fit while living there for a month or two.

Hi all,

I am packing up and hitting the road. I am a UK citizen with a GHIC, so ideally in Europe but I would like to go further afield.

Monthly budget would be £790gbp for everything.

Any suggestions? I know Eastern Europe would be doable.

Thanks!!

This post was originally published on Substack. That has a better reading experience and also includes some images. But all the text is included below so you can read here if you prefer.

Before I get into how much we spend in Bangkok in a typical month, there are a few things you need to note. Firstly, everyone’s cost of living is different. We know couples that spend much less than us and couples that spend substantially more.

We live in the Phrom Phong area. This is very central, so most things will be more expensive. I’ll write a separate post comparing the main districts of Bangkok where the vast majority of foreigners live.

Our lifestyle is unique to us. Yours will probably be different.

Our current costs are based on us living here for a minimum of six months at a time. We usually spend six months in Bangkok and six months traveling. We didn’t go traveling last year due to a death in the family, so our current stay is 18 months. We’ll be traveling again from February next year.

Accommodation

This is a big expense for most people. Fortunately, Bangkok has a very wide range of condo prices. If you live far out of the center, you can still find condos for around 5,000 baht ($146) a month.

You can also find very high-end condos for 250,000 baht ($7,300) a month.

We pay 35,000 baht ($1,022) a month for a 54 sqm condo in the heart of Phrom Phong. Even in our building, it’s possible to get a slightly smaller condo for around 25,000 baht, but we wanted to be at the corner of the building, as the views are pretty awesome. We also prefer a slightly large condo.

We have had a series of 6-month leases. Most condos in our building are only available for 6 or 12-month leases.

If you’re only planning to stay a month or so, expect to pay more.

We usually use Airbnb to find places to stay when traveling, but in Bangkok, we usually try to find a place that we can rent directly from the owner.

Monthly Utility Bills

Our utility bills are pretty reasonable, and are as follows:

Electricity is usually around 2,500-3,000 baht ($73-78)

Water is usually 100-120 baht ($3-4)

Internet is 660 baht ($19) - the internet speed is around 150 Mbps via wifi and 300 Mbps if using an ethernet cable

Mobile phone charges are around 1,200 baht ($35) for both of us

Eating Out and In

This can vary a lot from day to day. Some days we’ll head to one of the local food courts for lunch and spend 90 baht each ($3 each). On other days we’ll head to a restaurant and pay around 600 baht ($18) between us.

We probably average around 400 baht a day for lunch, so that’s 12,000 baht ($350) in a month.

We usually have dinner at home but do sometimes get takeaway, like today. We just spent 500 baht for this evening’s dinner.

Over the month, we probably spend another 12,000 baht ($350) on dinner.

Coffee

This has a category of its own because we visit cafes every day. Phrom Phong is a more expensive area for cafes, and we usually spend 300-500 baht a day. Like lunch, this works out at around 12,000 baht ($350) a month.

Many think this is an insane amount to spend on coffee every month, and maybe it is. I didn’t spend most of my life working just to end up sitting at home drinking coffee just to save some money.

General Shopping

Some of this is included in the eating section above. Other than that, we probably spend an extra 3,500 baht ($100) on general shopping.

Travel

We don’t travel outside of Bangkok much while we’re here. We probably spend an average of 3,500 baht ($100) a month on this.

For public transport, we usually use the BTS or motorbike taxis. Our monthly spend is around 2,000 baht ($58) a month.

Entertainment

We’re not party people, so we don’t spend much at all on this. Usually, we’d meet up with friends at a café or restaurant, and those costs are included above.

Total Expenditure

The above gives a total expenditure of 84,980 baht ($2,500).

Wait, there’s more

When I look at the figure above, I wish our spending was this low. However, we have spent a lot more recently. There are usually plenty of extras that never get mentioned in cost of living reports. They’re not usually regular expenses, but you still need to plan for them.

Passport - I need to renew one of my passports this month and that will cost around 5,000 baht ($150).

Visa - I need to renew my permission to stay in the country this month as well. That costs 1,900 baht. I also need a re-entry permit (1,000 baht). Then there’s the cost of getting to and from the immigration office and having photos taken. This year, I also need to go back a second time to get the visa and re-entry permit transferred to my new passport. Total cost will be around 5,000 baht ($150).

Personal training and therapy - I have had a personal trainer and therapist for the last six months and that has cost around 10,000 baht ($300) a month.

Dentist - I needed dental treatment a few months ago, as did my wife.

Clothes & Luggage - we buy new clothes fairly regularly and also need some new luggage before we travel again in February.

Weddings - we have two weddings to attend in the next two months. The one outside Bangkok will mean staying at a hotel for a few nights. It will also involve buying some new clothes.

Electronics - I haven’t bought any in recent years, but my wife needs a new phone soon and I’m considering buying a new laptop. The one I’m interested in is 65,000 baht ($1,900). I’m not sure I can justify paying that much, so we'll have to see if I decide to buy it or not. My current laptop is around 7 years old. Maybe I’ll keep it for a bit longer.

There are plenty of other expenses that can crop up. They will be different for everyone. So, when someone tells you that you can live in Bangkok for $3,000 a month or whatever, don’t forget to factor in all the additional expenses that rarely get mentioned.

Make sure you have an emergency fund. I’ve seen so many people come unstuck over the years because of expenses they didn’t plan for.

I hope this is of some help to those planning to stay in Bangkok. If you’ve already stayed here, let me know what your monthly expenses were.

I'm going to Malaysia for 6 months and I'd love to hear about some lifestyle advice from people who have gone. I've been there once before and I learned about how you need the touch n go card for a lot of things. Anything else I should keep in mind?

I started my DN journey last year visiting Kuala Lumpur, loved the city because it suited my slowmad/homebody personality so I decided to apply for the digital nomad visa. I'm a US citizen btw incase that's relevant.

I ended up having the application sent back numerous times for innane reasons which was a big waste of time. Maybe a week would pass with no response then sent back because more documents requested and so on. It was a big waste of time and I don't recommend anyone try it.

I ended up applying for the Taiwan gold card and the Thailand DTV. I got both within 2 months and had minimal back and forth. I recommend you go for either of these.

Malaysia is a great country but there is no visa offered that is a contender with the other countries like Thailand giving a 5 year, 6 month multi entry, or Taiwan doing up to 3 years. Once you interact with the government you realize it's a heavily Malay favored complex and they do not cater to foreigners or English speakers.

If I plan to go back to Malaysia my plan is to enroll in a language school for a student visa. From my understanding it is simple and you're only out the school tuition so you can find something cheap. This will be a bit more expensive but might be longer than the 1year visa you yet from malaysia.

For a 1 year visa, they make you jump through so many hoops and make so many crazy demands, I tried it and gave up, and recently decided to try again after talking to another DN on this sub saying they got it easily (troll) so now I'm basically out over $500 usd and still no visa from Malaysia after 7 months of back and forth while I have a DTV and gold card visa already with barely any hassle...

KL was a city I wanted to live in and settle down but the government/expat services department doesn't seem to be run by people who want foreign people to come so I am making the best of a bad situation. I still plan to visit KL as a tourist on the tourist visa, but I won't be settling. FYI I don't recommend you plan to visa hop in Malaysia, it will only work once then you prob need a year to come back if you do that versus spacing a few months between visits.

Taipei is a nice city but it didn't hit all the checkmarks for me like KL did.

For example, English is less widely spoken there, the rentals feel more dated and smaller compared to KL and is actually more expensive too, similar to Korea (however I only stayed in Taipei. I think if I go back I would like to try a different city like Kaohsiung), and I don't have a strong preference for the food, a lot of places do not appeal to my palate because I don't really enjoy fried foods or steamed vegetables or vege soup which I feel like there's a lot of in Taiwan. Both Taipei and Malaysia have really bad air pollution so I tried to stay in as much as possible so I preferred having a larger place to work from.

As for the pros of Taipei, excellent A+ public transport system, road traffic and layout is much better than KL so calling an Uber works quickly (~3-5min) instead of having to wait like 15 minutes for a grab to pick you up in KL. Taipei is much more walkable than KL that it makes you actually want to be outside in the city. When I was in KL I was a homebody which is what I enjoy but having the metro work so seamlessly with walkable areas made it very enjoyable to go out and you see so many pedestrians walking around constantly all through the night unlike KL or cities in America that become ghost towns.

One downside is because I was walking around a lot I also got way more exposure to the bad air. I recommend you wear a face mask going around which kind of sucks but it will prevent you from getting an itchy throat like I had after a few days.

I haven't stayed in Thailand yet so my opinion is still pending.

I hope this helps people in making their decision for which country to apply for.

#Tldr : Scoring ease to get DN visas and whether I recommend

Malaysia - No 1/10

Taiwan - Yes 8/10

Thailand - Yes 10/10

I looking for a place to escape winter for Jan-Mar 2025 somewhere in Asia. I was looking into Thailand but the prices become insane for that period, almost everything is fully booked and what is left is around 100USD per night.

Any advice?

requirements:

• ocean
• good DN community with coworking/coliving
• decently safe

Hi r/digitalnomad, I've been planning to take advantage of my dual citizenship in Ireland for at least a month now, but I'm not sure where in the EU would be the best for me. I plan on traveling on a 3-week Interrail pass this spring to different cities like Vienna, Berlin, Sofia, and Thessaloniki and spending a few days in each to see if I could imagine myself there. Afterwards, I'd spend a longer time in a city through a program like Trusted Housesitters, Worldpackers, or a short-term rental.

I'm curious if you'd have any advice for someone planning this journey, or things to look for as I get the sense of each city. I know 2 nights isn't a while to see if a place is "right" for me, but budget-wise I want to not make this trip totally break the bank. I don't have more standard immigration questions as someone who's already an EU citizen, but I'm sure I'll get tripped up on the small things (like if I can get a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC)). If you have other advice, please tell me below!

Thanks so much!

Hi, I work remotely as a translator and PPC marketer. I’m looking for any tools or accessories that have made your life as a remote worker easier. Anything from a specific software, hardware, must have accessories etc.

I would like to move somewhere warm (don't necessarily need beaches, my mum and I just get really achy in wet weather, and want to go somewhere where that won't be an issue) on a digital nomad visa. Problem is, I need to bring my mum, and I'm struggling to figure out which countries would allow me to bring a dependent parent on my visa. I am happy to learn another language, but she isn't up for that, and wants to find a place where she can easily get by speaking only English. I had previously been considering Malta, but I can't bring her on their digital nomad visa. Lots of tourism is not a deterrent for us.

Any suggestions would be great. Thanks!

Edit: We're both US citizens

Are there any recruiters here? Most especially those from the UK, I want to ask what ATS tool you are using and how is it. Thanks!

Hello. Looking for a new place in LATAM to settle down for a month or two. Here are my wants. I just spent a couple weeks in Quito after a few months in Colombia and it doesn’t meet my needs. I'm not a fan of Quito at all. It is cold, full of traffic, it is busy, it isn’t pretty, there are electricity shutdowns, there are barely any travellers, etc.

Looking for somewhere with the following: • somewhere warm • Somewhere with vibrancy • Somewhere Spanish speaking (I.e., not Brazil) • Somewhere where travellers tend to stay a while • Somewhere popular • Somewhere affordable (private hostel rooms for around max $30 USD/night) • Lots of activities • Community of people who tend to stay a while • Somewhere where I can see a doctor and get medications relatively affordably

Ideally I’d like a medium sized city.

I thought about Mexico City but it's too expensive and also big. Brazil is Portuguese and I am looking to practice my Spanish at the moment, but if there is no better option then I’ll do it. Buenos Aires is also expensive

Edit: VISA expired in Colombia so it isn’t an option until next year.

Wondering for quite some time about this, as it is everytime sort of a bet.

Any ways to have this checked before arrival and independently of what the owner of a stay place says?

Hello,

I want to do a 3 months Spanish immersion Either in Mexico City or Medellin. Stayed 2 months in Medellin before but only a few days in CDMX.

Mexico City Pros:

• lots to explore (museums, parks etc)
• Kinda safe
• Great food

Cons:

• Probably will speak more English (since I have American friends there)
• Expensive

Medellin: Pros:

• More affordable
• Very green. Lots of outdoor activities.
• Colombian friends (some only speak Spanish)
• Nightlife

Cons:

• Not super safe
• Lacking culture and food

Budget is 2500$ for CDMX and 2400$ for Medellin (flight is more expensive)

For Medellin I’d consider Unviersidad Nacional with 8 h a week with a total of 60 hours (180$) plus maybe some private lessons.

For Mexico Universidad La Salle with 12,5 h a week with a total 45 h (300$)

Considering my budget I’m leaning towards Medellin (even though I could see myself living long term in CDMX)

(I’m a 29 old guy and speak conversational Spanish)

I'm looking into doing some remote work and traveling. I would be staying in my current job which is remote anyways in Ireland, but living in other EU countries for maybe a few weeks at a time. I've done some googling and I don't believe I have to get any digital nomad visas? And I mustn't stay in a country for more than 3 months.

Am I right in saying this, or am I mistaken?

Edit : Thank you all very much for your help!

I've done plenty of Nomading solo , 17 countries so far and love it

But loads of it was in beginner friendly countries and regions like South East Asia

I have booked my flight to South America for mid December, starting in Buenos Aires and I am having hesitations

It's my first time doing the solo travel and Digital Nomad thing in 3 years and I feel out of practice

Between flights, travel vaccines and more I am now about 900 euros in on it though - so there's no real turning back

Ever have last minute hesitations? How do you push past them?

Hi there,

We're planning to escape European winter for am month, looking for beach and sun. Realising how accommodation prices have shot up after covid, we're wondering where it's still cheap.

We're with a little one, so a pretty safe place is also a concern.

Is there any dates out there on where to overwinter the cheapest?

Thanks!

I'm gearing up to retire and travel slowly. Considering the need for SMS 2FA, mobile internet access, occasional long calls to 800 numbers (airlines, banks, etc.) and so on, last I knew the recommended option was $15/mo. Mint Mobile plan, plus Airalo data plan, plus turn on Wifi calling. Is that still the recommendation?

I typically travel with either a 40l backpack OR a carry on and a small backpack. That's enough for any trip duration.

But I have recently bought a full set of scuba gear, because I was tired of low quality rental equipment. So naturally I wanna use it for any kind of serious scuba diving from now on. Which means bringing a regular checked bag.

How dumb is it to do fast-paced digital nomading (2 weeks per location) with a checked luggage? Who has experience with this?

Trying to weigh renting scuba gear vs paying checked bag fees.

Finished a quick little stint in CDMX I’m a digital marketer so I’m waiting out Q4 and first couple weeks of Q1 will be ready to go in February!

Any recommendations on where to go in South America?

How are you doing it?

I am flying literally on Xmas due to prices and not in holiday mood this year. I can land in Mexico city or Cancun (cheaper) and eventually head to Guatemala. I really want to avoid crowds, parties.. so I suppose anything around Cancun will be horror. i was trying to book a Vipassana retreat but didn't get a place. What would be a suggestion? I suppose just to fly to Guatemala, make the lake for quieter holidays? Any other secret places ? Thank you