⭐️ Total score | 2.8/5 (Rank #126) |
👍 Quality of life score | Good |
👶 Family score | Okay |
🎒 Community score | Okay |
💵 Cost | 😙 Affordable: $1,886 / mo |
📡 Internet | 🏎 Fast: 40Mbps (avg) |
😝 Fun | Great |
⛅️ Temperature (now) | 🌞 Nice: 18°C65°F (feels 18°C64°F) |
💦 Humidity (now) | 😊 Comfy: 86% |
💨 Air quality (now) | 🌱 Great: 30 US AQI |
💨 Air quality (annual) | 🌱 Good: 59 US AQI |
👌 Safety | Great |
🤮 Food safety* | Good |
👮♀️ Lack of crime* | Great |
🤝 Lack of racism* | Okay |
🎓 Education level* | High |
⚡️ Power grid | Great |
🌊 Vulnerability to climate change | Good |
💰 Income level* | High: $2,315 / mo |
🙊 English speaking* | Bad |
🚶 Walkability | Great |
✌️ Peace (no pol. conflict) | Okay |
🚦 Traffic safety* | Okay |
🏥 Hospitals | Good |
😄 Happiness* | Okay |
🍸 Nightlife | Okay |
📶 Free WiFi in city | Great |
🖥 Places to work from | Great |
❄️ A/C or heating | Great |
😁 Friendly to foreigners | Good |
🗯 Freedom of speech* | Good |
👩 Female friendly | Good |
🌈 LGBTQ+ friendly | Bad |
🎅 Startup Score | Okay |
🌍 Continent | Asia |
🚩 Country | South Korea |
🗓️ Average trip length | 5 days |
📡 Internet speed (avg) | 40 Mbps |
⛅️ Weather (now) | 🌥 18°C 65°F + 😊 Comfy (86%) = feels 18°C 64°F |
💨 Air quality (now) | 👍 30 US AQI 🍃 OK |
💨 Air quality (annual avg) | 👎😷 59 US AQI |
🔌 Power | 230V60Hz |
🚕 Best taxi app* | Kakao T |
🚑 Travel medical insurance | Safetywing |
💸 10,000 KRW in USD | USD 7.31 |
🏧 Suggested ATM take out: | KRW 100,000 = USD 73 |
💸 Tipping | No |
💳 Cashless | 💳 Yes, cards OK almost everywhere |
💻 Best coworking space | Regus |
🏪 Best 24/7 coffee place | Tom N Toms |
🚰 Tap water | 👌 Yes, safe to drink |
♻️ Return rate | 👍10% of visitors return |
👨👩👧👦 Population | 3,400,000 people |
👨👩👧👦 GDP per capita* | $27,785 / year |
👫 Gender ratio (population) | 👨 48% 👱♀️ 52% |
👫 Gender ratio (young adults) | 👨 56% 👱♀️ 44% |
👫 Gender ratio (nomads) | 👨 86% 👱♀️ 14% |
🏞 Foreign land ownership allowed | Yes |
⛪️ Religious government | Ambiguous |
💻 Online electronics shop | Gmarket |
🏠 Apartment listings | Stayes |
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier | Jeju Air |
✈️ Best int'l air carrier | Korean Air |
💵 Cost of living for nomad | $1,886 / month |
💵 Cost of living for expat | $1,227 / month |
💵 Cost of living for family | $2,507 / month |
💵 Cost of living for local | $716 / month |
🏨 Hotel (median price) | $792 / month |
🏡 Airbnb (median price) | $1,730 / month |
🏠 1br studio rent in center | $433 / month |
🏨 Hotel (median price) | $37 / night |
🏠 Airbnb (median price) | $57 / night |
🏢 Coworking hot desk | $175 / month |
🍛 Dinner | $6 |
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L) | $1 |
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L) | $3 |
☕️ Coffee in cafe | $3 |
👩🏫 International school | $21,929 / year |
📱 Mobile data (~10GB) | $9 / month |
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi) | $3 / trip |
✅ Affordable to live
✅ Very safe
✅ Fast internet
✅ Lots of fun stuff to do
✅ Good air quality on average
✅ Many Nomad List members have been
✅ Spacious and not crowded
✅ Very easy to do business
✅ High quality of education
✅ Great hospitals
✅ Roads are pretty safe
✅ Freedom of speech
✅ Democratic
✅ Very safe for women
✅ Family friendly
❌ Gets cold in the winter
❌ Very difficult to make friends
❌ People don't speak English well
❌ Hostile towards LGBTQ+
❌ People smoking tobacco a lot
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
Feels | 394° cold | 489° cold | 5412° cool | 5714° cool | 6418° cool | 7021° mild | 7926° warm | 8127° warm | 7524° warm | 7021° mild | 5915° cool | 457° cold |
Real | 436° very cold | 5111° cool | 5614° cool | 5915° cool | 6418° cool | 7021° mild | 7926° warm | 8127° warm | 7524° warm | 6820° mild | 5915° cool | 489° cold |
Humidity | too dry 24% | too dry 25% | nice 32% | nice 30% | nice 36% | nice 39% | nice 45% | nice 43% | nice 40% | nice 37% | too dry 28% | too dry 26% |
Most common | ☀️ Clear | ☀️ Clear | ☀️ Clear | ☀️ Clear | ☀️ Clear | ☀️ Clear | ☀️ Clear | ☔️ Rain | ☔️ Rain | ☀️ Clear | ☀️ Clear | ☀️ Clear |
Rain | dry 34mm | dry 46mm | rainy 90mm | rainy 87mm | rainy 138mm | rainy 150mm | rainy 212mm | rainy 185mm | rainy 161mm | dry 47mm | rainy 53mm | dry 3mm |
Cloud | pockets 16% | pockets 21% | pockets 37% | pockets 38% | pockets 46% | pockets 44% | cloudy 53% | cloudy 52% | cloudy 54% | pockets 27% | pockets 23% | pockets 15% |
Air quality | okay 74 US AQI | okay 98 US AQI | okay 78 US AQI | okay 69 US AQI | okay 83 US AQI | okay 54 US AQI | okay 52 US AQI | okay 64 US AQI | okay 53 US AQI | clean 46 US AQI | okay 60 US AQI | okay 65 US AQI |
Sun | seek shade 3 UVI | seek shade 4 UVI | seek shade 4 UVI | seek shade 5 UVI | seek shade 5 UVI | avoid sun 6 UVI | seek shade 5 UVI | seek shade 5 UVI | seek shade 5 UVI | seek shade 5 UVI | seek shade 3 UVI | seek shade 3 UVI |
Remote workers | 371 people | 400 people | 533 people | 540 people | 867 people | 467 people | 400 people | 657 people | 700 people | 489 people | 489 people | 450 people |
If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomad List's Climate Finder
Based on Busan's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:
I work in Fukuoka and all I can say is that it's a fantastic city. As a disclaimer I happen to be close to fluent in Japanese, and as the metrics here would indicate speaking next to no Japanese might be somewhat difficult, but it's certainly still livable (tons of signage is in English, and there is information on places to go and see in English as well). Also it feels a tad more unexposed in comparison to some of the more major cities, though Fukuoka has a pretty large population at about 1.6
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked very bad👮 Safety greatTap to open🌧 Feels 18° 64° 17° 63°AQI 38✈️17min$2,361 / mo35Mbps×Jeju now has more coworking spaces across the island due to the remote worker trend going on in Korea. You would have to locate many via google maps though. 1 month stays are trending on the island as well for Korean remote workers. The free coworking space in Jeju city still exists. New hotels are popping up as well. Pandemic travel to the island has given it more life from mainland Koreans. It's good to see the new growth and tech efforts. Jeju still has a lot more potential for the future.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🙂 Okay📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked very bad👮 Safety greatTap to open🌥 Feels 16° 61° 16° 61°✈️23min$2,564 / mo41Mbps×Definitely worth visiting but not particularly attractive as a remote work destination. I can't think of anything Seoul does better than other Asian cities outside of just being cool because it's South Korean (and I don't mean that sarcastically at all, South Korea is a very cool place). But again, do visit.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked good👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 21° 70° 20° 67°AQI 76😷✈️26min$2,329 / mo87Mbps×Definitely worth visiting but not particularly attractive as a remote work destination. I can't think of anything Seoul does better than other Asian cities outside of just being cool because it's South Korean (and I don't mean that sarcastically at all, South Korea is a very cool place). But again, do visit.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked good👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 21° 70° 20° 67°AQI 76😷✈️26min$2,329 / mo87Mbps×Jeju now has more coworking spaces across the island due to the remote worker trend going on in Korea. You would have to locate many via google maps though. 1 month stays are trending on the island as well for Korean remote workers. The free coworking space in Jeju city still exists. New hotels are popping up as well. Pandemic travel to the island has given it more life from mainland Koreans. It's good to see the new growth and tech efforts. Jeju still has a lot more potential for the future.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🙂 Okay📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked very bad👮 Safety greatTap to open🌥 Feels 16° 61° 16° 61°✈️23min$2,564 / mo41Mbps×2nd time to Tokyo in 2 years. So much to see and do and great value in the past few years due to a declining yen against the USD & Euro. Wework (not open past 6pm & only iceberg open on weekends), Airalo Esim, and Wise Visa are your friend. Check out my Youtube for some nomad guides (Chicvoyage, @digitalnomadworld). I like Roppongi area. Stay in a hotel
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🙂 Okay📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked great👮 Safety greatTap to open🌥 Feels 23° 73° 23° 74°AQI 42✈️1h$2,977 / mo73Mbps×I love Taipei, extremely underrated place—not sure why, though I'm fine with that. The cleanliness, amenities, and kindness of the people will remind you of Tokyo.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked mediocre👮 Safety goodTap to open🌧 Feels 35° 95° 30° 86°🥵AQI 174😷✈️2h$1,990 / mo88Mbps×I work in Fukuoka and all I can say is that it's a fantastic city. As a disclaimer I happen to be close to fluent in Japanese, and as the metrics here would indicate speaking next to no Japanese might be somewhat difficult, but it's certainly still livable (tons of signage is in English, and there is information on places to go and see in English as well). Also it feels a tad more unexposed in comparison to some of the more major cities, though Fukuoka has a pretty large population at about 1.6
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked very bad👮 Safety greatTap to open🌧 Feels 18° 64° 17° 63°AQI 38✈️17min$2,361 / mo35Mbps×Stay 3 months. Great stay with everything you need. Great food and transportation like any japanese city. I think it's better positioned than Tokyo to visit the highlights of the country. Has everything a digital nomad needs and more. I'm not much of partier but their is a scene with all music genres. People are very friendly but of course helps if you can speak Japanese. Don't have any cons. Would definitely recommend.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked very bad👮 Safety goodTap to open🌧 Feels 23° 73° 23° 73°AQI 38✈️47min$2,257 / mo61Mbps×Hong Kong is a great city with dense urban areas but also nature and hiking routes only 15 minutes away. There are restaurants for every taste and budget, from the best US fast casual chains to high end Michelin star restaurants. It's also extremely safe, despite recent political instability.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🙂 Okay📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked great👮 Safety goodTap to open🌧 Feels 31° 88° 27° 81°🥵✈️3h$2,692 / mo89Mbps×This city is not for everyone, if you like shopping malls and big crowded cities it is for you. It may be cheap but if you want to live in a good location with swimming pool, go to nice rooftops and restaurants, use taxis then it is similar cost to western countries. In many areas there are no sidewalks, big and dangerous traffic all the time, pollution, taxis do not want to go with meter, it can get really hot. Definitely try to live by the metro. Many foreigners, mostly friendly people, cheap
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked mediocre👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 48° 118° 37° 98°🥵AQI 91😷✈️5h$1,312 / mo86Mbps×I'm staying in BGC as I write this, and so far PH most aggressively mediocre place I've travelled to in Asia. While I'm used to free/cheap wifi, friendly people, and great food living in place like Thailand, even staying in the most modern area in the country lacks all of those (no free Wifi even at Starbucks, and I've seen "cooked fresh" restaurant food taken out of the freezer before cooking). Social culture is very uncanny valley, people are "polite" but it's extremely fake, which you'll noti
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked very bad👮 Safety mediocreTap to open☀️ Feels 43° 109° 34° 93°🥵AQI 75😷✈️3h$1,466 / mo41Mbps×The most vietnamese city in Vietnam. The Old Quarter and West Lake are the highlights. If you come, try the egg coffee. Be mindful Vietnam has cracked down on visas, and it is not as friendly to foreigners. I was able to relax after I received a 5-year spousal visa.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked mediocre👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌧 Feels 41° 106° 31° 88°🥵AQI 112😷✈️4h$1,038 / mo48Mbps×Definitely worth visiting but not particularly attractive as a remote work destination. I can't think of anything Seoul does better than other Asian cities outside of just being cool because it's South Korean (and I don't mean that sarcastically at all, South Korea is a very cool place). But again, do visit.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked good👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 21° 70° 20° 67°AQI 76😷✈️26min$2,329 / mo🌇 Also went here177 people×Stay 3 months. Great stay with everything you need. Great food and transportation like any japanese city. I think it's better positioned than Tokyo to visit the highlights of the country. Has everything a digital nomad needs and more. I'm not much of partier but their is a scene with all music genres. People are very friendly but of course helps if you can speak Japanese. Don't have any cons. Would definitely recommend.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked very bad👮 Safety goodTap to open🌧 Feels 23° 73° 23° 73°AQI 38✈️47min$2,257 / mo🌇 Also went here77 people×Kyoto is definitely one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever stayed in - my only regret was not staying longer and spending more time in Tokyo.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🙂 Okay📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked great👮 Safety greatTap to open🌧 Feels 22° 72° 22° 72°AQI 36✈️49min$2,544 / mo🌇 Also went here73 people×2nd time to Tokyo in 2 years. So much to see and do and great value in the past few years due to a declining yen against the USD & Euro. Wework (not open past 6pm & only iceberg open on weekends), Airalo Esim, and Wise Visa are your friend. Check out my Youtube for some nomad guides (Chicvoyage, @digitalnomadworld). I like Roppongi area. Stay in a hotel
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🙂 Okay📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked great👮 Safety greatTap to open🌥 Feels 23° 73° 23° 74°AQI 42✈️1h$2,977 / mo🌇 Also went here119 people×I love Taipei, extremely underrated place—not sure why, though I'm fine with that. The cleanliness, amenities, and kindness of the people will remind you of Tokyo.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked mediocre👮 Safety goodTap to open🌧 Feels 35° 95° 30° 86°🥵AQI 174😷✈️2h$1,990 / mo🌇 Also went here82 people×Chiang Mai has had a deep Buddhist influence running over the last 1,000 years and this can be felt in the helpfulness, patience and generosity of the Thai and long-term transplants you come across. The city has an active community scene (nomads, spiritual seekers, hikers, creatives), several mountains with hiking spots and waterfalls surrounding the city, over 20 water bodies inside the city -- many have cafes and walks around, several public parks, and over 13 national parks with campgrounds w
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😝 Cheap📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked good👮 Safety goodTap to open🌧 Feels 48° 118° 35° 96°🥵AQI 57😷✈️5h$943 / mo🌇 Also went here81 people×This city is not for everyone, if you like shopping malls and big crowded cities it is for you. It may be cheap but if you want to live in a good location with swimming pool, go to nice rooftops and restaurants, use taxis then it is similar cost to western countries. In many areas there are no sidewalks, big and dangerous traffic all the time, pollution, taxis do not want to go with meter, it can get really hot. Definitely try to live by the metro. Many foreigners, mostly friendly people, cheap
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked mediocre👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 48° 118° 37° 98°🥵AQI 91😷✈️5h$1,312 / mo🌇 Also went here121 people×The other reviews are right—it's a good city with excellent value for money. The people are nice enough. The infrastructure is good. You *should* like it, but you don't—it's incredibly, incomprehensibly boring. The vibe is aggressively lukewarm. You will find more excitement in a rural Japanese village than here—I'm not joking.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked good👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌧 Feels 35° 95° 29° 85°🥵AQI 60😷✈️6h$1,207 / mo🌇 Also went here87 people×So… amazing food. Great public transportation. Very clean. But very conformist. Self expression limited. The irony of seeing an exhibit on graffiti, yet no actual graffiti in the streets. And the causal racism especially if you’re brown. You could be British born but still expect to be sat far away from everyone else at cocktail bars, experience comments and have weird assumptions made.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🧐 Too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked mediocre👮 Safety greatTap to open🌧 Feels 33° 91° 29° 84°✈️6h$4,276 / mo🌇 Also went here93 people×Berlin used to be nomad base in Europe... but it's not the same anymore. The 'pandemic' changed many things -- the cost of course, but also the culture -- the freedom and liberty have been contained. The police presence and size of the state have grown -- definitely doesn't feel so relaxed anymore. It's also important to note here -- there is limited ambition. Most are looking for an easy, fun and peaceful life -- which is great, but if you are building something or running a business it can fee
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🧐 Too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked mediocre👮 Safety goodTap to open☀️ Feels 18° 64° 18° 64°AQI 46✈️11h$4,500 / mo🌇 Also went here77 people×I don't understand why London has so high safety rating. Your phone could be stolen and your bicycle WILL be stolen here (or a part of it). I live here 8.5 years and I experienced the above multiple times. Police seems only cares about crime against person by whatever reason. Insure everything expensive that you own. I would also add that antisocial behaviour is quite common here and teenagers are heavily involved in crimes as police don't do anything with them because of their age. Basically th
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😳 Way too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked bad👮 Safety goodTap to open🌧 Feels 22° 72° 22° 72°AQI 78😷✈️12h$5,658 / mo🌇 Also went here85 people×I have heard of a friend of a friend that in France it is important to bring sandpaper and to have suitable medical insurance which covers eye reconstruction surgery. “Well worth a visit, would recommend”.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😳 Way too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked good👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌧 Feels 23° 73° 23° 73°AQI 73😷✈️12h$5,296 / mo🌇 Also went here86 people×I don't know exactly how Barcelona is still considered safe but it's far from it. It's probably the most dangerous city to live in Madrid and one of the most dangerous in europe, with constant pick-pocketing and even violent crimes to get your wallet and phone in certain areas. If you like a peaceful life, Barcelona is not the place anymore!!
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🧐 Too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked mediocre👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 21° 70° 21° 70°AQI 44✈️13h$4,845 / mo🌇 Also went here74 people×Hello i am agreed with previous comment . I was very passionate about Portugal pend here two and half years even more just living living here , not travel abroad . So my opinion its very beautiful country people are also very nice . Ideally if you working abroad . British and French expats are here . Nepal people hard workers and afro colonies people who came from Mozambique . Its totally fine no racism and totally solidarity . But , if you searching housing , and move in city of course , it wi
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked bad👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 22° 72° 22° 71°AQI 49✈️14h$3,933 / mo🌇 Also went here80 people×New York is cool. I’ve visited multiple times to see my family throughout my life, and recently came back from my first post-COVID trip there. Yes, it’s very expensive — but there is no city on earth that’s more captivating in my opinion. I used to think that New Yorkers were smug by claiming that NYC was better than everywhere else, but now I totally get it lol. My personal favourite neighbourhood is the Upper East Side, which is where you’ll find the coveted Museum Mile. But I also
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😳 Way too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked mediocre👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌥 Feels 14° 57° 14° 56°✈️15h$7,297 / mo🌇 Also went here73 people×Can't login? See the FAQ
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