Nomads who bounce around Europe: Has anyone tried to use Andorra as their non-schengen time? I’ve read that you don’t get a stamp at the border, so I’m guessing if you wanted to do this you’d need to go to a govt office for a stamp? Is this even possible? If you’ve done this, would love to hear your experience!
🗯 Forum topics
I was thinking about packing today and I’m curious: what’s the weirdest thing you guys have in your bags? Nomads are, by nature, minimalists, but I’m sure we all do it differently. I have a friend who travels with BASE jumping gear, another a sequin dress. So, what’s the most unusual thing in your bag?
Mine is probably that I travel with a dog.
Hey guys!
Doing some travel planning for when my boyfriend and I have to be out of the Schengen in the spring. I’m looking at Dubrovnik and Mostar. We’ll probably get to both of them, but was wondering - for those who have been - which one would you recommend basing in longer-term?
Some context on us: we love food and the outdoors. Both of us are cyclists (and should have folding bikes with us by then) and enjoy hiking/walking. Great views are a must. And neither of us are bar or party people, so the night scene isn’t a factor for us. Quiet places are great and I love small towns.
Keep in mind that this will be March/April/maybe May next year, so not high tourist season. I don’t mind if things are generally bustling, but I hate super crowded touristy spots (for example: I love Rome in winter and hate it in summer).
If anyone has insight, would love to hear it!
Hey guys,
I’m in the process of buying a Brompton folding bike (I love cycling, but sold my full-sized bike last year after a cycle trip across France since it was just too much trouble to be constantly packing and shipping it - the solution: folding bike!) and I’m wondering if anyone else travels with one?
I’m trying to find a hard-sided suitcase that will fit the Brompton for plane travel and would love any recommendations! Most luggage is the wrong dimensions as far as I can tell, so hoping someone with first-hand experience might be out there to weigh in.
Hey all!
I’ve been seeing a lot of budgeting questions floating around lately (not just here, but other nomad forums), so I thought it might be useful to start a thread where anyone who is sharing their nomadic budgets can drop a link (or the budget itself).
I know Betsy and Warren of Married with Luggage share theirs here: http://www.rtwexpenses.com/
My friend Ali isn’t full-time on the road, but she shares real budgets for her trips: http://www.aliadventures.com/category/real-travel-budgets/
Anyone else out there sharing budgets for nomadic life? Please share your links below!
Hi all!
So, I’m in Colombia at the moment and have experienced some really intense harassment and even violence here. I was shocked because it’s been recommended to me by so many people, and so I thought perhaps it would be useful to start a thread here where we (we being women and other minorities) can talk about places where we recommend either not traveling or being particularly on guard.
So, are there any places you’ve been where you’ve experienced more violence, harassment, or maltreatment? Are there any places that you recommend other women/LGBT/ethnic minorities be particularly careful or not travel to?
I don’t want this to become a super negative thing or a personal preference thing, but I am hoping to get some insight into areas that might be more concerning and/or unsafe for certain groups so that we can all make informed decisions about where we want to spend our time. I really wish someone would have been frank with me about the issues here in Colombia, so I’m hoping we can be frank with each other about places where we haven’t felt 100% safe.
So, I’ll start:
I’ve had little to no problems in other parts of South and Central America, but here in Colombia I have witnessed not only street harassment, but also actual violence and malice and, worse, have seen people who could do something to stop it shrugging it off and saying “it’s normal here.” I would not recommend it for women and particularly women traveling alone.
Similarly, in Morocco I felt very uncomfortable as a female traveler. There wasn’t as much yelling or in-your-face harassment, but there was a ton of staring, men invading my space (standing over me in a bus and staring down at me from less than a foot away, for example), and men treating me like a second-class citizen (refusing to let me pass them on the sidewalk and instead forcing me to go around them into a busy street). I was traveling with a friend and we were both pretty exhausted by the end of the trip.
Hey guys!
For those of you who have spent time in Eastern Europe, I’d love to know where you’ve found good tech and/or entrepreneurship communities? My partner and I are going to spend a good bit of time in EE next year and would love to know some good spots for both networking and just finding like-minded people. Would love any tips you can offer, especially on non-capital cities or places that aren’t as well known.
Hey guys,
I’m doing a series of nomad interviews to demonstrate how different we all do this nomad thing. I’ve just published one on How Fast Do Nomads Travel? (http://gigigriffis.com/how-fast-do-digital-nomads-travel/) and I’ve got a few coming up on Do Digital Nomads Have Home Bases?, What Are Digital Nomad Work Schedules Like?, How Do Nomads Choose Where to Go Next? Etc.
I’m looking for people who would be interested in answering some questions and sharing their personal nomadic perspectives. So if that’s you, let me know.
Also, it’s really important to me to show some diversity, so I’m particularly interested in interviewing POC and nomads who are from unusual backgrounds (for example: 40+ nomads, retired nomads, nomads with kids, LGBT nomads, etc.).
Hey fellow nomads!
I’m working on an article and would love to know: what are the most common questions people ask you about nomading/travel/working from the road?
My tax firm just did something shady, so I’m thinking if I can find someone in time I’d like to make a switch. Anyone have a recommendation?
🗯 Forum replies
tl;dr: introduce yourself in this thread.
We must all get sick of the same backpacker travel questions when we meet new friends, I know I do.
You know the ones - where are you from, where’ve you been, where are you going, what do you do, how long have you been doing it - etc.
The novelty of answering these questions wears off after maybe a week, but they’re nonetheless insightful and no matter how much we hate them, we find ourselves asking others.
So let’s bring the dreaded backpacker questionnaire to NomadForum and introduce ourselves shall we?
**
- what’s your name?
- where are you from?
- how long have you been away from home?
- what do you do?
- where are you currently?
- where are you going?
- what has been memorable for you so far?
- will you go home anytime soon?
- what have you learnt during your time as a nomad?
- [insert your own question here]
**
No need to answer them all if you don’t want to
But the more you share… The merrier!
Hey Nomads!
I’m 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 (it’s ok if it’s not accepted in the US as I’m aware they rarely are). Nice to have: enter into a contract online. Anyone got a good experience or a recommendation?
Thanks in advance!
There’s been a lot of discussion on this recently.
Nomads usually stay in hostels, hotels and short-term apartments. But it’s all not very optimal.
I’ve 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 don’t want do physical stuff, so I’m 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?
I am nomad from past 1 year and i always find very difficult to find travel buddy. Local people i meet have jobs and are free on weekends only. How you guys find travel buddy or how you meet local people?
Hey everyone!
I’m getting ready for my first trip abroad alone (this Oct). I decided on Chiang Mai because I feel like it might be the best place to get my feet wet. Plus I’ve been planning on going to Thailand now for about 3 years. Dream started 3 years ago, started my business 2 years ago, finished college/moved out of my parents 1 year ago, left my part-time crutch job a few months ago and now I make enough online to be location independent.
But now that my dream is becoming a reality, I’m actually kinda scared. Just thinking about boarding a plane with only a backpack in my possession is liberating but also frightening. Probably the craziest thing I’ve done in my life and I’ve worked so hard to get to this point.
I’m sure that most people here had to deal with the fear of leaving for the first time, the uncertainty of what will happen, and maybe even some resistance from your family. I’m just wondering how you dealt with it? Maybe I just need to re-read some of the books (4 hour workweek, vagabonding, The $100 startup, etc…) that gave me the motivation and courage to start in the first place. What motivates you to keep going?
Thanks!
The last few years I’ve spent mostly in Asia (Thailand/Indonesia) and Europe (Spain/Italy), but I run a company in the US and need to coordinate with 10 US based employees and business partners. The time zone issues between EU/US and SEA/US are exhausting even if I love the locales.
I’d really like to try romping around the Americas for a while, but I’ve never been south of Baja California and really can’t find much positive having been said about remotely working from CA/SA as a DN.
I know some hippy, surfer, artist, musician, yoga teacher types calling various locals home, but no one making a living online… more than a few people have told me it’s fabulous down there until you go to Thailand/Bali and then you wonder why all those ExPats are suffering in CA/SA. Of course you only really know when you go yourself.
I’d love to see nomadlist.io get filled out with more details on Central and South American cities. It seems really sparse coverage at the moment, but maybe that’s simply because it’s not good and no one stays there for long.
I was wondering what systems/apps etc people use for tracking their living expenses? I try to keep records but find that some months I prepay for a lot of future expenses (eg. Airbnb, flights etc) while other months I spend little because everything has already been made.
I guess what I need to know is my actual spending in a month, regardless of when I actually spent the money but also the cash flow for each month.
✨ Recommended destinations
This is an algorithmic recommendation based on @gigigriffis's trips history to find places they haven't been to yet that other people with similar travels as them also went and liked.

Lisbon is the next remote work hub of Europe. There's many reasons why I think that: 1) it already has somewhat of a startup/tech scene because of the annual Web Summit conference 2) which means internet is fast, and there's lots of meetups and it's easy to make friends 3) it's relatively affordable for foreigners compared to Spain and the rest of Europe 4) Portuguese people are super friendly, a lot more friendly than in the rest of the Mediterranean and Europe 5) Lisbon is ideal to go on day/w
⭐️ Score💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌥 Feels 14° 57° 14° 56°AQI 280$2,057 / mo19Mbps
Berlin is overall a great city to be. Food is cheap and everywhere, easy to go out and have fun/meet for business. Rent has crept up but still far better value than where I came from. Internet: 36 EUR/month get me 450/40 mbps (cable -> DOCSIS 3.0) Public transport is 2.70 EUR/ticket. No woman I know has said they felt unsafe. Some really odd, xenophobic sounding comments on here. Biggest downsides IMO: service quality at restaurants - not that people are rude, but they don't seem to particular
⭐️ Score💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌫 Feels -4° 25° -1° 31°AQI 160$3,041 / mo32Mbps
Chiang Mai used to be N.1 for the digital nomad life. It is still great and you can find really cheap apartments (300-400$) and restaurants (2-3$ for a main). Wouldn't recommend staying there during the burning season. The best area is Nimman, but it's also the most expensive. You can stay in the old city that's very nice but that gets noisy during the weekend for the night markets. Last but not least, very safe city. All in all would go back in a heartbeat.
⭐️ Score💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety ☀️ Feels 28° 82° 26° 79°AQI 82😷0$1,107 / mo22Mbps
During winter is quite safe plus much cheaper. Some nightclubs are free and yet there is still a lot of people. Great por lgbtq+ community.
⭐️ Score💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌥 Feels 11° 52° 11° 52°AQI 330$2,914 / mo30Mbps
I visited Prague on more than one occasion and tried something new each time. I really wanted to enjoy it, but unfortunately it turned out to be one of my least favourite cities. Perhaps it was just me, but there was an overwhelming sense of distrust and dislike towards foreigners, you have to try pretty hard to blend in if you want to experience the life of a local & avoid the tourism. I met some wonderful people and and there’s some cool communities to be part of, but another extended stay
⭐️ Score💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌥 Feels -3° 27° -1° 29°AQI 140$2,120 / mo35Mbps
I stayed here for a month in July last year. There's lots of cool aspects to the city but I hated it when I was there. The city has a problem with British stag parties, so if you look like you're a British male and speak English expect to be treated with disdain (it's fair enough) The Hungarians can just generally be unfriendly, especially bartenders. It's a weird experience waiting to be served while 3 people ignore you. Or buying the same drink and getting charged whatever they want (700-1500
⭐️ Score💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety ☀️ Feels -2° 28° 0° 33°AQI 420$1,524 / mo39Mbps
London is a SO beautiful city. The historical center is cute, but also majestic and luxurious. You feel the culture at every step. British people are really kind and welcoming! Plus, more than just one, you can enjoy TWO skylines 😍 so many skyscrapers, nothing beats its collection in Europe.
⭐️ Score💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌥 Feels 3° 37° 4° 38°AQI 530$4,099 / mo19Mbps
Don't believe the prices on here for an apartment. 686 usd/month refers to an apartment in a high class condo, right in the city centre and seconds away from the BTS(train station). Just remember this, people working at supermarkets make 2 usd/per hour. If you want to live like a local, then you can save a lot of money. If you don't mind a 5-10 minute walk from the BTS, then you can easily get a one bedroom apartment for 300 USD per month, in a high class condo, plus with free golf cart ser
⭐️ Score💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌥 Feels 34° 93° 31° 87°🥵AQI 144😷0$1,455 / mo21Mbps🌎 Regions collected (3 of 9)









🚩 Flags collected (5 of 276)





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🛬 Most visits

We loved Medellin! Poblado is a magical enclave, unlike most of Medellin. Amazing restaurants, lots of nature, friendly people, gorgeous women, fast internet, tons of places to work.
⭐️ Score💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌧 Feels 22° 72° 22° 72°AQI 76😷1x$1,065 / mo11Mbps
Read the review that starts "I live here and I can tell you that many of the stats listed are wrong" - its spot on accurate I will add to that - Vancouver is brain-numbingly boring and dead. There is noticeable and toxic mix of pedestrians, cyclists and car drivers. Mix in a very Vancouver trait of entitlement, and watch the the passive aggression fly. Vancouverites generally are a cold bunch making it difficult for newcomers. Worst of all they believe in their own created hype that live in
⭐️ Score💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌦 Feels 8° 46° 8° 47°AQI 291x$3,040 / mo33Mbps
Rome has tourist fatigue. Servers are curt and it's hard to find a decent restaurant.
⭐️ Score💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌧 Feels 7° 45° 8° 47°AQI 80😷1x$4,314 / mo15Mbps
I lived in Tallinn for four months. It's a great city overall. Life quality is excellent with transportations and everything else working excellently. I loved the fact that you can travel to other countries easily and inexpensively (Russia, Finland, Sweden, Latvia, etc.). At the same time, I think the city gets monotonous fast compared to other places where I lived in a similar size. Estonian people don't appear to be very active. It's understandable because most of them are hard-working and out
⭐️ Score💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌤 Feels -15° 5° -9° 16°AQI 211x$2,116 / mo27Mbps🛌 Most time spent

I lived in Tallinn for four months. It's a great city overall. Life quality is excellent with transportations and everything else working excellently. I loved the fact that you can travel to other countries easily and inexpensively (Russia, Finland, Sweden, Latvia, etc.). At the same time, I think the city gets monotonous fast compared to other places where I lived in a similar size. Estonian people don't appear to be very active. It's understandable because most of them are hard-working and out
⭐️ Score💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌤 Feels -15° 5° -9° 16°AQI 216mo$2,116 / mo27Mbps
Read the review that starts "I live here and I can tell you that many of the stats listed are wrong" - its spot on accurate I will add to that - Vancouver is brain-numbingly boring and dead. There is noticeable and toxic mix of pedestrians, cyclists and car drivers. Mix in a very Vancouver trait of entitlement, and watch the the passive aggression fly. Vancouverites generally are a cold bunch making it difficult for newcomers. Worst of all they believe in their own created hype that live in
⭐️ Score💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌦 Feels 8° 46° 8° 47°AQI 295mo$3,040 / mo33Mbps
Rome has tourist fatigue. Servers are curt and it's hard to find a decent restaurant.
⭐️ Score💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌧 Feels 7° 45° 8° 47°AQI 80😷2mo$4,314 / mo15Mbps
We loved Medellin! Poblado is a magical enclave, unlike most of Medellin. Amazing restaurants, lots of nature, friendly people, gorgeous women, fast internet, tons of places to work.
⭐️ Score💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌧 Feels 22° 72° 22° 72°AQI 76😷1mo$1,065 / mo11Mbps