Nomad List
Bansko Nomad Fest - a celebration of the location independent lifestyle and nomad mindset - June 29 to July 5, 2020Register Now| 🏆 Nomad Score™ | 197 reviews |
| 💵 Cost | |
| 📡 Internet | |
| 😝 Fun | |
| ⛅️ Temperature (now) | |
| 💦 Humidity (now) | |
| 💨 Air quality (now) | |
| 👌 Safety | |
| 👍 Quality of life | |
| 🚶 Walkability | |
| ✌️ Peace | |
| 🚦 Traffic safety | |
| 🏥 Healthcare | |
| 😄 Happiness | |
| 🍸 Nightlife | |
| 📶 Free WiFi in city | |
| 🖥 Places to work from | |
| ❄️ A/C or heating | |
| 😁 Friendly to foreigners | |
| 🙊 English speaking | |
| 🗯 Freedom of speech | |
| 🤚🏿🤚🏻 Racial tolerance | |
| 👩 Female friendly | |
| 🌈 LGBT friendly | |
| 🎅 Startup Score |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🌍 Region | Europe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🚩 Country | Bulgaria | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ⏱ Average trip duration | 28 days | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 📡 Internet speed (avg) | 21 Mbps | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ⛅️ Weather | 🌤 17°C 63°F + 💦 Humid (68%) + 💨 3km/h = Feels like 17°C 63°F | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 💨 Air quality (now) | 👍 34 µg/m3 equal to 🚬 🚬 / day | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🔌 Power | 230V50Hz | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🚕 Best taxi app | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 📱 Best wireless carrier | Vivacom | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 💸 10 BGN in USD | USD 5.66 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🏧 Suggested ATM take out: BGN 1,000 | USD 566 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 💸 Tipping | No | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 💻 Best coworking space | Coworking Bansko | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ☕️ Best coffee place | Family Bansko Coffee & Kids Club | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🏪 Best 24/7 coffee place | Coworking Bansko | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🚰 Safe tap water | 🚫 No, not drinkable | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ♻️ Return rate | 11% of visitors return | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 👨👩👧👦 Population | 8,600 people | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ⛪️ Religious government | Non-religious | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 💻 Online electronics shop | Emag | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🏠 Apartment listings | Airbnb | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ✈️ Best short-haul air carrier | Transavia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ✈️ Best int'l air carrier | Transavia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🏥 Best hospital | Hospital Razlog | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| snowskiingsnowboardingno-beachmildmild nowclean airgood air qualityfast internetcheap cost of livinglow crimehigh humiditymany womenfriendly peopleadult nightlife | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 💵 Nomad Cost™ | $1,477 / month |
| 💵 Cost of living for expat | $1,003 / month |
| 💵 Cost of living for family | $1,229 / month |
| 💵 Cost of living for local | $351 / month |
| 🏠 1br studio rent in center | $226 / month |
| 🏢 Coworking | $113 / month |
| 🏨 Hotel | $604 / month |
| 🏨 Hotel | $28 / night |
| 🏠 Airbnb (46 listings) | $2,214 / month |
| 🏠 Airbnb | $73 / night |
| 🍝 Dinner | $5 |
| 🍹 Coca-Cola (0.3L) | $1 |
| 🍺 Beer (0.5L) | $1 |
| ☕️ Coffee | $1 |
Based on Bansko's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:
 | Senior Programmer Analyst UX Develo... @ Edward Jones |
 | Product Designer @ Filestage |
Bansko is a great place. I purposely visited in the shoulder season as it is likely to be the worst time of year and even then it was still fun. Coworking Bansko has a great community and there are extra curricular events organised most nights, with willing participants. Think board games, hot springs, Movies, poker etc. They are also starting a skills list to enable nomads to find those who they might like to collaborate with. The town itself is nice, and reasonably priced. Couple that with the low tax rate for Bulgaria and its a place to consider as a base. Go there. You'll love it,
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌤 Feels 17° 63° 17° 63°AQI 34🚕0min$1,476 / mo21MbpsI lived in Sofia for 3 months and I loved it. The food scene is amazing; quality food in very cheap price. Very calm atmosphere with a lot of nature. Park everywhere! As Asian, I felt the least racism in the region. However, I did see a lot of Swastikas everywhere, even on a guy's calf. The city center has some cool bars.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌤 Feels 15° 59° 15° 60°AQI 35🚕3h$1,276 / mo23MbpsI've been here for the last 5 months. People are extremely friendly, the weather has been amazing (on the too hot side, during the summer). You can drink tap water, Nomadlist, check that. It is very cheap, walkable, plenty of cafes, bars and restaurants. It is very safe. The gym scene is not great but you can survive. Not many hipsters, but overloaded with instagrammers (like everywhere else, I guess). All in all, it's a beautiful city, safe, affordable, welcoming (if you are white). Racist graffiti is all over, but I haven't heard of any violence. That part is sad. Sometimes I think I'll stay here forever, sometimes other cities want me to know them.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌤 Feels 15° 59° 15° 60°AQI 53😷🚕4h$1,334 / mo28MbpsBeen there recently. Little city with some Istanbulish appearences in the Old Town + it's really cheapppp!!! The old town + center is really cute. Definitely worth seeing it!
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌫 Feels 18° 64° 18° 64°AQI 72😷✈️14min$1,255 / mo10MbpsNiš is not very touristic though you'll have to check the skull tower. The fortress is a nice place to hang out during the summer. The locals are very smiling and friendly with foreigners (there aren't many foreigners around). It's quite cheap overall and it has a medium city vibe. It's super clean in the streets.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌤 Feels 19° 66° 19° 67°AQI 22✈️17min$1,187 / mo32MbpsVery costly. The salaries are ridiculous. The air is terrible. People are really friendly. Corruption is a high level. Political situation is unrest all the time.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌧 Feels 25° 77° 22° 72°AQI 7✈️25min$1,173 / mo8MbpsI lived here 3 months during summer and it was amazing. The weather is beautiful, 2 hours away from the beach, the internet is fast, the coffee shops are chic, nightlife very alive and the prices are good. Go here during summer because there are more events, activities to do than the winter when it's cold and snowy.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌫 Feels 15° 59° 15° 60°AQI 26✈️29min$1,581 / mo55MbpsI lived in Sofia for 3 months and I loved it. The food scene is amazing; quality food in very cheap price. Very calm atmosphere with a lot of nature. Park everywhere! As Asian, I felt the least racism in the region. However, I did see a lot of Swastikas everywhere, even on a guy's calf. The city center has some cool bars.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌤 Feels 15° 59° 15° 60°AQI 35🚕3h$1,276 / mo23MbpsAmazing place! Definitely one of the most underrated countries in western Europe.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌧 Feels 18° 64° 18° 65°AQI 34✈️4h$2,034 / mo26MbpsVery costly. The salaries are ridiculous. The air is terrible. People are really friendly. Corruption is a high level. Political situation is unrest all the time.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌧 Feels 25° 77° 22° 72°AQI 7✈️25min$1,173 / mo8MbpsAll those saying Dublin is boring need a reality check, it has an amazing nightlife with incredibly friendly people. I agree a lot of the scores are way off but its true that it is ridiculously expensive especially for accommodation.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌥 Feels 7° 45° 9° 49°AQI 42✈️3h$3,682 / mo58MbpsI've been here for the last 5 months. People are extremely friendly, the weather has been amazing (on the too hot side, during the summer). You can drink tap water, Nomadlist, check that. It is very cheap, walkable, plenty of cafes, bars and restaurants. It is very safe. The gym scene is not great but you can survive. Not many hipsters, but overloaded with instagrammers (like everywhere else, I guess). All in all, it's a beautiful city, safe, affordable, welcoming (if you are white). Racist graffiti is all over, but I haven't heard of any violence. That part is sad. Sometimes I think I'll stay here forever, sometimes other cities want me to know them.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌤 Feels 15° 59° 15° 60°AQI 53😷🚕4h$1,334 / mo28MbpsI have been living in London for over 2 years as a student. It's ridiculously expensive. However, there are options. What I like about the city is you can find many events anytime you want. It's active all year 24/7. There are so many foreigners and tourists which make the living more vibrant and less racist. London has sub-communities which I think is a good thing. Those communities bring their cultures, ethics and foods. Public transportation and restaurants are great. I used to spend 3-4 hours in Costa or Nero cafe without interruptions. Though if it's raining or summer season it could be hard to stay long. On the negative side, the UK suffers from slow and old bureaucracies making life difficult sometimes. It's not easy to open a bank account or to rent. The government systems are slow. Also, you will feel depressed in winter when the sunset is before 4pm and the temperature is 0c. All in all, everything is great about the city except the affordability and the winter.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌦 Feels 7° 45° 7° 45°AQI 33✈️3h$4,082 / mo17MbpsBeen there twice. I love Prague
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌫 Feels 15° 59° 15° 59°AQI 42✈️2h$1,965 / mo26MbpsTimisoara is an interesting place. The centre square is where it all happens. We stayed a couple days to break up our journey in Romania. Lots of cafes and restaurants. It’s very safe, apart from the occasional person asking for money. English in the centre is pretty well spoken, but out of that, it’s hard to find an English speaking/understanding person. If in real trouble go talk to youth, they will be beat option. The food is quite good and beer is cold. The cost was very reasonable too. 6.5/10 is a pretty fair score I’d say.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌥 Feels 24° 75° 21° 69°AQI 22✈️38min$1,297 / mo37MbpsI lived in Sofia for 3 months and I loved it. The food scene is amazing; quality food in very cheap price. Very calm atmosphere with a lot of nature. Park everywhere! As Asian, I felt the least racism in the region. However, I did see a lot of Swastikas everywhere, even on a guy's calf. The city center has some cool bars.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌤 Feels 15° 59° 15° 60°AQI 35🚕3h$1,276 / mo🌇 Also went here33 peopleI spent 3 weeks in Belgrade (July 2019) to visit a friend who relocated. To be honest, while i've traveled somewhat extensively, and leave the USA on average three times per year, I had no idea what to expect in Serbia (Belgrade). I'd never been to Eastern Europe, let alone the Balkans. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised at how incredibly friendly just about everyone was. Everyone spoke english everywhere I went: cafes, restaurants, supermarket, taxis, shops, etc. My friend has very small children, and Belgrade is FULL of parks. The parks are routinely teeming with parents, as it seems there's some sort of a baby boom going on there. I was able to easily strike up friendly conversation with locals, who were extremely cordial. Even though I was there to visit friends, I spent the majority of my time alone exploring. I stayed in the city center, close to Republic Square. From there I could walk just about anywhere; the river, the mall on the other side of the river, waterfront, the old fort, etc. Taxis were extremely cheap, but often I just preferred to walk, even to Vracar from where I was in Venac , which is about a 30 minute walk, just because it was nice to experience Belgrade and people watch along the way. The AirBnb I rented had a functioning kitchen, and food in the supermarket is pretty cheap, but so is eating out (by American standards). I routinely had lunch or dinner with a drink, coffee and desert for anywhere from $11-18USD on average. I chose mostly to sit at any one of the countless open air cafe/restaurants twice a day, because it was so worth it. Is Belgrade the most exciting place on the planet? Probably not. At the same time, it's not boring either. I ended up loving the place. Between the people, the fact that I felt completely safe walking around by myself past midnight on many occasions, the great food, and typically European feel, I would definitely recommend Belgrade. Especially if you're not on a London/Paris budget, but want to experience Europe. People are much nicer also.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌤 Feels 20° 68° 20° 68°AQI 14✈️33min$1,459 / mo🌇 Also went here20 peoplePretty decent place. I usually spend September and October in Athens when the weather is close to perfect ie. not too hot nor too cold for yours truly. You can get easily by with nothing but English, though tossing an occasional συγνώμε and παρακαλώ in the mix helps. That, of course, as long as you stay in the pricey parts of the city. With a bit of luck and some advance planning Athens can be extremely affordable. There are Airbnb listings quite far away from the center, yet close to a metro station -- for less than 800€ per month you can get a two bedrooms + a kitchen + a large balcony next to a reasonably quiet street. This, of course, works only for those who are more or less busy working from Monday to Friday. For something resembling more like a tourist visit, you'll be paying at least twice for a flat near the center and quite likely end up in somewhere with plenty of motorcycle noises to keep you awake all night, every night.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌥 Feels 25° 77° 22° 72°AQI 60😷✈️34min$2,687 / mo🌇 Also went here22 peopleI spent 54 days in Budapest and absolutely loved it. After Chiang Mai it's my favorite destination as a nomad. Pros: *Beautiful city *Super affordable *People are friendly and the majority of people I spoke with spoke English well *Tons of things to do from great night life to the hot baths, bike and walking tours and a vibrant food scene *No issues with internet and I was pleased with the co-working I worked out of (Kaptar). There are also some great coffee shops to work out of. My favorite is Flow, a few minutes walk from Octagon. *Weather was great until the start of November when it changed quite dramatically. *I had an amazing airbnb which I paid $1,050 for 30 nights. You can definitely find great places for cheaper. Cons: *At times I felt the streets were too crazy. The city has a ton of tourists and I can only imagine what it's like in the summer. *The Hungarians are heavy smokers. Thankfully there is no smoking indoors. *It got very cold and gray from the start of November. This had a bigger impact on me than I anticipated and negatively affected my experience. If you're like me and don't do well in the cold then I'd avoid Budapest from the start of November. Feel free to write me if you have any specific questions. My username on Nomadlist is @justin_butlion.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌦 Feels 16° 61° 16° 60°AQI 47✈️58min$1,311 / mo🌇 Also went here27 peopleBeen living in Berlin for a couple of months. Not worth it anymore. Cold, gray, sad, more expensive than Cologne, terrible internet access (especially mobile), impossible to find decent mid-term apartments, everything getting 25% more expensive per quarter.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌦 Feels 8° 46° 9° 48°AQI 35✈️2h$2,877 / mo🌇 Also went here27 peopleParisians are not as rude as some people say, most of them speak English when your approach is respectful, and you try to speak French, and begin by saying Bonjour, or Bon soir. It is very expensive, but like any other big city, there are always alternatives to different type of food or lodging. Public transportation is very efficient and not that expensive.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌥 Feels 8° 46° 8° 46°AQI 29✈️2h$4,085 / mo🌇 Also went here25 peopleI have been living in London for over 2 years as a student. It's ridiculously expensive. However, there are options. What I like about the city is you can find many events anytime you want. It's active all year 24/7. There are so many foreigners and tourists which make the living more vibrant and less racist. London has sub-communities which I think is a good thing. Those communities bring their cultures, ethics and foods. Public transportation and restaurants are great. I used to spend 3-4 hours in Costa or Nero cafe without interruptions. Though if it's raining or summer season it could be hard to stay long. On the negative side, the UK suffers from slow and old bureaucracies making life difficult sometimes. It's not easy to open a bank account or to rent. The government systems are slow. Also, you will feel depressed in winter when the sunset is before 4pm and the temperature is 0c. All in all, everything is great about the city except the affordability and the winter.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌦 Feels 7° 45° 7° 45°AQI 33✈️3h$4,082 / mo🌇 Also went here33 peopleI really enjoyed staying in Madrid. Reasonable coast of life, plenty of things to see/do and deliiiiicious food.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌧 Feels 9° 48° 10° 49°AQI 22✈️3h$3,350 / mo🌇 Also went here23 peopleAll those saying Dublin is boring need a reality check, it has an amazing nightlife with incredibly friendly people. I agree a lot of the scores are way off but its true that it is ridiculously expensive especially for accommodation.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌥 Feels 7° 45° 9° 49°AQI 42✈️3h$3,682 / mo🌇 Also went here20 peopleAmazing place! Definitely one of the most underrated countries in western Europe.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌧 Feels 18° 64° 18° 65°AQI 34✈️4h$2,034 / mo🌇 Also went here29 peopleChiang Mai has THE WORST AIR QUALITY of any city in the world for >= ~2 months every year (Google "burning season"). So impossible to ever live here permanently, even if you like the place. Also, Thailand is now cracking down on people using back-to-back visas or visa free entries to stay as well (just Google for it on the forums). It was getting harder and harder to stay (before I left) and the vibe wasn't as good as it used to be. Most people have moved onto Vietnam, which is much easier to stay in, much more up-and-coming, and where the authorities are much friendlier towards digital nomads.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety ☀️ Feels 42° 108° 33° 92°🥵AQI 46✈️10h$1,125 / mo🌇 Also went here27 peopleBest city in the world! You can certainly live the Nomad life in NYC for a lot less than 5k a month! I've been doing it since December 2018 for around $2500/mo. AirBnB is the way to go!
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌤 Feels 4° 39° 6° 43°AQI 17✈️10h$4,945 / mo🌇 Also went here28 peopleEverything just works. The food by Singaporean Hawkers are world-class for a good price too. 👌
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌥 Feels 44° 111° 33° 91°🥵AQI 36✈️12h$2,909 / mo🌇 Also went here20 peopleLived there for 5 month on a contract project in one IT company, With my monthly income of $3,400 it was disgustingly hard to have a normal lifestyle. The city is also very dirty, specifically the Mission. Would not recommend moving there as an expat.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety ☀️ Feels 24° 75° 21° 69°AQI 74😷✈️14h$5,050 / mo🌇 Also went here24 peopleUbud is great for older nomads over 35 who are over the party scene. It has great amenities like coworking spaces (HUBUD and Outpost), a dope-ass gym (Titi Batu) and some of the best yoga studios in the world (Yoga Barn and Radiantly Alive). And that's not even mentioning the food, which is incredible. Cons: no Uber or metered taxis so getting around is a total pain and the wild dogs at night can be treacherous. Overall, I don't understand why it's slipped in the rankings bc it really is awesome.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌤 Feels 58° 136° 37° 99°🥵AQI 25✈️14h$1,930 / mo🌇 Also went here21 people✅ Affordable to live
✅ Very safe
✅ Fast internet
✅ Lots of fun stuff to do
✅ Warm in the spring
✅ Good air quality on average
✅ Spacious and not crowded
✅ Easy to do business
✅ High quality of education
✅ Roads are very safe
✅ Freedom of speech
✅ Democratic
✅ Safe for women
✅ LGBT friendly
❌ Gets cold in the winter
❌ Humid now
❌ Not many nomads go here
❌ Very difficult to make friends
❌ Hospitals are pretty bad
❌ People don't speak English well
❌ Many people smoke tobacco
Nomad List ® Nomad List ®1 Month: $10/month
12 Months: $99/year
Save 18% per year: $8.24/month
One-Time-Purchase: $149
Save 90% forever
225 people signed up this month
Already a member? Log in
as seen in
Nomad List💖 Thank you so much for supporting Nomad List! I really appreciate it!
📬 First, please go to your email and click the confirm link first to verify your email address (check your spam folder if you can't find it).
💌 After you confirm your email I'll send you an email with more info.
👩💻 You can already start using most of the Nomad List member-only features!
💭 If you have any feedback, please tweet it!
by levelsio
