Deciding when to move? Where to move?

Question

Hello Nomads!
I’ve been travelling for ~5 months in South America. When I left home my plan was to see every country (1 month per country) and then head to Europe.
I’ve since started contracting and the rapid travel pace is really draining me. I want to stay in one place for a while, meet more like minded people and surround myself with people also building awesome stuff.
South America doesn’t seem to have a very active nomad/tech community though. I’m also just not connecting with people the way I’m used to. It’s left me wondering if I’d be better off heading elsewhere right away. At the same time I feel stupid flying elsewhere when there’s still so much to see in South America. I also think a lot of other places I have in mind would raise my cost of living… so basically moving would burn my money faster.

So to turn that into a question:
How do you decide when to move?
What are the things you look at when you consider a new place?
Nomad List ranks places based on factors like Weather and Cost…but what about people?
What cities are good for meeting tech nomads?
What cities have great, fun, welcoming people that are easy to interact with?
Any factors to consider in cities that NomadsList overlooks?
Where should I go?
Thanks!
Harold

thewinevagabond · Accepted Answer

I’ve spent 8 months in asia and I can see the appeal but I’m looking forward to leaving in a month. I’m settling on a structure where I move between the 4 places I have the most friends with 1 month breaks between to some place new. Those places are nyc, mexico, bcn, london. They are not the typical super cheap nomad spots, but the combination of local startup scene in several of those places and the already in place friend networks are much more interesting to me than trying to build that from scratch in asia. But that is a minority opinion

levelsio · Answer

Hey! I think South East Asia is still definitely the easiest place to meet other people like you. It’s not the most original place to go to, but def the most popular.
I felt Latin America very challenging to travel/live.

haroldtreen · Answer

Just an updated on what I decided to do:

Go back home. Visit for a month and a half.
Applied to a program in New York!

After I made the decision, just felt so much more relaxed and excited. I’ve definitely been trying to fit myself into some traveller identity. Convince myself that 12 months on the road was the right lifestyle for me.
But I think the last 5 months has proved that wrong. My best moments have been hosting friends for dinners, getting involved with locals meetups/groups. Enjoying relationships with others.
I still like the idea of having freedom to work from wherever - but I think my healthy balance has more visits at home.
So I’m going to start moving whenever the little voice in my head starts telling me it’s time.
Where to move? That really depends on what the voice in the head is asking for. I was missing my friends from home, so Vancouver/Toronto makes sense. I was also craving to work with others. People with similar interests and goals. The program in New York is going to put me with a big group of those people for 3 months. So that seems perfect.
After I might have the travel bug again and give parts of Europe a try. Also hoping to find some people in the New York program who might want to do the same thing.
That’s not for a while though! Good to feel confident in my short term plans again :).
Thanks everyone for responding!

haroldtreen · Answer

Well then I’m glad I’m not the only one that finds that  .
I definitely agree that South East Asia seems like “THE” place to go for all this. But I also wonder if I would just feel in a bubble.  When I was thinking of places where I would get along best with the general vibe and people of a city - places on the west coast of Canada/US came to mind.
But that’s not really travelling anymore… Made me wonder if this lifestyle requires a baseline prioritization of weather/cost of living/exoticness over living in a place where you get along best with others.
But should defs give asia a try before I decide. So many thoughts!
Thanks @levelsio!

kathrynoh · Answer

I tend to go to places that meet my other needs than being a cheap location.  I’m not that interested in getting my cost of living as low as possible and, while I’ve spent time in SE Asia, it’s not my favourite part of the world.
I think living in places with a rock bottom cost of living has other costs. There’s been a fair bit written about how, when your cost of living is low people tend to set the bar a lot lower with their goals and efforts. I hate the heat and the hassle.
Also, I do feel a bit uneasy about the ethics of subsidising my cost of living while earning a Western, first world income but paying third world prices. I know that’s multi-faceted issue and the positives of injecting money into those economies comes into play but, on an individual level, it feels wrong.

oskar · Answer

Life is not easy pal. If you want easy and cheap go to SEA and you will be in your “bubble” as you said with tons of other europeans and americans. Remember, big risks and hard things can bring greater rewards

haroldtreen · Answer

That’s awesome that you have communities in each!
I think frequent visits to spots where you have friends is important. But when flights between continents cost 700$+, it’s almost like trading a month of travel for a change of location.
But I’m trying to learn that those things are investments in my happiness. Same thing with Gym, good work environment. Can’t just cut away every possible expense and expect to be equally productive.
So much to learn!

haroldtreen · Answer

What types of places are those?
It’s interesting to hear from the people who spend a bit more to live in countries more like their homes. The majority of people I’ve met generally have done most of their travelling in SE Asia and cheaper parts of the world. I’ll have to do more reading on the issue.
Thanks for sharing!

levelsio · Answer

kathrynoh:

I think living in places with a rock bottom cost of living has other costs. There’s been a fair bit written about how, when your cost of living is low people tend to set the bar a lot lower with their goals and efforts. I hate the heat and the hassle.

Totally! Think air pollution, police and government corruption, free speech. I mean I love Thailand but it has a significant risk of just getting locked up without a fair trial for minor stuff these days.
I love Bali but then I don’t like how they burn their plastic garbage everywhere (hi cancer).
This is all stuff you learn after awhile, these places are made to look great for 2 weeks. But then… 
That’s kinda why I like doing this though, I can be in places for a few months and then when I get sick of it, hop to the next. And that way get a nice balance of what I want in a place from a few different spots over the year.

matthieudrula · Answer

Travelling with 1 month in each country…
In SA sometimes to cross the border by plane you have to pay 600$ for 100 km. In my case I stay has long as legally possible if I like the country. I guess that’s why your cash drains quick  + if you stay in airbnb or furnished place.
Something that Nomadlist ignores : Visa-friendly but that depends of your nationality too.
Where you should go, I have heard that Medellin has very friendly people, Peru too.

chase_buckner · Answer

What area of Mexico do you stay in?

chrisschwarz · Answer

I have 2 rules:

I like to meet old friends in new places
Big cities where I can make lots of friends

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