What's your favorite digital nomad spots in Europe?

Question

I just landed in Europe - starting off in Malta. I plan to move around within Europe and the UK for about 8 months. Any recommendations for hotspots for digital nomads? Specifically, I’d like to meet other DNs in person (via coworking, etc), as I recently starting working as a DN and haven’t met too many people in person who are doing what we are doing!
Affordable places are great, but I don’t want to rule out Scandinavia, for example, if I can find a good housesit. Finally, I know this is very specific and might be hard for most to answer – but if anyone reading has experience eating gluten-free in Europe, would love to know the better countries for that (for instance, I’ve heard Germany and France are pretty tough). Thanks.

lightmotif · Accepted Answer

Thanks, all. I haven’t hung out on the chat forum too much, but I’m now following on Twitter and FB. I am most likely heading to Budapest myself, but not sure when at the moment. Prague is beautiful – enjoy.

lightmotif · Answer

Cool, thanks, @jessehanley and @AndreGussekloo. I love Spain, but have never been to Gran Canaria - I have it in mind. Thanks too, @Petar_np for the tip on Belgrade.

lightmotif · Answer

Thanks, @xiufensilver. Who is “we” by the way – are there meetups associated with this site? Seems to me most of the DN events seem spread out over several sites – FaceBook, Meetup, etc.
Apologies, I am new to the digital nomad community… I think my few other friends who are DNs don’t even know such a thing exists.

creatix · Answer

Tarifa, is becoming the new Hub for digital Nomads in europe! http://www.webworktravel.com/tarifa-workations/ I am here at the moment and is really amazing and rising coworking spaces too.  let me know if you come, I am here now some more time

lightmotif · Answer

Loving the tips and opinions here!
@jessehanley - have you also spent time in Copenhagen and Stockholm? I’m a designer, so I probably need to find a way to spend some time in Scandinavia. You say it’s very connected - how did you network? Generally, I would be interested to know others’ methods for networking beyond this group. I’m loving the mediterranean right now, and found a cheap and relaxing place. But the one Malta digi nomad group I found on FaceBook flaked on an event they set up - no one showed.
@Mari_travels -  Krakow is on my list, we’ll see if I can make it this year. So many places to see! I haven’t been to the Black Sea area yet but will probably make some of those countries part of my non-Schengen time in Europe this year.

lightmotif · Answer

Thanks, @gigigriffis, I will keep your plans in mind. Berlin didn’t grab me when I was there (but it was years ago, and winter), but I might give it a try again. I’m a huge fan of Spain in general, but Sevilla over Barcelona. Italy has the highest incidence of Celiac disease, so yes, it’s supposed to be very good. Malta, I’m finding, has not adopted so much of that particular Italian practice.

xiufensilver · Answer

We’ve had several digital nomad meetups in London and Berlin and they have some great coworking spaces, I know more about Berlin’s cowork spaces like Betahaus though

lightmotif · Answer

Oh… so many times I almost made it to Gibraltar… as I was based in Sevilla (still the greatest city in the world, I think) for a number of months many years ago.
Is it just that one organization (looks temporary) or lots of co-working there? I’m not sure I’ll make it this summer, but maybe in the fall. Thanks for the tip!

andregussekloo · Answer

Hi Susan,
I’ve been to Budapest and Prague and both seem to have their fair share of nomads passing through. Lots of hip coworking spaces and coffeeshops, too. I was in Krakaw before nomads went digital and it wouldn’t surprise me if it had become a hotspot too.
I was based on Gran Canaria (Canary Islands) for a few years, where the digital nomad scene has really come to life lately. I run a Facebook group for anyone with questions or tips about living and (co)working on Gran Canaria. Anyone who’s reading this is welcome to join.
Cheers,
André
P.S. More and more restaurants in Spain have gluten-free items marked on their menus.

mari_travels · Answer

Malta is a great place to start! I also recommend Poland (Krakow or Wroclaw), is really cheap, quite beautiful, nice in the summer and friendly.
Im planning to go the Black Sea area this summer for about 3 months, am between Varna, Bulgaria or Constanta, Romania.  Any tips?  Have you been there?

gigigriffis · Answer

I’m not gluten-free, but I have a friend who is and who said she was pleasantly surprised at how many options she found in northern Italy.
As for hot spots, I’ve never been myself, but I know nomads/bloggers/etc. seem to all end up in Berlin at one point or another. Barcelona also seems popular (though personally I dislike the city) and I’ve heard a lot of people talking about London.
If you are in the Swiss Alps in May/June or in Slovenia in July, give me a shout. I’m in the Alps for a couple months now then heading to Slovenia.

jessehanley · Answer

Well, a combination between this group and co-working spaces. I just reach out and I’ve never had any no-shows before. Everyone’s absolutely lovely. I’ll put it to the test when I head to some other Scandinavian countries this year

levelsio · Answer

I’m going to try out Budapest and Prague this year. They’re cheap, warm (in the summer) and very safe.

xiufensilver · Answer

Hey! If you follow us on Facebook or Twitter, we have updates on our next meetups. Usually someone from the #nomads chat community organizes them

nickdanforth · Answer

Budapest and Prague are personal favorites of mine. Great for posting up for a couple months of work!

tkrunning · Answer

Hi @suuzin! I’d recommend Lisbon. Quite cheap for Europe and overall an amazing, free-spirited city. It reminds me a bit of a less techy San Francisco. Copenhagen is also great (I’ve lived there for 9 months and return multiple times yearly). Although generally expensive (but way less so compared to Oslo), I have seen a few house sits nearby on TrustedHousesitters.com.
Oh, and if you do decide to go to Berlin, I’ll be here until early July. If you’re here before that let me know

vruizext · Answer

I’ve heard about, in airbnb the prices are going crazy, so I guess that’s not the best place to search for appartments. There’s a german clone of airbnb, wimdu.com, don’t know if the prices are in the same range or cheaper. And there’ s also 9flats.com.
Besides that, if you have time, I think you can find cheaper appartments searching on classified ads, there are some popular sites in Germany, immobilienscout24.de, wg-gesucht.de, also in craiglist Berlin, but watch out, there are also scams in craiglist. Even though the ads are mostly for long-term stays, there are always short-term rents. The search is quite time consuming, since there use to be many people competing to get an appartment or room. And also it might be a bit frustrating, flat owners might not be willing to rent their flats to someone they haven’t met in person.  If you have time and are ok with this, you can just give it a try.
Good luck with your search, let me know if you finally come to Berlin

lightmotif · Answer

OK, thanks for that! Yes, I’m reading now that prices in Berlin have been rising sharply. So I might stay in Budapest a while longer than planned… but maybe Berlin in mid/ late July, if anyone knows of someone who needs a house-sitter, flatmate, or to rent a flat. Thanks!

sebastianhub · Answer

Hi suuzin, I friend of mine is running a coworking space in Denmark; CoWork is the name (http://www.cowork-klitmoller.dk/), it’s  located on the coast and they are really friendly nice people; ask for Rasmus Johnsen if you are interested in Scandinavia, it happens the he also eat gluten free.

jessehanley · Answer

I’ve absolutely loved Oslo, Norway. Perhaps it’s because there is such an amazing and connected community of makers and creators here. Although expensive, there are ways to make it work well

lightmotif · Answer

@timnomad and @thomas  Thank you!! Funny you should say that about contacting people within minutes of a listing going live… that’s how I just found mine. Pretty crazy. But I also got Meetup to finally show me all the great stuff going on, so I think this hassle will have been worth it… I hope!

chrispreynolds · Answer

I could not recommend Barcelona more…and still don’t know why it doesnt get the DM credit it deserves.  Everyone that comes here doesnt want to leave and from a 4.5 year DM I think Barca is the perfect city.

petar_np · Answer

Come and visit Belgrade for day or two if you can, it is 4 hours from Budapest

lightmotif · Answer

Hey @vruizext,  thanks for that. I’m looking at apartment prices in Berlin and unless I’m missing something, they are a lot higher than I thought they would be, at least in the summer. What is the best place to find a short term apartment (3 weeks-ish)?

tkrunning · Answer

Hey @suuzin, Airbnb-prices are pretty crazy in Berlin, especially during summer. When I first arrived I stayed in a decent hostel for around $15 per night, then paid around 2-300 EUR per month in some places I found on WG (wg-gesucht.de) and I also had a 2 week stint as a house sitter in a lovely apartment. I put relatively little effort into finding something on WG, but it’s more or less a must to already be in the city. Instead of contacting a bunch of people I posted an ad myself with the required dates and areas, and a handful of people too lazy to list their place reached out to me. If you decide to contact people through the published listings you should really try to contact them within minutes of the listing going live.
Hope that helps!

paul_cox · Answer

Hi, I absolutely LOVE Tarifa. I agree that it’s a fantastic place to live and work with great internet access, a crazy cosmopolitan mix of friendly people, warm weather and plenty to see and do. I’ve written a guide to help people who are thinking about visiting: tarifaguide.com - enjoy!

flyingscottie · Answer

Hi Nick, would you recommend Prague or Budapest in the winter?  I’m in Canada, so I can’t imagine it being any WORSE than here!! But will be significantly cheaper, I hope.

lightmotif · Answer

@thomas and @vruizext - been roughly planning on Berlin from July 15 - Aug 2 but housing is still an issue. Not understanding how this can be a digital nomad hub – unless maybe the nomads are longer term, and spend a lot of time working out a longer term apartment. Those sites were helpful, @vruizext, but my German language skills are not the best for the less expensive sites. Any advice appreciated – I would like mainly go for the networking but if I can’t afford to cowork there, are there other opportunities (other than the DNX conference)? Thanks!

lightmotif · Answer

Thanks @HubFuerteventur and @thomas! Lisbon is great, I have been. I will let you know if I go to Berlin and thanks so much for the referral to the co-working group in Denmark!

vruizext · Answer

Berlin is a great destination for summer and you can find many cafes where to work and also affordable coworking spaces. Totally recommend it. I was indeed traveling for the last months and came back home to Berlin, to spend the summer here, because it’s the best time of the year.

anon72215238 · Answer

Yeah Berlin and Amsterdam are tough cities to find cheap short term accommodation in. July and August is the peak summer season too, and you’re looking at the last minute.
Could you rough it in a hostel dorm for 2 weeks? 4 bed dorms in a hostel which isn’t a party hostel aren’t too bad.

tkrunning · Answer

@suuzin glad you found something

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