Nomad List| 🏆 Nomad Score™ | 189 reviews |
| 💵 Cost | |
| 📡 Internet | |
| 😝 Fun | |
| ⛅️ Temperature (now) | |
| 💦 Humidity (now) | |
| 👌 Safety | |
| 👍 Quality of life | |
| 🚶 Walkability | |
| ✌️ Peace | |
| 🚦 Traffic safety | |
| 🏥 Hospitals | |
| 😄 Happiness | |
| 🍸 Nightlife | |
| 📶 Free WiFi in city | |
| 🖥 Places to work from | |
| ❄️ A/C or heating | |
| 😁 Friendly to foreigners | |
| 🙊 English speaking | |
| 🗯 Freedom of speech | |
| 👩 Female friendly | |
| 🌈 LGBT friendly | |
| 🎅 Startup Score |
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| 🌍 Region | Asia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🚩 Country | Malaysia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ⏱ Average trip duration | 9 days | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 📡 Internet speed (avg) | 15 Mbps | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ⛅️ Weather | 🌧 29°C 85°F + 💦 Humid (97%) + 💨 4km/h = Feels like 38°C 100°F | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🔌 Power | 230V50Hz | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🚕 Best taxi app | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 📱 Best wireless carrier | Celcom | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 💸 10 MYR in USD | USD 2.40 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🏧 Suggested ATM take out: MYR 1,000 | USD 240 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 💸 Tipping | No | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 💳 Cashless society | 💵 No, cash only (esp. for foreigners) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 💻 Best coworking space | Hacker Space | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ☕️ Best coffee place | Espresso Garage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🏪 Best 24/7 coffee place | THE FACTORY 30 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🚰 Safe tap water | 🚫 No, not drinkable | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ♻️ Return rate | 0% of visitors return | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 📸 Visitors per year | 5,571,400 visitors | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 📸 Tourists now | 106,776 tourists | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 👨👩👧👦 Population | 420,000 people | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 👫 Gender ratio | 👨 47% 👱♀️ 53% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ⛪️ Religious government | Non-religious | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 💻 Online electronics shop | Lazada | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🏠 Apartment listings | Air BnB | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ✈️ Best short-haul air carrier | Air Asia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ✈️ Best int'l air carrier | Malaysia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🏥 Best hospital | Penawar Hospital | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| no-beachairportwarm nowwarmhotclean airgood air qualityfast internetcheap cost of livinghigh humiditymany womenfriendly people | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 💵 Nomad Cost™ | $863 / month |
| 💵 Cost of living for expat | $707 / month |
| 💵 Cost of living for family | $1,458 / month |
| 💵 Cost of living for local | $417 / month |
| 🏠 1br studio rent in center | $360 / month |
| 🏢 Coworking | $84 / month |
| 🏨 Hotel | $342 / month |
| 🏨 Hotel | $16 / night |
| 🏠 Airbnb (389 listings) | $1,117 / month |
| 🏠 Airbnb | $37 / night |
| 🍝 Dinner | $2 |
| 🍹 Coca-Cola (0.3L) | $1 |
| 🍺 Beer (0.5L) | $2 |
| ☕️ Coffee | $1 |
Based on Johor Bahru's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:
 | Accounting Assistant @ Empire Flippers |
 | Client Engagement Specialist @ Piktochart |
 | Managing Editor @ komoot |
 | Customer Advocate @ Baremetrics |
Everything just works. The food by Singaporean Hawkers are world-class for a good price too. 👌
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌧 Feels 38° 100° 30° 87°🥵AQI 33🚕53min$2,904 / mo84MbpsArrived yesterday, at Dreambase coworking now. A fascinating city in the sense that is seems strange, eerie, and sullen. It feels like the city was abandoned for 30 years and what remains is the population that decided to stay. Many random empty, lonely buildings. Patches of busyness dispersed in between patches of nullness. Everything feels just a little bit too far to walk. Grab works fine here for getting around. Extremely affordable. But so far it definitely doesn't feel like the place to be if what you're looking for is night life, socializing, and entrepreneurial communities. Internet speed is great. Weather is good. Things are quiet.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌦 Feels 37° 99° 29° 84°🥵✈️16min$810 / mo15MbpsI think KL will be the next hub for nomads. It's affordable, safe, convenient, has decent Internet and has decent weather. (Yes it's hot during the summer but it gives you a good reason to be inside and get your work done) Mostly it's quite chill, not as hectic and messy as other major SEA cities like Bangkok, Hanoi and Jakarta. There's not that much to do, but Malaysia has wonderful nature and getaway places, accessible with cheap AirAsia tickets from KL.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌧 Feels 48° 118° 34° 92°🥵✈️23min$1,303 / mo16MbpsGreat place, I stayed at bug n boats.....epics.s go to gua tempurung
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌧 Feels 49° 120° 32° 90°🥵✈️37min$1,175 / mo12MbpsBeware of slow internet speed! It's also difficult to get month-to-month accommodation. Airbnb is basically the only choice. I got a great studio apartment at the Kim Haus for $620/month, which includes tourist tax of RM10 per day. Excellent location. But the internet is so slow it is unusable. And there are very few cafes that have better internet. One of the better cafes in town happens to be across the street from the Kim Haus. It's called Coffee Addicts.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌤 Feels 44° 111° 33° 91°🥵✈️46min$1,025 / mo13MbpsKuching is a great place to base yourself, it's a vibrant yet quiet little city with access to all sorts of outdoor activities. I stayed at the Borneo Seahare Guesthouse for about 5 months. It is run by a western guy called Ben and his wife Syeda, they really helped me out with everything I needed and gave me a very reasonable rate on a private room. The internet was good and the place had everything I needed including a full kitchen for me to cook. Based right in the city center with loads of shops, restaurants and bars close by. I can highly recommended Kuching its a wonderful city and I will be returning next year for sure!
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌧 Feels 46° 115° 33° 91°🥵✈️59min$902 / mo12MbpsEverything just works. The food by Singaporean Hawkers are world-class for a good price too. 👌
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌧 Feels 38° 100° 30° 87°🥵AQI 33🚕53min$2,904 / mo84MbpsArrived yesterday, at Dreambase coworking now. A fascinating city in the sense that is seems strange, eerie, and sullen. It feels like the city was abandoned for 30 years and what remains is the population that decided to stay. Many random empty, lonely buildings. Patches of busyness dispersed in between patches of nullness. Everything feels just a little bit too far to walk. Grab works fine here for getting around. Extremely affordable. But so far it definitely doesn't feel like the place to be if what you're looking for is night life, socializing, and entrepreneurial communities. Internet speed is great. Weather is good. Things are quiet.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌦 Feels 37° 99° 29° 84°🥵✈️16min$810 / mo15MbpsDon'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 service to the BTS station. I have literally gone to a restaurant to pay 8 USD for a meal, when the exact dish was available on the street for only 1 USD and tastes much better. I ate out everyday and went partying a couple of times a week, and my total monthly expenses was still under 1000 usd. TIPS -Gyms are fucking expensive in Thailand. Expect to pay at least 60 USD/month for the gym, which is crazy when you consider the average wage in Thailand is 15 usd/per day. -Vitamins and supplements cost double the price than what you would get at home. Thais do not take supplements. Maybe only foreigners and really rich Thais. People spending 1500 USD per month must be eating steak daily and hanging out at places meant for foreigners.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety ☀️ Feels 42° 108° 34° 93°🥵AQI 88😷✈️2h$1,522 / mo24MbpsSuper slimy vibe and good luck trying to meet anyone on a dating app who isn't a bar girl / working for $$$ / trying to scam you out of something. If you like Las Vegas you might like it here, but there are better places imho.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌧 Feels 41° 106° 32° 90°🥵AQI 40✈️1h$1,733 / mo21MbpsLived 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 18° 64° 17° 62°AQI 59😷✈️18h$5,050 / mo49MbpsUbud 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 52° 126° 34° 94°🥵AQI 31✈️2h$1,918 / mo14MbpsI think KL will be the next hub for nomads. It's affordable, safe, convenient, has decent Internet and has decent weather. (Yes it's hot during the summer but it gives you a good reason to be inside and get your work done) Mostly it's quite chill, not as hectic and messy as other major SEA cities like Bangkok, Hanoi and Jakarta. There's not that much to do, but Malaysia has wonderful nature and getaway places, accessible with cheap AirAsia tickets from KL.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌧 Feels 48° 118° 34° 92°🥵✈️23min$1,303 / mo16MbpsEverything just works. The food by Singaporean Hawkers are world-class for a good price too. 👌
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌧 Feels 38° 100° 30° 87°🥵AQI 33🚕53min$2,904 / mo🌇 Also went here20 peopleArrived yesterday, at Dreambase coworking now. A fascinating city in the sense that is seems strange, eerie, and sullen. It feels like the city was abandoned for 30 years and what remains is the population that decided to stay. Many random empty, lonely buildings. Patches of busyness dispersed in between patches of nullness. Everything feels just a little bit too far to walk. Grab works fine here for getting around. Extremely affordable. But so far it definitely doesn't feel like the place to be if what you're looking for is night life, socializing, and entrepreneurial communities. Internet speed is great. Weather is good. Things are quiet.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌦 Feels 37° 99° 29° 84°🥵✈️16min$810 / mo🌇 Also went here15 peopleI think KL will be the next hub for nomads. It's affordable, safe, convenient, has decent Internet and has decent weather. (Yes it's hot during the summer but it gives you a good reason to be inside and get your work done) Mostly it's quite chill, not as hectic and messy as other major SEA cities like Bangkok, Hanoi and Jakarta. There's not that much to do, but Malaysia has wonderful nature and getaway places, accessible with cheap AirAsia tickets from KL.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌧 Feels 48° 118° 34° 92°🥵✈️23min$1,303 / mo🌇 Also went here19 peopleSuper slimy vibe and good luck trying to meet anyone on a dating app who isn't a bar girl / working for $$$ / trying to scam you out of something. If you like Las Vegas you might like it here, but there are better places imho.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌧 Feels 41° 106° 32° 90°🥵AQI 40✈️1h$1,733 / mo🌇 Also went here10 peopleMain advantage of Vietnam in general is the ease of getting a visa. That's real nice but there are some big problems here. The food is terrible. Bland soups with slippery, boring rice noodles topped with weird stuff like pig's feet are not my idea of a good meal. Neither are sandwiches with fatty mystery meats. Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia all have way better food. The sushi I've had here was also terrible. The city itself is pretty ugly. Every building is the same tall, skinny shape. Overall safety is low and you'll probably end up in a traffic accident if you stay here long enough. It costs more to rent a place and if you're on a low budget you'll likely end up in a home stay or guesthouse when you could have rented an apartment for the same price in another city. Many places have curfews, even as early as 8pm, so make sure to ask your Airbnb about that because they won't bother to mention it in the listing. Stay in D1/D10/D3/D4/Phu nhuan. Avoid Tan phu, D7, D2, Tan binh, and Go vap. Avoid the rainy season.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌥 Feels 45° 113° 33° 91°🥵AQI 87😷✈️1h$1,031 / mo🌇 Also went here15 peopleDon'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 service to the BTS station. I have literally gone to a restaurant to pay 8 USD for a meal, when the exact dish was available on the street for only 1 USD and tastes much better. I ate out everyday and went partying a couple of times a week, and my total monthly expenses was still under 1000 usd. TIPS -Gyms are fucking expensive in Thailand. Expect to pay at least 60 USD/month for the gym, which is crazy when you consider the average wage in Thailand is 15 usd/per day. -Vitamins and supplements cost double the price than what you would get at home. Thais do not take supplements. Maybe only foreigners and really rich Thais. People spending 1500 USD per month must be eating steak daily and hanging out at places meant for foreigners.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety ☀️ Feels 42° 108° 34° 93°🥵AQI 88😷✈️2h$1,522 / mo🌇 Also went here17 peopleI have to agree with previous review from 6 days ago. Its definitely not like before- the vibe has definitely changed. I have lived here on/off for the past 2 years on METV visa, 60 Day visa, and now its not worth staying and dealing with the hassels. Infrastructure is terrible with dirty roads, definitely not a walkable city which is a shame since the Nimman area could have been a walking street, but cars and scooters dominate this city. Just try to cross and walk the streets and you will see what i mean- no mercy! I no longer feel CM is a good digital nomad city, its gotten way too inconvenient with visa's, dirty polluted air, smokey season as of Jan, just not a nomad paradise. If you're traveling alone single ladies- dating pool is terrible- Vietnam could be the better choice or Eastern Europe as a base. Good Luck.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety ☀️ Feels 41° 106° 32° 90°🥵AQI 53😷✈️3h$1,126 / mo🌇 Also went here13 peopleEastwood City hands down best places for nomads in Manila. Why? 50-100 mbps from Sky or PLDT. Closely guarded community where you can feel safe. Everything you could want is inside the community- condos for rent short or long term fully furnished, over 100 restaurants (both fast food and fine dining and some american franchises too), 7 screen movie theater, bowling alley, billiards. Many unique shops that are centered around activities. Pet friendly. Also, has 2 grocery stores, at least a dozen convenience stores, barber shops, massage and day spas (you can even get a professional massage right in your room), laundromat. The mall has anything you might need to buy for your condo.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌧 Feels 39° 102° 30° 87°🥵AQI 15✈️3h$1,399 / mo🌇 Also went here14 peopleJust don't. Want to get ANY work done? Don't come here. I'm here now, hey. I wanna die. If 50 Kbps is your thing, let's go. Just don't go to this country in general. Internet is so bad, even Laos and Cambodia were MUCH better when it comes to free internet in coffee shops and co-working spaces. Thinking about going to Manila or Cebu for travel + work? Don't.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌧 Feels 45° 113° 32° 90°🥵AQI 29✈️3h$1,442 / mo🌇 Also went here12 peopleI spent most of the trip in Tokyo staying in part of suginami city called Ogikubo. This was really just a vacation for me; I spent most of my time shopping in Harajuku, Shibuya, Shinjuku and Ueno. These places are immense, dense, vibrant and crazy-wealthy. Ogikubo would pass for downtown in almost any definition of a city, but in Tokyo it is sometimes called a suburb (although still part of the 23wards). I also traveled out if Tōkyō: 1 day in the temples in Nikko, and 1 day in Fukuoka for Nakasu and Sumo. I love Ogikubo: the barely-one lane roads with multi family surrounds is both quiet and urban at the same time. All of Tokyo, not just Ogikubo is cleaner than any western city. After seeing the other side of that equation in months in Latin American cities, it was an honest surprise to see a huge city that Is far more clean than those from my home country. Some things are cheap (coffee, humble/normal food) others expensive (cabs/jr, fashion). In attire and customs, you see shades of formality and expressiveness at once that feels both more stodgy and more informal in various ways. Just different, really. Ogikubo exemplifies quiet/ luxurious living to me, and more generally perfect urban density. I do wonder if any other parts of the world I will see will tend to have such small, walkable streets and that much density in a still serene but more affordable form. My apartment was the first story of a converted house, about 125m2 - apparently worth about $1.5m... 1m too much for me, and only somewhat bigger than ideal.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety ☀️ Feels 16° 61° 16° 61°AQI 5✈️7h$3,390 / mo🌇 Also went here15 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 15° 59° 15° 59°AQI 72😷✈️13h$1,311 / mo🌇 Also went here14 peopleBeen there twice. I love Prague
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌧 Feels 10° 50° 10° 51°AQI 70😷✈️13h$1,968 / mo🌇 Also went here12 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 9° 48° 10° 50°AQI 42✈️13h$2,876 / mo🌇 Also went here11 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 11° 52° 11° 51°AQI 57😷✈️20h$4,945 / mo🌇 Also went here14 people✅ Very cheap to live
✅ Pretty safe
✅ Fast internet
✅ Warm all year round
✅ Good air quality on average
✅ Spacious and not crowded
✅ Very easy to make friends
✅ Very easy to do business
✅ High quality of education
✅ Democratic
✅ Not many people smoke tobacco
❌ Not much to do
❌ Too hot in the summer
❌ Very humid now
❌ Not many nomads go here
❌ Roads are very dangerous
❌ Freedom of speech is weak
❌ People don't speak English well
❌ Not safe for women
❌ Hostile towards LGBT
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