Nomad List| 🏆 Nomad Score™ | 162 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 |
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| 🌍 Region | Asia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🚩 Country | Sri Lanka | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ⏱ Average trip duration | 27 days | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 📡 Internet speed (avg) | 7 Mbps | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ⛅️ Weather | 🌧 30°C 86°F + 💦 Humid (83%) + 💨 14km/h = Feels like 38°C 100°F | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 💨 Air quality (now) | 👍 32 µg/m3 equal to 🚬 / day | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🔌 Power | 230V50Hz | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🚕 Best taxi app | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 📱 Best wireless carrier | Dialog | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 💸 1,000 LKR in USD | USD 5.61 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🏧 Suggested ATM take out: LKR 100,000 | USD 561 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 💳 Cashless society | 💵 No, cash only (esp. for foreigners) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ☕️ Best coffee place | Barista | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ☕️ Best alt. coffee place | Solis Hotel | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🏪 Best 24/7 coffee place | Nomad Trails Thalpe Station | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🚰 Safe tap water | 🚫 No, contaminated | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ♻️ Return rate | 0% of visitors return | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 👨👩👧👦 Population | 810,000 people | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ⛪️ Religious government | Non-religious | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🏠 Apartment listings | Airbnb | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ✈️ Best short-haul air carrier | Sri Lankan Airlines | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ✈️ Best int'l air carrier | Sri Lankan Airlines | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🏥 Best hospital | Sahana Medical Center | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| islandno-beachwarm nowwarmhotclean airgood air qualityslow internetcheap cost of livinghigh humiditymany womenfriendly people | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 💵 Nomad Cost™ | $609 / month |
| 💵 Cost of living for expat | $419 / month |
| 💵 Cost of living for family | $402 / month |
| 💵 Cost of living for local | $115 / month |
| 🏠 1br studio rent in center | $84 / month |
| 🏢 Coworking | $21 / month |
| 🏨 Hotel | $407 / month |
| 🏨 Hotel | $19 / night |
| 🏠 Airbnb (1,001 listings) | $1,141 / month |
| 🏠 Airbnb | $37 / night |
| 🍝 Dinner | $1 |
| 🍹 Coca-Cola (0.3L) | $0 |
| 🍺 Beer (0.5L) | $0 |
| ☕️ Coffee | $0 |
Based on Matara's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:
 | Customer Success Representative @ GoDigitalChina |
 | Customer Support Specialist @ SkyVerge |
 | Account Managers for Europe - Freel... @ Beta Analytic |
 | Cordova Music Plugin Play Music On ... @ Choones |
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🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌧 Feels 38° 100° 30° 86°AQI 32✈️0.00013333333333333$607 / mo7MbpsReally quite hectic and not a very nice city. I wouldn't spend more than a day or two here, not much to see, and there aren't many places to work/eat/see. You're better off heading down to the beaches for some sunshine and beach as well as much faster WIFI.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌧 Feels 30° 86° 26° 79°AQI 35✈️0.19965543124536$1,107 / mo6MbpsI like it here better than Canggu. It's more walkable, more cheap warungs, more convenient. You could find all kinds of shop catering to different type of visitor, from cheap to luxurious. Not a party place if you're looking for it, which made it even more perfect. More female than male, great for dating.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌥 Feels 37° 99° 30° 87°😷AQI 88✈️5.5701463622419$2,086 / mo10MbpsI 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 44° 111° 32° 90°✈️3.160902967297$1,340 / mo🌇 Also went here2 peopleThe Diet Coke of Asia. Zero crime, English spoken everywhere. Reliable public transport. Some nice spots for off-the-beaten-path walking and hiking. But also clinical, authoritarian, money-minded and very costly. Companies and shopkeepers will always do what's good for them (or makes their own life easier); not what's good for the customer. People avoid eye contact and are generally overworked and miserable. After a while, crossing over to Malaysia's neighboring Johor will, warts and all, feel like a breath of fresh air ("Yes! Space! I can move! I can breathe!").
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌥 Feels 42° 108° 32° 89°😷AQI 80✈️3.5251390876328$2,816 / mo🌇 Also went here2 peopleExcellent place to start your nomadic life, very very easy living here. For example, having your laundry washed and folded for you is about $3 USD, eating out very healthy about $6-7 USD, and co-working spaces about $120 USD. It has been a very soft landing for starting this lifestyle.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌥 Feels 37° 99° 30° 86°😷AQI 138✈️5.5600082834849$1,142 / mo🌇 Also went here3 peopleI like it here better than Canggu. It's more walkable, more cheap warungs, more convenient. You could find all kinds of shop catering to different type of visitor, from cheap to luxurious. Not a party place if you're looking for it, which made it even more perfect. More female than male, great for dating.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌥 Feels 37° 99° 30° 87°😷AQI 88✈️5.5701463622419$2,086 / mo🌇 Also went here2 peopleIf you stay in the area immediately around Greenbelt then it's great. There's a cafe called Antipodean that serves all day breakfasts, with excellent bacon and eggs, I stay 2 mins walk from there. I've stayed at Gramercy Apartments in Poblacion in the past and that wasn't good. That area is not very walkable and not much nearby except for some trendy bars. Being close to Greenbelt means you have everything you need in the malls. Also, if you're a single guy, then it's a wonderful place for dating, especially if you have the courage to talk to locals that you see in day to day life. Greater challenges are around eating nutritiously. I think Filipino food is underrated for its deliciousness but it's definitely not healthy. To better understand the Greenbelt area, it's a series of Malls (Greenbelt, Ayala, Glorietta, and some other mall). Collectively there would have to be upwards of 200 restaurants, so I'm sure there's a healthy option in there somewhere, just need to find it. It's true that there's not a lot to do in the city outside of nightlife. And the infrastructure makes it a headache to get around. That's why I recommend staying in this part of town. In this part of Makati you can just walk everywhere. I've heard good things about BGC but have never visited.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌧 Feels 35° 95° 29° 84°😷AQI 102✈️6.0353031349429$1,418 / mo🌇 Also went here1 peopleBeautiful, affordable, and historic. Downsides are that Turkish people can be often very casually racist and culturally insensitive, especially if you are an ethnic minority and/or a woman. I've also been followed on multiple occasions by random men on the streets. But don't let this take away from your experience of the place as I've experienced some of the best hospitality, food, and sights this world has to offer. There are plenty of cafes and public spaces with reliable wifi where you can get work done.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌥 Feels 33° 91° 29° 85°AQI 42✈️8.5444599892948$1,561 / mo🌇 Also went here2 peopleBeen living in 3 different centrally located airbnb in Berlin (2018), each between 800 and 900€ per month for 40-45 sqm (we're two, so 400-450€ each). Each time a full flat and not a shared airbnb, legal now since some months (though it was always possible to get a full flat before as well). Internet was always between 15 and 50 mbps. I spend 100€ per week on food, including restaurants (pretty cheap here), check for Turkish market on Maybachufer and Turkish stores in Neukölln (I spend less on food here than in Chiang Mai!). Berlin is such an awesome place to live, very multicultural, very tolerant, many different neighborhoods, quite relaxed feeling, many parks, lakes all around. No need to speak German at all. Come over here, probably one one of the best place on earth ;) (written in Sept 2018)
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌥 Feels 25° 77° 24° 75°AQI 16✈️10.592714967805$3,141 / mo🌇 Also went here2 peopleTourist trap crowded with influencers taking a selfie in front of a canal . Very expensive.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌥 Feels 25° 77° 23° 74°😷AQI 52✈️11.341692196651$5,434 / mo🌇 Also went here2 peopleI would disagree on the safety level of this city. Living there for 8 months now I'd say from my experience that Barcelona streets aren't safe at all. Many robberies, physical and sexual agressions are frequently occurring mostly due to drug issues in some central neighborhoods. I agree on the perfect weather great food and tech scene too on the positive side.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety 🌥 Feels 32° 90° 29° 84°AQI 18✈️11.45944941518$3,430 / mo🌇 Also went here2 peopleAmazing place! Definitely one of the most underrated countries in western Europe.
🎒 Nomad 💵 Cost 📡 Internet 😀 Fun 👮 Safety ☀️ Feels 33° 91° 30° 86°AQI 41✈️12.746465529533$2,303 / mo🌇 Also went here3 people✅ Very cheap to live
✅ Safe
✅ Fast internet
✅ Lots of fun stuff to do
✅ Warm all year round
✅ Good air quality on average
✅ Spacious and not crowded
✅ High quality of education
✅ Roads are pretty safe
✅ Democratic
✅ People can speak basic English
✅ Not many people smoke tobacco
❌ Very humid now
❌ Not many nomads go here
❌ Very difficult to make friends
❌ Difficult to do business
❌ Hospitals are pretty bad
❌ Freedom of speech is weak
❌ Not safe for women
❌ Hostile towards LGBT
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