Nomad List
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🌍 Region | Latin America | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🚩 Country | Mexico | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ⏱ Average trip duration | 18 days | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 📡 Internet speed | 6 Mbps | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ⛅️ Weather | 🌥 32°C 89°F + 💦 Humid (94%) + 💨 9km/h = Feels like 50°C122°F | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 💨 Air quality (now) | 😷 55 µg/m3 equal to 🚬 🚬 🚬 / day | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🔌 Power | 115V60Hz | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🚕 Best taxi app | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 📱 Best wireless carrier | TelCel | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 💸 100 MXN in USD | USD 5.25 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🏧 Suggested ATM take out: MXN 10,000 | USD 525 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 💸 Tipping | No | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 💳 Cashless society | 💵 No, cash only (esp. for foreigners) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 💻 Best coworking space | NEST | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🚰 Safe tap water | 🚫 No, contaminated | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ♻️ Return rate | 9% of visitors returns | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 👨👩👧👦 Population | 150,000 people | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 👫 Gender ratio | 👨 54% 👱♀️ 46% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ⛪️ Religious government | Non-religious | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 💻 Online electronics shop | Linio | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 🏠 Apartment listings | Comparto Depa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ✈️ Best short-haul air carrier | Volaris | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ✈️ Best int'l air carrier | Aeromexico | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| beachplaces of worshipchurchessurfingdivingwarm nowwarmhotslow internetcheap cost of livinghigh humiditymany menfriendly people | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 💵 Nomad Cost™ | $1,352 / month |
| 💵 Cost of living for expat | $880 / month |
| 💵 Cost of living for family | $1,685 / month |
| 💵 Cost of living for local | $482 / month |
| 🏠 1br studio rent in center | $367 / month |
| 🏢 Coworking | $192 / month |
| 🏨 Hotel | $651 / month |
| 🏨 Hotel | $31 / night |
| 🏠 Airbnb (571 listings) | $1,397 / month |
| 🏠 Airbnb | $46 / night |
| 🍝 Dinner | $4 |
| 🍹 Coca-Cola (0.3L) | $1 |
| 🍺 Beer (0.5L) | $2 |
| ☕️ Coffee | $1 |
Based on Playa del Carmen's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:
Nice place to work remotely. They do have fiber optic so you should update the info
Tulum is loaded with cenotes for exploring and cooling off, beautiful and unique! Find local Maya and listen to their dialect. Learn a few words in Maya, they love to share it! The only beachfront Mayan Ruins are here! Iguanas galore and photo opps! Get a guide, it's worth the history lesson, wear your suit under clothes for a refreshing swim afterwards. Most hotels offer beach clubs, low cost or cost of lunch/drinks, plus they have free wi-fi. Happy hours 2/1 with live music and the recently opened museum are diverse options. In town, restaurants abound and the food is a gastronomic delight! Local taco stops are the best value for a full stomach , happy tastebuds and a light wallet. Fresh sugar cane squeezed by a hank-cranked press offers a variety of Mojitos with live variety shows and music! Other night life, that I love, is watching sea turtles lay their eggs! Fun activities near by are: numerous parks with zip-lines, animal sanctuaries, cultural shows, snorkeling, scuba diving, fishing..... I would describe Tulum as bohemian / hippie/ ish, more relaxed than resorts. It has changed quickly in the last few years to accommodate not only the backpacker but the upscale tourist as well. It's a small but growing community with friendly people and a safe environment.
Amazing, amazing, amazing. I initially arrived there for 2 weeks with an intention for it to be just a transit stop, but stayed there for 3 months. Stay in the right areas (Condesa, Roma, Coyoca, Polanco, Coyocan, etc), take Uber and take basic precautions. It's a lovely town with endless food options and work options. Accomodations are not cheap by Mexican standards, but very affordable comparing to USA. It's just a great place to live, in my opinion. The only thing that is bad is quality of the air (not everywhere, though, but in general). If you are sensible to a bad air - take a trip and see how you adjust to it. It's a big issue, yes, but I feel like the are much more pros than cons. Viva Mexico!
Tulum is loaded with cenotes for exploring and cooling off, beautiful and unique! Find local Maya and listen to their dialect. Learn a few words in Maya, they love to share it! The only beachfront Mayan Ruins are here! Iguanas galore and photo opps! Get a guide, it's worth the history lesson, wear your suit under clothes for a refreshing swim afterwards. Most hotels offer beach clubs, low cost or cost of lunch/drinks, plus they have free wi-fi. Happy hours 2/1 with live music and the recently opened museum are diverse options. In town, restaurants abound and the food is a gastronomic delight! Local taco stops are the best value for a full stomach , happy tastebuds and a light wallet. Fresh sugar cane squeezed by a hank-cranked press offers a variety of Mojitos with live variety shows and music! Other night life, that I love, is watching sea turtles lay their eggs! Fun activities near by are: numerous parks with zip-lines, animal sanctuaries, cultural shows, snorkeling, scuba diving, fishing..... I would describe Tulum as bohemian / hippie/ ish, more relaxed than resorts. It has changed quickly in the last few years to accommodate not only the backpacker but the upscale tourist as well. It's a small but growing community with friendly people and a safe environment.
One of the most well known cities, few will be surprised by what they see and experience. Very high cost of living can make it tough for many nomads. A lot of things to see and do but most of that costs money. Can feel overwhelming and oppressively business oriented (ie, full of very serious yuppies and places catering to them), especially in Manhattan south of Harlem. Ton of single people, which is good on paper but means everyone you date will get distracted by another person, or multiple, unless you are extremely exceptional, before you have a chance to meet again, never ends. Weather sucks hard from July to August and January to March/April. It's an okay city if you're a biker and varies a lot. Some areas are quite protected, others have no bike lanes. In general, it can be dangerous if you want to commute by bike, it's not Amsterdam. Friendliness of the people varies a lot. I think income/wealth, where they grew up, where they live within NYC, their job, etc. can often give you an idea of what to expect. Service at stores is usually pretty unhelpful and unfriendly but, again, it varies, even within the same store. Internet is fast for the most part. Great selection of food, just a bit pricey besides some of the cheaper pizza slices. Transportation system is good, no need for a car. However, the subway lines are notorious for having issues during rush hour and are usually jam packed. Also, the stations look decrepit and are way out of date. It's pretty safe. Street scams are more prevalent in tourist areas, pick-pocketing and random phone snatching isn't really anything most people worry about. Can be very noisy depending on where you live. You may wake up to extremely loud construction every morning.
great city - perfect weather , great food, great tech scene
Been there in November 2017 and I didn't saw something special about it. Prices for each pocket with a big variety of products and so on.
Amazing, amazing, amazing. I initially arrived there for 2 weeks with an intention for it to be just a transit stop, but stayed there for 3 months. Stay in the right areas (Condesa, Roma, Coyoca, Polanco, Coyocan, etc), take Uber and take basic precautions. It's a lovely town with endless food options and work options. Accomodations are not cheap by Mexican standards, but very affordable comparing to USA. It's just a great place to live, in my opinion. The only thing that is bad is quality of the air (not everywhere, though, but in general). If you are sensible to a bad air - take a trip and see how you adjust to it. It's a big issue, yes, but I feel like the are much more pros than cons. Viva Mexico!
I visited Poblado for about a week. I had absolutely no problems with the Internet while I was there. Maybe it was because I was in Poblado, but I never experienced slowness or anything of the sort. Pros of Medellin: spring-like weather, inexpensive, reliable Internet, plenty of shopping and creature comforts, cosmopolitan, friendly people. For cons, a big one is air pollution. Medellin is located in a higher altitude valley. There are many old cars, buses, and (especially) motorcycles belching exhaust into the air. It's difficult for pollutants to disperse because of the city's geography. I.e., there's plenty of smog and there's no debate regarding the negative health impact. To Medellin's credit, the city acknowledges the problem, monitors pollution, issues advisories, and is trying to change, but obviously change doesnt happen overnight. Other cons: The more Spanish you know, the better (not really a con, just is), gringo price gouging, some safety issues (use extra common sense).
One of the most well known cities, few will be surprised by what they see and experience. Very high cost of living can make it tough for many nomads. A lot of things to see and do but most of that costs money. Can feel overwhelming and oppressively business oriented (ie, full of very serious yuppies and places catering to them), especially in Manhattan south of Harlem. Ton of single people, which is good on paper but means everyone you date will get distracted by another person, or multiple, unless you are extremely exceptional, before you have a chance to meet again, never ends. Weather sucks hard from July to August and January to March/April. It's an okay city if you're a biker and varies a lot. Some areas are quite protected, others have no bike lanes. In general, it can be dangerous if you want to commute by bike, it's not Amsterdam. Friendliness of the people varies a lot. I think income/wealth, where they grew up, where they live within NYC, their job, etc. can often give you an idea of what to expect. Service at stores is usually pretty unhelpful and unfriendly but, again, it varies, even within the same store. Internet is fast for the most part. Great selection of food, just a bit pricey besides some of the cheaper pizza slices. Transportation system is good, no need for a car. However, the subway lines are notorious for having issues during rush hour and are usually jam packed. Also, the stations look decrepit and are way out of date. It's pretty safe. Street scams are more prevalent in tourist areas, pick-pocketing and random phone snatching isn't really anything most people worry about. Can be very noisy depending on where you live. You may wake up to extremely loud construction every morning.
Nothing does a better job of explaining LA’s beautiful diversity and different neighborhoods than the documentary about the late Jonathan Gold, our city’s greatest amabassador and the only food critic to ever win a Pulitzer Prize. It is called, “City of Gold” and if you want to know LA, just watch this film. Trailer link: https://youtu.be/DmKTRDfz1zM
A mixture of piss, weed, unwashed nerdy men, overpriced reality estate, passive-aggressiveness, homeless people and freaks
Culture, weather, sea, people, co-working spaces. Haven't found a better combination anywhere else.
I do not recommend London for nomads. It's very hard to find places to work in London. Cafes don't like people with laptops, there won't be any power outlets and you'll get funny stares from staff. That's because London is expensive, and it's a loss for cafes to have you. Flexible coworking is hard to come by and day passes are very expensive. That makes it practically impossible to work properly in London as a nomad.
Getting a place to stay is a challenge, and renting an apartment might be a challenge unless you can show proof on stable income job. most leases are 6-12mths minium
great city - perfect weather , great food, great tech scene
Been 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)
Been there twice. I love Prague
Budapest + hungary has the pro-s of a tropical digital nomad hideaway, if you go there in the warmer months: the climate is like in Bali between June and September, however mornings can be refreshing. And there s a plethora of spas, thermal baths and swallow lakes with waterskiing and boarding amenities throughout the country which is easily and quickly accessible by the grid of well-maintained highways. The street scenery and style spans somewhere between Barcelona and Berlin so as the plentiful nightlife programs and the scope of culture and art ! Almost the entire younger generation speaks pretty good english however with the elders you might have language barriers.
Great place. You can avoid the dropshipper, FBA and MLM webinar course people who have infested the coworkings here for years, by, well, just not visiting the coworking spaces here.
Bangkok has some of the best private hospitals in the world. Which is interesting if you're in Asia a lot and you want medical care better than you can get in your home country. Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok is ranked #7 in the world. I did an executive health checkup there and it was great. Prices range from $250 to $750 depending on how many checks you want. You can get blood count, X Ray, ultrasound, hormone check, etc. They also have most other medical disciplines. I also got vaccinations renewed. The hospital is private so it's so much better than the overloaded public healthcare systems of Europe, Canada and UK where everyone tries to avoid helping you, is overworked and angry. In Bangkok they're super nice and helpful and you can make appointments straight with a specialist. Not blocked by a GP like in your home country.
Nomad-ed here for a month. A totally ok place if you have the budget for it. Coworking spaces are good, 4g everywhere, transportation is effective. Lots of things to do. I was able to find friends. Lots of international people, very few digital nomads. If you're there, consider not renting in the center (as it gets expensive fast) and being creative with places to eat to find cheap options. Be prepared to use cash unless you live in a luxury.
Nomad List Nomad ListOne-Time-Purchase
$99 once: never pay again
Billed in one payment of $99
12 Months Membership
$5 / month
Billed in one payment of $60
1 Month Membership
$1 / day
Billed in one payment of $30
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.
💌 After you confirm your email I'll send you an email with more info.
👩💻 You can then start using all the Nomad List member-only features!
💭 If you have any feedback, please tweet us!
by levelsio
