⭐️ Total score | 2/5 (Rank #1160) |
👍 Quality of life score | Okay |
👶 Family score | Bad |
🎒 Community score | Okay |
💵 Cost | 😙 Affordable: $2,437 / mo |
📡 Internet | 🤬 Unusably slow: 4Mbps (avg) |
😝 Fun | Bad |
⛅️ Temperature (now) | 🌞 Nice: 20°C68°F (feels 21°C70°F) |
💦 Humidity (now) | 😊 Comfy: 69% |
💨 Air quality (now) | 🌱 Good: 65 US AQI |
💨 Air quality (annual) | 🌱 Good: 71 US AQI |
👌 Safety | Great |
🤮 Food safety* | Good |
👮♀️ Lack of crime* | Great |
🤝 Lack of racism* | Bad |
🎓 Education level* | Mediocre |
⚡️ Power grid | Great |
🌊 Vulnerability to climate change | Good |
💰 Income level* | Very low: $677 / mo |
🙊 English speaking* | Bad |
🚶 Walkability | Great |
✌️ Peace (no pol. conflict) | Okay |
🚦 Traffic safety* | Bad |
😄 Happiness* | Okay |
🍸 Nightlife | Bad |
📶 Free WiFi in city | Bad |
🖥 Places to work from | Great |
❄️ A/C or heating | Okay |
😁 Friendly to foreigners | Okay |
🗯 Freedom of speech* | Bad |
👩 Female friendly | Okay |
🌈 LGBTQ+ friendly | Bad |
🎅 Startup Score | Bad |
🌍 Continent | Asia |
🚩 Country | China |
🗓️ Average trip length | 10 days |
📡 Internet speed (avg) | 4 Mbps ⚠️ Internet in Xiamen is fast averaging 32 Mbps but the Great Firewall slows down speeds to foreign websites by 8x to ~4 Mbps. |
⛅️ Weather (now) | 🌥 20°C 68°F + 😊 Comfy (69%) = feels 21°C 70°F |
💨 Air quality (now) | 👍 65 US AQI 🍃 OK |
💨 Air quality (annual avg) | 👎😷 71 US AQI |
🔌 Power | 230V50Hz |
🚕 Best taxi app* | Didi |
🚑 Travel medical insurance | Safetywing |
💸 10 CNY in USD | USD 1.38 |
🏧 Suggested ATM take out: | CNY 1,000 = USD 138 |
💸 Tipping | No |
💳 Cashless | 💵 No, cash only (esp. for foreigners because WeChat is very hard to set up) |
☕️ Best coffee place | Starbucks |
🚰 Tap water | 🚫 No, not drinkable |
📸 Visitors per year | 1,090,000 visitors |
📸 Tourists now | 20,890 tourists |
👨👩👧👦 Population | 2,100,000 people |
👨👩👧👦 GDP per capita* | $8,126 / year |
👫 Gender ratio (population) | 👨 53% 👱♀️ 47% |
👫 Gender ratio (young adults) | 👨 56% 👱♀️ 44% |
👫 Gender ratio (nomads) | 👨 75% 👱♀️ 25% |
⛪️ Religious government | Non-religious |
🏠 Apartment listings | Ganji |
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier | Hainan |
✈️ Best int'l air carrier | China Southern Airlines |
💵 Cost of living for nomad | $2,437 / month |
💵 Cost of living for expat | $1,205 / month |
💵 Cost of living for family | $2,331 / month |
💵 Cost of living for local | $666 / month |
🏨 Hotel (median price) | $2,699 / month |
🏡 Airbnb (median price) | $2,276 / month |
🏠 1br studio rent in center | $402 / month |
🏨 Hotel (median price) | $126 / night |
🏠 Airbnb (median price) | $75 / night |
🏢 Coworking hot desk | $186 / month |
🍛 Dinner | $3 |
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L) | $0 |
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L) | $3 |
☕️ Coffee in cafe | $3 |
👩🏫 International school | $9,222 / year |
📱 Mobile data (~10GB) | $3 / month |
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi) | $1 / trip |
✅ Very safe
✅ Warm now
✅ Warm in the spring
✅ Good air quality on average
✅ Spacious and not crowded
✅ Easy to do business
✅ Safe for women
❌ No freedom of speech
❌ No democracy
❌ Very slow internet
❌ Not much to do
❌ Gets cold in the winter
❌ Difficult to make friends
❌ Quality of education is low
❌ Hospitals are bad
❌ Roads can be dangerous
❌ People don't speak English well
❌ Not family friendly
❌ Hostile towards LGBTQ+
❌ People smoking tobacco a lot
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
Feels | 5915° cool | 5714° cool | 6418° cool | 7222° mild | 8127° warm | 8228° warm | 8429° warm | 8429° warm | 8228° warm | 7926° warm | 7021° mild | 6418° cool |
Real | 5915° cool | 5714° cool | 6418° cool | 7122° mild | 8027° warm | 8228° very warm | 8530° very warm | 8530° very warm | 8329° very warm | 7926° warm | 7021° mild | 6317° cool |
Humidity | nice 34% | nice 36% | nice 38% | nice 37% | nice 40% | nice 41% | nice 39% | nice 40% | nice 38% | nice 34% | nice 33% | nice 34% |
Most common | ||||||||||||
Rain | dry 1mm | dry 46mm | dry 33mm | rainy 54mm | rainy 174mm | rainy 148mm | rainy 98mm | rainy 248mm | rainy 66mm | dry 50mm | dry 15mm | dry 42mm |
Cloud | pockets 14% | pockets 11% | pockets 26% | pockets 33% | pockets 41% | pockets 47% | pockets 37% | pockets 41% | pockets 20% | pockets 33% | pockets 27% | pockets 27% |
Air quality | okay 86 US AQI | okay 85 US AQI | okay 92 US AQI | okay 89 US AQI | okay 80 US AQI | okay 61 US AQI | okay 62 US AQI | okay 70 US AQI | okay 71 US AQI | okay 81 US AQI | okay 77 US AQI | okay 73 US AQI |
Sun | avoid sun 6 UVI | avoid sun 7 UVI | avoid sun 8 UVI | avoid sun 7 UVI | avoid sun 7 UVI | avoid sun 6 UVI | avoid sun 8 UVI | avoid sun 6 UVI | avoid sun 9 UVI | avoid sun 6 UVI | seek shade 6 UVI | seek shade 5 UVI |
Remote workers | 200 people | 0 people | 200 people | 200 people | 200 people | 0 people | 200 people | 300 people | 200 people | 200 people | 300 people | 200 people |
If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomad List's Climate Finder
Based on Xiamen's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:
Locals smoke everywhere, all the time, including inside hospitals and schools. This is illegal in Taiwan, but not enforced in Kinmen. Traffic safety is awful. The police will not investigate traffic incidents and people responsible are not held accountable. This county is not female-friendly. Women are expected to marry and have children/ be seen and not herd. Don't be deceived by female school principals and county official. They have no authority over the men in lower ranks. Pollution today is
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow👍 Liked very bad👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 18° 64° 18° 64°🚕59min$2,070 / mo34Mbps×The Middle Ages meet industrial-age pollution: this is a grimy tropical backwater with none of Taipei's vibrancy, efficiency or even politeness. Cycle or hike in the quote-unquote national park north of the city for marshes, dengue fever, junkyards, stray dogs, and massive concrete jetties obstructing ocean views.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow👍 Liked good👮 Safety goodTap to open☀️ Feels 29° 84° 28° 82°AQI 89😷✈️22min$1,654 / mo25Mbps×- Relaxed city to live in and incredibly safe. Nice if you want access to nature in southern Taiwan. Not so much english but locals are very friendly and will always try to help you. - Lots of cheap food available but while some is tasty, most is highly processed and full of oil/sugar . If you want decent quality food, it won't be much cheaper than back home. Many restaurants have an order card, so if you can't speak chinese you can grab the card and a pencil and use your phone to translate the
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow👍 Liked very bad👮 Safety greatTap to open☀️ Feels 25° 77° 25° 77°✈️24min$1,569 / mo34Mbps×I love Taipei, extremely underrated place—not sure why, though I'm fine with that. The cleanliness, amenities, and kindness of the people will remind you of Tokyo.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow👍 Liked bad👮 Safety goodTap to open☀️ Feels 22° 72° 22° 71°AQI 68😷✈️28min$2,156 / mo62Mbps×Shanghai is a giant city and your experience really depends on a few factors like: 1) where you live in the city 2) do you speak basic Mandarin 3) do you make nice money 4) do you have to use the internet If you can afford to live in Jing'an or the French Concession, you can live a fashionable metropolitan lifestyle like you would in New York City. There's amazing food (Asian, Western and fusion). You'll be surrounded by entrepreneurs, artists, fashion designers and models. Many of whom d
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow👍 Liked bad👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 15° 59° 15° 58°AQI 97😷✈️1h$1,851 / mo5Mbps×I love Taipei, extremely underrated place—not sure why, though I'm fine with that. The cleanliness, amenities, and kindness of the people will remind you of Tokyo.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow👍 Liked bad👮 Safety goodTap to open☀️ Feels 22° 72° 22° 71°AQI 68😷✈️28min$2,156 / mo62Mbps×Amazing city. Absolutely loved it. Yes, expensive sooooo worth it! I was only here for 5 days but absolutely hooked and will be coming back.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow👍 Liked very bad👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 22° 72° 22° 71°AQI 58😷✈️10h$3,847 / mo153Mbps×I lived in Beijing for almost 3 years from 2014-2017. It's an incredible city with a lot to offer. It's an imposing place and not the most welcoming, but that's because it takes time to adjust. In a nutshell: beautiful parks, very modern infrastructure , friendly people, good transportation (the subway is FAR superior to London or NYC, for example), amazing food, relatively cheap, extremely safe, loads to do, incredible history. The one major con is the air pollution—it can get really bad, so
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow👍 Liked very bad👮 Safety goodTap to open🌧 Feels 17° 63° 16° 60°AQI 169😷✈️2h$2,488 / mo5Mbps×So… amazing food. Great public transportation. Very clean. But very conformist. Self expression limited. The irony of seeing an exhibit on graffiti, yet no actual graffiti in the streets. And the causal racism especially if you’re brown. You could be British born but still expect to be sat far away from everyone else at cocktail bars, experience comments and have weird assumptions made.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🧐 Too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow👍 Liked mediocre👮 Safety greatTap to open🌧 Feels 38° 100° 31° 87°🥵✈️4h$4,483 / mo50Mbps×I mostly agree to another negative feedback, although I don't think it's really 1/10 city, but overall, yes, it's also one of most unlikable cities I've been nomading to (and I've been to basically all countries of Europe as of now). I guess "enchanting atmosphere", as one of reviewers said is represented in a way of heaps of garbage everywhere, groups of sketchy immigrant people right on the main walking street (I've been asked for money two times already there by beggars) and I really lol'd at
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow👍 Liked mediocre👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 16° 61° 16° 61°✈️13h$3,185 / mo24Mbps×Was here in Mid-2023. Bali has completely changed from when I last visited in 2017. Full of arrogant influences and degenerate party people who are entitled and have no respect for the locals. Many Uber drivers told me they are starting to get annoyed because a lot of Westerners don’t respect anything…. Pollution and traffic are on the rise. It is turning into Kuta. Probably one of the least walkable places, forget walking on the sidewalk unless you want to get taken out. A lot of accidents
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow👍 Liked bad👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 31° 88° 28° 83°AQI 50✈️5h$1,917 / mo54Mbps×It's basically a party island -- getting work done will require discipline. One who can accomplish that will be rewarded with a paradisiac cheerful enviroment where everyone wants to be happy and enjoy life. In long term, be careful with your emotional life, as new flows of people everyday going in and out might unbalance your way to see the world.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🙂 Okay📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow👍 Liked very bad👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 33° 91° 29° 85°✈️4h$2,542 / mo27Mbps×Compared to other Canadian cities rent is affordable, but it's unfortunately such a depressive place to live, due to the harsh and long winters. You get about 2-3 months of fantastic weather, and between 5-8 months of absolutely oppressive cold. It has some decent local culture for its size, but a distinct lack of fun nightlife. Public transit is absolutely horrendous. People can be a bit close-minded. Quality of life is otherwise comparable to other big NA cities. Taxes are on the low side. It'
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow👍 Liked very bad👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌥 Feels 9° 48° 10° 50°AQI 53😷✈️13h$3,225 / mo36Mbps×Can’t recommend Ubud. It’s just the same overdeveloped and overpriced mentally isolated tourist trap that is Canggu, just a bit worse. If you have never been anywhere else, it might be okay for 2 weeks, but to any seasoned traveller it’s a the type of place you dread.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow👍 Liked mediocre👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 32° 90° 29° 84°AQI 50✈️5h$1,952 / mo35Mbps×Pretty much near impossible to get by if English is your only language. Couldn't get a Chinese SIM. Experienced Racism in bars / clubs as the only Westerners in there. Bar staff disinterested to serve us and looking down on us. Beautiful skyline very impressive modern architecture but generally a nightmare getting around if you don't speak any Chinese. Wouldn't go again
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow👍 Liked very bad👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 29° 84° 27° 80°AQI 70😷✈️41min$1,562 / mo4Mbps×do not recommend. it's hectic, beach is filthy. full of Aussies getting loose because you're not allowed to do anything that promotes happiness in AusNanny prison complex!!
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow👍 Liked very bad👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 31° 88° 28° 83°AQI 50✈️5h$1,610 / mo27Mbps×I love Taipei, extremely underrated place—not sure why, though I'm fine with that. The cleanliness, amenities, and kindness of the people will remind you of Tokyo.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow👍 Liked bad👮 Safety goodTap to open☀️ Feels 22° 72° 22° 71°AQI 68😷✈️28min$2,156 / mo🌇 Also went here7 people×Hong Kong is a great city with dense urban areas but also nature and hiking routes only 15 minutes away. There are restaurants for every taste and budget, from the best US fast casual chains to high end Michelin star restaurants. It's also extremely safe, despite recent political instability.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🙂 Okay📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow👍 Liked great👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 22° 72° 22° 72°✈️37min$2,972 / mo🌇 Also went here9 people×Shanghai is a giant city and your experience really depends on a few factors like: 1) where you live in the city 2) do you speak basic Mandarin 3) do you make nice money 4) do you have to use the internet If you can afford to live in Jing'an or the French Concession, you can live a fashionable metropolitan lifestyle like you would in New York City. There's amazing food (Asian, Western and fusion). You'll be surrounded by entrepreneurs, artists, fashion designers and models. Many of whom d
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow👍 Liked bad👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 15° 59° 15° 58°AQI 97😷✈️1h$1,851 / mo🌇 Also went here6 people×I only stayed for 3 weeks cause the life is kind of boring compared to Tokyo or Osaka. It helps a lot if you speak some korean since not many people speak english and most restaurants don't have english menu. The internet is fast but the public transportation is always crowded.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🙂 Okay📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow👍 Liked good👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 13° 55° 13° 56°AQI 34✈️2h$2,642 / mo🌇 Also went here9 people×I lived in Beijing for almost 3 years from 2014-2017. It's an incredible city with a lot to offer. It's an imposing place and not the most welcoming, but that's because it takes time to adjust. In a nutshell: beautiful parks, very modern infrastructure , friendly people, good transportation (the subway is FAR superior to London or NYC, for example), amazing food, relatively cheap, extremely safe, loads to do, incredible history. The one major con is the air pollution—it can get really bad, so
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow👍 Liked very bad👮 Safety goodTap to open🌧 Feels 17° 63° 16° 60°AQI 169😷✈️2h$2,488 / mo🌇 Also went here7 people×A dystopian cyberpunk metropolis, a veritable Night City, both chaotic and well run, livable yet poisonous. Follow the classic advice: stay near the BTS, skyscraper condo, work from mall libraries, cafes, and commons, don’t be outside. Outsource your chores. On a western salary or with savings, you’ll be playing life on easy mode. Focus your energy on meeting people, honing your body, and learning new skills. There’s a reason it’s number 1. You can disagree, but try to find it.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow👍 Liked mediocre👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 39° 102° 34° 94°🥵AQI 71😷✈️3h$1,346 / mo🌇 Also went here6 people×2nd time to Tokyo in 2 years. So much to see and do and great value in the past few years due to a declining yen against the USD & Euro. Wework (not open past 6pm & only iceberg open on weekends), Airalo Esim, and Wise Visa are your friend. Check out my Youtube for some nomad guides (Chicvoyage, @digitalnomadworld). I like Roppongi area. Stay in a hotel
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🙂 Okay📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow👍 Liked great👮 Safety greatTap to open🌥 Feels 12° 54° 13° 56°AQI 30✈️3h$2,922 / mo🌇 Also went here7 people×It's getting better. I came here just before the Chinese New Year, and the city was very lively. Lots of people, live music, etc. The decorations in the shopping mall were beautiful, and there were so many food options that it would take a year to try them all.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow👍 Liked good👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌧 Feels 38° 100° 31° 88°🥵AQI 72😷✈️4h$1,224 / mo🌇 Also went here7 people×So… amazing food. Great public transportation. Very clean. But very conformist. Self expression limited. The irony of seeing an exhibit on graffiti, yet no actual graffiti in the streets. And the causal racism especially if you’re brown. You could be British born but still expect to be sat far away from everyone else at cocktail bars, experience comments and have weird assumptions made.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🧐 Too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow👍 Liked mediocre👮 Safety greatTap to open🌧 Feels 38° 100° 31° 87°🥵✈️4h$4,483 / mo🌇 Also went here9 people×Budapest was on my list about cities for living. I stayed for 7 days and was a little disappointed People are not very friendly, lots os places very dirty, people smoke a lot and the costs isn't affordable as people indicated here. Its a beautiful place, walkable, people have a good level of education, lots of things to do, but not as i imagined. Even so its a nice place.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow👍 Liked great👮 Safety goodTap to open🌧 Feels 16° 61° 16° 61°AQI 34✈️12h$2,411 / mo🌇 Also went here6 people×I've been hanging out in Berlin on and off for 30 years. It is very safe for women. It is much friendlier than it used to be. There are loads of vegan restaurants now. The nightlife and specially jazz clubs are amazing! I have an excellent apartment to rent out in Wedding - which used to have a boring reputation but now is very cool.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow👍 Liked mediocre👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 15° 59° 15° 59°AQI 50✈️12h$3,741 / mo🌇 Also went here7 people×I recently visited Amsterdam for the third time (and the first time since 2018). I personally think it's a little overrated, but a cool place to visit nonetheless. The architecture is beautiful, and there are lots of good places to eat. I don't like the main area of the canals in the city centre; it smells of weed and is often packed. However, the outer edges - such as the Jordaan district - are less busy and more interesting in my opinion. One thing that surprised me is how much trash was o
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😳 Way too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow👍 Liked mediocre👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 9° 48° 10° 51°AQI 38✈️12h$6,231 / mo🌇 Also went here8 people×A walking stereotype. Overcrowded, messy, expensive. Literally nothing works. There are more USA people than in Lisbon, which I thought was impossible. Yes, Italians are awesome and food is great.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😳 Way too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow👍 Liked mediocre👮 Safety goodTap to open🌧 Feels 12° 54° 13° 55°✈️13h$5,535 / mo🌇 Also went here8 people×I don't understand why London has so high safety rating. Your phone could be stolen and your bicycle WILL be stolen here (or a part of it). I live here 8.5 years and I experienced the above multiple times. Police seems only cares about crime against person by whatever reason. Insure everything expensive that you own. I would also add that antisocial behaviour is quite common here and teenagers are heavily involved in crimes as police don't do anything with them because of their age. Basically th
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😳 Way too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow👍 Liked bad👮 Safety goodTap to open🌧 Feels 9° 48° 10° 49°AQI 65😷✈️13h$5,409 / mo🌇 Also went here8 people×New York is cool. I’ve visited multiple times to see my family throughout my life, and recently came back from my first post-COVID trip there. Yes, it’s very expensive — but there is no city on earth that’s more captivating in my opinion. I used to think that New Yorkers were smug by claiming that NYC was better than everywhere else, but now I totally get it lol. My personal favourite neighbourhood is the Upper East Side, which is where you’ll find the coveted Museum Mile. But I also
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😳 Way too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow👍 Liked mediocre👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌥 Feels 14° 57° 14° 57°✈️17h$6,505 / mo🌇 Also went here6 people×Can't login? See the FAQ
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