⭐️ Total score | 2.23/5 (Rank #1201) |
👍 Quality of life score | Okay |
👶 Family score | Bad |
🎒 Community score | Okay |
💵 Cost | 🧐 Pricey: $3,226 / mo |
📡 Internet | 🙂 Good: 11Mbps (avg) |
😝 Fun | Bad |
⛅️ Temperature (now) | 🌞 Perfect: 22°C71°F (feels 22°C72°F) |
💦 Humidity (now) | 🌵 Too dry: 22% |
💨 Air quality (now) | 😷 Unhealthy for some: 132 US AQI |
💨 Air quality (annual) | ☠️ Very unhealthy: 395 US AQI |
👌 Safety | Great |
🤮 Food safety* | Good |
👮♀️ Lack of crime* | Good |
🤝 Lack of racism* | Bad |
🎓 Education level* | Mediocre |
⚡️ Power grid | Great |
🌊 Vulnerability to climate change | Great |
💰 Income level* | Mediocre: $1,651 / mo |
🙊 English speaking* | Bad |
😤 People density | 🧘♀️ Low density: 4k ppl/km² (1 per 17x17m) |
🚶 Walkability | Great |
✌️ Peace (no pol. conflict) | Bad |
🚦 Traffic safety* | Bad |
🏥 Hospitals | Great |
😄 Happiness* | Good |
🍸 Nightlife | Okay |
📶 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 | Bad |
🌈 LGBTQ+ friendly | Bad |
🎅 Startup Score | Bad |
🌍 Continent | Middle East |
🚩 Country | Saudi Arabia |
⏱ Average trip length | 26 days |
📡 Internet speed (avg) | 11 Mbps |
⛅️ Weather (now) | ☀️ 22°C 71°F + 🌵 Too dry (22%) = feels 22°C 72°F |
💨 Air quality (now) | 👎😷 132 US AQI = 🚬 🚬 / day |
💨 Air quality (annual avg) | 👎☠️ 395 US AQI = 🚬 🚬 🚬 🚬 🚬 / day |
🔌 Power | 115V230V60Hz |
🚕 Best taxi app* | |
🚑 Travel medical insurance | ![]() |
💸 10 SAR in USD | USD 2.67 |
🏧 Suggested ATM take out: | SAR 1,000 = USD 267 |
💻 Best coworking space | The Work Hub |
🚰 Tap water | 🚫 No, not drinkable |
♻️ Return rate | 9% of visitors return |
📸 Visitors per year | 5,518,400 visitors |
📸 Tourists now | 105,760 tourists |
👨👩👧👦 Population | 6,700,000 people |
👨👩👧👦 GDP per capita* | $19,817 / year |
😤 Population density | 🧘♀️ not busy: 17x17m (289m²) per person |
👫 Gender ratio (population) | 👨 71% 👱♀️ 29% |
👫 Gender ratio (young adults) | 👨 57% 👱♀️ 43% |
👫 Gender ratio (nomads) | 👨 89% 👱♀️ 11% |
🏞 Foreign land ownership allowed | Yes |
⛪️ Religious government | Religious |
🏠 Apartment listings | Airbnb |
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier | Saudi |
✈️ Best int'l air carrier | Emirates |
💵 Cost of living for nomad | $3,226 / month |
💵 Cost of living for expat | $2,155 / month |
💵 Cost of living for family | $4,048 / month |
💵 Cost of living for local | $1,157 / month |
🏨 Hotel (median price) | $2,433 / month |
🏡 Airbnb (median price) | $4,148 / month |
🏠 1br studio rent in center | $955 / month |
🏨 Hotel (median price) | $114 / night |
🏠 Airbnb (median price) | $136 / night |
🏢 Coworking hot desk | $254 / month |
🍛 Dinner | $5 |
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L) | $1 |
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L) | $2 |
☕️ Coffee in cafe | $4 |
👩🏫 International school | $6,932 / year |
📱 Mobile data (~10GB) | $16 / month |
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi) | $5 / trip |
✅ Very safe
✅ Fast internet
✅ Warm now
✅ Warm all year round
✅ Spacious and not crowded
✅ High quality of education
✅ Great hospitals
❌ No freedom of speech
❌ No democracy
❌ Too expensive
❌ Not much to do
❌ Way too hot in the summer
❌ Very dry air now
❌ Bad air quality year round
❌ Very difficult to make friends
❌ Difficult to do business
❌ Roads are very dangerous
❌ People don't speak English well
❌ Not safe for women
❌ Not family friendly
❌ Hostile towards LGBTQ+
❌ Many people smoke tobacco
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
Feels | 7021° mild | 7222° mild | 8127° warm | 8831° hot | 9535° hot | 9937° hot | 10239° hot | 10038° hot | 9334° hot | 9032° hot | 7926° warm | 7021° mild |
Real | 7021° mild | 7222° mild | 8630° very warm | 9334° hot | 10239° hot | 10641° scorching | 10842° scorching | 10641° scorching | 9937° hot | 9535° hot | 8228° very warm | 7021° mild |
Humidity | nice 32% | nice 30% | too dry 16% | too dry 12% | too dry 9% | too dry 7% | too dry 10% | too dry 10% | too dry 12% | too dry 15% | too dry 27% | nice 32% |
Most common | ||||||||||||
Rain | dry 13mm | dry 14mm | dry 1mm | dry 4mm | dry 3mm | dry 0mm | dry 7mm | dry 0mm | dry 0mm | dry 0mm | dry 0mm | dry 5mm |
Cloud | pockets 12% | pockets 21% | clear 4% | pockets 34% | pockets 19% | clear 1% | pockets 26% | pockets 13% | pockets 11% | clear 1% | clear 9% | pockets 43% |
Air quality | clean 31 US AQI | bad 395 US AQI | bad 395 US AQI | bad 395 US AQI | bad 395 US AQI | bad 395 US AQI | bad 395 US AQI | bad 395 US AQI | bad 395 US AQI | bad 395* US AQI | clean 17 US AQI | bad 395* US AQI |
Sun | avoid sun 6 UVI | avoid sun 7 UVI | avoid sun 10 UVI | avoid sun 11 UVI | avoid sun 12 UVI | avoid sun 12 UVI | avoid sun 11 UVI | avoid sun 11 UVI | avoid sun 10 UVI | avoid sun 9 UVI | avoid sun 6 UVI | seek shade 5 UVI |
Remote workers | 267 people | 367 people | 375 people | 300 people | 300 people | 280 people | 257 people | 300 people | 275 people | 367 people | 289 people | 325 people |
If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomad List's Climate Finder
Based on Riyadh's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:
Doha is livable for sure, pricier than other nomad destinations. Kind of need to really look to find decent places to live at decent prices. But I'll hand it to Doha, very safe city even at night. For the most part Doha is an expat city, hardly any actual Qatari citizens. As with being well developed, wifi speeds are nothing to complain about but it also can depend on your host. Maybe not stay at the Pearl Island if you want to find a decent place to stay at a decent price. Nightlife here absol
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🧐 Too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast😀 Fun good👮 Safety mediocreTap to open☀️ Feels 25° 77° 25° 77°AQI 132😷✈️39min$4,675 / mo17Mbps×We have lived in Abu Dhabi for over four years and it is an amazing city! It is completely safe (for couples, solo women, etc.) and there is so much to do. The nightlife is plentiful and alcohol is easily available in licensed places (nearly all hotel bars and restaurants). The locals are friendly, and everyone speaks English. We absolutely love this city.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast😀 Fun great👮 Safety goodTap to open☀️ Feels 27° 81° 26° 78°AQI 68😷✈️1h$3,771 / mo16Mbps×Lived here for over a year, but I only recommend short visits. Contrary to what you hear, there is plenty of crime in parts of Dubai. Talking about that crime is considered taboo and, in many cases, is illegal. Sexual assault and gang violence against expats took place just outside my building, to people who lived in my building. I went to the police station a few times, but the issue was never handled and no arrests were ever made. I have videos of (unspecified) crimes taking place here, but
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🧐 Too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast😀 Fun mediocre👮 Safety goodTap to open☀️ Feels 28° 82° 27° 80°AQI 122😷✈️1h$4,096 / mo48Mbps×Lived here for over a year, but I only recommend short visits. Contrary to what you hear, there is plenty of crime in parts of Dubai. Talking about that crime is considered taboo and, in many cases, is illegal. Sexual assault and gang violence against expats took place just outside my building, to people who lived in my building. I went to the police station a few times, but the issue was never handled and no arrests were ever made. I have videos of (unspecified) crimes taking place here, but
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🧐 Too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast😀 Fun mediocre👮 Safety goodTap to open☀️ Feels 28° 82° 27° 80°AQI 122😷✈️1h$4,096 / mo48Mbps×A city in the grip of a financial crisis (Feb 2023), plus other calamities, so requires a bit more effort to do stuff than many places. But IMO worth the effort. You have to carry cash around and lots of bills as worth 1/40th of what they were a few years ago. You can't really use cards anywhere, except dollar ATMs and some supermarkets. Electricity mostly from generators, which have downtime a few hours a day. You need to check the daily hours of supply for the building before booking a place.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😝 Cheap📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast😀 Fun great👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌧 Feels 22° 72° 22° 71°AQI 68😷✈️2h$768 / mo3Mbps×I find it difficult to understand what people see in this city. The cost to benefit ratio is just so terribly bad! This is by far the most expensive city in Europe (especially in terms of rent), with hardly anything to offer in comparision with other cities like Barcelona, Lisbon or Warsaw. The weather is just average, with cold and windy winters and mediocre summers. It's difficult to come by restaurants that offer anything other than Indian fast food for a decent price - most places are just u
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😳 Way too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast😀 Fun great👮 Safety goodTap to open🌧 Feels 3° 37° 5° 42°AQI 17✈️7h$5,988 / mo28Mbps×Great for tourism, bad for living. The City has a fascinating contrast of old and new. You will never get bored, it’s easy to meet people and have fun. Infrastructure and food are great. Thai people are friendly and welcoming, even when it not always feels genuine. With that said, it’s not a good city for long term living. It’s too hot and humid. Felt air temperature is between 37°C-45°C almost year round during the day. It’s makes all outdoor activity unpleasant. Getting your daily d
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast😀 Fun good👮 Safety goodTap to open🌧 Feels 39° 102° 32° 89°🥵AQI 103😷✈️8h$1,414 / mo82Mbps×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 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast😀 Fun good👮 Safety goodTap to open☀️ Feels 8° 46° 8° 47°AQI 59😷✈️10h$2,311 / mo88Mbps×Once you figure out housing (not an easy thing but doable, especially once you stop looking in the touristic areas), Lisbon is a very charming, safe (even though I'll admit this is getting worse in certain areas), and fun city to live in. In most neighbourhoods you have the feeling of living in a small town instead of an urban area. There's aways something to do or see so it's hard to be bored living here. I still find Lisbon (and Portugal in general), to be one of the most attractive places in
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast😀 Fun great👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 18° 64° 17° 63°AQI 2✈️7h$3,275 / mo112Mbps×Liked Madrid,but its a bit dangerous in the evening and way to expensive! people can be really nice when they meet you but after a while you realize all it's not what it seems. And Barcelona is exactly the same.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🧐 Too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast😀 Fun mediocre👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 6° 43° 7° 45°AQI 25✈️7h$4,076 / mo129Mbps×I absolutely love Istanbul! My biggest recommendation would be to stay in Cihangir or Nişantaşı and avoid the main centre. Cihangir has so many beautiful cafes to work from and there are a lot of people working remotely so it's a really nice vibe. I agree with the comments about taxis, we just caught ubers but mostly walked everywhere which I would recommend. If you stay in Cihangir you can easily walk to Taxim square and through Galata. The food scene here is great once you know where to go
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast😀 Fun mediocre👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌥 Feels 11° 52° 12° 53°AQI 14✈️3h$1,635 / mo30Mbps×Lived here for over a year, but I only recommend short visits. Contrary to what you hear, there is plenty of crime in parts of Dubai. Talking about that crime is considered taboo and, in many cases, is illegal. Sexual assault and gang violence against expats took place just outside my building, to people who lived in my building. I went to the police station a few times, but the issue was never handled and no arrests were ever made. I have videos of (unspecified) crimes taking place here, but
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🧐 Too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast😀 Fun mediocre👮 Safety goodTap to open☀️ Feels 28° 82° 27° 80°AQI 122😷✈️1h$4,096 / mo🌇 Also went here108 people×This was my first experience living in the Middle East. I lived here 2 years. It's such a diferent culture: the dressing, the food, the music, their traditions. It's more modern than some other Arab countries but it is still a male dominant society. Female don't have a very active role in the public Jordanian society. Of course I met many couples where the woman is the dominant one and makes all the desicions, but it is the man that takes action in public. As the minimum national salaries ar
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast😀 Fun mediocre👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌧 Feels 21° 70° 21° 70°AQI 49✈️2h$1,973 / mo🌇 Also went here43 people×Vienna is a great place to visit but do not DN here. The internet is either awful of non-existent—even in coffee shops.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🧐 Too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast😀 Fun mediocre👮 Safety goodTap to open🌨 Feels -6° 21° -2° 29°AQI 42✈️5h$4,707 / mo🌇 Also went here41 people×Florence is one of the most beautiful city in the world! Here you have the opportunity to taste real genuine, fresh and organic food and experience great wines (such a Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino, Nobile di Montepulciano, Bolgheri Sassicaia, Ornellaia and much more) ! Think that Italy is the only country in the world where each region produce a different kind of wine with different kind of local grapes. It is a real bless for palate. Italians are friendly and locals even more. Almost e
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🧐 Too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast😀 Fun great👮 Safety goodTap to open🌧 Feels 5° 41° 6° 43°AQI 30✈️5h$4,248 / mo🌇 Also went here43 people×We stayed in Munich for 2 weeks, and more specifically, we were in Dachau. Amazing city that is very clean, safe, and full of history. Dachau has a lot to offer as well, so I recommend staying a bit further out and take the train to the city center. The English garden is a fantastic place to surf, swim, layout, walk, bike, or have a picnic. I will definitely come back here!
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🧐 Too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast😀 Fun great👮 Safety greatTap to open🌥 Feels -2° 28° 1° 34°AQI 18✈️5h$4,072 / mo🌇 Also went here61 people×Didn't like this city that much. Been there twice and honestly it has nothing so special. Just the DUOMO in the center is the main great scenery but besides that, nothing in particular to bother for.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🧐 Too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast😀 Fun mediocre👮 Safety goodTap to open🌧 Feels 4° 39° 4° 40°AQI 2✈️5h$4,878 / mo🌇 Also went here47 people×I have heard of a friend of a friend that in France it is important to bring sandpaper and to have suitable medical insurance which covers eye reconstruction surgery. “Well worth a visit, would recommend”.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😳 Way too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast😀 Fun good👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌧 Feels 5° 41° 8° 46°AQI 28✈️6h$5,014 / mo🌇 Also went here45 people×I find it difficult to understand what people see in this city. The cost to benefit ratio is just so terribly bad! This is by far the most expensive city in Europe (especially in terms of rent), with hardly anything to offer in comparision with other cities like Barcelona, Lisbon or Warsaw. The weather is just average, with cold and windy winters and mediocre summers. It's difficult to come by restaurants that offer anything other than Indian fast food for a decent price - most places are just u
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😳 Way too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast😀 Fun great👮 Safety goodTap to open🌧 Feels 3° 37° 5° 42°AQI 17✈️7h$5,988 / mo🌇 Also went here58 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 🏎 Fast😀 Fun great👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 21° 70° 21° 70°AQI 118😷✈️9h$2,869 / mo🌇 Also went here43 people×Tokyo has so much to offer and so much to do. It is easily overwhelming. Whereas I usually take my first week to explore a place Tokyo’s sights just kept on going. I remember ending up in a hidden cocktail bar, a mexican rooftop party with 1 meter margaritas, spending a whole day going only to French places(?), visiting a store that only imported 2nd hand hiphop apparel, and throughout it all the best michelin star ramen. It just seemed endless, completely unrelated and incredibly fun. Six wee
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🙂 Okay📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast😀 Fun great👮 Safety greatTap to open🌧 Feels 10° 50° 11° 52°AQI 9✈️12h$2,985 / mo🌇 Also went here62 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 🏎 Fast😀 Fun great👮 Safety mediocreTap to open☀️ Feels 12° 54° 12° 53°AQI 23✈️14h$7,576 / mo🌇 Also went here45 people×How did SF get scored #98 on Nomad score? I agree with most of the reviews posted here. I generally work from home, but we recently rented a small conference room for a meeting. It was $250 per hour.. (yes Per Hour... no typos here).
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😳 Way too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast😀 Fun bad👮 Safety mediocreTap to open☀️ Feels 14° 57° 14° 58°AQI 34✈️17h$5,653 / mo🌇 Also went here47 people×I spent 4 months working here during summertime. It's one of the best summers I have ever had in my life. The city is just amazing and offers dozens of outdoor activities. There are so many different places such as parks, lakes, hills, mountains, beaches, etc. Also, you can feel the Californication vibe on every step. I lived in Hollywood and I would avoid this place at any cost. It's just too overrated and won't meet your expectations. Hollywood (esp. West Hollywood) is a big pile of dirtiness
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😳 Way too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast😀 Fun great👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌥 Feels 20° 68° 20° 69°AQI 37✈️18h$5,343 / mo🌇 Also went here46 people×