⭐️ Total score | 2.9/5 (Rank #316) |
👍 Quality of life score | Okay |
👶 Family score | Bad |
🎒 Community score | Okay |
💵 Cost | 😙 Affordable: $1,254 / mo |
📡 Internet | 😡 Slow: 3Mbps (avg) |
😝 Fun | Good |
⛅️ Temperature (now) | 🌞 Nice: 20°C67°F (feels 20°C68°F) |
💦 Humidity (now) | 😊 Comfy: 71% |
💨 Air quality (now) | 🌱 Good: 63 US AQI |
👌 Safety | Good |
👮♀️ Lack of crime* | Good |
🤝 Lack of racism* | Bad |
🎓 Education level* | Low |
⚡️ Power grid | Great |
💰 Income level* | Very low: $181 / mo |
🙊 English speaking* | Bad |
🚶 Walkability | Great |
✌️ Peace (no pol. conflict) | Okay |
🚦 Traffic safety* | Bad |
🏥 Healthcare* | Okay |
😄 Happiness* | Bad |
🍸 Nightlife | Bad |
📶 Free WiFi in city | Good |
🗯 Freedom of speech* | Bad |
👩 Female friendly | Okay |
🌈 LGBTQ+ friendly | Bad |
🎅 Startup Score | Bad |
🌍 Continent | Asia |
🚩 Country | Vietnam |
⏱ Average trip length | 3 days |
📡 Internet speed (avg) | 3 Mbps |
⛅️ Weather (now) | 🌥 20°C 67°F + 😊 Comfy (71%) = feels 20°C 68°F |
💨 Air quality (now) | 👍 63 US AQI 🍃 OK |
🔌 Power | 230V50Hz |
🚕 Best taxi app* | |
🚑 Travel medical insurance | ![]() |
💸 100,000 VND in USD | USD 4.24 |
🏧 Suggested ATM take out: | VND 10,000,000 = USD 424 |
💸 Tipping | No |
💳 Cashless | 💳 Yes, cards OK almost everywhere |
☕️ Best coffee place | Nhat Linh Coffee |
🚰 Tap water | 🚫 No, not drinkable |
👨👩👧👦 Population | 9,000 people |
👨👩👧👦 GDP per capita* | $2,171 / year |
👫 Gender ratio (nomads) | 👨 79% 👱♀️ 21% |
⛪️ Religious government | Non-religious |
💻 Online electronics shop | Nguyen Kim |
✈️ Best int'l air carrier | Etihad |
💵 Cost of living for nomad | $1,254 / month |
💵 Cost of living for expat | $1,031 / month |
💵 Cost of living for family | $2,604 / month |
💵 Cost of living for local | $744 / month |
🏨 Hotel (median price) | $396 / month |
🏡 Airbnb (median price) | $1,014 / month |
🏠 1br studio rent in center | $709 / month |
🏨 Hotel (median price) | $19 / night |
🏠 Airbnb (median price) | $33 / night |
🏢 Coworking hot desk | $195 / month |
🍛 Dinner | $4 |
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L) | $1 |
🍺 Beer (0.5L) | $2 |
☕️ Coffee | $1 |
✅ Affordable to live
✅ Pretty safe
✅ Lots of fun stuff to do
✅ Warm now
✅ Warm in the spring
✅ Good air quality on average
✅ Spacious and not crowded
✅ Very easy to make friends
✅ Easy to do business
✅ Safe for women
❌ No freedom of speech
❌ No democracy
❌ Very slow internet
❌ Gets cold in the winter
❌ Quality of education is low
❌ Hospitals are bad
❌ Roads can be dangerous
❌ People don't speak English well
❌ Not family friendly
❌ Hostile towards LGBTQ+
❌ Many people smoke tobacco
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
Feels | 5412° cool | 6116° cool | 7021° mild | 7222° mild | 7725° warm | 7323° mild | 7323° mild | 7323° mild | 7222° mild | 6418° cool | 5915° cool | 5714° cool |
Real | 5412° cool | 6116° cool | 7021° mild | 7222° mild | 7725° warm | 7323° mild | 7323° mild | 7323° mild | 7222° mild | 6418° cool | 5915° cool | 5714° cool |
Humidity | damp 73% | damp 86% | nice 78% | nice 83% | nice 77% | nice 90% | nice 93% | nice 94% | nice 92% | nice 91% | damp 87% | damp 75% |
Rain | dry 33mm | rainy 97mm | dry 48mm | rainy 220mm | rainy 165mm | rainy 229mm | rainy 294mm | rainy 263mm | rainy 170mm | rainy 213mm | rainy 63mm | dry 36mm |
Cloud | cloudy 68% | cloudy 66% | cloudy 56% | cloudy 83% | cloudy 74% | overcast 97% | overcast 93% | overcast 92% | cloudy 74% | overcast 90% | cloudy 90% | cloudy 61% |
Sun | avoid sun 6 UVI | avoid sun 6 UVI | avoid sun 8 UVI | avoid sun 7 UVI | avoid sun 8 UVI | avoid sun 6 UVI | avoid sun 6 UVI | avoid sun 6 UVI | avoid sun 7 UVI | avoid sun 6 UVI | seek shade 5 UVI | seek shade 5 UVI |
Remote workers | 233 people | 200 people | 333 people | 267 people | 200 people | 500 people | 0 people | 267 people | 300 people | 200 people | 250 people | 300 people |
If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomad List's Climate Finder
Based on Sa Pa's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:
Hanoi feels more like a "large village" than a proper city. It's also what I call "unapologetically Vietnamese" given the way most places and shops are occupied and used by locals. English penetration isn't bad, but maybe because I speak Vietnamese I never had much of a problem in Hanoi. Prices for coffee, juice, smoothies, and food are insanely affordable. I wouldn't say the locals are "friendly to a fault" and mostly have left me alone. Yes, the old town city center is dirty, garbage on the
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun bad👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌧 Feels 23° 73° 23° 74°AQI 55✈️20min$1,181 / mo5Mbps×Don't go thinking it's another Chiang Mai, because it doesn`t. Instead, Chiang Rai is much smaller and simple, not so much to see and do --forget about nighlife, just relax and get the work done. Food is amazing and you can have as much khao soi you can eat. Finding a condo with pool and gym is possible, but there are not much options available. Better book something in the middle of nature -- rent a motorbike.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun bad👮 Safety mediocreTap to open☀️ Feels 27° 81° 29° 85°AQI 112😷✈️41min$1,414 / mo32Mbps×I really liked Chiang Mai but I can't put my finger on why. I'll try to remain unbiased so here goes. Chiang Mai is a dirty place with horrible pollution levels. English speaking is okay. I did really enjoy a balance of simple, risk-free living at low cost and acceptable quality of living. Many places only accept cash but plenty accept card. There's lots to do and it's fun exploring on a moped/motorbike. It feels as easy as Canggu with more modern appointments to get by as a westerner a bit easi
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun mediocre👮 Safety goodTap to open☀️ Feels 29° 84° 30° 87°🥵AQI 70✈️51min$1,347 / mo28Mbps×avoid going to the waterfalls with weed (or buying any on the way there) It's a very old trick the cops stop & search bikes on their way back. (while the locals try to sell you stuff on the way there)
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun bad👮 Safety goodTap to open☀️ Feels 27° 81° 28° 83°AQI 112😷✈️52min$1,443 / mo27Mbps×Hanoi feels more like a "large village" than a proper city. It's also what I call "unapologetically Vietnamese" given the way most places and shops are occupied and used by locals. English penetration isn't bad, but maybe because I speak Vietnamese I never had much of a problem in Hanoi. Prices for coffee, juice, smoothies, and food are insanely affordable. I wouldn't say the locals are "friendly to a fault" and mostly have left me alone. Yes, the old town city center is dirty, garbage on the
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun bad👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌧 Feels 23° 73° 23° 74°AQI 55✈️20min$1,181 / mo5Mbps×Cool little town to live in and work from, I was there for 3 weeks in low season. Lots of great restaurants, cafes etc. Nice easy access to the beach, riverside and countryside. Nightlife is quieter, but if you don't care about that, it's great. The Hub coworking there is run by some super friendly people and the new location they are building looks like it should be fantastic..
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun mediocre👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌥 Feels 33° 91° 27° 80°🥵AQI 34✈️1h$1,014 / mo5Mbps×Agree with the people below plus would say Cambodia and Siem Reap are wonderful places to visit if you like super friendly locals, amazing food and an easygoing lifestyle. There are a bunch of expats here, and a lot them are involved in social projects. If you're looking to do something good beyond experiencing a country, it's a good place to start. WiFi is totally usable everywhere. Mobile data is cheap and fast. Siem Reap has tons of options for food and drinks. It's very easy to get around
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun mediocre👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌥 Feels 43° 109° 32° 90°🥵AQI 78😷✈️1h$1,596 / mo5Mbps×I liked Ho Chi Minh City a lot. It has all of the convivences one could expect from the city except for an MRT system which as of September 2022, they are in the middle of building one anyway. Things are affordable although I have noticed a tamer street food scene compared to other places in Vietnam like Hanoi. Seems to be making more room for higher end dining but affordability is still easy. HCMC without a doubt has some great nightlife, so party animals are going to be very happy here. I am s
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun good👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌥 Feels 43° 109° 32° 89°🥵AQI 50✈️2h$1,392 / mo8Mbps×I have been both HCM and Da Nang. Da Nang is obviously a winner. Cooler climate, nicer people, less crowded, less pollution. Love it here
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun mediocre👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 33° 91° 27° 80°🥵AQI 34✈️1h$1,183 / mo2Mbps×Phu Quoc takes a bit of effort to get the best out of. It's very resorty and there's some horrific tourist hellholes like 'Grandworld' which is an imitation world that is monstrously large and destroying the island. However, there are some really good restaurants. Inland you can find some nice hiking spots and viewpoints (they're not easy to find). The waterfalls are nice if you hike further up them away from the piles of trash left by the locals. We stayed at Phu Quoc ecolodge which was stun
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun good👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌧 Feels 42° 108° 31° 88°🥵AQI 68✈️2h$1,448 / mo6Mbps×I've lived in New York City - Brooklyn - for over 20 years. For visiting tourists, the best neighborhood to stay in is NOT Bushwick. Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Ft. Green or Brooklyn Heights is preferable. Plenty of good transportation in those areas - subway, buses or Uber. Easy access to beaches in Long Island and New Jersey. There's plenty to do in NYC. Great restaurants, Broadway plays (!), and in the summer you frequently can catch a free concert.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😳 Way too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun great👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌧 Feels 5° 41° 6° 42°AQI 45✈️17h$6,299 / mo30Mbps×Hanoi feels more like a "large village" than a proper city. It's also what I call "unapologetically Vietnamese" given the way most places and shops are occupied and used by locals. English penetration isn't bad, but maybe because I speak Vietnamese I never had much of a problem in Hanoi. Prices for coffee, juice, smoothies, and food are insanely affordable. I wouldn't say the locals are "friendly to a fault" and mostly have left me alone. Yes, the old town city center is dirty, garbage on the
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun bad👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌧 Feels 23° 73° 23° 74°AQI 55✈️20min$1,181 / mo🌇 Also went here44 people×I really liked Chiang Mai but I can't put my finger on why. I'll try to remain unbiased so here goes. Chiang Mai is a dirty place with horrible pollution levels. English speaking is okay. I did really enjoy a balance of simple, risk-free living at low cost and acceptable quality of living. Many places only accept cash but plenty accept card. There's lots to do and it's fun exploring on a moped/motorbike. It feels as easy as Canggu with more modern appointments to get by as a westerner a bit easi
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun mediocre👮 Safety goodTap to open☀️ Feels 29° 84° 30° 87°🥵AQI 70✈️51min$1,347 / mo🌇 Also went here32 people×I have been both HCM and Da Nang. Da Nang is obviously a winner. Cooler climate, nicer people, less crowded, less pollution. Love it here
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun mediocre👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 33° 91° 27° 80°🥵AQI 34✈️1h$1,183 / mo🌇 Also went here20 people×Cool little town to live in and work from, I was there for 3 weeks in low season. Lots of great restaurants, cafes etc. Nice easy access to the beach, riverside and countryside. Nightlife is quieter, but if you don't care about that, it's great. The Hub coworking there is run by some super friendly people and the new location they are building looks like it should be fantastic..
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun mediocre👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌥 Feels 33° 91° 27° 80°🥵AQI 34✈️1h$1,014 / mo🌇 Also went here29 people×Agree with the people below plus would say Cambodia and Siem Reap are wonderful places to visit if you like super friendly locals, amazing food and an easygoing lifestyle. There are a bunch of expats here, and a lot them are involved in social projects. If you're looking to do something good beyond experiencing a country, it's a good place to start. WiFi is totally usable everywhere. Mobile data is cheap and fast. Siem Reap has tons of options for food and drinks. It's very easy to get around
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun mediocre👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌥 Feels 43° 109° 32° 90°🥵AQI 78😷✈️1h$1,596 / mo🌇 Also went here24 people×Bangkok is a really nice city. I lived 2 weeks in Bangkok and it was a good trip ! People are very nice, smiling and the cost is affordable. Some beautifuls temple, gardens, market etc. Chinatown is a place to visit, and Bangkok is globally clean !
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun good👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 43° 109° 32° 90°🥵AQI 57✈️1h$2,160 / mo🌇 Also went here36 people×I liked Ho Chi Minh City a lot. It has all of the convivences one could expect from the city except for an MRT system which as of September 2022, they are in the middle of building one anyway. Things are affordable although I have noticed a tamer street food scene compared to other places in Vietnam like Hanoi. Seems to be making more room for higher end dining but affordability is still easy. HCMC without a doubt has some great nightlife, so party animals are going to be very happy here. I am s
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun good👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌥 Feels 43° 109° 32° 89°🥵AQI 50✈️2h$1,392 / mo🌇 Also went here31 people×I've been in Phuket for about a month now. Most of that time I've spent in Ka Ron and Kata beach area, but also have been to Chalong, Pa Tong, Rawai, and Kathu. Karon and Kata beaches are my favorite. Beaches are beautiful, especially Karon. Overall most everything is reasonably priced, but not the bargain I was told it is. I eventually found a hotel I like, where I pay 12-13 euro per night (below 500 baht atm) and that is by far the lowest I found for the quality I expect. Considering the loc
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun good👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 37° 99° 30° 86°🥵AQI 59✈️2h$3,076 / mo🌇 Also went here21 people×Just arrived in KL, we are 30/35yrs+, a married couple and digital nomads, and wow.. What a city! This is the New York City of Asia. These appartments are epic. Grand views, very affordable, luxurious! You would pay 10-fold for the same deal in NYC or Tokyo or Dubai. And the food is fantastic. Indian, Malay, Indo, Chinese, American, European. The world is here!
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun bad👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌧 Feels 41° 106° 30° 86°🥵AQI 94😷✈️3h$1,867 / mo🌇 Also went here28 people×Not gonna lie, I was pretty curious and kinda hyped before I came to Singapore. However, within 24 hours all of my curiosity turned into disappointment. Yes, Singapore is clean by any standards but especially by Asian standards. And yes, you have shopping malls, fancy skyscrapers and free toilets everywhere. But beside from that Singapore is boring and has no soul. It just seems like Singapore tries to copy interesting parts of other countries and their nature. Take Cloud Forest for example wh
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😳 Way too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun good👮 Safety greatTap to open🌧 Feels 39° 102° 30° 86°🥵AQI 46✈️3h$5,525 / mo🌇 Also went here26 people×A top city. Everything works, beautiful greenery (hehe), cycling everywhere, happy people, great nightlife... Lots to love about. For nomads? Not a chance. Price of housing is outrageous, and the city is expensive af. They charge you 4.5-5 eur for a capuccino, completely shameless. An hour of public transport is 3 euros. I could go on and on. I'd love to live there, but it's not worth it.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😳 Way too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun good👮 Safety goodTap to open☀️ Feels 3° 37° 5° 41°AQI 50✈️12h$6,843 / mo🌇 Also went here19 people×Lived there last September and October and am coming back later this year. Yes, it is expensive, but after a while I learned about affordable places to eat and realized I could choose neighborhoods farther from city center, and it would still be nice. City feels super safe, even at nigh! Internet is crazy fast (I got 500mb on my airbnb) there are tons to do and see and I did not encounter the super rude Parisians people talk so much about, mostly everyone spoke English and were very polite. Rent
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😳 Way too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun good👮 Safety mediocreTap to open☀️ Feels 5° 41° 6° 42°AQI 33✈️12h$5,431 / mo🌇 Also went here24 people×How did you guys classified Penge as rich? It is one of the worst neighbourhood I have ever been in London, the ammount of people I know that have been robbed there is appalling.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😳 Way too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun great👮 Safety goodTap to open☀️ Feels 7° 45° 7° 45°AQI 78😷✈️12h$5,488 / mo🌇 Also went here22 people×Nomading here is tough because there are no reasonable Airbnbs and finding a short-term apt is difficult. You have to ask yourself, is it worth coming to Barcelona? It's probably the dirtiest city in Spain, and a bit sketchy. There's more beautiful and cleaner cities like Seville where you can find a reasonably priced Airbnb.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😳 Way too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun great👮 Safety goodTap to open🌦 Feels 8° 46° 10° 50°AQI 30✈️12h$5,068 / mo🌇 Also went here23 people×I'm currently in Lisbon and I must say that this city has been very overhyped in terms of cost, food and overall fun. There are a lot of issues where foreigners like myself are driving up the rent and we are solely blamed for this. The larger issue here is the Portuguese government is not using these tourism dollars towards their people. I'm staying in Alfama and there is 'fuck tourists' spray painted in a few places but in order to come and stay here we are being asked to provide our informatio
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey📡 InternetWiFi 😡 Slow😀 Fun great👮 Safety goodTap to open🌧 Feels 10° 50° 11° 52°AQI 44✈️14h$3,545 / mo🌇 Also went here23 people×