⭐️ Total score | 2.45/5 (Rank #307) |
👍 Quality of life score | Okay |
👶 Family score | Okay |
🎒 Community score | Okay |
💵 Cost | 😙 Affordable: $1,316 / mo |
📡 Internet | 🙂 Good: 12Mbps (avg) |
😝 Fun | Good |
⛅️ Temperature (now) | 🥵 Too hot: 31°C89°F (feels 39°C102°F) |
💦 Humidity (now) | 🥵 Sweaty: 75% |
👌 Safety | Good |
🤮 Food safety* | Okay |
👮♀️ Lack of crime* | Good |
🤝 Lack of racism* | Bad |
🎓 Education level* | High |
⚡️ Power grid | Good |
🌊 Vulnerability to climate change | Good |
💰 Income level* | Very low: $326 / mo |
🙊 English speaking* | Bad |
🚶 Walkability | Bad |
✌️ Peace (no pol. conflict) | Okay |
🚦 Traffic safety* | Okay |
😄 Happiness* | Bad |
🍸 Nightlife | Okay |
📶 Free WiFi in city | Okay |
🖥 Places to work from | Great |
❄️ A/C or heating | Bad |
😁 Friendly to foreigners | Good |
🗯 Freedom of speech* | Okay |
👩 Female friendly | Okay |
🌈 LGBTQ+ friendly | Bad |
🎅 Startup Score | Bad |
🌍 Continent | Asia |
🚩 Country | Sri Lanka |
🗓️ Average trip length | 3 days |
📡 Internet speed (avg) | 12 Mbps |
⛅️ Weather (now) | 🌧 31°C 89°F + 🥵 Sweaty (75%) = feels 39°C 102°F |
🔌 Power | 230V50Hz |
🚕 Best taxi app* | Pickme |
🚑 Travel medical insurance | Safetywing |
💸 1,000 LKR in USD | USD 3.33 |
🏧 Suggested ATM take out: | LKR 100,000 = USD 333 |
💳 Cashless | 💵 No, cash only (esp. for foreigners) |
☕️ Best coffee place | Natural Coffee |
🚰 Tap water | 🚫 No, not drinkable |
♻️ Return rate | 5% of visitors return |
👨👩👧👦 Population | 110,000 people |
👨👩👧👦 GDP per capita* | $3,910 / year |
👫 Gender ratio (population) | 👨 49% 👱♀️ 51% |
👫 Gender ratio (young adults) | 👨 51% 👱♀️ 49% |
👫 Gender ratio (nomads) | 👨 75% 👱♀️ 25% |
⛪️ Religious government | Religious |
🏠 Apartment listings | La Mudi |
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier | Sri Lankan Airlines |
✈️ Best int'l air carrier | Sri Lankan Airlines |
💵 Cost of living for nomad | $1,316 / month |
💵 Cost of living for expat | $473 / month |
💵 Cost of living for family | $804 / month |
💵 Cost of living for local | $230 / month |
🏨 Hotel (median price) | $1,709 / month |
🏡 Airbnb (median price) | $1,001 / month |
🏠 1br studio rent in center | $286 / month |
🏨 Hotel (median price) | $80 / night |
🏠 Airbnb (median price) | $33 / night |
🏢 Coworking hot desk | $171 / month |
🍛 Dinner | $1 |
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L) | $0 |
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L) | $2 |
☕️ Coffee in cafe | $1 |
👩🏫 International school | $765 / year |
📱 Mobile data (~10GB) | $1 / month |
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi) | $1 / trip |
✅ Affordable to live
✅ Pretty safe
✅ Fast internet
✅ Lots of fun stuff to do
✅ Warm now
✅ Warm all year round
✅ Good air quality on average
✅ Spacious and not crowded
✅ High quality of education
✅ Roads are pretty safe
✅ Democratic
✅ Safe for women
✅ Not many people smoke tobacco
❌ Freedom of speech is weak
❌ Very sweaty and humid now
❌ Difficult to do business
❌ Hospitals are bad
❌ People don't speak English well
❌ Not family friendly
❌ Hostile towards LGBTQ+
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
Feels | 7725° warm | 8228° warm | 8228° warm | 8228° warm | 8228° warm | 7926° warm | 7926° warm | 7926° warm | 7926° warm | 8127° warm | 7725° warm | 8127° warm |
Real | 7725° warm | 8228° very warm | 8228° very warm | 8228° very warm | 8127° warm | 7926° warm | 7926° warm | 7926° warm | 7926° warm | 7926° warm | 7725° warm | 8027° warm |
Humidity | nice 47% | nice 42% | nice 41% | nice 42% | nice 46% | nice 42% | nice 44% | nice 44% | nice 43% | nice 46% | nice 48% | nice 43% |
Most common | ☔️ Rain | ☀️ Clear | ☔️ Rain | ☔️ Rain | ☔️ Rain | ☔️ Rain | ☔️ Rain | ☔️ Rain | ☔️ Rain | ☔️ Rain | ☔️ Rain | ☔️ Rain |
Rain | rainy 88mm | dry 42mm | rainy 131mm | rainy 194mm | rainy 164mm | rainy 57mm | rainy 99mm | rainy 116mm | rainy 132mm | rainy 266mm | rainy 366mm | rainy 93mm |
Cloud | cloudy 52% | pockets 35% | pockets 43% | pockets 40% | cloudy 57% | cloudy 53% | cloudy 58% | cloudy 60% | cloudy 56% | cloudy 56% | cloudy 58% | pockets 41% |
Sun | avoid sun 7 UVI | avoid sun 9 UVI | avoid sun 10 UVI | avoid sun 9 UVI | avoid sun 6 UVI | avoid sun 6 UVI | avoid sun 6 UVI | avoid sun 6 UVI | avoid sun 6 UVI | avoid sun 7 UVI | avoid sun 6 UVI | avoid sun 8 UVI |
Remote workers | 343 people | 514 people | 257 people | 200 people | 267 people | 400 people | 267 people | 200 people | 300 people | 200 people | 200 people | 250 people |
If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomad List's Climate Finder
Based on Kandy's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:
Sri Lanka is not ready for tourism. Besides scams and "cartel prices" for tuktuks and other services, it is unsafe for women. Men catcalling, touching, and groping are the norm. Moreover, it is not cheap at all compared to other countries in South/Southeast Asia. Especially when landlords tend to increase rental prices once they learn you're a good tenant. Locals may appear friendly, but the reality often differs. As a patriarchal society, instances of domestic violence against girlfriends and w
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked very bad👮 Safety goodTap to open🌧 Feels 34° 93° 29° 84°AQI 99😷🚕3h$1,249 / mo11Mbps×Galle is a cute, small, Portuguese and Dutch colonial-style town with great food options - better than Colombo. Some coffee shops won't let you work, but great beaches are just a few minutes' drive away.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked mediocre👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌧 Feels 37° 99° 30° 85°🥵✈️12min$1,294 / mo11Mbps×Have been in Weligama since Feb 25th and now I'm still here with the COVID-19 curfew going on. Before the curfew starts I was eager to get out of here because 1) it's too hot mid-day 2) tuktuk drivers are waiting around every corner asking "tuktuk?" and always horn at you when you're walking by the street - super annoying and 3) it's difficult to find workable wifi 4) everything just seemed super slow and it was hard to be productive. But after the curfew starts I actually like it way better be
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked very bad👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌧 Feels 40° 104° 31° 88°🥵✈️12min$1,061 / mo25Mbps×Stayed a whole month in Fort Kochi area, eventually going to Ernakulam (downtown area). It is unarguably very different than rest of India, much more cleaner and with friendlier people. Beaches aren`t nice for bathing but are a great choice to catch sunsets everyday. Cost of living is dirty cheap and public transport is good. They even have a subway crossing the city with reminds me the BTS in Bangkok. Actually, Kochi to me is like a small and boring version of Bangkok, which is good if you need
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😝 Cheap📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked very bad👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 38° 100° 31° 87°🥵✈️45min$782 / mo15Mbps×Sri Lanka is not ready for tourism. Besides scams and "cartel prices" for tuktuks and other services, it is unsafe for women. Men catcalling, touching, and groping are the norm. Moreover, it is not cheap at all compared to other countries in South/Southeast Asia. Especially when landlords tend to increase rental prices once they learn you're a good tenant. Locals may appear friendly, but the reality often differs. As a patriarchal society, instances of domestic violence against girlfriends and w
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked very bad👮 Safety goodTap to open🌧 Feels 34° 93° 29° 84°AQI 99😷🚕3h$1,249 / mo11Mbps×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 🏎 Fast👍 Liked mediocre👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 39° 102° 34° 94°🥵AQI 67😷✈️3h$1,346 / mo86Mbps×Have been in Weligama since Feb 25th and now I'm still here with the COVID-19 curfew going on. Before the curfew starts I was eager to get out of here because 1) it's too hot mid-day 2) tuktuk drivers are waiting around every corner asking "tuktuk?" and always horn at you when you're walking by the street - super annoying and 3) it's difficult to find workable wifi 4) everything just seemed super slow and it was hard to be productive. But after the curfew starts I actually like it way better be
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked very bad👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌧 Feels 40° 104° 31° 88°🥵✈️12min$1,061 / mo25Mbps×I was in Anjuna, Goa for Feb 23 and I can only discourage you from going there. We were recommended the place as an upcoming nomad place but it just doesnt work for nomads at all. Internet is plain terrible. Even in the coworking (NomadGao, Clay etc) and a back up sim, you cant make calls reliably to save your life. Next to no community there, but strong hippie and party crowd there. The streets are very stressful and you have to be comfortable driving a scooter in hectic streets in bad cond
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked very bad👮 Safety goodTap to open☀️ Feels 38° 100° 32° 89°🥵✈️2h$2,198 / mo45Mbps×Galle is a cute, small, Portuguese and Dutch colonial-style town with great food options - better than Colombo. Some coffee shops won't let you work, but great beaches are just a few minutes' drive away.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked mediocre👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌧 Feels 37° 99° 30° 85°🥵✈️12min$1,294 / mo11Mbps×I really like Munich. It is a great place to live. + sunny + parks / green + walkable + many cafés / restaurants etc + pretty architecture + very safe - very expensive - many conservative people - can get really cold in the winter
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🧐 Too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked good👮 Safety greatTap to open🌧 Feels 8° 46° 10° 49°AQI 25✈️10h$4,125 / mo64Mbps×Always on the Top Livable Cities List, but it really should be in the Top Boring Cities List. It's like a big town, and it's kind of stuck in the past. You really feel like you are in the South. Plenty of old people & Asian students. Normal - everyone moves to Sydney or Melbourne which are incredibly more fun and exciting.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😳 Way too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked very bad👮 Safety greatTap to open☀️ Feels 22° 72° 22° 72°AQI 53😷✈️10h$5,273 / mo23Mbps×This is where humans shouldn't stay or visit after the 2021 Feb Coup. Until now it's a dictatorship country, so expect everything that can happen in a dictatorship country.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked very bad👮 Safety goodTap to open☀️ Feels 38° 100° 36° 96°🥵AQI 97😷✈️3h$1,099 / mo11Mbps×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👍 Liked very bad👮 Safety goodTap to open🌧 Feels 8° 46° 8° 46°AQI 3✈️11h$4,796 / mo70Mbps×I don't know exactly how Barcelona is still considered safe but it's far from it. It's probably the most dangerous city to live in Madrid and one of the most dangerous in europe, with constant pick-pocketing and even violent crimes to get your wallet and phone in certain areas. If you like a peaceful life, Barcelona is not the place anymore!!
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😳 Way too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked mediocre👮 Safety goodTap to open🌧 Feels 13° 55° 14° 58°AQI 33✈️11h$5,060 / mo99Mbps×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 🏎 Fast👍 Liked mediocre👮 Safety greatTap to open🌧 Feels 33° 91° 29° 85°✈️4h$4,476 / mo50Mbps×Sri Lanka is not ready for tourism. Besides scams and "cartel prices" for tuktuks and other services, it is unsafe for women. Men catcalling, touching, and groping are the norm. Moreover, it is not cheap at all compared to other countries in South/Southeast Asia. Especially when landlords tend to increase rental prices once they learn you're a good tenant. Locals may appear friendly, but the reality often differs. As a patriarchal society, instances of domestic violence against girlfriends and w
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked very bad👮 Safety goodTap to open🌧 Feels 34° 93° 29° 84°AQI 99😷🚕3h$1,249 / mo🌇 Also went here49 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 🏎 Fast👍 Liked mediocre👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 39° 102° 34° 94°🥵AQI 67😷✈️3h$1,346 / mo🌇 Also went here48 people×Chiang Mai has had a deep Buddhist influence running over the last 1,000 years and this can be felt in the helpfulness, patience and generosity of the Thai and long-term transplants you come across. The city has an active community scene (nomads, spiritual seekers, hikers, creatives), several mountains with hiking spots and waterfalls surrounding the city, over 20 water bodies inside the city -- many have cafes and walks around, several public parks, and over 13 national parks with campgrounds w
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😝 Cheap📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked good👮 Safety goodTap to open☀️ Feels 33° 91° 35° 95°🥵AQI 165😷✈️3h$964 / mo🌇 Also went here41 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 🏎 Fast👍 Liked good👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌧 Feels 36° 97° 30° 87°🥵AQI 68😷✈️3h$1,224 / mo🌇 Also went here35 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 🏎 Fast👍 Liked mediocre👮 Safety greatTap to open🌧 Feels 33° 91° 29° 85°✈️4h$4,476 / mo🌇 Also went here36 people×Saigon has things going for it—great food, beautiful French architecture, interesting history, steady development, and nice enough people. But overall, the vibes are mediocre. Again, the locals are nice enough, though, as a Westerner, you're not going to feel as welcomed as you are in surrounding countries (I don't mean to sound entitled, that's an honest assessment). You just sort of exist; people stare at you and will be amused by you, but don't expect the celebrity treatment you get in othe
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked mediocre👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌥 Feels 43° 109° 35° 95°🥵AQI 11✈️4h$1,061 / mo🌇 Also went here33 people×The most vietnamese city in Vietnam. The Old Quarter and West Lake are the highlights. If you come, try the egg coffee. Be mindful Vietnam has cracked down on visas, and it is not as friendly to foreigners. I was able to relax after I received a 5-year spousal visa.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked mediocre👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌥 Feels 30° 86° 27° 80°AQI 157😷✈️4h$1,110 / mo🌇 Also went here30 people×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 🏎 Fast👍 Liked bad👮 Safety goodTap to open🌧 Feels 32° 90° 28° 82°AQI 50✈️6h$1,918 / mo🌇 Also went here37 people×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 🏎 Fast👍 Liked mediocre👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 32° 90° 29° 84°AQI 50✈️6h$1,953 / mo🌇 Also went here31 people×I’m working remotely and since it’s war in Ukraine I was living in Istanbul for half of year, after moving to Dubai i realised it’s not much more expensive here in Dubai. And besides that no one is cheating me like it was happening non stop in Istanbul
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast👍 Liked mediocre👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌥 Feels 18° 64° 18° 64°AQI 66😷✈️8h$1,851 / mo🌇 Also went here29 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 🏎 Fast👍 Liked good👮 Safety goodTap to open🌧 Feels 13° 55° 14° 58°AQI 85😷✈️10h$2,407 / mo🌇 Also went here25 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 🏎 Fast👍 Liked mediocre👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 12° 54° 13° 55°AQI 63😷✈️10h$3,728 / mo🌇 Also went here32 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 🏎 Fast👍 Liked mediocre👮 Safety goodTap to open🌧 Feels 8° 46° 10° 50°AQI 21✈️11h$6,209 / mo🌇 Also went here29 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 🏎 Fast👍 Liked bad👮 Safety goodTap to open🌧 Feels 7° 45° 9° 48°AQI 76😷✈️12h$5,402 / mo🌇 Also went here26 people×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👍 Liked bad👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 17° 63° 17° 63°AQI 42✈️13h$3,477 / mo🌇 Also went here29 people×Can't login? See the FAQ
By signing up, you agree to our terms of service and community guidelines.
One-time-payment: $39.98 $19.99 💫2024 NEW YEAR 0% off
Billed once. Then never again
One-time-payment: $218 $109 💫2024 NEW YEAR 50% off
Billed once. Then never again
Nomad List members
work remotely at
💖 Thanks for signing up! I hope you like my site. I put a lot of effort into making it.
📬 First, please go to your email and click the confirm link first to verify your email address, check your spam folder if you can't find it
💌 After you confirm your email we'll send you an email with more info
👩💻 You can start using Nomad List's member-only features now!