⭐️ Total score | 2.55/5 (Rank #938) |
👍 Quality of life score | Okay |
👶 Family score | Okay |
🎒 Community score | Okay |
💵 Cost | 🧐 Pricey: $3,149 / mo |
📡 Internet | 🏎 Fast: 32Mbps (avg) |
😝 Fun | Good |
⛅️ Temperature (now) | 🥶 Freezing : -3°C27°F (feels -7°C19°F) |
💦 Humidity (now) | 😊 Comfy: 68% |
💨 Air quality (now) | 🌱 Great: 34 US AQI |
💨 Air quality (annual) | 🌱 Great: 46 US AQI |
👌 Safety | Great |
🤮 Food safety* | Great |
👮♀️ Lack of crime* | Great |
🤝 Lack of racism* | Okay |
🎓 Education level* | High |
⚡️ Power grid | Great |
🌊 Vulnerability to climate change | Bad |
💰 Income level* | Very high: $3,220 / mo |
🙊 English speaking* | Bad |
😤 People density | 🧘♀️ Low density: 5k ppl/km² (1 per 14x14m) |
🚶 Walkability | Great |
✌️ Peace (no pol. conflict) | Good |
🚦 Traffic safety* | Okay |
🏥 Hospitals | Good |
😄 Happiness* | Okay |
🍸 Nightlife | Okay |
📶 Free WiFi in city | Bad |
🖥 Places to work from | Great |
❄️ A/C or heating | Great |
😁 Friendly to foreigners | Bad |
🗯 Freedom of speech* | Good |
👩 Female friendly | Okay |
🌈 LGBTQ+ friendly | Okay |
🎅 Startup Score | Bad |
🌍 Continent | Asia |
🚩 Country | Japan |
⏱ Average trip length | 5 days |
📡 Internet speed (avg) | 32 Mbps |
⛅️ Weather (now) | 🌨 -3°C 27°F + 😊 Comfy (68%) = feels -7°C 19°F |
💨 Air quality (now) | 👍 34 US AQI 🍃 OK |
💨 Air quality (annual avg) | 👍 46 US AQI |
🔌 Power | 115V60Hz |
🚕 Best taxi app* | |
🚑 Travel medical insurance | ![]() |
💸 1,000 JPY in USD | USD 6.90 |
🏧 Suggested ATM take out: | JPY 10,000 = USD 69 |
💸 Tipping | No |
💳 Cashless | 💳 Yes, cards OK almost everywhere |
💻 Best coworking space | Regus |
☕️ Best coffee place | Tully's Coffee |
🚰 Tap water | 👌 Yes, safe to drink |
♻️ Return rate | 6% of visitors return |
👨👩👧👦 Population | 2,000,000 people |
👨👩👧👦 GDP per capita* | $38,640 / year |
😤 Population density | 🧘♀️ not busy: 14x14m (196m²) per person |
👫 Gender ratio (population) | 👨 43% 👱♀️ 57% |
👫 Gender ratio (young adults) | 👨 55% 👱♀️ 45% |
👫 Gender ratio (nomads) | 👨 83% 👱♀️ 17% |
🏞 Foreign land ownership allowed | Yes |
⛪️ Religious government | Non-religious |
💻 Online electronics shop | Amazon |
🏠 Apartment listings | Airbnb |
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier | All Nippon Airlines |
✈️ Best int'l air carrier | Japan Airlines |
💵 Cost of living for nomad | $3,149 / month |
💵 Cost of living for expat | $1,722 / month |
💵 Cost of living for family | $2,647 / month |
💵 Cost of living for local | $756 / month |
🏨 Hotel (median price) | $2,082 / month |
🏡 Airbnb (median price) | $3,484 / month |
🏠 1br studio rent in center | $410 / month |
🏨 Hotel (median price) | $98 / night |
🏠 Airbnb (median price) | $114 / night |
🏢 Coworking hot desk | $421 / month |
🍛 Dinner | $8 |
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L) | $1 |
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L) | $4 |
☕️ Coffee in cafe | $4 |
👩🏫 International school | $10,216 / year |
📱 Mobile data (~10GB) | $48 / month |
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi) | $5 / trip |
✅ Very safe
✅ Fast internet
✅ Lots of fun stuff to do
✅ Good air quality on average
✅ Spacious and not crowded
✅ Very easy to do business
✅ High quality of education
✅ Great hospitals
✅ Roads are very safe
✅ Freedom of speech
✅ Democratic
✅ Safe for women
✅ LGBTQ+ friendly
❌ Too expensive
❌ Cold now
❌ Gets very cold in the winter
❌ Very difficult to make friends
❌ People don't speak English well
❌ Not family friendly
❌ Many people smoke tobacco
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
Feels | 18-8° freezing | 23-5° freezing | 373° cold | 468° cold | 5915° cool | 7021° mild | 8630° warm | 7524° warm | 7021° mild | 5915° cool | 468° cold | 27-3° freezing |
Real | 23-5° freezing | 29-2° freezing | 415° very cold | 4910° cold | 5915° cool | 7021° mild | 8127° warm | 7524° warm | 7021° mild | 5915° cool | 4910° cold | 320° freezing |
Humidity | damp 79% | damp 79% | damp 77% | nice 66% | damp 79% | nice 77% | sweaty 77% | nice 78% | nice 75% | damp 73% | damp 76% | damp 77% |
Most common | ||||||||||||
Rain | rainy 92mm | rainy 99mm | rainy 86mm | rainy 123mm | rainy 113mm | rainy 64mm | dry 31mm | rainy 174mm | rainy 74mm | rainy 141mm | rainy 171mm | rainy 100mm |
Cloud | cloudy 68% | cloudy 67% | cloudy 67% | cloudy 66% | cloudy 81% | cloudy 59% | cloudy 68% | cloudy 77% | cloudy 65% | cloudy 71% | cloudy 65% | cloudy 67% |
Air quality | clean 46 US AQI | clean 49 US AQI | okay 53 US AQI | okay 52 US AQI | okay 52 US AQI | clean 47 US AQI | clean 48 US AQI | clean 44 US AQI | clean 40 US AQI | clean 39 US AQI | clean 39 US AQI | clean 43 US AQI |
Sun | safe 1 UVI | safe 2 UVI | seek shade 3 UVI | seek shade 4 UVI | seek shade 4 UVI | avoid sun 6 UVI | avoid sun 6 UVI | seek shade 5 UVI | seek shade 4 UVI | seek shade 3 UVI | safe 2 UVI | safe 1 UVI |
Remote workers | 667 people | 300 people | 350 people | 320 people | 320 people | 300 people | 200 people | 267 people | 240 people | 400 people | 200 people | 300 people |
If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomad List's Climate Finder
Based on Sapporo's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:
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 18° 64° 17° 62°AQI 19✈️1h$2,874 / mo70Mbps×Pros: Friendly people, safe, stable government, efficient and fast public transportation, established foreigner (gaijin) population due many English teachers, many great food options, many festivals (cherry blossom fest), onsens! Cons: Expensive, work til you die at your desk mentality, drunken businessman culture, groping on packed public transit, lack of mental health services so be cautious around the destitute, over sexualization of underage females, high risk if caught with illegal substan
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast😀 Fun mediocre👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 16° 61° 16° 62°AQI 61😷✈️1h$2,474 / mo27Mbps×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 18° 64° 17° 62°AQI 19✈️1h$2,874 / mo70Mbps×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 13° 55° 13° 55°AQI 91😷✈️2h$2,403 / mo89Mbps×Pros: Friendly people, safe, stable government, efficient and fast public transportation, established foreigner (gaijin) population due many English teachers, many great food options, many festivals (cherry blossom fest), onsens! Cons: Expensive, work til you die at your desk mentality, drunken businessman culture, groping on packed public transit, lack of mental health services so be cautious around the destitute, over sexualization of underage females, high risk if caught with illegal substan
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast😀 Fun mediocre👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 16° 61° 16° 62°AQI 61😷✈️1h$2,474 / mo27Mbps×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 23° 73° 23° 73°AQI 82😷✈️5h$2,784 / mo41Mbps×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😀 Fun good👮 Safety greatTap to open🌧 Feels 32° 90° 28° 82°🥵AQI 25✈️8h$4,101 / mo54Mbps×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° 18° 64°AQI 2✈️14h$3,263 / mo112Mbps×Okinawa is an amazing place to live. I sadly just recently moved from Okinawa to Texas, but I spent my past 9 years on that island. If you ever get the chance to live there, you definitely should. The beaches are so nice, and the people are quite friendly off base. They also have some amazing food you ought to try.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🙂 Okay📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast😀 Fun great👮 Safety greatTap to open☀️ Feels 24° 75° 24° 75°AQI 53😷✈️3h$2,535 / mo30Mbps×Great for a visit. Beautiful scenery. Good food. I thought it would be great to live here, start a startup and be in the same time zone as SF, close to Seattle, etc. But compared to Vancouver in 2009, one big change that totally ruined it for me: Absolute zombie apocalypse of drug addicts and shouting/violent home less people. It was shockingly bad. The locals often visibly carry naxalone (anti-overdose medicine, I learned) because there are so many people overdosing in the street. Police were n
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🧐 Too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast😀 Fun mediocre👮 Safety goodTap to open✈️9h$4,548 / mo124Mbps×I've been living in the Twin Cities (Saint Paul to be exact but I'm often in Mpls too) for about 8 months now. It really is a hidden gem in North America. Possibly one of the last major metropolitan areas in the US where housing is still relatively affordable if you have a good job. Lots of music venues and outdoorsy culture. It's colder than you can even imagine in the winter but that's a fun experience. Shoulder seasons are short, and summer is hot and muggy. Good food.
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🧐 Too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast😀 Fun good👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌥 Feels 2° 36° 5° 40°AQI 15✈️12h$4,106 / mo43Mbps×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 9° 48° 10° 50°AQI 6✈️11h$1,572 / mo30Mbps×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 18° 64° 17° 62°AQI 19✈️1h$2,874 / mo🌇 Also went here66 people×Pros: Friendly people, safe, stable government, efficient and fast public transportation, established foreigner (gaijin) population due many English teachers, many great food options, many festivals (cherry blossom fest), onsens! Cons: Expensive, work til you die at your desk mentality, drunken businessman culture, groping on packed public transit, lack of mental health services so be cautious around the destitute, over sexualization of underage females, high risk if caught with illegal substan
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast😀 Fun mediocre👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 16° 61° 16° 62°AQI 61😷✈️1h$2,474 / mo🌇 Also went here38 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 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast😀 Fun good👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 13° 55° 13° 55°AQI 91😷✈️2h$2,403 / mo🌇 Also went here38 people×Taipei offers a great value because for far east Asia, it’s quite cheap compared to Korea or Japan. Very pretty historical city. A typical meal is usually 200 which is around $6.50 but you can easily get street food for much cheaper. I stayed for 5 weeks. Pros: extremely safe and clean Friendly locals Lots of Chinese culture - like day trips into tea fields Great tea! People spoke some English Fast wifi Clean air Lots of street food Incredible transportation - so easy to get around
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast😀 Fun mediocre👮 Safety goodTap to open☀️ Feels 25° 77° 25° 78°AQI 40✈️4h$2,207 / mo🌇 Also went here28 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 23° 73° 23° 73°AQI 82😷✈️5h$2,784 / mo🌇 Also went here30 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 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast😀 Fun mediocre👮 Safety goodTap to open🌧 Feels 31° 88° 28° 82°AQI 57😷✈️6h$1,030 / mo🌇 Also went here24 people×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 38° 100° 33° 91°🥵AQI 155😷✈️7h$1,463 / mo🌇 Also went here42 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😀 Fun good👮 Safety greatTap to open🌧 Feels 32° 90° 28° 82°🥵AQI 25✈️8h$4,101 / mo🌇 Also went here28 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 12° 54° 12° 54°AQI 22✈️10h$5,472 / mo🌇 Also went here26 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° 19° 67°AQI 33✈️11h$5,442 / mo🌇 Also went here25 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 10° 50° 11° 53°AQI 34✈️12h$5,467 / mo🌇 Also went here32 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 🧐 Too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast😀 Fun great👮 Safety goodTap to open🌧 Feels 14° 57° 14° 58°AQI 76😷✈️12h$4,534 / mo🌇 Also went here24 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 14° 57° 14° 57°AQI 85😷✈️13h$7,583 / mo🌇 Also went here40 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😀 Fun great👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 18° 64° 18° 64°AQI 2✈️14h$3,263 / mo🌇 Also went here25 people×