⭐️ Total score | 2.38/5 (Rank #1089) |
👍 Quality of life score | Okay |
👶 Family score | Bad |
🎒 Community score | Okay |
💵 Cost | 🧐 Pricey: $3,260 / mo |
📡 Internet | 🤬 Unusably slow: 1Mbps (avg) |
😝 Fun | Bad |
⛅️ Temperature (now) | 🥶 A bit cold: 16°C61°F (feels 16°C61°F) |
💦 Humidity (now) | 🌵 Too dry: 17% |
💨 Air quality (now) | 😐 Moderate: 93 US AQI |
💨 Air quality (annual) | 😷 Unhealthy for some: 106 US AQI |
👌 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 |
😤 People density | 😤 Dense: 17k ppl/km² (8x8m) |
🚶 Walkability | Great |
✌️ Peace (no pol. conflict) | Okay |
🚦 Traffic safety* | Bad |
🏥 Hospitals | Great |
😄 Happiness* | Okay |
🍸 Nightlife | Okay |
📶 Free WiFi in city | Okay |
🖥 Places to work from | Great |
❄️ A/C or heating | Good |
😁 Friendly to foreigners | Okay |
🗯 Freedom of speech* | |
👩 Female friendly | Okay |
🌈 LGBTQ+ friendly | Bad |
🎅 Startup Score | Bad |
🌍 Continent | Asia |
🚩 Country | China |
⏱ Average trip length | 10 days |
📡 Internet speed (avg) | 1 Mbps ⚠️ Internet in Shenzhen is fast averaging 8 Mbps but the Great Firewall slows down speeds to foreign websites by 8x to ~1 Mbps. |
⛅️ Weather (now) | ☀️ 16°C 61°F + 🌵 Too dry (17%) = feels 16°C 61°F |
💨 Air quality (now) | 👎😷 93 US AQI = 🚬 / day |
💨 Air quality (annual avg) | 👎☠️ 106 US AQI = 🚬 / day |
🔌 Power | 230V50Hz |
🚀 Upcoming neighborhood | Luohu |
🚕 Best taxi app* | |
🚑 Travel medical insurance | ![]() |
💸 10 CNY in USD | USD 1.47 |
🏧 Suggested ATM take out: | CNY 1,000 = USD 147 |
💸 Tipping | No |
💳 Cashless | 💵 No, cash only (esp. for foreigners because WeChat is very hard to set up) |
💻 Best coworking space | Archiposition |
🚰 Tap water | 🚫 No, not drinkable |
♻️ Return rate | 👍15% of visitors return |
📸 Visitors per year | 12,962,000 visitors |
📸 Tourists now | 248,416 tourists |
👨👩👧👦 Population | 13,000,000 people |
👨👩👧👦 GDP per capita* | $8,126 / year |
😤 Population density | 😤 crowded: 8x8m (64m²) per person |
👫 Gender ratio (population) | 👨 48% 👱♀️ 52% |
👫 Gender ratio (young adults) | 👨 56% 👱♀️ 44% |
👫 Gender ratio (nomads) | 👨 88% 👱♀️ 12% |
⛪️ Religious government | Non-religious |
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier | Hong Kong Airlines |
✈️ Best int'l air carrier | Emirates |
🏥 Best hospital | University of HK-Shenzhen |
💵 Cost of living for nomad | $3,260 / month |
💵 Cost of living for expat | $2,787 / month |
💵 Cost of living for family | $5,447 / month |
💵 Cost of living for local | $1,556 / month |
🏨 Hotel (median price) | $1,162 / month |
🏡 Airbnb (median price) | $4,748 / month |
🏠 1br studio rent in center | $1,470 / month |
🏨 Hotel (median price) | $54 / night |
🏠 Airbnb (median price) | $156 / night |
🏢 Coworking hot desk | $327 / month |
🍛 Dinner | $7 |
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L) | $2 |
🍺 Beer (0.5L) | $5 |
☕️ Coffee | $1 |
✅ Very safe
✅ Warm all year round
✅ Many Nomad List members have been
✅ Easy to do business
✅ Great hospitals
✅ Safe for women
❌ No freedom of speech
❌ Too expensive
❌ Unusably slow internet
❌ Not much to do
❌ Cold now
❌ Too hot in the summer
❌ Very dry air now
❌ Feels crowded
❌ Difficult to make friends
❌ Quality of education is low
❌ 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 | 7021° mild | 7222° mild | 7524° warm | 8429° warm | 9736° hot | 10842° scorching | 11144° scorching | 11546° scorching | 11144° scorching | 8831° hot | 7725° warm | 7222° mild |
Real | 6921° mild | 7122° mild | 7424° warm | 7926° warm | 8530° very warm | 8831° hot | 9032° hot | 9032° hot | 9032° hot | 8228° very warm | 7725° warm | 7122° mild |
Humidity | nice 67% | nice 72% | nice 80% | sweaty 80% | sweaty 83% | sweaty 85% | sweaty 81% | sweaty 84% | sweaty 80% | sweaty 72% | nice 69% | nice 63% |
Rain | dry 3mm | rainy 57mm | dry 20mm | dry 49mm | rainy 80mm | rainy 248mm | rainy 141mm | rainy 226mm | rainy 76mm | rainy 295mm | dry 5mm | dry 42mm |
Cloud | pockets 30% | pockets 23% | cloudy 50% | cloudy 61% | cloudy 70% | overcast 93% | cloudy 78% | overcast 90% | cloudy 54% | cloudy 70% | pockets 50% | pockets 47% |
Air quality | bad 129 US AQI | bad 106 US AQI | bad 112 US AQI | bad 104 US AQI | okay 90 US AQI | okay 67 US AQI | okay 64 US AQI | okay 77 US AQI | bad 106 US AQI | bad 110 US AQI | bad 129 US AQI | bad 132 US AQI |
Sun | avoid sun 6 UVI | avoid sun 8 UVI | avoid sun 8 UVI | avoid sun 8 UVI | avoid sun 7 UVI | avoid sun 6 UVI | avoid sun 7 UVI | avoid sun 6 UVI | avoid sun 8 UVI | avoid sun 6 UVI | avoid sun 6 UVI | seek shade 5 UVI |
Remote workers | 400 people | 325 people | 333 people | 480 people | 400 people | 457 people | 289 people | 457 people | 433 people | 450 people | 533 people | 433 people |
If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomad List's Climate Finder
Based on Shenzhen's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:
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 🧐 Pricey📡 InternetWiFi 🤬 Unusably slow😀 Fun great👮 Safety goodTap to open☀️ Feels 14° 57° 15° 59°AQI 80😷🚕1h$3,920 / mo87Mbps×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 🤬 Unusably slow😀 Fun good👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 14° 57° 15° 58°AQI 93😷🚕3h$1,685 / mo×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 🧐 Pricey📡 InternetWiFi 🤬 Unusably slow😀 Fun great👮 Safety goodTap to open☀️ Feels 14° 57° 15° 59°AQI 80😷🚕1h$3,920 / mo87Mbps×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 🤬 Unusably slow😀 Fun good👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 14° 57° 15° 58°AQI 93😷🚕3h$1,685 / mo×Seoul has many good things in every perspective. Safety! IT infra! Food! many shops until night, Super fast Delivery, Kind and fast service, Hip places opens in every minute, Kind & Educated people(Education in Seoul is crazy, almost social issue), and even nature everywhere(huge river, mountains are in the city, you can easily find mountains to climb)
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey📡 InternetWiFi 🤬 Unusably slow😀 Fun good👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels -4° 25° -2° 29°AQI 55✈️3h$3,047 / mo20Mbps×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 🧐 Pricey📡 InternetWiFi 🤬 Unusably slow😀 Fun great👮 Safety goodTap to open☀️ Feels 3° 37° 5° 42°AQI 91😷✈️2h$3,434 / mo1Mbps×What can I say that hasn't already been said? Canggu has so much energy and excitement. I think that's partly due to the cost of living plus the weather. People are very nice here but expect general life for the locals to revolve around tourism. You're not going to get an authentic Indonesian cultural experience. It's definitely not perfect and not an easy place to live but considering how cheap it is what can you expect? I think the pros outweigh the cons and cons are plentiful (dirty, cash soc
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 🤬 Unusably slow😀 Fun great👮 Safety goodTap to open🌧 Feels 34° 93° 28° 82°🥵AQI 102😷✈️5h$1,948 / mo31Mbps×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 🤬 Unusably slow😀 Fun good👮 Safety goodTap to open☀️ Feels 28° 82° 28° 82°AQI 85😷✈️2h$2,209 / mo28Mbps×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 🤬 Unusably slow😀 Fun good👮 Safety greatTap to open🌧 Feels 33° 91° 28° 82°🥵AQI 9✈️3h$5,539 / mo102Mbps×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 🤬 Unusably slow😀 Fun mediocre👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 25° 77° 25° 77°AQI 139😷✈️2h$1,373 / mo29Mbps×Honestly, this is an awesome place to be if you're actually trying to get work done. It's a bit of an older vibe than Canggu, and there's certainly a big chunk of yogi's kicking around — but I liked it much better than Canggu and found it less pretentious. Plus, you can drive down there in 45mins whenever you want some beach or party vibes. As others mentioned, there's some great coworking spaces, cheap warungs, some really nice spots to stay cheaply if you go just outside of the mad tourist
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 😙 Affordable📡 InternetWiFi 🤬 Unusably slow😀 Fun great👮 Safety goodTap to open🌧 Feels 33° 91° 27° 80°🥵AQI 102😷✈️5h$2,055 / mo16Mbps×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 🤬 Unusably slow😀 Fun bad👮 Safety mediocreTap to open☀️ Feels 12° 54° 12° 53°AQI 25✈️15h$7,169 / mo70Mbps×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 🤬 Unusably slow😀 Fun great👮 Safety mediocreTap to open☀️ Feels 19° 66° 19° 67°AQI 53✈️16h$5,021 / mo48Mbps×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 🧐 Pricey📡 InternetWiFi 🤬 Unusably slow😀 Fun great👮 Safety goodTap to open☀️ Feels 14° 57° 15° 59°AQI 80😷🚕1h$3,920 / mo🌇 Also went here138 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 🧐 Pricey📡 InternetWiFi 🤬 Unusably slow😀 Fun great👮 Safety goodTap to open☀️ Feels 3° 37° 5° 42°AQI 91😷✈️2h$3,434 / mo🌇 Also went here88 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 🤬 Unusably slow😀 Fun mediocre👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 25° 77° 25° 77°AQI 139😷✈️2h$1,373 / mo🌇 Also went here87 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 🤬 Unusably slow😀 Fun good👮 Safety goodTap to open☀️ Feels 28° 82° 28° 82°AQI 85😷✈️2h$2,209 / mo🌇 Also went here111 people×Definitely an underrated place for nomads - Huge city with a small town feel. Lots of different neighborhoods to appeal to different types of people: some commercial, some hipstery, some historical, some modern. Food and rent is cheap (and the food is damn good). People are very friendly as compared to other big Asian cities. You can also get easy work as a tutor and make good extra cash. I survived for five months tutoring and doing other English related work for max 12 hrs a week (leaving me
⭐️ OverallAll 💵 Cost 🙂 Okay📡 InternetWiFi 🤬 Unusably slow😀 Fun mediocre👮 Safety goodTap to open☀️ Feels 2° 36° 4° 39°AQI 58✈️3h$2,777 / mo🌇 Also went here77 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 🤬 Unusably slow😀 Fun bad👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌧 Feels 33° 91° 27° 80°🥵AQI 38✈️3h$1,757 / mo🌇 Also went here71 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 🤬 Unusably slow😀 Fun good👮 Safety greatTap to open🌧 Feels 33° 91° 28° 82°🥵AQI 9✈️3h$5,539 / mo🌇 Also went here95 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 🧐 Too expensive📡 InternetWiFi 🤬 Unusably slow😀 Fun great👮 Safety greatTap to open🌥 Feels 4° 39° 6° 43°AQI 4✈️4h$4,405 / mo🌇 Also went here89 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 🤬 Unusably slow😀 Fun great👮 Safety goodTap to open☀️ Feels -1° 30° 1° 35°AQI 26✈️12h$3,747 / mo🌇 Also went here73 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 🤬 Unusably slow😀 Fun good👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 5° 41° 5° 41°AQI 24✈️12h$6,161 / mo🌇 Also went here75 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 🤬 Unusably slow😀 Fun great👮 Safety goodTap to open🌥 Feels 6° 43° 6° 43°AQI 34✈️13h$5,149 / mo🌇 Also went here87 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 🤬 Unusably slow😀 Fun good👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌥 Feels 2° 36° 4° 40°AQI 50✈️13h$5,676 / mo🌇 Also went here95 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 🤬 Unusably slow😀 Fun bad👮 Safety mediocreTap to open☀️ Feels 12° 54° 12° 53°AQI 25✈️15h$7,169 / mo🌇 Also went here80 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 🤬 Unusably slow😀 Fun great👮 Safety mediocreTap to open☀️ Feels 19° 66° 19° 67°AQI 53✈️16h$5,021 / mo🌇 Also went here68 people×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 🤬 Unusably slow😀 Fun great👮 Safety mediocreTap to open🌦 Feels 3° 37° 5° 41°AQI 46✈️17h$6,186 / mo🌇 Also went here91 people×