Travel and work can go hand in hand with the growing opportunities of digital nomadism, where individuals can travel and live in a new country while working remotely, either on short-term or long-term specialised visas. The prospects of location independence can be both exciting and daunting, with many considerations to think about before making the change.
To find out which cities are the best for those wanting a nomadic career, InsureMyTrip conducted a study that included more than 40 countries offering digital nomad visas, investigating a variety of tourism and lifestyle metrics, along with visa costs and Wi-Fi speeds.
Top 10 Best Cities for Digital Nomads
In the top 10, South America ranks highly with a multitude of options like Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina, which are all great locations for a new lease on life with culture, community, and fast internet. European cities offer much of the same with well-known countries that have been staple vacation favorites, like Spain and Portugal, a great option for working abroad. In this list, Kuala Lumpur is the furthest away but has one of the lowest living costs on the list and is highly recommended by experienced nomads, with their work ethic and productivity being core to their professional industries.
Below are the top 10 cities for digital nomads:
- Brasília, Brazil – 7.26 overall
- Budapest, Hungary – 7.06 overall
- Montevideo, Uruguay – 6.87 overall
- Lisbon, Portugal – 6.75 overall
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – 6.74 overall
- Madrid, Spain – 6.70 overall
- Nicosia, Cyprus – 6.51 overall
- Buenos Aires, Argentina – 6.45 overall
- Podgorica, Montenegro – 6.42 overall
- San José, Costa Rica – 6.41 overall
Top 3 Digital Nomad Cities for Tourism
Lisbon, Portual
Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, is first for the best tourism scores, with the highest rating for cafés at 4.6 out of 5 and a high safety score of 69.76. Lisbon is known for its classical neighborhoods and its natural harbor, along with more than 550 sights to visit, making this a worthwhile place to live short-term.
Budapest, Hungary
Next is Budapest in Hungary which also known for its unique architecture and has more than 590 attractions to explore, from beautiful landscapes to exquisite churches. It also has a safety score of 65.63 and a collection of highly rated cafés with 4.56 out of 5, along with delicious food like paprikash and lecsó.
Nicosia, Cyprus
In third place for tourism is Nicosia, Cyprus, with the highest score for safety at 69.29 and is known for many landmarks like sacred temples and ornate religious dwellings, with more than 158 sights across the city. Nicosia is also great for cafés, with a rating of 4.49 out of 5, where you can enjoy a cup of traditional Cypriot coffee and then wander the streets to wind down after a long day of work.
Top 3 Digital Nomad Cities for Lifestyle
Nicosia, Cyprus
Nicosia also takes the top spot across lifestyle qualities, with a high score for happiness (6.1). It has a reasonable cost of living with an average of $1280 per person, which is 1.57 times lower than the U.S. Due to its location in the Mediterranean Sea, Cyprus also has warm weather with an average of 9.3 hours of sun a day, so it can offer nomads respite from cooler winters.
Buenos Aires, Argentina
In second place for lifestyle is Buenos Aires, Argentina, known for its creativity and history, where nomads can make use of productivity in a thriving community, with a happiness score of 6.2 and an average of 6.9 hours of sunshine a day. This city has an average cost of living of $773 which is 2.61 times lower than the US, with lots of vibrant districts for nightlife and culture in which to immerse and relax.
Brasília, Brazil
Brasília, Brazil ranks third for lifestyle – offering digital nomad visas since January 2022 and is often recommended due to low cost of living with an average of $819 for a single person, which is 2.46 times lower than the US. Brasilia became the capital city in 1960 and is centrally located, with a wealth of leisure activities and cultural venues. It has a happiness score of 6.3 and the weather is also an appealing motive to live there short-term, with an average of 6.6 hours of sunshine a day to take advantage of while working remotely.
Conclusion
Digital nomadism offers a unique combination of flexibility, cultural enrichment, and self-growth. When embracing this new lifestyle, focusing on different factors is important, along with fostering wellbeing and creating memories in new environments outside of your comfort zone. Depending on an individual’s experience, the options can be endless as digital nomad visas become more popular across the globe and the freedom to work from anywhere can be fulfilling and a rewarding choice for many professionals.
Methodology
To create the list of cities used in the study, countries were selected due to digital nomad visa eligibility and checked against the U.S. Travel Advisories. Each data point consists of the latest research available from reputable sources. All sources are destination-specific level data points. The data was standardized using minmax normalization. The minmax normalization value is multiplied by 10 to create a score (between 0-10). A score of 10 is always the best result, while a score of 0 is the worst. Each destination is then ranked on their overall rating across all metrics to find which city is the best for digital nomads.
Sources
Wi-Fi Speed
The fixed broadband speed of the Wi-Fi in each country.
https://www.speedtest.net/global-index
Happiness Score
The happiness score of the country.
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/a-map-of-global-happiness-by-country-in-2024/
Visa Costs
The average costs of a tailored digital nomad visa in each country.
https://citizenremote.com/blog/digital-nomad-visa-countries/ (compared with government immigration websites).
Cost of Living
The average cost of living in each city.
Annual Sunshine Hours
The sum of all the hours of sunshine of a city (divided by days in a year to find the daily average).
https://weather-and-climate.com/
Rating of Cafes
The average rating of cafes across a city.
Number of Sights/Landmarks
The number of sights or landmarks across the city.
Safety Index Score
The safety index score of each city.
https://www.numbeo.com/crime/rankings_current.jsp
