Hello fellow digital nomads!
My partner and I are on the brink of an exciting chapter in our lives – we’ve decided to leave our conventional lifestyle behind and embrace the digital nomad way of life. Our first destination is set to be Thailand, a country we’ve already fallen in love with during a previous visit.
We’re reaching out to this amazing community for some wisdom and guidance. We’re particularly interested in recommendations for cities in Thailand that are conducive to the digital nomad lifestyle. Key factors for us include reliable internet, a vibrant community of digital nomads (not mandatory) and affordability.
Additionally, we’re keen on exploring countries nearby Thailand, but would like to exclude Indonesia and Malaysia from our current plan.
We’re looking for destinations that are digital nomad-friendly and offer a unique cultural experience.
Here are some specific questions we have:
- What cities in Thailand would you recommend for first-time digital nomads like us?
- Are there any lesser-known gems in Thailand that are worth exploring?
- For countries neighboring Thailand (excluding Indonesia and Malaysia), which ones would you suggest for digital nomads, and why?
- Any tips on networking with other digital nomads and integrating into the local digital nomad community?
- Lastly, we’d love to hear about any personal experiences or advice you think would be beneficial for us as we embark on this journey.
This is a big step for us, and getting advice from those who’ve walked this path before is invaluable.
Thank you so much in advance!
Definitely Chiang Mai for a first timer. Join a coworking space to meet other nomads, I liked Yellow
Get yourselves a nice travel credit card with good perks.
Chase Sapphire Reserve, for example, comes with lounge access when flying, tons of ways to spend points, and pretty fantastic customer service for when shit hits the fan.
Its like $550 per year, but you get $300 back when you use the card for travel expenses, free priority pass access for the card holder and 2 guests, TSA pre-check, and more.
On top of that, you get zero fees for foreign transactions and the like.
Travel credit cards never made sense to me when the most I’d use it for would be a trip every year or two, but as a DN I find ample ways to take advantage of the perks. I no longer mind waiting in airports, I essentially get free flights for just paying rent by getting points for airbnbs, etc.
By just using my card to pay rent I’ve managed to rack up enough points to fly my friends/family to come meet me where I’m at around the world. Even if it doesn’t cover everything, it helps me share my joy as a DN to subsidize my loved ones’ flights to travel outside of the USA when they might otherwise not be able to afford a flight outside of the US.
Bangkok is a great first stop! Affordable, great food, and plenty of nomads to meet.
How can I meet nomads in Bangkok?
Chiang Mai is great, actually I really like Kanchanaburi too. I would massively recomend Laos - but I couldnt vouch for the internet