A 5-Step Process to Picking your Next Remote Work Destination
If you’re a remote worker then the world is your oyster. Where in the world would want to work from?
Imagine this, it’s late Sunday night. You’ve been in this new exotic place for a while, but have yet to find any stable wifi, and you’re going into Monday with 2 - 3 video calls. Your surroundings are beautiful, the people are charming, the food is delicious, but the high from the novelty of this place is wearing off. You look around to realize you’re surrounded by families & couples on their honeymoon. There aren’t many people your age, and if there are, the language barriers are so big you can’t connect with them anyway.
I’ve been here a million times, hell I’m writing an article now from a small Caribbean island where I’ve dealt with this exact thing. While a few weeks in a place like this can be a nice break. After enough time most of us want to find a place where we feel connected to others. Where we don’t have to worry about wifi connectivity or electricity cutting out. Where we can build routines around working & bonding with others.
After 10 years of traveling, the last couple as a digital nomad, I’ve come up with a full-proof 5-step process for picking your next country.
Step 1: Figure Out Your Top 3
Come up with a list of the 2 - 3 attributes that are the most important to you and use that as a guide. This is huge in narrowing down your next destination.
For example, here are my top 3:
Wifi Infrastructure - I have a number of video calls, and I want my clients to have the same experience whether I’m in the middle of America or the middle of China. In order to do this, I need stable, fast wifi.
Ability to create friendships - I generally travel alone, so this is a bit more important. If you’re in a couple, this may not be as huge for you. The ability to create friendships can be either with other travelers / nomads or with the people of the place.
No snow - If I wanted to experience the snow I’d still be in Colorado back in the US.
Step 2: Figure Out A Couple Of Bonus Attributes
What I mean by this is to create a couple of extra attributes that you would love in a country, but aren’t deal breakers. Here are an example of my bonus attributes
It has major metropolitan areas - I can enjoy the countryside and a slower lifestyle for a bit, but I do love cities and the energy that comes along with them.
The Country Speaks A Language I Want To Learn - I’m (slowly) learning Spanish, French and Mandarin Chinese and ultimately I’d like to speak those 3 along with Arabic and Russian fluently, so finding countries that speak one of those languages is a big bonus for me.
Places with great hiking nearby - Having hiking nearby is always a godsend for me. Getting outside, enjoying nature and getting my blood flowing is great.
Similar timezone as my clients - This one is probably the least important element for me. Specifically, since I chunk together my meetings. That being said, this still plays a role in my decision-making.
Step 3: Researching Your Top 3
At this point, take your top attributes and research them online, or find spots with existing nomads to get advice. There are tons of info & helpful people out there if you look around!
I’ll go through the top 3 attributes I have and how I go about finding the perfect spot.
Great Wifi - There are a couple of ways I go about finding spots with great wifi, here are a couple of them:
Asking other digital nomad friends
Asking on digital nomad forums (my favorite being the country-specific slack channels in Nomadlist)
Checking Croissant - I know if Croissant has coworking spots they recommend at a place, then I’ll have a spot to work.
Looking for Selina’s & Other Co-lives - generally speaking, if I can find a co-live at the spot I’m going to it’s very likely they’ll have fast enough wifi for video calls.
If all else fails Google wifi speeds or digital nomad guides + city or country name and see what pops up.
Ability to create friendships - Here are some tips on how I find places:
Honestly going through a lot of the same processes I go through above.
If you want to kill two birds with one stone you can just search “digital nomad hotspots,” and you’ll be sure to find places with good wifi where you can more easily make friends.
As of now here are the best spots I know of:
Lisbon, Portugal
Medellin, Colombia
Playa Del Carmen, Mexico
Mexico City, Mexico
Bali, Indonesia
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Cape Town, South Africa
Language fluency is a big part of this. With my language capabilities as they are now, I can only deeply connect with people in English and Spanish. So if the country doesn’t have a lot of fluency in either of those, then it’s not going to be a place where I’ll want to stay long-term.
No Snow - that one's pretty easy to figure out online 😂
Step 4: Use Your Bonuses As A Way To Break Ties
So you’ve done your research, and now you have 2 or 3 spots you’re interested in but not sure which to go with?
Your bonus attributes to the rescue!
Take your bonus points and use them to break the ties. Find the spot that matches more of your bonus attributes.
Step 5: Do A Trial Run
Unless you’re very certain of a place, then it’s best to start with 2 - 3 weeks in the place to get to know it. From there, you can extend your stay, or if it’s a bad fit you can always leave.
The reality is, if you aren’t in love with the place the first week to two weeks of being there, then you’re probably never going to love it.
Best of luck my friends!
Loren Ross started traveling 10 years ago and has been a digital nomad for the last 3. He has a travel brand Digital Nomad Lifestyle, where he writes on how to find fast wifi anywhere, the top digital nomad hotspots, as well as how to make friends and build community no matter where you’re at.