Being a digital nomad may be an ever-increasingly popular lifestyle, offering the opportunity to travel, achieve a better work-life balance, and take control over where, when, and how you work. However, there is one issue that is all too common amongst solo nomads: loneliness.
If you’re not the extroverted, chatty type, in particular, some digital nomads may find themselves craving friendships and community – but struggling to build those relationships in a new country and culture.
Team at MoneyTransfers.com decided to review some of the liveliest, most social and community-based locations around the world. We compared a total of 45 prominent digital nomad cities to find the ultimate ranking of the best cities in the world for lonely digital nomads.
“Loneliness and feeling isolated are natural – and common – challenges any digital nomad may face at one point or another,” says Jonathan Merry, resident travel and digital nomad expert at MoneyTransfers.com.
“Although in any location you will have to push yourself to connect with other travellers and expats, it can certainly help to position yourself in a city primed for social activities and building friendships. Our hope is that this ranking helps digital nomads that may be feeling isolated choose their next destination based on the likelihood of finding a sense of community along their travels.”
Top 10 best cities for lonely digital nomads
Here are the ten cities that came out on top:
- Lisbon, Portugal
- London, UK
- Barcelona, Spain
- Chiang Mai, Thailand
- Bangkok, Thailand
- Tenerife, Spain
- Berlin, Germany
- Madrid, Spain
- Tokyo, Japan
- Athens, Greece
Lisbon crowned as most social digital nomad city
Lisbon took the top spot as the best city for lonely digital nomads in this ranking. The city, often appearing amongst the top-ranking locations for remote workers thanks to its low cost of living, beautiful scenery and culture, and thriving social scene, makes the perfect hub for introverted nomads.
The “Lisbon digital nomads” Facebook group is over 50,000 people strong, while we found a whopping 48 nomad-related events planned in Lisbon in just one week. To put that into perspective, Barcelona had the second-most events planned, at 26.
London, UK second best city for lonely digital nomads
In second place, London also performs well for expats and digital nomads looking for a better social life. While the cost of living may be high, the population density and thriving social scene in the UK’s capital undoubtedly makes it easier for expats to build a community of their own.
Thai and Spanish cities dominate social digital nomad locations
Cities based in Spain featured three times within the top 10 in this ranking: Barcelona (third), Tenerife (sixth – although it’s fair to point out that Tenerife is an island and a province of Spain, so should potentially be disregarded on this front), and Madrid (eighth).
Alongside the social scene multiple Spanish cities have to offer lonely digital nomads, the new digital nomad visa Spain unrolled earlier in 2023 is another reason the sunny European country remains a firm favourite with expats and remote workers alike.
Meanwhile, Thailand features twice, with Chiang Mai and Bangkok ranking fourth and fifth respectively. Not only are both cities thriving hubs for digital nomads from all over the world, but Thailand also offers a digital nomad visa with the potential to stay in the country for up to 10 years.
Biggest digital nomad online communities
The three locations with the largest online digital nomad and/or expat community are Lisbon, Chiang Mai, and Tenerife.
However, Barcelona and Las Palmas, taking up fourth and fifth position, also have a community of over 20,000. While this isn’t necessarily an indication of the number of digital nomads living in each location (as many may have come and gone or are planning on settling there), it is a strong indication of how lively and sought-after each location is from like-minded individuals.
London has highest concentration of co-working spaces
London has the highest concentration of co-working spaces by far out of any other location ranked on this list, with 1,312 listed spaces.
Mexico City has the second highest number, at 251. Tokyo comes in third place, the only other city with more than 200 co-working spaces (207). Digital nomads looking to make professional as well as social connections may find themselves drawn to these locations, offering a wealth of options to network.
Ultimately, any digital nomad will need to make an effort to ingrain themself in a new culture and location, but heading to these locations primed for social activities will certainly make life that bit easier.
Methodology
To rank the best cities for lonely digital nomads, we scored a total of 45 cities across the following four key criteria:
- Number of people per city-specific digital nomad and/or expat Facebook group (Source: Facebook)
- Number of MeetUp Events per city, within the next week and a 10-mile radius (Source: MeetUp)
- Number of Co-Working Spaces (Source: CoWorker)
- Number of Hostels – we used the same dates in every search for a single person for uniformity (Source: HostelWorld)
The data for each ranking factor was then standardised on a 100-point scale, with the total score per each factor then added together for a total overall score. (Yasmin Purnell)