The best places to be a digital nomad in 2023

The digital nomad lifestyle continues to be popular, and it doesn't seem to be going away any time soon. In fact, advances in technology, remote working and workplace culture mean that by 2035, a billion people could be living and working as digital nomads. According to predictions, this global nomadic workforce, capable of plugging in anywhere in the world with a decent internet connection, could make up 1/3 of global employees. As talent has gotten more challenging to attract and retain, many countries have opened special authorizations for work visas (think digital nomad visas, remote work visas, and freelancer visas) to attract good employees. According to Gitnux, over 45 countries have created digital nomad visas and other programs to smooth out the red tape, making it easier for digital nomads to work from these countries.

Check out the latest and greatest on where people want to hang out and work as digital nomads. Instant Offices ranked almost 80 locations on affordability, weather, broadband speed, and more to reveal 2023's top picks for global remote work. They then assigned scores to the best ranking cities for each category and summed up the scores to create a global list. Unsurprisingly, over half the cities analyzed in the top 60 are in Asia. Here are the top 10 finalists

1. Lisbon
2. Bangkok
3. Madrid
4. Seoul
5. Delhi
6. Dubai
7. Ho Chi Minh City
8. Jakarta
9. Kathmandu
10. Rotterdam

Locational insights from Instant Offices: In the Asia Pacific region, cities like Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Hong Kong offer captivating travel experiences, scenery, and food alongside stellar connectivity, infrastructure, and a manageable cost of living. Neighboring countries in APAC also feature high on the list for digital nomads, with Australia and New Zealand both offering plenty of working space, delicious cuisine, travel opportunities, and probably most appealing of all, unparalleled sunny weather. In Europe, "Rich history, excellent transport and accessible travel opportunities make Europe one of the most appealing locations for digital nomads, who can spend a weekend sightseeing in Paris and catch a train back to London in time for work on Monday." Lisbon and Thessaloniki are warm seaside cities with a gentle pace of life. Two cities with the highest quality of life globally include Vienna and Zurich, while Geneva also features in the top five, making Switzerland a highly desirable place to live and work. Jacksonville tops the list of best digital nomad cities in the US in 2023. This large, sunny metro offers great weather all year round with plenty of beach access, the highest quality lifestyle of all US cities analyzed, and access to world-class amenities. Other US locations, like Houston, Chicago, LA, and New York are already popular tourist attractions, but their combination of flexible office space, connectivity, transport infrastructure and travel options also make them appealing locations to live, work, and play while exploring the US as a digital nomad.   

Per Flexjobs, the top factors for wanting to be a digital nomad are: work-life balance (73%), enjoying freedom (68%), love to travel (55%), avoiding office politics and distractions of a traditional work environment (43%), opportunity to explore other cultures (37%), high cost of living in home country (30%), and the poor local job market in hometown (24%). 

Again from Gitnux, more than 50% of the world’s digital nomads in 2022 were from the US. 16.9 million American workers currently describe themselves as digital nomads, a staggering 131% increase from 2019. 37% identify as female, 61% male and 1% non-binary. 56% are married. 

For some more really interesting stats on digital nomads, try "Digital Nomad Statistics and Trends 2023".