c/digital-nomad-life

Tried to do a video call from a rooftop in Medellin during a sudden downpour

My umbrella inverted, my laptop almost flew away, and my client just saw a blurry, screaming face for 45 seconds. Anyone have a go-to spot for reliable outdoor wifi that isn't a weather gamble?

Pro tip: Don't tell a local in Medellin you're 'just working from your laptop'

This guy at a cafe last month looked at my setup and said, 'So you're basically just a tourist with a job.' It hit different coming from someone living the reality I was just visiting. Anyone else get a comment that made you rethink the whole 'nomad' label?

Warning: The 'cheap nomad' cities list is missing a huge cost

I was looking at a popular blog post about living in Chiang Mai for under $800 a month. I've been here six weeks now and tracked every penny. The budget works, but only if you ignore health insurance. I got a quote for a basic plan that covers real emergencies, and it added $150 a month. That's a 20% jump they never mention. The post made it sound like the full cost, but it's not. It feels like a big part of the story is left out to make the numbers look good. Has anyone else had a budget blown up by something the guides just skip?

Serious question, has anyone else spent a full day trying to get a SIM card in Bangkok?

I thought it would be a 30-minute errand, but between the language barrier, the required passport registration at three different counters, and the shop's system going down, it took me over 6 hours to get mobile data.

Got my gear stolen in a Lisbon cafe and it changed my whole backup plan

I was working at a spot near Rossio Square last Tuesday, stepped away for maybe two minutes to grab a coffee refill. Came back and my laptop bag with my main work machine and an external drive was just gone. The cafe had no cameras pointed at my table. I had cloud backups for my files, but all my local apps and settings were gone. Now I travel with a cheap backup laptop that can at least get me online, and I never leave my stuff out of arm's reach. What's the one thing you do now that you didn't before a bad travel moment?

Why does nobody talk about the visa gamble when you pick a base for a year?

After settling in Lisbon for a planned 12-month stay, my freelance income dipped for two months straight, and now I'm staring down the real income requirements for my residency permit with a lot less buffer than I had back in January.

Update: My bank flagged my account for fraud because I was in two countries in one day

Last month I flew from Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur for a meeting, then back to Thailand the same evening. My bank's automated system saw the quick country switch and froze my card, thinking it was stolen. I was stuck at a 7-Eleven in Phuket with no way to pay for a taxi or food. Has anyone else had this happen with a specific bank that's good for fast travel?

Remember when a 'good wifi' review just meant the cafe had a router

Three years ago in Lisbon, I booked a place that said 'great wifi' and spent a week working from the floor next to the modem. Last month in Chiang Mai, I had to ask about upload speeds and backup power before I could even open my laptop. Last week, my call dropped in Medellin because the building's fiber line got cut by construction, and I had to sprint three blocks to a co-working space I'd already vetted. When did our basic need get so complicated? What's your weirdest wifi vetting story from this year?

Just realized a quiet cafe in Da Nang has the best internet I've ever worked on

I've been here for a week and the upload speed is a steady 150 Mbps, which is wild for Vietnam. Has anyone else found a hidden gem with surprisingly good infrastructure?

Talked to a guy in Medellin about his 'home base' setup

I was at a cafe here yesterday and this guy from Germany said he rents the same apartment in Lisbon for six months every year. He said it's not about the money, but having a place where his mail goes and his dentist is. I always thought being a nomad meant constant movement, but he called it his 'anchor point'. It made me wonder if I'm burning myself out trying to be in a new city every month. Does anyone else keep a semi-permanent spot like that, or is it just me?

Changed my mind about needing a local SIM card in every country

I was in a cafe in Chiang Mai last week and heard a guy tell his friend, 'I just use my home plan's roaming, it's $10 a day and I'm done.' I always thought that was a huge waste, but he said for trips under two weeks, the hassle of finding a store and setting up a local number wasn't worth the $30 he'd save. It made me think about all the time I've wasted in phone shops. For short work trips, maybe the easy way is the right way. How do you handle phone data on quick stops?

Warning: I lost a whole month's rent on a bad co-living deal in Chiang Mai

I paid $800 upfront for a spot I found through a random Facebook group, but the photos were from years ago and the internet was unusable for video calls. I had to book a last-minute hotel and eat the cost just to keep working. Has anyone found a reliable way to check a place's real internet speed before committing?

Spent 3 months in Chiang Mai and the 'co-working cafe' scene is getting ridiculous

I was at a spot on Nimman Road last week where they charged 200 baht just to sit down, plus you had to buy a drink, and the wifi cut out every 20 minutes. It felt more like paying for a vibe than a real place to get work done. Are we just accepting bad, overpriced internet as part of the 'experience' now?

Can we talk about the moment you realized your 'home base' was holding you back?

I was in a cafe in Medellin last year, looking at a $1200 flight back to my 'cheap' apartment in Austin. I'd kept it for two years, paying rent even when I was gone, just for the idea of a home. The math hit me: I'd spent over $28k on a place I barely used. That flight was the last one. I sold or stored everything within a month. Has anyone else had a specific expense that finally made you cut the cord completely?

Warning: My 'backup' internet plan in Medellin was a total joke

I got a local SIM with 10GB of data, thinking it would save me if the cafe wifi died. It worked fine for a week, then my main project file wouldn't upload during a client call. Turns out the plan throttled speeds to under 1 Mbps after 5GB, which I hit without noticing. What's a real backup plan that doesn't cost a ton?

PSA: A client in Lisbon told me my work emails were 'too formal and robotic'

I started adding one personal line about the local weather or a cafe I liked, and response rates jumped by about 40%. Anyone else get feedback that changed how you communicate with clients from the road?

Warning: My laptop almost died in a Chiang Mai cafe during a power cut

I was working from this little spot near the old city when the whole block lost electricity for over an hour. My battery was at 12% and I had a client call in 20 minutes. A local guy at the next table saw me panic and lent me his big power bank, no questions asked. Now I always carry two fully charged banks and check cafe reviews for backup generators. What's your go-to move for avoiding dead battery disasters in new places?

My buddy told me to skip the fancy gear and just get a local SIM card

Everyone online was pushing these expensive global data plans, but my friend Carlos, who's been doing this for years, said to just buy a local SIM in each country. I was in Lisbon last month and got a 30-day plan from MEO for 15 euros with way more data than my old roaming plan gave me in a week. It worked perfectly for all my video calls and saved me a ton. Anyone else find that the simplest tech advice ends up being the best?

My bank froze my account in Chiang Mai because of a 'suspicious' coffee purchase

I was buying a coffee for 80 baht and my card got declined. The bank said the small, foreign transaction looked like fraud. I had to spend three hours on a terrible phone line to get it sorted. Has anyone else had this happen with their home bank while traveling?

Talked to a local fisherman in a small town in Portugal and he asked me why I was always working on my laptop instead of looking at the ocean.

PSA: The 'work from anywhere' visa in Bali isn't as simple as the ads say

I watched three people in a Canggu coworking space get turned away at immigration after their 60-day 'digital nomad' visa expired, because they thought it automatically renewed (it doesn't, you have to leave the country). This was after they'd signed 6-month apartment leases, which just created a huge mess. How do you guys handle long-term stays in places with tricky visa rules?

Serious question, how many of you still use your home bank for everything?

I used to just keep all my money in my old US bank account and pay the crazy fees every time I took cash out abroad. Last month in Lisbon, I got hit with a $12 fee for a $100 pull, which was the last straw. I opened a Wise account the next day and now I move money over in batches. The local card works everywhere and I save about $50 a month. Has anyone else found a better setup for daily spending in different countries?

Rant: My $40 'co-working space' in Bangkok was just a guy's living room

Booked a spot online that promised fast wifi and aircon, showed up to find six of us crammed around a dining table while the host watched TV. Lost the whole day's fee and had to work from a 7-Eleven. Anyone have a real co-working spot they trust in that city?

Spent $300 on a local sim card setup in Bangkok and it saved my whole month of work

Rant: My laptop charger fried itself in a Chiang Mai cafe yesterday

Was working at a spot called Ristr8to when my screen just went black and smelled burnt. The outlet must have had a power surge they didn't warn about. Had to scramble to find a repair shop that could get me a new 65W charger same day. Anyone know a good way to check outlet voltage before plugging in?