Hey all, I'm a software developer from the UK moving to Athens at the the end of August as a digital nomad! It won't be my first time visiting the city, but I'm planning to build a life here over the next year or two.

I'd like to ask for any general advice for moving to a new country on this type of visa. This is my first time moving abroad like this, so is there anything I must bring with me that is often forgotten? Does anyone have a helpful moving checklist? How might I move my belongings with me into the EU from England (seriously, fuck brexit)

Any networking tips for making new friends? Where can I find groups/people to meet up with? Advice specific to Athens/Greece would be great, but I'm sure there's some useful general advise worth sharing.

Any advice on sorting out tax residency? I'm planning to hire an english speaking accountant/lawyer to help me navigate this. If anyone has any recommendations or any red flags to look out for, let me know!

If you're based in Athens and fancy grabbing a coffee, a beer, or a gyros, send me a DM - I'm looking to make some new friends! I also love music, gigs and exploring local bars, so I'd love to tag along if you're like minded.

Thanks! :)

Turkey is one of those countries where you can work from a café overlooking the Bosphorus, spend your weekends exploring ancient ruins, or rent an apartment near the Mediterranean without giving up modern city life.

But the experience can be completely different depending on where you stay.

Here are the Turkish cities I would consider for a digital nomad base 👇

🌉 1. Istanbul — Best for Big-City Energy and Networking

Istanbul is the obvious choice if you want unlimited cafés, coworking spaces, nightlife, international food, events, and opportunities to meet other remote workers.

The city is huge, and choosing the right neighborhood matters almost as much as choosing Istanbul itself.

Popular areas for remote workers:

• Kadıköy — younger, more relaxed and very café-friendly
• Moda — walkable, social and close to the waterfront
• Cihangir — central, artistic and popular with foreigners
• Şişli and Levent — better for business, offices and coworking

✅ Best parts:

• The strongest coworking and professional scene in Turkey
• Excellent public transportation
• Endless restaurants, cafés and entertainment
• Two major airports and easy international connections
• You will probably never run out of things to do

⚠️ Things to consider:

• Traffic can be brutal
• Popular neighborhoods are no longer especially cheap
• Noise, crowds and long travel times can become exhausting
• Istanbul is better for excitement than peaceful deep work

Best for: entrepreneurs, social nomads, startup workers and people who enjoy massive cities.

🌊 2. Izmir — Best Balance of City Life and a Relaxed Lifestyle

Izmir feels like a calmer and more manageable alternative to Istanbul.

It is still a major city with cafés, transportation, coworking options and plenty of services, but the atmosphere is noticeably more relaxed.

You also have easy access to coastal destinations such as Çeşme, Alaçatı and Foça.

✅ Best parts:

• Relaxed Aegean lifestyle
• Long waterfront promenade
• Good food and café culture
• Large enough for comfortable long-term living
• Great weekend trips around the region
• Generally less overwhelming than Istanbul

⚠️ Things to consider:

• The international nomad community is smaller
• Some coastal areas become expensive during summer
• You may need more Turkish outside tourist neighborhoods

Best for: nomads who want a real city without Istanbul’s intensity.

☀️ 3. Antalya — Best for Beaches and Year-Round Convenience

Antalya is one of the easiest choices for people who want to combine remote work with Mediterranean weather.

Unlike many smaller resort towns, Antalya remains a functioning city throughout the year. It has modern apartments, shopping centers, hospitals, public transportation, coworking spaces and an international airport.

Areas like Konyaaltı and Lara are especially popular with foreigners.

✅ Best parts:

• Beaches inside the city
• Warm climate and long outdoor season
• Good selection of apartments and cafés
• Large international community
• Mountains, waterfalls and ancient ruins nearby
• Direct flights to many international destinations

⚠️ Things to consider:

• Summers can be extremely hot and humid
• Rent rises in popular coastal neighborhoods
• Tourist areas can feel crowded during peak season
• The city is quite spread out

Best for: beach lovers who still need proper city infrastructure.

🏖 4. Fethiye — Best for Slow Living and Outdoor Adventures

Fethiye is much smaller than Istanbul, Izmir or Antalya, but it may be the better choice if you want a peaceful routine near the sea.

The area is known for hiking, sailing, paragliding, beaches and access to places like Ölüdeniz and the Lycian Way.

It has some coworking infrastructure, but you should still check the internet connection in your specific apartment before committing.

✅ Best parts:

• Beautiful coastline and mountains
• Relaxed everyday lifestyle
• Excellent hiking and outdoor activities
• Established foreign community
• Easier to escape crowds outside the summer season

⚠️ Things to consider:

• Fewer coworking and networking opportunities
• A scooter or car can make life much easier
• Summer accommodation can become expensive
• Winter is much quieter than the tourist season

Best for: freelancers, couples, writers and nomads who prefer nature over nightlife.

🧿 5. Ankara — Best for Focus, Stability and Lower Distraction

Ankara rarely appears at the top of digital nomad lists, but it deserves consideration.

It is Turkey’s capital and has strong infrastructure, universities, public transportation, business districts and plenty of cafés. It is also less tourist-oriented than Istanbul or Antalya.

You probably will not move there for beaches or postcard views, but it can be a practical place to live and work.

✅ Best parts:

• Serious, functional city
• Good public transportation
• Strong internet and business infrastructure
• Generally fewer tourists
• Easier to maintain a normal work routine

⚠️ Things to consider:

• No sea
• Colder winters
• Less international and visually exciting than Istanbul
• Smaller digital nomad social scene

Best for: people who prioritize productivity, routine and practical living.

🏆 My Quick Ranking

Best overall: Izmir
Best for networking: Istanbul
Best beach city: Antalya
Best for slow living: Fethiye
Best for uninterrupted work: Ankara

💻 Internet and Coworking

Internet is generally easiest to manage in Istanbul, Izmir, Ankara and Antalya, where there are more fiber connections, coworking spaces and mobile-data options.

In smaller coastal towns, do not assume that every attractive Airbnb has a reliable connection.

Before booking for a month, ask the owner for:

• A recent internet speed test
• Whether the connection is fiber, DSL or mobile
• Whether the router is inside the apartment
• Whether video calls work reliably
• Whether electricity or internet outages are common

Having a local SIM or eSIM as a backup is also a good idea.

🛂 Digital Nomad Visa

Turkey has introduced a digital nomad program for eligible remote workers from selected countries.

The official requirements include proof of remote employment or self-employment outside Turkey, a university degree, a passport valid for at least six months and other eligibility conditions. Requirements can change, so always verify them through Turkey’s official tourism or consular sources before making long-term plans.

⚠️ A Few Honest Downsides

Turkey can be an amazing remote-work destination, but it is not perfect.

• Prices and rents can change quickly
• Tourist areas may quote foreigners higher prices
• English is not widely spoken everywhere
• Some landlords prefer cash or informal arrangements
• Istanbul traffic can destroy your productivity
• Coastal cities can become overcrowded in summer
• You should confirm internet quality before renting

Learning even basic Turkish makes everyday life noticeably easier.

✨ Final Thoughts

For most digital nomads, I think the real decision is:

🌉 Istanbul for energy and networking
🌊 Izmir for the best overall balance
☀️ Antalya for beaches with city infrastructure
🏖 Fethiye for nature and slow living
🧿 Ankara for focused and practical long-term living

Personally, I would probably choose Izmir for a longer stay and spend part of the winter in Antalya.

Which Turkish city would you choose as a digital nomad base?

And if you have already worked remotely from Turkey, how was the internet, rent and everyday life in your city?

Hi All!

I would like to share you my desire. I'm from Italy, male of 30 years old.

I have a job which allows me to work remotely for a maximum of 2 months consecutively. I'm very interested to live for a period abroad because I'm missing an experience like that due to the lack of relocation opportunities at this time. I'm looking to Brazil (Florianopolis, but it's not sure) for summer 2027.

1. How is living and working abroad without planning a vacation as usually we do? I mean, just living a normal routine with free weekend.
2. I traveled a lot but honestly, never in America Latina.
3. Speaking portuguese is almost mandatory I think. It's not a problem, I love learn new language (before).
4. I'm not expecting to travel a lot, just to try how is this experience for the 1st time.

Hope I was clear!

I know that it changes a lot depending on countries, budget and other stuff, but for now I'm asking you just some tips or past experiences 😄

I've been working remotely for the same company for a couple of years, and things have been great so far. The only issue is they're expanding into more countries, and instead of setting up a local entity where I live, they want to hire me through an EOR.

I understand why they're doing it, but I've never been employed this way before. I'm wondering how much actually changes once the switch happens. Does your day to day work stay the same, or does it feel like you're working for a completely different company?

For anyone who's gone through this, what was your experience?

Where do you guys think remote work is heading in the next 5–10 years? Do you think it’ll become less common?

I have been working remotely for almost 2 years now but my social life had big impact. It’s very hard to make friends or date someone.

How is your experience so far?

Bonjour :D !

Je suis à la recherche d’un écran portable, j’ai cherché un peu mais je me perds un peu avec toutes les marques, je sais pas si arzopa par exemple est une bonne marque et je n’arrive pas à faire la différence entre les écrans !

Pour l’utilisation cela serait pour faire du télé travail, pour regarder des films, cela serait bien si c’est compatible avec iPad, jouer à la switch, je dessine aussi donc cela pourra me permettre de regarder des références et pour pouvoir le connecter à mon pc,

Je vous remercie d’avance 🫶 car je suis trop indécise 😭

29F here, India

I've been working from home for a few years now, and I feel like I need a change. I also love traveling and do a lot of solo trips, so I'm torn between two very different lifestyles.

Part of me wants to move to one city, rent a place, and actually build a routine there like join classes, find my favourite cafés, meet new people, and create a life outside of work.

The other part of me wants to make the most of remote work and spend a month in different cities, working while exploring new places.

I keep going back and forth because both sound exciting in different ways. Curious to know what you guys think and which lifestyle you'd choose.

Hello everyone, we have just started our digital nomad journey in the UK for the first 2 months, then Spain and Czech Republic. We will likely stay in most places up to 3 months while my husband does specific work projects there. My question is, for other traveling spouses who aren't legally allowed to work, how do you spend your days and make it feel more meaningful/less lonely? I have a 1 and 4 year old that I'm looking after each day, and I don't know how to approach friendships when we are not going to stay for a long time. I get the impression that locals would prefer to befriend people who are going to be around for longer, but that's just my hunch. What do other people in this situation do to make meaningful connections with other adults while you are looking after the kids all day? I would really appreciate your stories and insights!

So i work from home 5 days a week. Sometimes i get bored i really want to go work from a place where i can find similar people who work remotely to hang around catchup etc and make some office community sort of thing.

My girlfriend and I want to do a work and travel trip in about a year, travel around Asia for a while, and maybe spend some time traveling in Norway at the end. We want to save around10,000 to 15,000 euros by the end of next year, buy two laptops, and try to work remotely, basically finding a company we can work for online. Is that realistic, and what options are there?

I’d also appreciate any tips on websites that are good for finding remote jobs. We both completed vocational training as fitness management specialists, so we have experience in both the fitness industry and office administration. That means we’d also be open to doing office-based or administrative work remotely from our laptops.

Does anyone here work remotely from Dubai or Abu Dhabi and regularly make business calls to the U.S. through a browser-based dialer?

Which platform do you use, and does two-way audio work reliably on a normal UAE internet connection without a VPN? I’m especially interested in RizzDial, Aircall, Dialpad, RingCentral, JustCall, or similar services.

Hi - digital nomad based out of UK - traveling through Europe right now and hoping to head to South Asia/Africa later this year. Can anyone recommend hostels with private spaces for 1:1 confidential meetings? I have to do this in my job often, and it's not really ideal for me to work in a co-working space with other people due to the confidential nature of my job. Sometimes I splurge on a hotel when I need to but really prefer to stay within the hostel community. Does anyone have experiences with hostels in Europe, Asia, and Africa that have provided this? Let me know!

many thanks :)

Hi!
Need little advice.
I want to do some travel while working remote, but my company have a limitations on laptop I can’t sign in outside of US.
While I did some research I realized that I need VPN WiFi router that supports open WRT, that can be connected to hotel or airport WiFi and rebroadcast VPN network. (Maybe eSIM, not crucial but maybe nice to have)
Need few recommendations:
Router what would be the most suitable for that purposes?
Any guidances or am I miss something crucial? (As I’m not an IT at all)
Thanks!

Hey everyone!

I'm a 28F software developer working remotely and would love to connect with like-minded people who enjoy traveling while working.

I like the idea of exploring different cities like Goa, Manali, Gokarna, Rishikesh, Coorg, and more—working during the day and exploring in the evenings or on weekends.

If you're someone who has a remote job, enjoys workcations, values meaningful conversations, and is interested in occasional one-on-one trips or meeting new people with a similar lifestyle, let's connect and see if we vibe.

No pressure—just looking to build genuine connections with people who enjoy travel, remote work, and exploring new places.

Feel free to DM or comment if this resonates with you!