How decide which country to begin your digital nomad journey in.
I'm guessing because you are considering becoming a digital nomad that you are just as much as a wanderlust freak as I am. Needless to say deciding which country to start in can be a bit tough when your Instagram feed presents you with hundreds of options daily.
For me, my starting list was first complied after researching countries on a site called the Nomad List. This is a site where people rate locations on their ease of digital nomad life as well as other criteria such as safety, the party scene, cost of living, etc.
My short list included Bali, Germany, Italy, Australia, South Africa, and Brazil. I first narrowed it down based on:
Cost of Living
Level of WiFi
Culture
But the deciding factor for us, was to start in a place where we already had a network of friends and support.
Making the decision to become a digital nomad comes with a lot of unknowns, and we wanted to limit some of the big ones such as, well you know, surviving. I am being dramatic, but making money is a big stress-er and if we can travel to a place where we have friends that could scrounge up a job for us if we really needed it, that feels like a safe starting place.
Another deciding factor is the fact that we have already traveled to Bali, and therefor know what to expect. A friend of mine decided to start in Madrid, Spain because she had studied abroad there a few years ago. Not did Madrid already hold a dear place in her heart, but some of her friends from her collage years still lived there and offered her a support network during her first month of transition.
You might be thinking, why are you going to be a digital nomad if you are so concerned with comfort and familiarity. And to be honest you have a point, but with all the change we are already going to be going through, there is a nice feeling of peace that comes with something not being unknown. I am thinking of this like a jumping off point, we are starting in Bali as a "safer" jumping off point to get our feet wet in the digital nomad game, and then taking flight from there.