Description:
7 Answers
As a solo female traveler who's been nomading for 3 years, I recommend Chiang Mai, Thailand! Not as crowded as Bangkok but still has fantastic infrastructure. Many cafes have backup generators for power outages (rare but they happen). The night markets are incredible for food, and you can live very comfortably for under $1000/month including a nice apartment. Just avoid March-May (burning season) when air quality gets bad.
Consider Mexico City! I've been here 6 months and the Roma and Condesa neighborhoods have fiber internet and tons of cafes with great wifi. It's only 1 hour ahead of EST so perfect for your meetings. Super affordable ($700-900/month for nice apartments), incredible food, and very walkable neighborhoods. Use Uber for getting around elsewhere and it's quite safe.
Lisbon is still unbeatable in 2025! Internet speeds averaging 200Mbps in most cafes, tons of coworking spaces (I recommend Second Home near the waterfront), and the digital nomad visa process is the easiest I've dealt with. Safe for solo females too - I never felt uncomfortable walking alone, even at night. Food is AMAZING and affordable. Weather is perfect almost year-round.
Surprised nobody mentioned Medellín, Colombia yet! The city has really transformed - extremely fast internet (I get 300Mbps in my apartment), perfect climate year-round (they call it the City of Eternal Spring), and the El Poblado area is very safe. Cost of living is about 60% lower than US cities. Only dowside is you'll want to learn some Spanish, but that's part of the fun!
After trying 12+ nomad hubs, I'd recommend Cape Town, South Africa. GORGEOUS city with Table Mountain views, fast internet in coworking spaces, and the exchange rate makes it very affordable. Safe in the city center and tourist areas (just use common sense like anywhere). Amazing food scene with influences from all over Africa plus Dutch/English heritage. Only catch is timezone - you'd be 7 hours ahead of EST.
Dont overlook Eastern Europe! Tallin, Estonia is basically a tech hub now. All of the country has amazing internet (they consider it a human right), the e-residency program makes it easy to run a business, and its super safe. Price is mid-range but worth it. Also has direct flights to major European cities for weekend trips.
I'd say Bali, but honestly the internet can still be spotty in 2025 despite what Instagram would have you believe. Fine for most work but video calls can drop suddenly. For reliability + female safety + good food, Japan is worth considering despite higher costs. The new digital nomad visa makes stays up to 6 months possible, and internet is lightning fast everywhere.
Join the conversation and help others by sharing your insights.
Log in to your account or create a new one — it only takes a minute and gives you the ability to post answers, vote, and build your expert profile.
