🏡 Living abroad

You are heading to another country not for a week but for a long stretch. Vacation questions are no longer enough: you need to figure out which neighborhood to rent in, how transport works, whether the internet is stable, and on what basis you can stay in the country legally. These are the questions that usually bring readers to this section.

The core of the section is a set of city and country breakdowns written from the point of view of someone who works remotely. There are pieces on Barcelona and Madrid for digital nomads, and on São Paulo, Marrakesh, Plovdiv, and Bora Bora. Each follows the same logic: housing and rent, transport, connectivity, and the conditions for staying legally. We separately look at life in Brazil as a whole (climate, safety, transport) and at everyday life in Mangualde, a small town in Portugal. For Alanya, there is a piece on choosing a neighborhood for different purposes: a vacation, spending the winter, or buying property.

The second large group covers visas for people who work online. There are overviews of digital nomad visas across several countries at once, with income thresholds and document lists, as well as separate pieces on South Korea and Sri Lanka. The third group is practical. It includes a selection of coworking spaces around the world with their current status, ways to save on accommodation from hostels to campsites, and a piece on couchsurfing: how to find a host and what to agree on in advance. For those considering studying, there is a breakdown of the ARWU university ranking with profiles of the top institutions.

Every piece opens with a short takeaway: who the city or visa suits and where the main difficulties lie. Practical blocks by topic follow, so you can jump straight to rent, transport, or documents. For every figure we state the source and the date it was checked. We write about the downsides directly: if rent is high, the bureaucracy is complicated, or there are safety concerns, the text says so openly.

The section is meant for people who plan to spend several months or longer abroad: remote employees, freelancers, people who leave for the winter or are weighing a move. It is also useful if you are still comparing several countries and want to understand how the conditions differ. If you need a short trip with sightseeing, these texts will be more than you need. We also do not give legal advice and do not pick options for a specific situation. On visas, insurance, and healthcare, we show what to look at and where to verify the details with official sources.

It is easiest to start with the visa overviews. They show which countries have a suitable status at all and which income and document requirements you will need to check. Once you have narrowed down the countries, move on to the pieces about specific cities and compare them on the same points: housing, transport, connectivity. The pieces on coworking spaces and saving on accommodation are best read last, with your chosen place in mind.

The section is part of "Where to stay", which brings together pieces on choosing accommodation for a trip. If your trip is short, start with that parent section. Inside this section there is a subsection, "Hotels". It comes in handy for the first days or weeks, while you look for a long-term rental and explore neighborhoods in person.

Visa rules, income thresholds, and rental conditions change often. That is why we return to published texts, check them against the official websites of government bodies, and update the date of the check. If a program has closed or its terms have changed, the piece reflects that. New cities and countries are added gradually.

Before any decision about moving, check the key requirements on the website of the consulate or migration service of the country in question. Our texts help you put together a list of questions and understand the general order of steps. Only official sources give final answers. Read two or three pieces about different cities in a row: that way you see faster which conditions matter to you in particular.