If you are still trying to make a go of digital nomadism there are some rankings to consider and opportunities opening up.
January 13, 2025
By: Bobby Casey, Managing Director GWP
Digital nomad. Location independent. Expat with commitment issues. Call it whatever you want, but the world is a big place shrinking by way of accessibility and technology.
The trend of location independence is a windy one. At first it was just solopreneurs with online based businesses. Then came gig work though platforms like Fiverr and Upwork, which gave people contractor options to work from anywhere.
Then came the pandemic, which compelled many to work from home who once had to go into an office. In some cases, even forced people out of work and into a form of entrepreneurship. Vacations became difficult because travel required nearly the entire time in quarantine.
Tourism suffered. Travel and hospitality suffered. And along game the digital nomad visa. If you can work remotely, you can do it from here! Enter the “work-cation” where families would take off for months at a time to work from other countries.
The pandemic ended, businesses reopened, and slowly employers started telling their workers to come back to the office. Not all, but a good number of them. This slowed the longer term “work-cationers”. But as we mentioned in “The Post-Election Desire to GTFO“, digital nomadism isn’t really slowing down. It’s still on a net upward trajectory.
Do not be discouraged by all this fluctuation. If you are making a go of digital nomadism there are some rankings to consider and opportunities opening up.
Let’s Look at Rankings
First, let’s look at economic freedom. The United States ranks 25th. If you are coming from the US, there are 24 other countries worth looking at! The UK is ranked 30 which gives you 29 other countries to look at. So let’s look at some interesting contenders, outside the usual Scandinavian countries and Singapore:
- 7th Estonia
- 15th Lithuania
- 17th Cyprus
- 19th Mauritius
- 20th Latvia
- 21st Chile
- 24th Czech Republic
These are their overall rankings, but where they tend to fall short is in “Government Spending” and “Government Integrity”, but from a tax perspective they aren’t bad.
Second, we look at political and civil liberties. US ranks 59th, which is still considered “free” by Freedomhouse. But there is something a little sad about a country so rhetorically charged with claims of freedom slipping so low on the rankers. Still, where Singapore dominates in economic freedom, it leaves much to be desired in the political and civil liberties department.
Interestingly enough, the countries listed above for economic freedom likewise rank higher than the US in political and civil liberties. Likewise all the Scandinavian and Western European countries also rank higher than the US. Even the UK did better on this one, and it’s the second most surveilled country next to China!
Finally, we look at passport power! Maybe I’m burying the lead since access to countries is paramount for nomads. They follow a similar pattern to the above rankings. Not identical, but similar. What stands out is the top two countries: United Arab Emirates and Spain.
The United states falls into the 6th cluster of countries where twenty countries require a visa prior to entering; contrast that with the UAE and Spain only having 15 countries that require a visa. Those are the two most powerful visas.
If you are making a go of digital nomadism, these are some broad thought starters as you consider where to go. Look up your home country and your destination countries and see where they land. It’s a good exercise to know what you’re getting into and whether these countries might align with your goals.
Schengen Zone Opened Up!
Yes, welcome Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen family! Only took thirteen years!
The Schengen area was created in 1995, after five states (France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg) signed the Schengen Agreement in 1985, followed by the Schengen Convention in 1990.
The Schengen area is an area of free movement of people, which also guarantees its member states enhanced protection at external borders.
The enhanced protection at the external borders is one thing, there will likely also be fortification internally. Denmark requires this for protection against fears of Russian espionage. Germany has these controls with all nine of its neighbors. For the next six months, temporary controls will continue will be in effect while the border between Bulgaria and Turkey is reinforced.
There’s also what’s called a Schengen Visa which allows non EU citizens to travel the Schengen area for 90 days within a 180 period. There different visas:
- Single-entry visa: Allows entry to the Schengen area once
- Multiple-entry visa: Allows multiple visits to the Schengen area as long as the visa is valid
- Airport transit visa: Allows travel through the international transit area of a Schengen airport during a stopover or flight change
If you are making a go of digital nomadism, with the Schengen Visa, these two countries open up to you.
Don’t forget about these guys!
The bigger cities and more popular areas have frustrated the locals, leading some places to have tourism taxes and selfie bans, in hopes of regulating them down to a manageable number. Remember Portugal’s non-habitual tax residency that offered 20% flat income tax rate? That is going away… I guess because it worked too well.
But instead of Lisbon or Venice or Madrid… consider these places who are only too happy to welcome digital nomads and tourists!
“Extremadura lures digital nomads with €15,000 grants“
This is an autonomous community in Spain. The economy is depressed with highest unemployment and lowest GDP in Spain. It hopes to revitalize the area by inviting digital nomads to set up there.
In general, many of the rural villages of Spain suffer population shrinkage and face extinction. There are now associations, such as $ Rooral$ , that connect eager nomads to these villages, and unlike the city folks, the villagers are very excited about the influx of new-comers.
The goal is to draw people away from the cities and into these alcoves of culture and beauty, and reinvigorate the dwindling villages.
If you are making a go of digital nomadism, consider looking into a small village in Spain. Who knows? You might like it enough to stay and get yourself one of the two most powerful passports in the world!
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