Finding housing for digital nomads
It’s safe to say that the last few years have seen some of the biggest changes in the way we live our day-to-day lives. From lockdowns at home and absences from the workplace to non-existent socializing and an end to leisure activities – life, as we knew it, was turned upside down. Now, this might have all seemed doom and gloom considering the circumstances, but this change in the way we live both our professional and home lives has had an unseen positive knock-on effect in other areas.
Many professionals and employees have realized that the newly implemented remote and flexible work policies have allowed them to work free from the anchor of a company office or workspace. This has given birth to far more remote workers and digital nomads seeking the freedom of movement while still building a career.
With a whole new generation of people aiming to live this modern nomadic life, 1 in 3 remote workers plan to relocate or work from abroad; the accommodation has begun to evolve and adapt the world over to receive them.
Let’s take a look at the ever-growing choice of digital nomad accommodation and how it can help you lead a freer and more fulfilling working life.
1. Short Term lets/apartments
When traveling and working around the world as a digital nomad, it can often be a struggle to find accommodation to suit your lifestyle. 19% of new digital nomads even said they find it challenging to find accommodation in new places. One of the more popular options for short-term stays is to rent an apartment on a short-term basis, covering only a few months at a time.
The advantage of living in a short-term apartment is feeling grounded in your own space, without any long-term commitments. You can agree with the landlord, or lady, a preferred length of stay, be it a few weeks or a couple of months. Short-term apartments also mean you don’t have to trade your domestic lifestyle in while you’re on the road. Apartments will have all comforts you may have enjoyed at home, but you are able to up and leave to your next exciting destination.
The only possible con to choosing short-term apartments is you may warm to the place and want to stay. You will, however, have to relinquish it for the next tenant coming in unless the stay can be renegotiated.
With more and more property owners seeing the potential of housing options for a digital nomad, there will be a continuous rise in short-term lets/apartments worldwide. For now, websites such as Homelike are perfect for finding digital nomad housing such as short-term rentals especially in cities such as Barcelona, Madrid, London, New York, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels and Berlin.
2. Long term lets/ apartments
Although digital nomad rentals are often seen as short-term stays by nature, there are times when long-term properties are more appropriate. Working from ‘home’ in your new location and new apartment is a fantastic way to approach a new digital nomad lifestyle. Although you may remain in your apartment all day for work, you shouldn’t be any less creative. Only 18% of remote workers worry about their creative output outside the office, so working from your long-term apartment is likely to be a positive working environment.
The advantage of renting long-term digital nomad accommodation is that feeling of long-term security. Having a year-long lease on an apartment, for example, means you no longer need to worry about how you’re going to find accommodation for the many months you are in that location.
Another advantage of renting a long-term apartment is the huge availability of properties on the market. Unlike possible problems with short-term apartments, landlords favor long-term tenants, so acquiring a long-term apartment isn’t as difficult as it may seem.
A disadvantage of long-term apartments is the inability to leave at such short notice. Committing to a long period of a year often means you are contractually obliged to pay this period.
Long-term apartments can be found online through companies such as Homelike and also on the ground through a multitude of local estate agencies around the world. When it comes to long-term housing options for digital nomads, long-term lets is one of the most reassuring.
3. Serviced apartments
Securing a new apartment in a new location is a fantastic feeling, but then comes all the other added expenditures, including internet, appliances, furniture, and personal belongings. As a digital nomad, you want to be able to move in and get going without getting hung up on these things – this is where the serviced apartment comes into its own.
Serviced apartments are apartments that are completely kitted out with everything you could possibly need from the moment you walk through the door. By including things such as internet, appliances, kitchen utensils, a washing machine, and dryers in your rent bill, you have everything you could possibly need. As a digital nomad, you are often on the move all the time, so having a serviced apartment suits that lifestyle perfectly. Another advantage of choosing a serviced apartment is the ease of moving out day. There is no bulky dinner set to carry out or no frustrating internet provider you must negotiate with, everything is there from the get-go, and you can close the door on it all once you leave.
The only possible downside for choosing a serviced apartment as your digital nomad accommodation is the chance the rent will be higher than normal. Yet, when you balance the extra cost in rent with the extra furnishes you receive, it is a price worth paying.
Homelike has built itself up to be one of the best companies to offer serviced apartments. A simple search on their site will bring up a string of serviced apartment locations, each with its own particular furnishings. The site also allows you to select particulars such as rent costs, locations, cleaning options, added extras, and more. This gives you complete control of what furnished apartment you get.
4. Co-Living Spaces
Co-living spaces have grown out of the migration of people from the traditional ways of living to more modern approaches to life – something that goes hand in hand with digital nomads. Simply put, a co-living space is a space where a group of people with the same creative interests and similar professional outlooks lived and maybe work together. It has long been an urban-centric phenomenon, where a group of young professionals moves to New York or London, for example, and seek out like-minded people with who they can share both rent and living space.
With the ever-growing trend of digital nomads becoming more popular with the next generation, co-living spaces are only set to grow and expand. As the world’s digital workforce forgo the traditional static office space, co-living spaces may quickly become the creative hubs of tomorrow, and with 82% of people seeing remote work as the future of work, this is likely to grow.
Another advantage of co-living spaces is the fact you are sharing space with people who are going through the same experiences as yourself, helping you to talk through similar problems and overcome relatable hurdles.
Co-living spaces can be found across the globe, and any quick search engine will bring up an array of co-living space websites, making the entire process easier.
6. Other options
- Hostels
As one of the original breeding grounds for the digital nomad lifestyle, hostels are as popular as ever with those choosing this way of life. Now the world is catching up to this way of thinking; digital nomad hostels are adapting and competing to bring this community of people to them
With cheap accommodation, like-minded fellow travels, and air of exploration, hostels lend themselves perfectly to digital nomads and their needs. Numerous hostels can be found all over the world; a simple search will find ones that are best suited to you. There is also a number of modern apps that allow users to book hostel rooms with a simple wipe and click of a button – perfect for that nomadic lifestyle on the go.
- Hotels
Many hotels, both budget and luxury ones, are also stepping up their game when it comes to the world of digital nomads. Digital nomad hotels create spaces where guests can enjoy the luxuries of hotel life, but also create an atmosphere where you can get work done. From super-fast WIFI speeds to rooms dedicated to digital entrepreneurship, hotels can be a great accommodation for digital nomad housing.
Again, many hotel booking websites have curated their search pages to help you find the perfect digital nomad hotels equipped with everything you’d need.
- Couchsurfing
Once only thought of as the last refuge of the down and outs, couch surfing has taken on completely different connotations when it comes to traveling and digital nomads. Working on the road and finding accommodation in a new home every few days may sound exhausting, but it can also be hugely rewarding.
A whole community and culture of couch surfing have existed for a long while in many locations throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas. So much so that you can find easy-to-use cellphone apps that link you with potential hosts, and although the phrase otherwise, you’re not always left with the couch.
