c/digital-nomad-life

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Coworking spaces in Medellin... everyone raves about them but I'm not sold yet

I tried Selina for a week last month and the wifi dropped 3 times during a client call. Maybe I just picked a bad one but for $35 a day I expected better. Anyone found a coworking spot in South America that actually has reliable internet?

3 comments

lewis.brian•2d ago

Ran into a former nomad in a coffee shop in Chiang Mai who changed everything for me

I was sitting at a place near the old city last month when this older guy named Dave sat down next to me. He asked what I did for work and then told me he'd been a digital nomad for 12 years before burning out and buying a house in Portugal. He said the biggest mistake he made was trying to work from 15 different countries in 18 months and that killed his connections with people. Anyone here ever felt like moving too fast actually hurt your work or friendships?

3 comments

troychen•4d ago

Rant: That guy in the coworking space who said being a digital nomad is just a vacation

I was in a coworking space in Chiang Mai last month, typing away on a deadline, and this dude in a linen shirt just walks up and says 'must be nice to travel for a living, basically a permanent vacation.' I told him I've got three kids back home I'm supporting, I work 50 hours a week across time zones, and I haven't seen a beach in two weeks. He just laughed and said I was missing the point. Has anyone else dealt with people acting like this is all fun and games?

2 comments

stella121•4d ago

Hit $5k in monthly passive income last month and it felt weird

I've been building a location independent business for the last 2 years while bouncing around SE Asia. Last month my email course and some affiliate stuff finally hit $5,002 in passive income. The funny thing is I didn't even notice until I checked Stripe on the 3rd. Has anyone else hit a random milestone that snuck up on you like that?

3 comments

olivia_lopez98•5d ago

That checkout girl in Medellin who questioned my whole setup

I was buying groceries at Exito in Medellin like 5 months ago, living my best nomad life. The cashier, maybe 19 years old, asked why I was buying so many single serving things instead of real food. I told her I was traveling and she just goes 'so you don't actually live anywhere?' It hit me weird, like she saw through the whole glamorous digital nomad thing. Do you guys ever feel like locals see this lifestyle more clearly than we do, or am I overthinking one random comment?

3 comments

thomas_price•6d ago

Got quoted $850 for a coworking desk in Bali and nearly choked

Was browsing options for next month's trip to Ubud and stumbled on a place charging $850 a month for a hot desk. That's more than my rent back in Ohio. I had to double check the currency. Found it on some digital nomad Facebook group where people were actually defending the price. Has anyone else noticed coworking prices getting ridiculous in popular spots?

3 comments

lucast81•7d ago

That fancy coworking membership I bought for 6 months was a total waste

I signed up for a premium coworking spot in Chiang Mai last year, thinking it would boost my productivity. Paid $300 upfront for a 6 month plan, but I only went about 8 times total. Most days I ended up working from cafes or my Airbnb because the place was too noisy and crowded. Has anyone else bought a long term membership and regretted it?

4 comments

robinp89•7d ago

Coworking pass or local cafe: which one actually saves you money in Bali?

I spent 3 months in Canggu last year trying both. First month I bought a coworking pass at Dojo for $150 and got work done fast, but meals nearby killed my budget. Next two months I just used cafes like The Shady Shack with a $3 smoothie bowl and free wifi, but the noise and unreliable power messed with my calls. Which setup actually works better for people doing video calls from Bali? I'm debating my next trip.

3 comments

wells.christopher•8d ago

Finally cracked $3k in a single month from my freelance writing gig

Been bouncing around Southeast Asia for 8 months now, and last month I actually hit $3,100 working from a hostel in Chiang Mai. Turns out focusing on one niche (supply chain logistics) instead of taking every random job pays way better. Anyone else find a sweet spot by narrowing down?

3 comments

pat_murray53•9d ago

Lost $400 on a co-living spot in Lisbon that was a total dump

I booked a co-living space in Lisbon for a month based on photos that showed a nice modern kitchen and fast wifi. Got there and the kitchen had mold, the wifi dropped every 20 minutes, and my room had no real window. The owner just kept saying 'I fix tomorrow' for two weeks and nothing changed. I ended up leaving after 10 days and losing $400 because their refund policy was buried in fine print. Has anyone else had a co-living booking look way better online than it actually was?

3 comments

harpercampbell•9d ago

Why does nobody talk about how coworking spaces changed after 2020

I used to bounce between coworking spots in Austin and they were all about open floor plans and happy hours. Then I went back to one last month after a 3 year break and it was totally different. They swapped the ping pong table for soundproof phone booths and everyone was wearing noise-cancelling headphones. Now I'm wondering if the nomad social scene is dead for good or if I just picked the wrong spot. What did your local coworking space lose or gain after the pandemic?

3 comments

wren_mitchell•10d ago

Found a coffee shop hack for steady wifi in Bangkok

I kept losing connection at WeWork style places. Crowded and slow. Then I found a tiny cafe near Sukhumvit Soi 11. They run a fiber line just for remote workers. Costs me $3 for a full day. Manager said they get 300 Mbps consistently. Anyone else got a hidden gem like this in Chiang Mai or elsewhere?

3 comments

the_alex•12d ago

Found a quiet coworking spot in Chiang Mai that nobody talks about

Tbh I was getting tired of the loud cafes around Nimman so I started looking for alternatives. I found this little place called Punspace near Tha Phae Gate that has way better wifi and cheaper day passes. It's only 150 baht for a full day and they give you free water and tea. Has anyone else found a hidden gem coworking space in SEA that's not on all the blog lists?

4 comments

quinnm77•14d ago

That coworking space membership in Bali was a total money pit

I signed up for a fancy coworking space in Ubud for 3 months, paid $600 upfront, and the internet was slower than my home connection. Half the time I couldn't even load basic work files because everyone was streaming video at once. Has anyone else gotten burned by those 'digital nomad friendly' spaces that just look good in photos?

3 comments

erickelly•14d ago

I finally got roasted by a hostel owner in Thailand for my 'work setup'

I was sitting in a common area in Chiang Mai last month, balancing my laptop on a stack of 3 dog-eared Lonely Planet guides because the table was wobbly. This older Thai guy who runs the place walked by, looked at my pile of books, and goes 'You digital nomads travel 10,000 miles to work worse than my 12 year old nephew does at his school desk.' He then grabbed a plastic crate from the back, flipped it upside down, and slid it under my laptop. It was perfect. Has anyone else had a local call them out for some ridiculous workaround?

3 comments

jana769•17d ago

My laptop screen cracked in a coffee shop in Barcelona last Tuesday

I was working on a client project when my laptop slid off the table and the screen got a nasty crack right in the corner. Spent the next 3 hours finding a repair shop that could fix it same day, cost me 150 euros. Has anyone else had their gear fail in the middle of a workday abroad and had to scramble to fix it?

3 comments

amy_martin•17d ago

I finally hit 50 countries as a digital nomad and it felt like nothing

Everyone talks about building a life not a resume, but after crossing country 50 in Thailand last month I realized I don't remember half the places I visited. I spent more time looking for WiFi than actually experiencing anything. Has anyone else felt like the number just becomes a vanity metric after a while?

3 comments

xena582•18d ago

Hit 50 countries last month and it felt weird

I crossed into my 50th country in Cambodia three weeks ago working remote from a hostel in Siem Reap. Took me 4 years of freelancing as a video editor to get there. I thought hitting 50 would feel huge but honestly it just made me realize how many places I rushed through. Anyone else hit a milestone that felt less exciting than you expected?

3 comments

alice928•19d ago

Can we talk about what I learned the hard way about coworking spaces in Bangkok?

I spent six months hopping between cheap cafes in Bangkok, thinking I was saving money by using their free wifi instead of paying for a proper coworking space. Then I realized my internet kept dropping during client calls because I was sharing a shaky connection with fifty other people. Has anyone else found that paying for a solid desk actually pays for itself in work you don't lose?

3 comments

maxl93•26d ago

Lost $400 on a "coworking space" that was just a garage

Booked a coworking space in Medellin for a month through a Facebook group. Showed up and it was a dude's garage with a folding table and one extension cord. Anyone else get burned by these fake spaces down there?

3 comments

casey818•26d ago

Coworking spaces in Medellin are way overpriced for what you get

I saw a breakdown on NomadList showing that a desk at Selina costs $250 a month. You can rent a whole apartment in Laureles for $400 and get better internet. Has anyone else found better value working from cafes or smaller local spaces instead?

3 comments

baker.christopher•28d ago

Got yelled at by a local in Bangkok for using the wrong hand to pay for my pad thai

I was at a street stall in Bangkok last November and handed the vendor a 100 baht note with my left hand without thinking. She immediately snapped at me in Thai and I froze not understanding what I did wrong. The guy next to me explained that using your left hand for money is considered super rude there because it's the dirty hand. I apologized best I could and she softened up after but man I felt like a complete idiot for the rest of the day. Has anyone else accidentally offended a local while traveling and had to learn customs the hard way?

4 comments

abby_morgan18•29d ago

Spent a month working from a coworking space in Medellin and my productivity actually dropped

I thought leaving my noisy Airbnb would fix everything, but the constant networking events and free coffee chats ate into my focus time. Ended up getting maybe 4 solid hours of work per day instead of my usual 6. I learned that social environments can be just as distracting as loud ones if you don't set boundaries. Has anyone else found that coworking spaces hurt more than help for deep work?

3 comments

emery10•29d ago

The way coworking spaces have changed since 2019 is wild to me

I remember back in 2018 I was renting a desk in a coworking spot in Chiang Mai for like $150 a month. It was just a big room with long tables and terrible wifi that went down every afternoon. Now I'm sitting in a place in Medellin that has soundproof phone booths, a podcast studio, and someone bringing around free kombucha at 3pm. The price jumped to $280 a month but honestly the internet hasn't dropped once in the three weeks I've been here. I think the pandemic forced these places to actually compete for remote workers instead of just collecting rent. Has anyone else noticed their favorite spots getting way fancier but also way more expensive?

3 comments

phoenix_grant•29d ago

Hit 12 different countries this year on a shoestring budget and it felt unreal

I started tracking my locations for tax reasons back in January and just added up my total for the year - 12 countries across 4 continents, all while spending under $900 a month total. The milestone surprised me because I thought I'd be stuck in one place for months at a time, but cheap hostels and bus passes kept me moving. Has anyone else accidentally lost count of their countries and then been shocked when they finally did the math?

3 comments