c/digital-nomad-life

Had the worst week of my digital nomad life in Bali last month

I was working from a coworking space in Canggu when my laptop died mid-call with a client, then my Airbnb host kicked me out for having too many Zoom meetings. Lost a $500 project and had to sleep at a hostel for 3 nights while scrambling to find stable wifi and a new place. Anyone else ever get blindsided by tech failure and housing drama at the same time?

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kevin_schmidt97•19d ago

My coworking space in Medellin got robbed and I changed my setup completely

I was working at a spot in El Poblado last Tuesday when someone walked in and grabbed a laptop off the table next to mine while the owner was getting coffee. I used to keep my bag on the floor and my phone on the desk, now I zip everything into a lockable pouch and keep it on my lap. Anyone else switch to a cable lock or a sling bag after a close call?

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daniel552•19d ago

Hostels in 2019 vs. co-living spaces now - the vibe shift is real

Back when I first started nomading in 2019, I stayed in hostels all over Southeast Asia. Cheap beds (like $8 a night in Vietnam), shared bathrooms, and you'd meet people organically over a beer in the common room. Now I'm in a co-living space in Medellin for $650 a month and it's a totally different crowd. Everyone's on zoom calls all day, the kitchen has a scheduled cleaning rotation, and people treat it like a dorm for remote work instead of a place to actually hang out. I miss the chaos of hostels honestly. Has anyone else felt like the whole nomad scene got way more corporate since 2020?

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hayden587•19d ago

Met a digital nomad in Chiang Mai who told me to stop booking Airbnbs a month ahead

Tbh, I was in a shared workspace near Nimman last March and this guy sat down next to me. He saw me booking a place for 30 days and just said stop, book 3 days max. He explained he got stuck in a loud apartment near a construction site for two weeks because he paid upfront. He said he lost about $500 over a year doing that before he changed. I took his advice and now I scope out neighborhoods first before committing. Has anyone else had bad luck with long term Airbnb bookings overseas?

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sean_park8•21d ago

Got ghosted by a client while I was in a coffee shop in Chiang Mai

I was sitting at a place near the Nimman area last Tuesday, waiting on a Zoom call with a guy who needed some website updates. He just never showed up, no message, nothing. I wasted 2 hours of my afternoon sipping overpriced iced lattes and reworking my schedule for nothing. Has anyone else had clients just disappear like that?

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clark.iris•23d ago

Just realized coworking spaces aren't always cheaper than cafes

I tried a coworking space in Medellin for a month, paid $150 for a desk. Thought it would save money on coffee and snacks from cafes. But I ended up buying way more lunch orders nearby because the kitchen was tiny. Learned that my old cafe habit actually cost less per week, even with buying coffee. Has anyone else found coworking spaces aren't always the budget win they seem?

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shanel13•24d ago

I used to swear by hostel dorms, now I pay $50 a night for private rooms in Chiang Mai

For 3 years I stayed in hostels everywhere from Bali to Medellin. Thought it was the only way to save money and meet people. Then last August I got absolutely wrecked by a snorer in a 12 bed dorm in Bangkok and couldn't focus on client work the next day. Switched to a private room with a proper desk and my output doubled. Anyone else make the jump from budget to comfort and feel guilty about the extra cost?

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blake302•25d ago

Chose a $10 co-working space in Bangkok over a $300 WeWork and honestly it's been way better for actually getting work done

The free-flowing coffee at the cheap place got me through 4 client calls yesterday without the sterile vibes of the fancy spot, has anyone else found that pricey spaces feel more like Instagram sets than real offices?

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blair_allen•26d ago

Blew a whole afternoon trying to fix my VPN in a cafe in Medellin and it turned out to be the wifi port blocking it

Took me 4 hours to figure out they had the wrong ports locked down and I had already tried switching cities, reinstalling the app, and even bought a new router profile for $15 before I just asked the barista if they blocked stuff - has anyone else burned a full workday on a dumb connection issue abroad?

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the_ruby•26d ago

My Coworking membership in Lisbon cost me 3x what I planned

Honestly, I joined a trendy spot in the Alcantara district for 6 months and my productivity actually dropped. The wifi was decent but the open layout killed my focus because of constant noise and people taking calls. After switching to a quieter library space for €50 a month, I'm getting twice as much done. Has anyone else found that coworking spaces are overhyped for actual deep work?

3 comments

elliotr39•27d ago

Had to choose between a hammock and a hotel room in Bangkok last week

I was coming off a 16 hour bus ride from Chiang Mai and my usual cheap guesthouse was booked solid. I'm standing there at 2am with my backpack weighing 100 pounds (okay maybe 30) and I had two options. A hammock spot on a rooftop for 100 baht or a real room with AC for 800. I went cheap. Big mistake. The hammock was fine but a massive monsoon storm rolled in at 4am and I had to scramble down soaking wet holding my laptop bag over my head. The manager just laughed and handed me a towel. Has anyone else tried the hammock hostel thing and regretted it?

2 comments

black.beth•29d ago

Shoutout to the WiFi speed test in Medellin that blew my mind

I was at a coworking space in El Poblado last week and decided to finally run a speed test on their free WiFi. It hit 200 Mbps down which is honestly faster than my apartment back in Seattle. I found out from the guy at the front desk that they bought a dedicated fiber line just for the building. He said it costs about $150 a month split between 30 desks. Made me realize how much I overpay for crappy coffee shop connections that can barely handle a Zoom call. Has anyone else found surprisingly fast internet in random spots abroad?

2 comments

the_mary•29d ago

Tried coworking in a WeWork vs a local cafe in Bangkok for a month and the cafe won by a landslide for focus.

At WeWork I spent $300 on a hot desk and got stuck next to a guy on sales calls all day, but at the cafe I paid $2 for iced coffee and knocked out 4 client projects in silence, has anyone else found cheaper spots way more productive?

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oliver_mitchell•1mo ago

Rant: Coworking spaces keep selling "community" but nobody actually talks to each other

I've been bouncing around Southeast Asia for about 8 months now, and every coworking space I try in Chiang Mai or Bali promises this big community vibe. But here's what actually happens: everyone sits with their noise-cancelling headphones on, stares at their laptop, and barely even nods when you walk in. Last week I paid $180 for a month pass at a place near Nimman that bragged about weekly networking events. I went to two of them and it was just people awkwardly standing around their desks waiting for free coffee. The only person who actually said more than two words to me was the receptionist asking if I wanted a refill. Why do these places advertise community when the real setup is basically a library with better wifi? Has anyone actually made a friend or client at a coworking space, or is that just marketing hype?

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gavins43•1mo ago

Rant: Coworking spaces vs coffee shops for work - I keep going back and forth

So I've been a digital nomad for about 3 years now. Last month I was in Medellin and tried a new coworking space for $150 a month. Fast wifi, free coffee, quiet rooms. It was great but I felt kinda isolated after a few days. Then last week I switched back to coffee shops - spent maybe $40 on drinks but got to be around people. The problem is I got zero work done with all the noise. Now I'm back at the coworking spot but thinking about trying a library or something. Anyone else bounce between these two and find a good middle ground?

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kai_bennett•1mo ago

Shoutout to that coworking space in Chiang Mai that made me ditch my noise-canceling headphones for good

I was at Punspace in the Nimman area last month and realized that the background chatter and clacking keyboards actually helped me focus better than silence ever did, so now I work at busy cafes instead of quiet rooms - has anyone else found that random noise beats total quiet for getting work done?

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wren_carr•1mo ago

Talked with a guy in a Chiang Mai co-working space who changed my whole approach to slow travel

I was complaining about always rushing through places to this older guy who's been nomadic since 2015. He just laughed and said "you're not traveling, you're collecting passport stamps." That hit me hard because I realized I spend more time planning my next move than actually enjoying where I am. Now I'm trying to spend at least 3 weeks in each spot instead of bouncing every 4 days. Has anyone else had that wake-up call about needing to slow way down?

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hugo236•1mo ago

Found a hack for getting reliable wifi in Bali hostels

Been bouncing around Ubud for 3 months and the wifi in hostels is always garbage after 5pm lol. I tried using a mobile hotspot but the data runs out too fast with video calls. Last week I started going to a coworking spot called Hubud at 7am before everyone shows up and it's been solid for 6 hours straight. Cost me like $5 for a day pass and I can actually get work done. Anyone else deal with peak-hour wifi slowdowns and found a fix?

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the_oliver•1mo ago

Serious question, how do you handle a laptop dying mid-workday in a random cafe in Medellin?

I was working from a busy cafe in the Laureles neighborhood last Tuesday. My laptop just shut off, no warning, battery was full that morning. The outlet I was using was loose or something, and my charger wasn't actually charging. I had a client meeting in 20 minutes. I ended up borrowing a charger from the barista's brother who lived three blocks away. He ran home and brought me his old one. It worked but it was super slow. Has anyone else dealt with power issues in a foreign city and what's your backup plan?

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janac59•1mo ago

The coworking space hack that saved me $200 a month

I was bouncing between coffee shops in Chiang Mai for 3 months, spending like $8 a day on lattes just to use the wifi. Then I found this little hotel lobby near Nimman that lets anyone sit in their lounge area for free if you buy a $2 iced tea. The wifi is faster than most paid spots and they never kick you out even after 5 hours. I booked a room there once for a weekend and now the front desk just waves me in whenever I show up. Has anyone else found a random spot like that in their city?

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angelac63•1mo ago

My coworking space in Chiang Mai had a pet monkey and it stole my wifi dongle

Was working at this trendy spot near Nimman and a macaque grabbed my USB dongle right off my laptop. Ran after it for 5 minutes through the garden before it dropped the thing in a koi pond. Anyone else deal with wildlife messing with your gear on the road?

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king.zara•1mo ago

Coworking spaces vs coffee shops - I finally picked one after 3 years on the road

I spent my first 2 years bouncing between coffee shops (you know, buying one latte every 2 hours to justify the table space). Then I tried a proper coworking space in Medellin for $150 a month and honestly, it's a different world. Having a real desk and reliable WiFi (not the cafe's spotty guest network) saved me from missing two client calls last week alone. Has anyone else made the switch and felt weirdly guilty about paying for space at first?

2 comments

shanewells•1mo ago

My backup drive gave up in a Bangkok cafe and I'm not even mad

It happened last Tuesday around 3 PM, right as I was about to send final files to a client. My portable SSD, a 2TB model I've had for two years, just stopped showing up on my laptop. No warning clicks, just gone. Everyone says you need triple backups in the cloud, but I've always kept one physical drive with me. I had to run to a mall, buy a new drive for about $120, and restore everything from an online backup that took six hours on the cafe Wi-Fi. Honestly, it was a hassle, but it proved my system worked. I see so many posts saying you must avoid all physical media, but having that local restore option saved my deadline. Has anyone else had a hardware fail on the road and been glad they didn't put all their eggs in one digital basket?

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the_jenny•1mo ago

Unpopular opinion: I blew $500 on a 'nomad hotspot' plan that barely worked outside the US

I mean, the ads made it sound perfect for hopping between countries, but the connection in Lisbon was basically unusable. Has anyone found a reliable global data plan that doesn't cost a fortune?

3 comments

robin_wright•1mo ago

Spent $300 on a local SIM card plan in Bali and it was a total waste

I bought a Telkomsel tourist package for a month, thinking it would give me solid internet for work. The speed was so bad in Canggu I couldn't even join a video call without it freezing. Has anyone found a good mobile provider for that area that actually works?

3 comments