When we started our travels, we didn’t call ourselves ‘digital nomads.’ We just knew 2 things: we wanted to get our travel on and we had to figure out how to do it.

One thing we noticed from the beginning: there weren’t a lot of places you could go to for information without a.) buying a book or service or b.) feeling foolish in asking an established community a typical question.

Now that we’re slightly adjusted (on our 3^rd year of traveling), we’ve also realized the value of being able to chat with or meet other nomads along the way.

We thought: why not create a list of useful (and free*) sites, no matter which rung of the digital nomad tier you’re on-? So we did.

Hopefully our top digital nomad sites will be helpful- let us know if you have any to add!

*We’ve only included sites that are free, though you may have to register.

 

Digital Nomad Forums, Communities and Groups

Starting out, we had a lot of questions: where to go? How can we make money? Which travel style would work best for us.

These days, we’re more focused on how can we brainstorm with other DNs? We’re social creatures and need chats from time to time.

 

Our list of nomad sites:

Reddit’s Digital Nomad Forum: This is a good forum for recent input about the digital nomad lifestyle. A lot of the DN sites haven’t been updated since 2011, so this is refreshing. You’ll find pros, cons and advice from people who have been there, done that.

Digital Nomad Community: A good place for both beginners and established DNs, you can check out the forums; read useful articles about the lifestyle or contact other members. You do have to register, but membership is free. It’s favorite site of ours.

Digital Nomads Abroad: A G+ community filled with active digital nomads from all over the world. A site filled with useful and interesting articles, it’s also used for connecting and chatting with some of the 1,140 members (to date).

Nomadtopia: A Facebook Page that has more than 2,400+ members, it’s a nice community for digital nomads to share their experiences and for those curious about the lifestyle. You can also stop by Nomadtopia Radio, which features interviews with people from all over the world living their version of the digital nomad dream. There’s a weekly podcast.

Location Independent on LinkedIn: A group of digital nomad professionals and entrepreneurs and a good site for connections to find remote work.

Nomad List: A site where you can choose your digital nomad place and find out how the city rates. It includes: internet speed; climate; and overall score for the lifestyle for loads of locations.

Nomad Families: A terrific forum for families trouble-shooting before, during and after journeys- including relocation abroad. It’s also a nice place for family bloggers to share.

Digital Nomad Cruisers & Sailing Forums: For those of you that are looking to travel the world by sea and maintaining a location independent job, this is a great place to find out the pluses and pitfalls.

Technomadia: For those of you curious about living on the road in an RV while being a digital nomad, you can check out their monthly video chats for live Q & A sessions. The site itself has a lot of practical advice for travel drivers.

Nomad Net: A Slack chat group geared towards digital nomads interested in South East Asia, there are a variety of rooms and discussions to choose from. Sign up to receive an invite.

Extras:

Digital Nomad Magazine (App): A free magazine app about, for and by digital nomads that covers almost every aspect of the lifestyle. And it’s a cracking good read.

Teleport: After you register, you can access their ‘digital nomad search engine.’ You can choose a spot, anywhere in the world, and find out what opportunities there are. They also seem to have job possibilities for digital nomads with tech prowess.

BootsnAll: Sign up for a free membership to get access to their resources. They specialize in planning flights, helping you organize for long trips and you can ask for advice from other experienced members.

 

Chatting, Meeting or Both with Fellow Digital Nomads

A good way for pre-digital nomads to get a clear idea about what, exactly, it entails is by speaking to those actually living the life.

And it’s a fab way for seasoned digital nomads to keep their sanity by meeting like minds are these sites below:

 

#Nomads: Use their interactive map to look for a nomad near you- or your destination. You can contact them for some Q and As or arrange to meet them.

Where’s My Nomad At? Another map site to find nearby nomads or ask about their locale and tips or tricks for traveling. It requires registration, but the site is free.

Digital Nomads Meetup: The meetups are organized in several locations world wide, and specialize in organizing events for entrepreneurs, freelancers and digital nomads to socialize or brainstorm.

Anna’s Friends Meetup: A site geared towards women. Once you register, you just choose where and when you’ll be there, and the directory serves as a guide to connect people with similar interests.

Travbuddy: Pretty much exactly what the name implies: a site to find people to travel with. They’ve also got a fantastic forum of recent topics.

 

Meeting & Mingling with the Locals

With the many different types of digital nomads, it goes without saying that the traveling ones also have their own distinct sense of style. If you prefer meeting locals, getting some culture or just tasting some delicious traditional food these might be for you:

 

Guided by a Local: This site has a little of everything to offer. Locals write in tips of their favorite places; you can arrange to meet; and you can have a tour (some tours might cost, some might not- be sure to ask first).

Staydu: A site for finding locals to stay with in your destination. It’s still fairly new, but looks better than Couchsurfing (which is now, for all intents and purposes, a thinly-disguised dating site according to a few fellow travelers). Another to check out: Homestay.

Eat with a Local: Signing up for a free membership here will open possibilities of trying the food and literally getting a taste of the culture.

mmMule: We haven’t tried this one yet (it’s in Beta), but the idea behind it seems really interesting. It works on trade between travelers (bringing something the local wants) and locals do something in return (reciprocating for the traveler). How cool.

 

Digital Nomads in Europe: Working Online

Just very briefly, we’ll touch on a few sites we’ve found useful for working in Europe. We’ve used free service; lived in more than a few cafes; and also have our own tech.

 

Free Hotspots: This site can be hit or miss, because sometimes the database isn’t up to date, but it’s been more hit than miss for us. Another useful tip: find out what the country calls the connectivity: hotspot, WiFi, or free online access?  We learned the hard way. Grin.

European Co-Working Directory: If you’re tired of cafes or just want to be around like-minded professionals, co-working spaces in Europe have really taken off. Another good guide for Europe is from Job Fluent.

 

A few last favorites to check out

Around the World in 80 Jobs: Turner Barr is the go-to man for job inspiration abroad. Not so much about working as a digital nomad, but about how many different and crazy options there are out there.

Digital Nomad Jobs: An extensive list of ideas and alternatives to working online away from the office. From freelancing to online tutoring, it’s a good site for job inspiration.

The Professional Hobo’s Travel Blog Sites: Nora Dunn’s extensive and fascinating list of must-read travel bloggers. You can definitely find a few new favorite blogs to follow.

The Frug’s List of Books to Read: Some of these books are inspirational; all are tied to the site’s focus: lean work and lean travel. Good to check out.

 

What did you think of our top 25+ digital nomad sites* list?

We know we must’ve missed many, so don’t be shy about letting us know in the comments below! We’d love to hear from you.

 

*Coming soon: our top list of digital nomad bloggers to read, follow and feel most inspired by!