5 Essential Apps For Digital Nomads

Are you a digital nomad? Here are the apps you need.
The lifestyle of the digital nomad has become increasingly possible in recent years. This has happened thanks to the increasing acceptance of remote working, the democratisation of travel booking, better WiFi speeds in more places on the globe, and the so-called “gig economy” in which an increasing number of people are opting to give up job security in favor of being their own boss.
In fact, there are myriad benefits to being a nomad that go way beyond personal freedom. The ability to work from a nomad hotspot like Ho Chi Minh City or Bangkok means one can avoid paying rent for an expensive London flat while benefiting from a better lifestyle and lower cost of living abroad. For creatives or entrepreneurs, the opportunity to be exposed to new networks, cultures and ways of thinking can also be a boon to creativity and productivity.
Until a few years ago, the digital nomad lifestyle seemed too good to be true. But as more and more people have taken the plunge to live sans permanent address, the number of resources to facilitate and aid this lifestyle has increased. These mostly take the form of apps and websites which are, unsurprisingly, often built by nomads themselves. Like any good entrepreneur, these nomads see a problem that needs solving or an opportunity to provide a service that doesn’t yet exist, and they quickly create something to fill the gap. That’s good news for nomads, who now have an array of apps and websites to choose from which can help make the often chaotic and transient nomad life run a little smoother. Whether it’s looking for short-term housing, friends, a temporary office or even the best place to do a Visa run, the following apps, websites and startups cater specifically to the digital nomad hustle.
NomadList: NomadList is a impulsive and no-strings-attached traveler’s dream website. Using a variety of indicators including temperature, average WiFi speed, air quality and cost of living, the site crunches the numbers and ranks the best cities to live and work remotely in. The rankings change often depending on the time of year, which makes it fun to check back and see where you should go when you’re in the mood to book a ticket and jump on a plane the following day.
#nomad: Run on the internal-chat system Slack, #nomad is a membership-based group chat for nomads all around the world and founded by the same developer as NomadList. Most useful about this is the fact that members can search by city, topic or region. So if you’ve just arrived in Mexico City or Berlin, and you’re wondering who wants to grab a beer or what neighborhood to look for housing in, you’ll quickly find a number of clued-up nomads who you can chat to in real time, and even meet up with you in real life.
Every Time Zone: One of the consistent challenges of working as a digital nomad is having clients, partners, calls and deadlines all over the world and in numerous time zones. A surefire way to prevent getting time zones confused is Every Time Zone, which allows you to have a visual representation of all the time zones you need to keep track of in a given day.
Tripit: An itinerary for people who don’t like making itineraries, Tripit collates all your travel confirmations and data—flights, accommodation, trains—and provides you with notifications and reminders of where you’re meant to go next. For a nomad constantly on the move, it has the necessary function of keeping all your travel details in one place.
WorkFrom: Finding an adequate place to work in a city you’ve never been to before is always the first port of call for nomads. WorkFrom provides a database of countless coffee shops and co-working spaces where a nomad can set up shop. It also provides unbiased reviews tailored to the kinds of services and characteristics nomads need in a workspace, such as noise level, WiFi speed and power outlets.
For businesses wondering if digital nomads could give your business a boost, look no further than this blog post.