They call them digital nomad and it is estimated that there are 35 million, mostly specialized professionals with high levels of education (bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate). Professionals who take advantage of the possibility of working with a computer to get to know new countries and regain possession of a life that no longer ends with working hours. The phenomenon, already present for years, has received a boost important following the pandemic, and is unlikely to stop.
The number comes from a search by “A brother abroad” – a site that deals with giving support and sharing experiences with other digital nomads – which analyzed 63 statistics and over 4 thousand responses to surveys carried out in the various communities of English-speaking digital nomads worldwide. «They are unofficial statistics – explains Alberto Mattei, president of the Italian Digital Nomads Association – because under the term“ digital nomad ”you can recognize anyone. Everyone moves for various reasons and has different needs: those traveling with their family, those alone, those for short periods and those for long. But also those who seek tranquility from large urban centers and vice versa: there is no single urgency, there are many needs ».
In short, the only certain thing is that it is a transversal phenomenon in continuous growth. For the rest, there are no composite studies or databases of digital nomadism: there are no censuses on the number of people involved, on the more or less sought-after destinations, on the type of travelers. How many move alone, and how many with their families? Which factors influence the choice of a country the most? And the average residence time, what is it?
Some data
What unites everyone is, first of all, the need for a stable and fast connection. Possibly combined with a moderate cost of living and not too expensive housing solutions. The data of the International Telecommunication Union (Itu) of the United Nations confirm the already known superiority of Southeast Asia: the 2021 numbers on the use of international broadband speak of 403 Tbit / s (terabit per second is a unit of measure that indicates the data transmission capacity on a computer network) for the Asia-Pacific region, compared to much lower values in the rest of the world (for the Americas and Europe they are respectively 204 and 180 Tbit / s) .
But how much does this hyper-connection cost? Not as much as you might think: in Hong Kong for example, a high-consumption mobile monthly plan starts at around 11 euros, while the fixed one is around 22. Prices not too far in Indonesia (eight euros for the mobile phone, 24 for landlines) and Thailand (17 and 20), higher in Singapore, where the fixed line reaches 35 euros, and in South Korea, which sees the mobile line at 24 euros and fixed it at 31. Countries that perform well also in the Big Mac index, the indicator that compares the cost of a McDonald’s sandwich in the various states: both Indonesia and Hong Kong remain under three euros, while Thailand and South Korea slightly exceed them. Low costs also in Japan, Estonia and Mexico. Real estate data twist the situation. Rents in Singapore reach exorbitant figures: from 2,200 to 2,750 euros per month, depending on the type of apartment, for cities in central areas, from 1,800 to 2,337 euros for the most dispersed areas. On the other hand, Argentina, which, while performing less well than Asian countries in terms of connectivity, offers excellent rental prices, ranging from 230 to 290 euros per month for apartments in the largest cities. Malta, Indonesia and Greece also did well.