Digital nomad life can get very lonely.

But it doesn’t have to be…if you join digital nomad communities.

Joining digital nomad communities is a must wherever you go.

Here’s the truth:

This digital nomad lifestyle can get very lonely (even for us as a couple). When you’re changing your location every couple of months, it’s difficult to make new friends and find a solid community.

It’s hard to put yourself out there and sometimes you just don’t want to put that effort into finding your digital nomad community. But guess what…It’s absolutely essential to make this lifestyle sustainable for years to come.

The good news?

As the digital nomad movement grows, there are plenty of opportunities (virtually and in-person) for you to join as many digital nomad communities as you want.

Through these digital nomad communities, we have found some of our closest friends (one of them became a groomsman at our wedding) and friends to visit wherever we go in the world!

Here are some ways to help find your own digital nomad community wherever you’re traveling to next!

What Is A Digital Nomad Community?

You might be wondering…”what exactly is a digital nomad community”?

Digital nomad communities are spaces that are created just for us digital nomads to find like-minded people we can connect with. Within these digital nomad communities, you can make new friends, network with peers and just explore your new digital nomad city together.

Digital nomad communities can look like:

• Facebook groups
• Coworking spaces
• Programs/retreats
• Coliving spaces

We have personally experienced the benefits of having a digital nomad community and we notice the difference when we’re in one and when we’re not in one. We feel it has always enhanced our digital nomad experience, made it so much more fun and memorable when we have friends to share everything with!

Why Are Digital Nomad Communities Important?

Digital nomad communities are important for one thing:

Friendships!

This might come as a surprise but it’s been super important to our digital nomad journey and we find it’s important for anyone that decides to live the digital nomad lifestyle.

You need a digital nomad community that will:

• have weekly dinners
• do group tours in xyz country
• celebrate special occasions together
• support system (if/when things go wrong)
• conduct masterclasses/workshops to learn about different things (marketing, finances, etc)

We always feel more comfortable when we know some people in a country we’re not familiar with. It’s helped us numerous times with making local connections, getting advice & tips from digital nomads who have been there longer than us.

Board game night with our friends at our coliving space, Bali Bustle

Should Everyone Join Digital Nomad Communities?

In our opinion – YES!

While it’s easy to think that these friendships are very transient and fleeting, we have personally made countless friends that we still talk to since we were Bali digital nomads in 2018. Digital nomad friends are honestly the best because you can eventually plan to meet up in a certain country and spend a couple of months together.

But there are 2 different types of digital nomad communities.

Online vs Offline Digital Nomad Communities

Online means you meet up with others virtually and offline means you can go to in-person events/meetups.

There are plenty of online digital nomad communities you can join which allows you to always have a community. The reason to join an online digital nomad community is that you’ll have a group of friends no matter where you go. Most meetups are weekly via Zoom and it’s essentially location-independent.

While an offline digital nomad community allows you to meet like-minded people on-site and you can explore the destination you’re in together. We will push ourselves out of our comfort zones to go to an event and try to make friends – sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. The offline digital nomad community is great because you get to be digital nomads in xyz country together.

How To Find Digital Nomad Communities No Matter Where You Are

It IS possible to find digital nomad communities wherever you are in the world.

…you just have to figure out how. As digital nomads who work online and travel full-time, there are several ways to find these digital nomad communities to satisfy your social needs.

1. Join A Coworking Space

This is one of our favorite ways to find solid digital nomad communities. Why?

It’s almost like the coworking space already vets the people that you’ll meet. How? If someone signs up for a coworking membership, they are likely to:

1. have an online business/remote job
2. loves to travel and
3. are looking to make friends

Coworking spaces anywhere in the world will usually include events you can attend. They will have masterclasses on cool topics like productivity, finances, crypto, digital marketing and so much more. It’s a great way to learn and connect with others that are interested in the same things as you.

We joined Bali Bustle which was our first coworking space ever and we had the most amazing group of people there. We put ourselves out there, joined all the events and found some of our closest friends through a coworking space.

2. Stay In A Coliving Space

If you want guaranteed friends from the start of your trip, stay in a coliving space. What is that exactly?

A coliving space is a building with individual rooms and shared common spaces. You and a bunch of other digital nomads live in separate rooms but sometimes share a living room or kitchen. Coliving spaces really focus on cultivating a great digital nomad community. They make the effort to come up with great day trips, activities and workshops where people have the chance to meet each other.

Simply Google “coliving space [insert city you’re going next]. The most popular digital nomad cities with great coliving spaces that we’ve researched are Bali, Chiang Mai, Koh Lanta, Lisbon and Medellin which actually brings me to my next way to find digital nomad communities…

3. Visit Digital Nomad Hotspots

Want to make friends with fellow digital nomads? I know this might seem silly but simply go to the cities where it’s popular to be a digital nomad.

Here’s what I mean: Certain cities have gained popularity amongst digital nomads because of the fast wifi speeds, the coworking spaces and the affordable cost of living. The other reason these digital nomad hotspots are so popular are because of the communities they foster. For example, Bali has a great digital nomad community that is super vibrant and it’s easy for anyone to get in with the groups there.

Here are some popular cities with great digital nomad communities:

• Bali, Indonesia
• Chiang Mai, Thailand
• Medellin, Colombia
• Playa del Carmen, Mexico
• Lisbon, Portugal
• Da Nang, Vietnam
• Koh Phangan, Thailand

If you go to the top digital nomad cities, you’ll likely find a great community that already exists there.

4. Go To Meetups & Events

Really, meetups?! Yes, really!

We also dread going to meetups especially when it’s just to stand around and network with others BUT it has been worth it in our experience. We always meet at least 1 person we connect with really well and go from there.

We do prefer meetups that have a certain activity planned. For example, we just joined a volleyball Whatsapp group when we were Medellin digital nomads. An activity like volleyball takes the pressure off and makes it easier to make small talk. We also went to a paint & wine class in Medellin so we’ve been able to meet people and we’ve done more than just volleyball like day trips to Comuna 13.

5. Join A Slack Community

One of the easiest ways to join digital nomad communities is to hop on a virtual one…specifically a Slack channel that was created with digital nomads in mind. There are several reasons to join one:

• Location-specific channels: Good slack channels for digital nomads will have country-level chats. For example, #Colombia and this way it’s easy to meet others that are in Colombia at the same time and to share any necessary info/tips for other full-time travelers.
• Virtual coworking sessions: Some Slack channels will offer virtual coworking sessions, this is a great time to get productive but also meet new people during breakout sessions.
• Meetup channels: Whether you meetup virtually or meetup in-person, it’s easy to pop a message on a Slack channel to see if anyone wants to get together.
• Hiring/job channels: Interested in hiring a digital nomad or maybe you’re looking for a remote job? Most digital nomad communities on Slack will have a channel dedicated to helping people get hired and helping employers find great team members.

There are several paid and free Slack digital nomad communities to join. The most popular one is Nomadlist and it normally costs around $240 USD for an annual membership. If you want a free Slack digital nomad community, we have started our own! It’s completely FREE and we would love to have you join here.

6. Join Facebook Groups

Good ole Facebook is still good for something…

…and that’s the Groups section!

These Facebook groups have been super helpful since we became digital nomads. They have single-handedly helped us find:

• our first coliving/coworking space, Bali Bustle
• any villas with pools in Bali for better prices than Airbnb
• meetups wherever we are
• good advice on local tips for safety
• the best neighborhoods to stay in our next location

and so much more!

TOP TIP: We best tip we can give you with Facebook groups, especially location-specific ones (eg. Digital Nomad Bali) is to join BEFORE you arrive in that city. This way, you can get ahead on making friends and say when you’re arriving if anyone wants to hang out. You can also get a feel of the area, get advice from fellow digital nomads who have already been there for a while and possibly even find a great place to stay.

There are some popular Facebook groups to join no matter where you are and I’ll share them below!

7. Join an Online Group/Community

What’s an online group or community?

It’s basically a platform that’s been created for digital nomads to connect. These began as a simple platform to bring people together but it has expanded to so much more! Like what…you ask?

Some online digital nomad communities have now started:

• book clubs
• happy hour chats
• tea time get-together
• guest speaker workshops

…and more. Honestly, the sky is the limit with the online communities for digital nomads! The best thing about joining these groups/communities is that they are mostly virtual. You don’t have to be in a certain location to make friends and you also have people you can regularly chat to and get advice from your peers.

8. Go On A Digital Nomad Retreat/Program

Want to experience a new country with some awesome people? Join a digital nomad retreat/program! There are now several companies that offer these programs in 20+ different cities all across the world. While the price to join is hefty (and more than you’d pay to do it all yourself), it’s easy because you already have a community put together for you and the weekend activities are already planned for you!

The best part about joining these digital nomad communities is that you don’t have to do the heavy lifting! You don’t need to go to meetups to find friends, you don’t need to find your accommodation and you don’t even need to find your coworking space. The program/retreat takes care of all of that for you!

We definitely recommend this for the solo digital nomads. One weird thing: they charge couples double the price (even though you still share a bed) – I don’t know. For example, it costs a single person $1,800 USD for a private room and if there’s an extra person like your partner – it’s going to cost double $3,600 USD to share the room. Like…why pay to share a room when you can supposedly get 2 private rooms instead? Anyway…rant over – it doesn’t really make sense to me!

9. Go To A Digital Nomad Conference

There are only a few digital nomad conferences but they all have done a great job at creating great conferences specifically for digital nomads.

If you want to meet like-minded people, learn a lot about various topics and just have a good time – go to a digital nomad conference. A lot of these conferences will also have after-parties in the digital nomad sense where groups of people choose the next destination to travel to together.

Join These 15x Digital Nomad Communities Today

Finally…what you’ve been waiting for! Now that you know how to find digital nomad communities, I wanted to share the best communities for digital nomads to join today!

These digital nomad communities will either be:

• in-person or virtual
• free or paid
• websites
• apps
• groups
• conferences
• retreats/programs and
• conferences

The most important thing is that you choose the digital nomad community that suits you best, aligns with your values and satisfies your social needs. We hope you do find at least one community you can be a part of because we believe it’s one of the most vital things every digital nomad needs on their journey.

Let’s get started!

Online Digital Nomad Communities (Websites, Memberships, Forums)

These communities for digital nomads were made so that it’s easy to connect with other like-minded people. It’s a great way to find friends, learn from others and have a solid community no matter where you are in the world as a digital nomad.

Most of these digital nomad communities are paid and they range from as little as $5 to $240 USD. TIP: If you’re just starting out as a digital nomad – we recommend joining a couple of months before your first destination. You’ll get great advice from people who are already digital nomads and who knows the friends you could already make before you even step off the plane!

1. NomadList

Members: 39,000+

Cost: $240 USD

Are you really a digital nomad if you haven’t heard of NomadList? The website was created by a fellow digital nomad and has grown to become a staple in the digital nomad community.

On the website, you can evaluate whether a city has good wifi, if it’s safe and general accommodation costs. In just a glance, you can evaluate at least 10+ potential digital nomad destinations for your next trip. Since then, the website has become a place for digital nomads to create in-person events and to share valuable insights on their Slack channel. With over 39,000 members, it is easily one of the largest digital nomad communities you can join.

Yes – the cost is pretty steep but if you feel you will use it and go to a lot of meetup events then it’s worth it! Again, it’s one of the largest digital nomad communities so it’s likely there will be at least 1 other person wherever you are in the world to meet up with.

2. Digital Nomad Girls

Facebook Group Members: 33,300+

Cost: $100/per month or $600 annually

Don’t want to work by yourself? The digital nomad girls community is filled with some of the most passionate, ambitious and kind women you will meet. I had the pleasure of joining one of their free coworking sessions and it was so much fun! I didn’t think coworking virtually could be a place where you meet awesome women but also get REAL work done!

This community was created by Jenny Lachs, a fellow digital nomad. She has done a great job at building a Digital Nomad Girls Group on Facebook (33,300 members and counting) and grew The Lab for women all over the world.

Fun Fact: We got the opportunity to meet Jenny randomly at a cafe in the UK (such a small world)!

The Lab is the membership program for digital nomad girls to join virtual coworking sessions, tea time chats, get advice from peers and learn from others. If you want a community that values collaboration over competition, accountability, and experimentation – join The Lab today!

3. The Nomadic Network & NomadicMatt Plus

Members: 12,200

TNN Cost: Free

NomadicMatt+: $5 – $675 USD

Matt Kepnes is one of the OG travel backpackers and bloggers. He’s been writing about his travels for over 10+ years and has gained a pretty big following. He has created The Nomadic Network and NomadicMatt+ membership community where you can have meetups, join exclusive workshops and even gain access to some of his courses or eBooks.

The interesting thing about this community is that they have ‘chapters’ which means there are hosts in certain chapters that organize virtual and in-person events based on locations. There are several ways to join any of Matt’s communities depending on what you need and how much you can spend on a community.

Fun Fact: We ran into Matt in Playa del Carmen at a Starbucks (fangirl moment for real).

Online Groups/Chats

Want to join a Facebook group or start a discussion on a forum? There are plenty of groups to join and here are some of the best ones to join.

4. Reddit Digital Nomad

The Reddit digital nomad thread started back in 2009 and has grown to over 1 million users. People from all over the world jump on this thread to talk about anything to do with the digital nomad lifestyle.

Feel free to ask any questions, get tips about a certain location and share your digital nomad adventures. All you need to do is create a Reddit account and join the Reddit digital nomad thread.

5. Nomad Soulmates

One of the hardest things to do as a digital nomad is date. It’s so hard to find someone while you’re on the road because one day they are in Chiang Mai and the next day they are on their way to Timbuktu! That’s why Nomad Soulmates was created – to help you find the love of your life who has similar travel/digital nomad goals as yourself.

There is a free Facebook group you can join called Nomad Soulmates and you can also sign up for the paid version and become a member. Their intro package costs $10 USD and packages go up to $500 USD. There is an app in the works and you can expect more from this space.

6. Digital Nomad Facebook Groups

All of the Facebook groups are free and they have been very helpful for us (some more than others). It’s easy to join, simply answer the questions and you’ll be accepted into the groups.

We recommend joining general digital nomad groups and joining location-specific digital nomad groups you plan on traveling to. Here are some of the best ones digital nomad communities on Facebook to join today:

General Digital Nomad Communities On Facebook:

• Digital Nomads Around The World
• Nomadbase – The Digital Nomad Community
• Digital Nomad Girls Community
• Digital Nomads Forum
• Badass Digital Nomads
• Successful Digital Nomads
• Two Tickets Anywhere Community

Location-Specific Digital Nomad Communities On Facebook:

• Guatemala Digital Nomads
• Digital Nomads Athens
• Canggu Nomad Girls
• Tbilisi Digital Nomads
• Digital Nomads Medellin
• Digital Nomads Bali

Conferences

Want to be part of digital nomad conferences? While they are usually larger in volume, you can still make really deep connections with fellow digital nomads. These conferences usually run over a couple of days and they have speakers to talk about various topics ranging from business advice to productivity skills and more.

Here are some of the best digital nomad conferences that are worth attending:

7. Bansko Nomad Fest

Cost: starting from $156 USD

Next Conference: 26 June – 03 July 2022

Have you ever heard of Bansko, Bulgaria before? It’s a small ski town nestled in the mountains of Bulgaria and it has grown to become a digital nomad hotspot thanks to the awesome Bansko coworking team.

Learn from 27 inspiring speakers about their expertise and experiences. While at the Bansko Nomad Fest conference, you’ll also get to join fun excursions like yoga, rafting, wine tasting and more. This conference usually gets around 300+ attendees so you’ll make plenty of friends and new connections!

8. Nomad Summit

Cost: N/A

Next Conference: TBA

Nomad Summit was created by OG digital nomad, Johnny FD. They have been extremely successful with hundreds of attendees pre-COVID. The last Nomad Summit was held in Cancun, Mexico in 2019. We hope they will continue to run these digital nomad conferences because there’s a lot of value in the speaking engagements and it isn’t too salesy. It’s also very easy to make friends with like-minded people at the Nomad Summit!

We went to a completely different conference for digital nomads in Chiang Mai and it was pretty awful. The whole conference was a sales pitch – thankfully our friend hooked us up with free tickets so we didn’t have to pay to get pitched to lol. Nomad Summit is NOT this!

9. 7in7Co

Cost: $549 PIF

Next Conference: Montreal, 7-13 September 2022

I have to be honest…

…this is one of the coolest concepts for a conference! Why?

“7 conferences. 7 years. 7 continents.”

Need I say more? And that’s not even the coolest part!

The last conference is set to be held in Antarctica! ANTARCTICA! Name a cooler conference – I dare you (and lmk below lol). While COVID has paused the confidence for a few years – it’s set to start Year 5 again this time in Montreal, Canada!

The 7in7Co conference really shines in the community aspect. Most testimonials say they have made new friends and it’s always such a diverse group of people all doing different things. This is a conference where you can be yourself, feel welcomed and be part of something cool!

10. Digital Nomad Summit/Week

Cost: N/A

Next Conference: TBA

With 50+ speakers, you can bank on the fact that the Digital Nomad Summit is packed with value. You get to learn to about some key topics like big data and business strategies but even smaller topics like how to stay consistent at the gym while on the road and more.

Note: This is a virtual conference. It runs for over 3 days and has over 1,000 people join. From what I saw, a lot of the topics focused on how to become a digital nomad which caters to people that aren’t already on the road. If you’re already a digital nomad, you can still learn topics like which are the best digital nomad banks, how to manage remote teams and so much more!

Digital Nomad Retreat/Program

Digital nomad programs are so much fun! If you ever get the chance to join one chapter – you should definitely go for it!

What are they exactly? Think of it like a digital nomad program that curates your entire time in a certain city. This can look like:

• setting your accommodation up
• finding a coworking space
• hosting weekend activities
• vetting the group you’ll be with

and more!

The best part is you don’t have to do any of the things listed above. They do ALL the heavy lifting for you! You will usually pay a premium price but it’s worth it because you make some great nomad friends, explore a new country and cowork together! These digital nomad programs are the best way to get in with the digital nomad communities.

Note: these are typically not “retreats” in the sense that it’s not for people on vacation or fast travelers. These are made for digital nomads who obviously still need to work a good chunk of the week hence only being able to book monthly programs versus weekly travel itineraries, etc.

11. WifiTribe

Cost: starting from $1,100 USD (for a shared room on Member status)

Next Chapter: multiple trips starting March

WifiTribe is probably the biggest program in the world for digital nomads and remote workers. They host chapters in 40+ cities and like Medellin, Istanbul, Tel Aviv, Athens, Bali and so much more! WifiTribe was created by digital nomads and they created their programs with us in mind. WifiTribe is not for people going on holiday and they are serious about vetting the people who join the ‘tribe’. That’s why they have a 4-step application process including a video interview and personality test.

This is great because you know for sure that people have been vetted and are joining with the common goal in mind to explore a city but also to work hard together. WifiTribe set up your accommodation, your coworking space and your digital nomad community – you just have to buy your ticket and arrive! Sounds simple and easy to me!

12. Nomad Cruise

Cost: starting from $1,500 USD

Next Conference: TBA

Picture this: You spend 12 days on a cruise ship with hundreds of like-minded people enjoying activities and learning from valuable workshops (while making friends along the way).

That’s Nomad Cruise!

Your meals, alcoholic drinks, your room and access to the workshops and entertainment on the ship are all included in your ticket. Most cruises are transatlantic from Portugal to some country in South America. Nomad Cruise is truly one of the most unique experiences you could ever have as a digital nomad.

13. WorkWanderers

Cost: private ensuite from $1,850 USD

Next Conference: Bali, April to May 2022

WorkWanderers is a digital nomad program founded by Andrae, a fellow digital nomad. Most retreats have taken place in the beautiful Cape Town, South Africa. We haven’t had the chance to join ourselves just yet but it’s definitely a plan for us!

Similar to WifiTribe, WorkWanderers handles everything for you – your accommodation, your workspace and your community. They even include things like local SIM cards, transport to and from the airport and skillshares. While they don’t have as many programs planned, it’s still a great option for digital nomads and remote workers.

14. Hacker’s Paradise

Cost: starting from $2,290 USD per month

Next Conference: Athens & Mexico City, April to May 2022

Hacker’s Paradise is a 2 week to month-long digital nomad program. They organize your accommodation, coworking space and community for you. They tend to be in-between WifiTribe and WorkWanderers in terms of the number of programs held per year.

Hacker’s Paradise also has an extensive vetting/application process to ensure you are surrounded by people who work online and love to travel. Once accepted, you also become part of the active member network!

15. Remote Year

Cost: monthly from $2,850 USD and yearly from $32,000 USD

Next Conference: multiple trips starting March

When I first heard about Remote Year, I thought wow you can spend a year traveling with the same group of people to amazing digital nomad destinations. 1 whole ‘Remote Year’ and your entire trip is curated for you! That must be such a breeze and you get to just enjoy your time, make good friends and work hard.

Since COVID, they seem to have adapted and now offer month-long programs (a good move in my opinion). For the Remote Year, you have to pay $5,000 USD before your program begins and $2,250 USD monthly which in total is around $32,000 USD for the entire year. It’s definitely a commitment but a truly unique opportunity. You’ll also be cemented in one of the most vibrant digital nomad communities around.

Digital Nomad Communities Exist. Go Join Them Already!

There are digital nomad communities everywhere you look. You can join virtually or you can join in person. If you’re feeling lonely on the road (which we have many times), it’s time to join the many digital nomad communities and start sharing life together!

Use any of the resources I’ve listed above and who knows – maybe we will find you in one of these digital nomad communities! Here’s to combating loneliness in the digital nomad lifestyle and making it truly sustainable for years to come.