Are you a digital nomad who’s grown disillusioned with the American dream, and you’re maybe thinking of relocating across the pond to the Old Continent, where crime rates are lower, cities are indisputably more beautiful, and the quality of life is higher?
We’ve got you.
Options are plentiful, from the cosmopolitan United Kingdom down to the balmy, laid-back Mediterranean island of Malta, but not all European countries are exactly affordable – even by American standards – nor welcome visitors in the medium to long-term.
Offering a lower cost of living, a lot of cultural value, and even easier paths to permanent residency, these are the top 5 European countries for digital nomads right now:
Czechia
Price per month: $1,781 – $3,244
Safety levels: Great
English speaking: Okay
Friendly to foreigners: Good
Nestled near the exact center of Europe, Czechia is home to Prague, a capital boasting a rich medieval heritage, with a spire-dotted Old Town and cobbled streets that lead up to castles and imposing Gothic churches dating back centuries – long before America was even settled.
With a population of just over 10 million inhabitants, distributed around cities that could easily belong in a medieval fantasy novel – look up Cesky Krumlov – this overlooked country offers beer-thirsty nomads pints for $3 and mid-range meals in local eateries for as cheap as $10.
Rent is markedly cheaper than in Western Europe, too—33% less expensive than Paris—and nomads have reported being able to live in Prague without brushing up on their inexistent Czech (apparently the local English-speaking skills are elevated).
Entering Czechia as a tourist, an American digital nomad can only stay in the country – and the wider Schengen Area – for only 90 days out of any 180-day period, though there is a one-year, renewable visa available for more affluent workers earning over $6,000 per month.
Portugal
Price per month: $1,985 – $3,083
Safety levels: Great
English speaking: Great
Friendly to foreigners: Good
The Westernmost of European countries, Portugal administers 1,115 miles of Atlantic coastline and two paradisaical archipelagos surrounded by the azure sea, and it’s the birthplace of social media hit pastel de nata, the iconic custard tard, and octopus-based polvo à lagareiro.
Other than the coastal views and amazing cuisine, it is best known for its vibrant cities and laid-back atmosphere, with Baroque marvels Lisbon and Porto, the sun-drenched Algarve, and the wild Madeira island immediately coming to mind as nomad hotspots.
Portugal is equally distinct for being the least-expensive Western European country: if you’re a nomad on a shoestring budget, you can easily find pastelarias serving lunchtime menus for $7, and away from the major conurbations (read Lisbon), rent starts from as low as $450.
Like Czechia, Portugal is a Schengen member, so you can only stay in the country as a visitor for 90 days within any rolling 6-month period – on the other hand, their DNV is much easier to qualify for, with the financial requirement set at an acceptable $3,510.
Albania
Price per month: $1,379 – $2,508
Safety levels: Good
English speaking: Okay
Friendly to foreigners: Okay
Tucked away in the Balkan Peninsula, and officially the most affordable sunny destination in Europe, as assessed by Travel Off Path experts, Albania is an underrated gem straddling the turquoise-colored Adriatic Sea with paradisaical beaches and resort zones galore.
Its leading leisure destination, the casual beach town of Ksamil, was named one of our own top digital nomad destinations for 2024, and when it comes to cafe culture, we doubt any other European city could beat Albanian capital Tirana and its work-friendly bistros.
Other nomad havens include Shkoder, a compact city famous for its hilltop Rozafa Fortress and a compact, restored Old Town, filled with charming cafes that rival Tirana’s, the whitewashed, Ottoman-era Berat, and stone-built Gjirokaster, a UNESCO-listed settlement in Southern Albania.
Between the cheap rent – $453 for a one-bedroom apartment in the city center – and the affordable eats – a three-course meal in a local restaurant for two people will only set you back $37 – you’ll find that living comfortably in Albania for under $2,000 a month is perfectly feasible.
Most importantly, Albania is a nomad motherland of the sorts largely thanks to its unbelievably generous visa policy: all tourists can stay 90 days irrespective of time spent in other European countries, and Americans in particular get a whole year visa-free.
Hungary
Price per month: $1,559 – $2,508
Safety levels: Good
English speaking: Okay
Friendly to foreigners: Okay
The second highest-charting European country on the Nomad List ranking, Hungary is best represented by Budapest, its stately capital sitting across both sides of the fast-flowing Danube River, with a skyline dominated by palatial complexes, Baroque masterpieces and tall domes.
It is undoubtedly the best-equipped city for digital nomads based in Hungary, with its plethora of coworking spots and invaluable cultural offers, but that’s not to say the country as a whole is lacking in infrastructure, much less natural beauty.
Outside Budapest, Hungary’s top attraction is Lake Balaton, often called the Hungarian Sea, a large body of water lined by holiday homes, luxury villas and fully-furnished AirBnB stays that provide an escape from the hustle and bustle of Budapest over a long weekend.
If you’re looking instead for mid-size cities that are not as touristy as the capital, yet still have somewhat of a social scene, Hungary’s second largest conurbation Debrecen, and the deeply historical Pécs, on the border with Croatia, surrounded by verdant mountains, are your top picks.
North Macedonia
Price per month: $875 – $1,392
Safety levels: Good
English speaking: Okay
Friendly to foreigners: Okay
The unexpected winner, North Macedonia is another seriously-overlooked Balkan country, landlocked this time, that has never truly undergone a Tourism Reinassance in the wake of the Yugoslav War of the nineties, despite being perfectly safe to visit, and just as fascinating as Croatia or Slovenia.
Interestingly, it looks like it’s found its calling as a digital nomad hub, currently charting as the number one European country in the leading digital nomad platform, lauded not only for its cultural wealth—its charming lakeside town Ohrid is the stuff of fairy tales—but mainly its affordability.
If you’re based in Skopje, the North Macedonian capital, and probably the city with the highest concentration of kitsch statues and quirky cafes worldwide, you could live on under $1,352 per month, or even $836 if you’re being really frugal.
Rent in Skopje is on average 81% cheaper than in Western European cities—a city-center one-bedroom flat can be a shockingly cheap $346 if you’re signing a local contract—and meals in inexpensive local restaurants are unlikely to cost you more than $7.
Nomads also love Macedonia for the same reason they’ve been flocking to neighboring Albania lately: it’s not a member of the Schengen Area, thus the restrictive 90-day rule does not apply—they get a whole independent 3 months here, and getting resident visas is relatively easy.
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