The Mediterranean sparkles to my left as I type from a foldable desk on the terrace of a cozy home in a quiet coastal town in Spain. Rolling green hills stretch to my right, framing the space that will be home for the next three months, until we pack up and move again.
It’s been 12 months since my husband and I embarked on a nomadic life. We sold everything, ended our four-year apartment lease in Singapore, and boarded a one-way flight to Bali. Since then, we’ve worked from Bali, Rome, Tuscany, Bangkok, Phuket, and now the coast of Alicante in Spain.
Friends and fellow travelers often ask, “Where’s your favorite place to work?” I’m sometimes hesitant to answer because it’s so subjective. Choosing a base as a nomad involves a different set of criteria than picking a vacation spot. For me, factors like community, longer-stay visas, reliable WiFi, easy access to nature, and a vibrant wellness scene are at the top of the checklist.
Still, if I had to choose, the place that stands out— and one I’d happily return to — is Bali.
I felt at home
Bali was my first port of call as a digital nomad, and I spent a happy four months working and living there.
Despite internet discourse about how “overrun” parts of the island have become, it remains my favourite place to work remotely to this day. Perhaps I’m biased — with my Indonesian roots and years of vacationing there, I feel instantly at home.
My husband and I chose Berawa as our base, a laidback neighbourhood just outside the buzz of Canggu. Located on Bali’s southern coast, Canggu has transformed from a sleepy surf village into the island’s hippest enclave, packed with trendy cafés and black sand beaches that draw yogis and surfers in equal measure.
This was my first time staying in Berawa, and it turned out to be the ideal spot for an extended stay. You get proximity to the action of Canggu without actually living in the thick of it. My two-bedroom villa, tucked down a quiet lane off a main road, placed me less than 10 minutes from central Canggu.
Bali’s cost of living has crept up in recent years, but it still offered value for our longer stay. Our villa rent was $1,800 a month, which included a pool, fast WiFi, and weekly cleaning — less than half of what I’d paid for my apartment in Singapore.
A remote worker’s dream setup
Bali was an easy place to get started on my nomad life. The island is exceptionally well-equipped for long stays: the WiFi is generally reliable, there are plenty of supermarkets and pharmacies available for daily necessities, and ride-hailing apps are affordable and convenient.
After a year on the road, I’ve come to appreciate how rare this combination is.
The island also boasts one of the best remote work ecosystems I’ve experienced, from coworking spaces like Outpost and BWork to laptop-friendly cafés. I rotated through a few favourites: the workspace upstairs at Woods, Zin Cafe, and Lighthouse, a coworking café with beautiful rice field views and its own on-site podcast and video studio.
It’s also easy to stay active and healthy in Bali. Gyms, yoga studios, and affordable massages are aplenty, especially around Berawa. And food options are great: from warungs serving fragrant local dishes to health-forward cafés and world-class restaurants.
When work felt overwhelming and I needed a break, I could hop on a scooter and be at the beach in minutes. There were also many options for weekend escapes: We managed trips to the pristine Nusa Lembongan and Ceningan islands, a day trip to serene Sidemen, and explored the east coast’s slower-paced beach towns like Amed and Candidasa.
These experiences revealed a quieter, more soulful side of Bali — one I’d missed on past short trips.
The downsides
Of course, no place is perfect. Traffic in Canggu can be chaotic, and the island’s infrastructure is still catching up with its tourism growth. There’s also a digital nomad community that, at times, can feel like a bubble and disconnected from authentic local life.
But once you find your rhythm and favourite nooks, it’s easy to tune out the noise and settle into Bali’s slower, softer pace.
I made it a point to skip the touristy spots, stay just outside the main areas, and design my life and routine around the kind of experience I wanted.
A year into nomadic living, I’ve felt uprooted, disoriented, and occasionally exhausted. But in Bali, I found a version of myself I liked: Focused, centered, and rested.
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