Harry Stewart
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39 Useful Websites Every Digital Nomad Should Bookmark
“If you really want to learn about a country, work there,” American writer Charles Kuralt once said.
Being a digital nomad doesn’t quite provide the same level of cultural immersion as a traditional job, but it’s pretty much the next best thing.
You’ll be living in an apartment, shopping in local markets and practicing languages with your neighbors and friends.
And thankfully, there are plenty of helpful resources the remote worker can rely on, many of which are entirely free.
Contents
- Why a Digital Nomad Needs These Websites
- 39 Useful Websites Every Digital Nomad Should Bookmark
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- Language Websites for Digital Nomads
- Organizational Websites for Digital Nomads
- Productivity Websites for Digital Nomads
- Workplace Websites for Digital Nomads
- Job Search Websites for Digital Nomads
- Travel Websites for Digital Nomads
- Finance Websites for Digital Nomads
- Digital Nomad Forums
- Dating Websites for Digital Nomads
- Social Websites for Digital Nomads
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Why a Digital Nomad Needs These Websites
The nomadic lifestyle often seems glamorous to the outsider.
Most travel blogs feature heavily saturated Instagram-worthy photos of smiling youngsters tapping away at their keyboards while basking in the sun on a white-sand beach. A life of exotic travel must be bliss, right?
Unfortunately, much like these cheesy stock photos, the perception of the digital nomad lifestyle doesn’t correspond to reality.
For example, have you ever tried using a laptop on the beach? Your screen is impossible to read, you get hopelessly sunburned and sand gets in every crack and crevice you can imagine.
The reality is, despite being a lot of fun, several challenges present themselves along the way. Life on the road gets lonely, travel arrangements can be testing and finding new clients becomes a chore.
But with the power of the internet at hand, the solution to most digital nomad problems is seldom more than a mouse click away.
With the following 39 websites, you’ll discover how to learn a language, organize your daily tasks, increase your productivity, find new coworking spaces and clients, get from A to B and meet new friends or even romantic interests.
Look no further, for you’ve stumbled upon the ultimate digital nomad resource: the internet!
39 Useful Websites Every Digital Nomad Should Bookmark
Language Websites for Digital Nomads
Duolingo
A useful option for your learning endeavors is Duolingo, a web browser-based language platform that uses gamification to motivate students.
Essentially, you work your way through a series of language challenges, earning points and leveling up along the way.
It may not be as addictive as Candy Crush Saga, but it’s a novel way to learn nonetheless.
FluentU
If you’d like to learn through foreign-language videos, such as movie trailers and comedy sketches, FluentU takes these authentic clips and turns them into personalized language lessons.
Accessible via the website and app, FluentU immerses you in native content, pairing all videos with interactive subtitles that instantly translate, provide grammar info and show images to help you understand everything in context. To practice new words and phrases, flashcards, vocab lists and personalized quizzes are also available on the app.
Currently, you can learn up to 10 languages with FluentU.
Google Translate
While researching online for local accommodation or entertainment options, you’re bound to come across some non-English text every once in a while.
Don’t speak the local language? No problem. Just throw the text into Google Translate.
However, even though Google is the best of the best, machine translations are often far from perfect. You’ll at least be able to get the gist of it, though.
Organizational Websites for Digital Nomads
Trello
Most digital nomads work in a team with other remote workers and clients. And given the difficulty in coordinating projects across multiple time zones, organizing effective workflows can become a daunting proposition.
Trello provides a visual project representation in which team members can drag and drop boards and cards logically and intuitively. It makes everything much less confusing!
Every Time Zone
Ever agreed to a Skype meeting with a client on the other side of the world, only to realize you have no idea what time you’re supposed to be online?
Rather than crunching the numbers yourself (which you might mess up anyway), the super simple Every Time Zone will do all the legwork for you.
Contactually
A good freelancer or entrepreneur eventually gets most of their income through repeat and referral business. But as your network begins to grow, it gets harder and harder to keep track of your best contacts.
The Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform Contactually can help you stay on top of it all by tracking your interactions. Among other things, it provides tips on when to get in touch, predicts ROIs and suggests the best time to send emails.
Although the system is aimed at real estate agents, it’s useful for other industries, as well.
ScheduleOnce
ScheduleOnce is ideal for remote workers who get swamped by meetings and conferences.
The sleek software sends your clients a pre-filled calendar of your availability so that the recipient can schedule a meeting with just one click. Consequently, all those back-and-forth emails and annoying games of phone tag become a thing of the past.
The platform is particularly useful for teachers, coaches, consultants and anyone else who requires multiple meetings per week.
Harvest
As a freelancer, you’ll have to spend a considerable amount of time each month preparing invoices. And if you’ve managed to score a juicy hourly rate, that time could certainly be better spent elsewhere.
Harvest tracks all the essentials such as your billable hours, hourly rates, timesheets, expenses and deadlines in one place, which you can export directly to your client’s inbox.
Evernote
Evernote allows you to record all your notes and ideas for future use.
You can easily store and retrieve formats such as text, handwritten notes, photos and audio files, which is ideal for the busy digital nomad on the move.
Productivity Websites for Digital Nomads
RescueTime
If you’re anything like me, you probably spend more time messing around online than doing actual work. Procrastination is the antithesis of productivity, after all!
RescueTime allows you to be more productive by tracking how long you spend on emails, external websites and other distractions. You can even block the worst offenders (we’re looking at you, Reddit) during certain hours of the day.
Focus@Will
Blocking distracting websites isn’t always enough, because external elements such as annoying chatter and traffic noise can put a serious damper on productivity.
To help you stay focused and on task, try the soothing tunes of Focus@Will. The program provides a soundtrack of easy listening tunes and unintrusive melodies, which neuroscience research has found to help the listener concentrate for long periods.
Workplace Websites for Digital Nomads
Copass
If you love the networking opportunities that an active coworking space entails, then Copass is the website for you.
The enormous Copass network boasts 750 coworking spaces in over 500 global cities, each of which you can book with just one click through its intuitive platform.
Plans are charged according to the number of days per month you wish to work.
Workfrom
Workfrom is kind of like the TripAdvisor of cafes… with a digital nomad twist.
Customers rank coffee shops on their Wi-Fi and noise levels as well as the quality and cost of their coffee and food. You’ll also find a few pro tips on the quietest times of the day.
It’s currently only available in a dozen or so U.S. and European cities, although hopefully more will come soon. This is definitely an up-and-coming website every digital nomad should keep an eye on!
Job Search Websites for Digital Nomads
Upwork
The former Elance and oDesk merged in 2015 to become Upwork, one of the biggest freelancing marketplaces in the world today.
As with all the other similar platforms, you’ll need to start at a low rate before building up a positive review score. Once you’re well established, however, there is decent money to be made.
Expect to pay 20% on the first $500 and 10% on every dollar after that as commission.
Freelancer
Freelancer runs on a similar model as Upwork and can be useful as a backup once you’ve used all your Upwork connections.
Generally, however, a large contingent of offshore workers push rates right down, rendering it something of a “race to the bottom.” Still, Freelancer is worth checking out, as digital nomads find decent gigs on there all the time.
Fiverr
Fiverr is the other major online freelance marketplace.
The main advantage here is that you don’t have to apply for jobs, as clients will contact you if they like the look of your profile and gig.
The fees are fairly hefty at 20% for every gig plus transfer charges.
We Work Remotely
A popular, general remote jobs board is We Work Remotely, which lists a variety of mostly high-end and full-time positions across several different disciplines.
Employers must pay $299 each post, so you can be sure every job on there is legit.
ProBlogger
Content writers who grow tired of sending proposals through the same old platforms should checkout ProBlogger, a remote worker job board strictly for writers.
Most of the jobs pay well. It’s super competitive, so make sure you get in early and write a good pitch.
AngelList
The entrepreneurial nomad should check out AngelList, a startup-based employment platform that connects new businesses to bright, young minds across an array of online disciplines.
Likewise, talented remote workers can use it to score a job in a promising new startup.
It’s a win-win, really!
Authentic Jobs
Designers would do well to check out Authentic Jobs, a carefully curated board that features all sorts of design-related positions.
Although not all jobs listed are remote, you can simply click a “remote only” filter to specifically browse those that are.
Stack Overflow
Developers and I.T. professionals should keep a keen eye on Stack Overflow, a one-stop shop for tech-related gigs.
Remote jobs are a dime a dozen, and there’s ample opportunity for an experienced techie to find work.
Travel Websites for Digital Nomads
Nomad List
Not quite sure where to settle down as a digital nomad next?
Then make your way to Nomad List to see how some 1,200 global destinations rank based on surveys taken by digital nomads just like you.
It factors in metrics such as the cost of living, internet speed, safety and quality of life to create the ultimate digital nomad bucket list.
TripAdvisor
Just rocked up to a new city and not sure where to eat?
TripAdvisor crowdsources hundreds of millions of reviews to tell you the most popular restaurants, bars, hotels and attractions pretty much anywhere in the world.
On the downside, by strictly following TripAdvisor’s advice, you’ll likely end up at a place that tourists rather than locals would enjoy.
Google Flights
In my experience, Google Flights offers superior service to other flight aggregate search engines, especially for the flexible digital nomad.
Google can instantly search multiple airlines—including low-cost carriers—over a period of a month or so to find the best possible deal.
Rome2rio
When you have no idea how to get from point A to point B, then it’s time to load up Rome2rio.
The groundbreaking platform uses hundreds of thousands of bus, train, ferry and plane services to find a multi-modal route to pretty much anywhere on Earth.
Airbnb
Airbnb is ideal for the digital nomad who yearns for extra space or a more authentic place to stay. Upon signing up, you can stay in your own private home or book a room to live with a host family.
Some places will offer discounted rates the longer you stay, which is perfect for the digital nomad.
GoGo Places
GoGo Places is a lot like Airbnb, but it’s aimed squarely at the digital nomad crowd.
Each pre-approved property—most of which are based in Eastern Europe—can only be booked for a month, thus providing a substantial discount on the daily rate.
Hostelworld
Hostels can be a blessing or a curse for the digital nomad. They’re great for mingling with other people, but excessive noise and drunkenness could be detrimental to your work.
At the very least, treat yourself to a private room on Hostelworld, because nobody wants to live in a smelly dorm long term.
TripIt
Travel arrangements can become overwhelming at times, with a seemingly endless list of hotel reservations, tours and airfares to keep track of.
However, the savvy traveler can aggregate all their plans by simply forwarding confirmation emails to TripIt. This app transforms them into an easy-to-use digital itinerary that can be read on any device, either online or offline.
Finance Websites for Digital Nomads
Your internet banking website
Keep tabs on your income, expenses and those pesky ATM transaction fees by paying regular visits to your chosen internet banking site.
Just avoid doing so on an unsecured connection, such as public Wi-Fi, because you never know who’s watching.
XE Currency Converter
As a digital nomad, you’ll likely be crossing borders rather frequently.
XE Currency Converter shows you the latest official forex rates to ensure you never get ripped off when converting your cash. There’s even a handy historic graph feature for those who want to game the market by exchanging at the ideal time.
PayPal
Any remote worker worth their salt would have a PayPal account, seeing as most clients and customers prefer to pay this way. It’s the most ubiquitous online payment platform in the world, after all!
TransferWise
TransferWise has revolutionized international fund transfers by implementing a unique system where two separate transfers negate the need for money to ever actually cross any borders at all.
Consequently, the fees are incredibly low for cash transfers to any applicable overseas country.
Digital Nomad Forums
Reddit r/digitalnomad
Reddit’s r/digitalnomad subreddit is another popular forum to discuss issues related to the nomadic way of life. There isn’t much in terms of joining forces with other nomads, though.
Dating Websites for Digital Nomads
Tinder
Life on the road gets lonely at times, and there’s no online matchmaking service as prolific as Tinder. The infamous “swipe left or right” system now works on the web, so you don’t necessarily need to use the mobile app.
Most lovebirds use Tinder for a quick fling, which can be ideal for the digital nomad on the move.
Nomad Soulmates
Even if you do have chemistry with that special someone on Tinder, you might have to choose between them and your digital nomad lifestyle eventually.
Nomad Soulmates, on the other hand, connects you with nearby like-minded vagabonds who share your passion for travel and remote work.
Social Websites for Digital Nomads
Couchsurfing
Keen couch surfers have enough positive feedback on their profile to find a free bed in any major city in the world. The homestay exchange system works better for backpackers, however, as most hosts are usually only willing to give up their home for a few days.
Nevertheless, the digital nomad can use Couchsurfing by attending its regular meetups or by asking if any locals would like to hang out.
Meetup
This widely popular website brings people together with common interests for real-life, face-to-face encounters, which is an awesome way to stave off the isolation blues.
Meetup groups are typically organized by interests and age, and groups tend to hold regular events.
Despite a slew of recent privacy scandals, Facebook remains the biggest social network in the world by a massive margin. Love it or hate it, you’re going to need it to keep track of all those new friends you’re making on the road.
Pro tip: There are digital nomad groups for most destinations with regular meetups.
As you can see, there are stacks of resources out there to help you adjust to your new nomadic lifestyle.
Bookmark the above options and see how they enable you to work your way around the globe with ease.
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
