A new look | Chinese New Year | Issue #0023

A new look! But no less informative.

In fact, with the addition of a resources page, Coffee Break, and that magnetic hook - the listicle - there is more packed into less screen real estate.

We’ve also had a chat with Chris, who will save any nomad who is truly nomadic a chunk of cash.

Also in The Digital Nomad this week:

🎇 Navigate one of the world’s biggest shutdowns
🇪🇸 Viva la Digital Nomad
🌃 This is THE year to nomad in the cold
📋 Backpacks, award-winning films, interview questions…

Hope you enjoy the makeover - let us know what you think!

NEWS
Navigating Chinese & Lunar New Year

It’s always fun to see in a New Year, and the Chinese New Year and Tet in Vietnam are uniquely fun and flambouyant.

However, if you’re visiting China or Vietnam at the moment (and if you are in ecommerce this is likely not your favorite time of year!) you might find that it’s not the experience you expected. A lot of the country will be closed, and this means cafes, restaurants, attractions, etc., too.

While travel might be a challenge and prices for accommodation see a bump, it can be an opportunity to hunker down, or embrace the celebrations!

Here’s a useful, honest look at navigating Tet, and this might come in handy if you have found yourself in China over their New Year.

WHAT ELSE…

🇹🇭 Thailand is going hard If the DTV wasn’t tempting enough, now it’s easier to get the LTR if you are looking for an affordable base.

🏨 If you’re going to splash out… This year’s hotel hot list from Hotels.com includes Argentina, Tokyo, Atlanta and Rome in it’s recs.

🤖 New kid on the block If you hold stock in Nvidia we’re pretty sure you’ll know about DeepSeek today. Already the #1 free download in the US.

🌌 2025 is also the year for this Forbes also think now is the best time to go north - can you digital nomad in the cold?

🎤 One door closes… As Nomad Summit comes to a close, if you missed out on speaking at it the 2025 Bansko Nomad Fest is taking applications.

SPREAD THE WORD

Have you been forwarded The Digital Nomad by a friend? If so, don’t miss out on future issues by getting it every Tuesday.

Or do you have digital nomad friends, or ones planning to be? They could use a quick weekly fix of what’s happening in their world, so share this link or share on your socials with the links at the top of this newsletter.

ACCOMMODATION
The nomad saving y’all a fortune

The buzz of booking the next flight somewhere quickly goes when you realise you’ve now got to scroll through thousands of accommodation listings.

Love it or hate it, Airbnb is often the go-to, especially for nomads who need more than hotel rooms offer. Chris Cerra (aka @nomadaccommodationguy) has hacked finding the perfect place on Airbnb and beyond…

So Chris, it sounds like you’re pretty well known then?
Well, RemoteBase is, yes! We’ve a few thousand nomads subscribed to the newsletter that shares deals on places to stay at most nomad spots. We cherry-pick the best deals on Airbnb and local private listings which saves a lot of time - and money. A dedicated coliving section is launching this year too.

How does it work then?
We send out a free newsletter with the best up-and-coming deals, but the nomads who move regularly use our premium service. They get alerts several times a week, from a much wider range of deals. It also gets you access to our directory of previously featured deals to browse at their leisure.

Is it mostly nomads who use RemoteBase?
Largely, yes. Digital nomads, travelling remote workers - anyone staying somewhere for a month or longer.

You sound like you’re a prolific nomad. How’d you get here?
I was in financial services and my company had a policy of working from anywhere, even back in 2016. The office was in Farringdon, which is a cool part of London, but it wasn’t as cool as Croatia! I met my partner Sam, and we both loved travel so decided to hit the road together.

And at some point, RemoteBase was born?
While travelling we saw the savings to be made when booking longer-term accommodation - and we preferred a house or condo to a hotel room. RemoteBase launched while on a 6-week stay in the Algarve. We’d seen the flight deals lists, but there wasn’t one for accommodation, so I built one!

How do you find great listings?
Honestly, I’ve probably seen a million Airbnb listings (NOTE - there was no sense of exaggeration in his voice here!). We’ve travelled a LOT, and that experience and instinct leads us to what is or isn’t suitable for nomads.

Any up-and-coming spots nomads should keep an eye on?
Africa is the next frontier in my opinion. If you follow travel/backpacker trends you are likely to see nomad trends follow. Prices are on the increase everywhere, but Buenos Aires seems to be most resistant if you’re on a budget. And keep an eye on Oman, Armenia and Jordan in the next couple of years!

Get accommodation deals for free by signing up to the RemoteBase newsletter. Or jump straight into big savings with the premium upgrade, and 20% off with an annual plan. You’re likely save the cost in a single booking btw!

We love to feature nomads and what they do that helps the rest of you. Get featured for FREE. Fill out this form.

POLL

DESTINATIONS
Viva la ciudad nómada digital!

Spain features on most nomad’s lists to visit or stay. Time Out listed their top cities of the world, and these 5 Spanish cities made the list so we’ve picked out - with a little help from some nomads in the know - why they make great spots to be a digital nomad:

• Barcelona - Simon, who operates CoWorking Days events in Barcelona, says “It’s a great city for nomads. The mixture of the beach and cool city vibes, lots of events…and cheap flights around Europe!”

• Madrid - capital cities nearly always make these lists, but mix culture with a great food and cafe scene and it’s a very liveable option.

• Valencia - we’ve featured Valencia before. It’s location, less touristy-feel and growing nomad community is compelling!

• Seville - perhaps lower on the radar, but Leona - a Canva-certified expert - is based just outside the city. “Seville’s a beautiful city, vibrant, amazing food, affordable and super-reliable internet.”

• Bilbao - the north coast is still hugely underated and the small-town vibe and Basque food and customs give a very different feel to the other four.

See the whole list here. You might just find a city you hadn’t considered.

BRAIN FOOD

Books - If you gobble up novels, look out for these releases this year.

App - The founder of perhaps the biggest name in travel made a steps app.

Useful - Answer the hardest question in interviews with authority.

Music - Here’s a list of playlists for different moods.

 If you have any recommendations we can share let us know.

THE LIST
Backpacks for serious nomads

Everyone loves a listicle, whether you admit it or not! We’ll share the best ones we’ve spotted here. Check out the top three backpacks according to Holafly:

1. Nomatic Backpack: Minimalist design with various models (20-30L). Great for carrying around your daily kit. 

2. Peak Design Everyday Backpack 20L: Ideal for photographers; customizable compartments and multiple pockets.

3. Samsonite Pro-DLX 5: Durable, versatile, carry-on compatible and great cable management. 

See the full breakdown here.

MAKE DIGITAL NOMAD LIFE EASIER
Tools and resources we’ve spotted this week

Check out our new resources page [LINK] for the long list we’ve had recommended or found over the last few months, but here’s a couple of new ones this week:

• AI - created by Sabrina Romanov - a thought leader in AI for years - Blotato is a tool that will practically do your social media for you.

• VPN - this saved us from disaster this week, so we’re shouting it out again. The biggest name in VPNs for a reason…NordVPN.

• WiFi - Simo make a useful mobile hotspot. Exclusive discount with this link.

• Save money - Get the Global Nomad Pass for worldwide savings.

• Destinations - Hear from other nomads why you should or shouldn’t skip a spot with Digital Nomad Trip Reports.

• A new nomad festival - Vietnam Nomad Fest is in March. Use code TIM to get 10% off tickets.

Check out the new resources page for more useful tools and services.

BE SEEN AND HEARD

We would love to hear from you if you have some valuable knowledge, products or services, information, or just a fun or crazy digital nomad story. Get more eyes on your thing or maybe you just like sharing with other nomads!

Fill in this form if you want to feature for free in The Digital Nomad.

TRIVIA
This one is for the gamers

1. What year was the Playstation 1 released?

2. In 1971, the first commercial arcade video game came out. What was it called?

3. What is the best-selling video game of all time?

4. Mario first appeared in which 1981 video game?

5. Joel Miller is the main playable character in which hit game?

Answers below.

COFFEE BREAK

☕️ Fun - Or serious. It depends how much you love coffee!

📜 History - More interesting than you’d think…the story behind barcodes.

📺 Watch - One of YT’s most heart-warming award-winning short films.

WHAT DID YOU MISS?

If you are new to The Digital Nomad - or just want to go back and read a previous issue - then you can find them all here.

ANSWERS

1. 1995. 2. Computer Space. 3. Minecraft. 4. Donkey Kong. 5. The Last of Us.