Rural nomadding & SEO chat | Issue #0013

It’s been crazy. That’s the understatement made to us yesterday about the Loy Krathong and Yi Peng crowds in Chiang Mai last week, which are dispersing and making way for a huge SEO conference hitting town.

That makes it a nice time to think about where in the world offers a little more peace for digital nomads. We’ve found the perfect list for that.

Also this week:

🏆 The villages of the year, according to the UN
 🎆 Plans in place for the final celebration of the year?
 ⛷️ Subsidised skiing and boarding for digital nomads
 🎤 SEO is in town

Let’s smash the week…

NEWS
The best of rural life: working REALLY remotely

Every year, the UN lists the best tourism villages of the year. These are the rural places that could be future tourist hotspots, so it is worth getting familiar with the list if you want to get in early. The 2024’s selection is out.

They are not your usual digital nomad destinations, let’s make that clear.

However, if you are a lover of the quiet life, want to get a local experience when on the move, and fancy somewhere you won’t get distracted by the trappings on offer at most of the usual suspects, check out where made the list.

It’s truly a global list, with representatives of Spain, Thailand and Mexico, as well as less-likely digital nomad countries - Peru, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia.

The UN site also has the places that made it in previous years, so perhaps see if any have made it to your list of checked-off places yet.

WHAT ELSE…

🏢 How successful is WFH?: With more companies invoking RTO (Return to Office) policies, the discussion among has moved to how productive it is. There are some contradictory stats around though, and this long read digs into some stories behind the movement.

⛄️ A very niche offer: Most digital nomads seek sun, sea, and sand - or at least a warm climate. If you are NOT one of them though, then this latest opportunity to get funded stays in a cooler destination might appeal. You’ll definitely need your thermals though!

🛠️ The future is now: It’s that time already when the “best of 2024” lists start rolling out. This one is a little peek into the future, though technically all available now. The 200 best inventions of 2024 - according to Time magazine - contains some that might well change the way digital nomads go about their nomadding!

DESTINATIONS
Where are you celebrating next month?

It’s only next month so if you haven’t planned your New Year’s Eve plans yet, then time is-a-ticking.

Travel behemoth Conde Naste published what feels like a perennial best places for New Year - a list of the usual suspects mostly - but it still offers some of the most fun-filled locations to see in 2026.

These are the destinations that made their list:

Many of these will have been places you’ll likely have been to at some point…but for New Year’s Eve?

Where are your favorite spots for the New Year? Drop them at [email protected] and we might do a feature on them before it’s too late!

SPREAD THE WORD

Do you have friends who are digital nomads roaming the world? If you think they could use a quick weekly fix of what’s happening in their world, then share this link so they can get The Digital Nomad each week too.

Or, share it on your socials with the links at the top of this newsletter.

WINTER NEWS
It’s nearly digital SNOWmad time

For you skiers out there, you might have this planned already, but how many of you ski and grind?

In the What Else section above, there’s an incentive to pick Scandinavia for some cold weather nomadding, but it’s not the only spot for winter sports lovers.

Check out the countries with shoop-shooping on the menu AND a digital nomad visa, in case a few weeks on the slopes just isn’t enough.

TELL US YOURS!

We met a British woman this week who carries a box of her favorite teabags wherever she travels, which we thought was a bit extreme.

It got us thinking though. What home comfort do you travel with - or seek out when you arrive somewhere - that you just can’t go without?

EVENTS
The SEO conference lands at Yellow Coworking

This week is this year’s Chiang Mai SEO Conference, one of the best-attended worldwide.

There are events all around town alongside the main conference, and SEO specialist Brie Moreau is hosting a link-building talk at Yellow this Saturday.

To get a free SEO and/or link audit from Brie, go to https://cmseo.wldm.io/ and find out what he can do, or go along on Saturday!

BRAIN FOOD
What we’ve been recommended this week

Book - Overcoming Underearning: A Five-Step Plan to a Richer Life; Barbara Stanny. A great place to start if you aren’t quite meeting your income goals, as recommended by a serially successful business owner.

Movie - If there is someone out there who hasn’t seen Gladiator (nearly 25 years old now!) then you’re in a very niche minority. Watch it this week though before Gladiator II hits the big screen this week. Despite some mixed early reviews, if you are going to watch it then see it on as big a screen as you can find near you.

Web Tool - OneTab. If you don’t have multiple tabs open all the time then we think there is something wrong with you. Surely a pre-requisite for a digital nomad laptop. This could be the tool that helps keep your screen cleaner without losing them all.

Podcast - It’s nice to be liked of course, but can it be a hindrance trying to be liked? This chat on the Happy Place podcast discusses getting comfortable with not being liked.

Drop us an email at [email protected] if you have any recommendations we should share!

CONNECT TO CHIANG MAI
Fill your social calendar in Chiang Mai

Steve’s Email: A weekly resource and email for events around the city.

Digital Nomad WhatsApp: A long-standing group that spawned a range of sub-groups for almost any niche and interest in the city.

For up-to-date events in the city join the Activities/Events WhatsApp group.

ChiangMai Fit WhatsApp: If you want to do something active (trust us, being fit isn’t a prerequisite!) then wholesome activities throughout the week in here.

Yellow Coworking Telegram: For more about what is happening at Yellow, and to be part of their conversation, join here.

COWORKING IN CHIANG MAI

If you are in the city, or heading over soon, then check out the current packages - from day passes to monthly or annual memberships - here.

Or, just get in touch with Mickey or the team at Yellow Coworking at [email protected].

THE DIGITAL RESOURCE

We’ve shared some useful resources over the first few weeks, and while you can access back issues here, several have asked us to share them again. So, to save lots of email back-and-forths, or searching through previous newsletters, here are the most asked for resources:

• Safety Wing, who also offer digital nomad insurance, have started running community events in various locations around the world. A few participants in a Chiang Mai one even won a meal out at a top restaurant in the city!

• Genki also do worldwide digital nomad insurance.

• Healthy Junk is the go-to for healthy food near Yellow. Dine in, out or get it delivered.

• Get your meal prep from Chef Fuji. Healthy, macro-focussed food delivered in Chiang Mai.

• Contact Liselle for a LinkedIn or resume revamp.

• If decision-making is not your forte, get in touch with Hannah Wang - a decision-making coach for entrepreneurs, business owners and big corporates.

• Stay safe online - and get TV from any country! - using NordVPN. They’ve got a Black Friday sale on now too.

• Airalo - a marketplace for eSIM data packs for more than 200 countries. Get 15% off if you are new and use this link and the code NEWTOAIRALO15, or 10% off if you are an existing user using AIRALOESIM10.

QUIZ
FIVE truths and a lie
Which of the following 6 geographical statements is incorrect:

1. Glasgow is the capital of Scotland.

2. India borders Myanmar.

3. Venezuela is NOT on the equator.

4. The Philippines gained independence from the US.

5. Chile is the world’s southernmost country.

6. Brazil IS on the equator.

Answer below!

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.

COMMUNITY
Get seen by digital nomads everywhere

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.

This is an opportunity to get some extra eyes on your thing, or if you just like to write or provide information to other nomads.

Drop us an email at [email protected] if you:

• have a product or service that could help other digital nomads

• have a travel blog, channel or platform that we can spotlight

• took a photo worthy we could feature along with your portfolio or IG

• know a great event or place in Chiang Mai we might have missed

• …just have a great digital nomad story!

ANSWER

1. Glasgow is not the capital of Scotland. Edinburgh is.