Breathing clean air & nomad no-gos | Issue #0014

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Things can change quickly. Watching posts from nomads all over the world proves that. Many popular spots are in the tropics, so while we are watching rain falling in Bali and Hanoi and even the islands in Thailand, central and northern Southeast Asia are seeing nothing but sun. A month ago, it was the opposite!

The quality of the air can also change quickly, as IQAir’s reporting showed this week. See more below.

Also this week:

 🇮🇹 Nomadding in Italy for a Euro
  Hotspots to avoid, according to a leading voice in travel
 🌏 Health insurance to global visas under one umbrella
 🍂 Fall is out and we’re testing you on it
 📲 Where to find your people and things to do in Chiang Mai

Have a great week!

NEWS
The air you breath is under the spotlight again

Air quality landed in the news in the last week or so as Delhi’s plummeted and Lahore hit some highs.

It’s an emotive subject across much of Asia, and our own Chiang Mai is often in the firing line. However, it is also one of the few cities that can feature at the top or bottom of air quality rankings - and often within weeks of each other. In March and April it will regularly feature as one of the poorest, yet by June it will often rank as the very best 🤷‍♂️ - and spend much of the rest of the year there.

Wherever you are travelling - and the beauty of the digital nomad lifestyle is that you can choose the best times to be somewhere - it’s a good idea to keep and eye on IQAir’s website. Weather is often a factor for choosing a location, but air quality should rank in your decision-making too.

Grab the app, as it’s a handy tool when considering your next spot.

WHAT ELSE…

🍕 Nomad in Italy for a Euro: Beautiful Sardinia has launched a new initiative to attract professionals to visit, work, and share their knowledge. For €1, you can get a month’s stay in Ollolai - in the heart of Sardinia. Find out more on their website.

💻 Remote workers offer more for some: A company’s stance on RTO says a lot about their recruiting strategy, and one of the biggest names in employment - Glassdoor - have a very different approach to some of the bigger employers.

🏔️ An easy life in the mountains: This might be the wrong time of year to be talking about Scotland. However, if you are planning for next year, we’d urge you to consider a stay there. Incredible scenery, culture-laden cities, friendly communities, affordable for a developed country, easy access for trips into Europe, and of course, haggis and Irn Bru. Check this out for more.

🏪 Black Friday is global: While much of the west adopted Black Friday some years ago, wherever you are you might pick up some deals! Amazon dominates the Black Friday headlines, and ships almost anywhere, but most retailers will have something on offer if it’s time for a new laptop stand or carry-on!

DESTINATIONS
Popular nomad spots are on the WRONG list

Some popular spots aren’t what you expect

Fodor’s Travel is a long-respected publication, so when they produce a travel list it is worth taking note. While they focus on travel rather than digital nomadism, there is an obvious overlap.

Their 2025 “No List” is out, and in the 15 places they recommend to avoid there are a handful of popular digital nomad spots. Not to spoil the surprise, but Japan gets a bit of heat, a Thai island, and perhaps the Southeast Asian island EVERY nomad makes it to at some point (it’s probably less of a surprise this one is on the list though).

Do your experiences of these destinations align with their assessment?

Much of Fodor’s ire is grounded in over-tourism, so if crowds and social impact aren’t a concern of yours then these spots might still be appealing to you. There are some surprising entries, which could have been potential stops for many of you next year.

We covered some less-travelled hidden gems last week if you want to live a quieter life for a while.

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 share information to other nomads.

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

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

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

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

  • know a great event or place we might have missed

  • …just have a great digital nomad story!

HEALTH
Insurance cover, with a cause: the next visa revolution?

This week saw Safety Wing winning a recommendation at The Expat Choice Awards for health insurance.

Obviously, having health coverage while you are away is important, but Safety Wing is an interesting company in that they are also pioneers in the digital nomad scene as a whole.

They have a separate arm, Plumia - a think tank for international movement for workers. It already has plans for a multi-country visa program to launch next year.

Additionally, they have a payment card to pay for medical expenses in beta for users designed to streamline the insurance claim process. On top of this, they operate community meetups online for popular digital nomad spots, offering a great way to meet people in a location you are in or about to head to.

While they aren’t the only digital nomad insurance company out there - Genki also offer competitive packages - Safety Wing's commitment to digital nomadism is compelling.

POLL

How do you keep up with your favorite TV shows?

What service(s) do you use while nomadding?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

If you use a service like Netflix, you can get the most shows possible by using NordVPN and picking any country you like. They’ve a Black Friday deal on this week too…

BRAIN FOOD
What we’ve been recommended this week

Book - The Uncomfortable Truth: Change Your Life By Taming 10 of Your Mind's Greatest Fears; Anna Mathur. This book offers practical exercises, references, and stories that will help you accept life’s uncomfortable and unavoidable truths, and let’s be honest…there are plenty of them!

Movie - The West End hit retelling of the Wizard of Oz - Wicked - hit the screens this week. Starting to feel like Christmas movie season is upon us now!

TV - We’re a bit late to the party with this apparently, but Landman has a terrific cast and sounds a bit like Billionaires, but in Texas. Compelling TV, we’re told!

Podcast - Looking for a new podcast to dive into? Apple have published the most popular podcasts of 2024 and there is sure to be something on there you haven’t hit up yet.

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

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.

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!), there are wholesome activities throughout the week here.

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

THE DIGITAL RESOURCE

We’ve shared some useful resources over the first few weeks, and while you can access back issues here, several nomads 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, 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.

  • 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.

If you’re in Chiang Mai, these are some of the nomad favorites:

  • Healthy Junk is the go-to for healthy food if you are in Chiang Mai. Dine in, out or get it delivered.

  • Grab a coffee a few steps from Yellow at Toffee Roasters. Go and say hi to Tem, the owner, who is opening a sandwich joint next door in the coming weeks.

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

QUIZ
The Fall Inquisition
Fall is closing out in the northern hemisphere this week, but what do you know about this time of year?

  1. What was Autumn previously called?

  2. Who first used scarecrows to protect their crops?

  3. Which autumnal month has the year’s most childbirths?

  4. Pumpkins are what type of food?

  5. JFK was the first president to pardon which animal synonymous with Fall in the US?

  6. Which famous festival is held on 1st and 2nd November in Central America?

Answer below!

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].

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. Harvest; 2. The Egyptians; 3. September; 4. Fruit; 5. A turkey; 6. Day of the Dead

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