This list is for the smaller overlap between our readers who need to keep working while they're abroad and those chasing the best possible dating scene — cities where a stable internet connection and a real coworking option aren't an afterthought. It scores every rankable city in our database on cost of living, safety, English proficiency, internet speed and coworking-space density, weighted 25/20/20/20/15.
Internet speed and coworking counts deserve an honest caveat up front, even though both are now real, sourced figures for all 41 cities in our database (updated September 2026): internet speed is each country's median fixed-broadband download speed from Ookla's Speedtest Global Index, not a city-specific number, since we couldn't reliably source city-by-city broadband data for most of these countries. Coworking-space counts are per-city listing totals from Coworker.com, rounded to the nearest 5 — a real but self-reported directory count, not a full census. See the methodology below and DATA_SOURCES.md for the exact sourcing.
Eastern European capitals do well here on the strength of cheap, reliable EU infrastructure and solid English, alongside Southeast Asia's established nomad hubs and a couple of higher-cost, higher-reliability options (Singapore, Dubai) for anyone who'd rather pay more and worry less.
| # | City | Best for | Dating | Safety | English | Cost / mo | Remote-work score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kuala Lumpur 🇲🇾 Malaysia | English speakers, Remote work, Easy visa | 7 | 7.5 | 8.5 | $800 | 8.2 |
| 2 | Davao City 🇵🇭 Philippines | English speakers, Tight budgets, Remote work | 8 | 7.5 | 9 | $500 | 8.0 |
| 3 | Dubai 🇦🇪 UAE | English speakers, Safety first, Remote work | 7 | 9 | 9 | $2,000 | 7.8 |
| 4 | Krakow 🇵🇱 Poland | Tight budgets, Safety first, Remote work | 7.5 | 8.5 | 7 | $700 | 7.6 |
| 5 | Taipei 🇹🇼 Taiwan | Safety first, Remote work, Easy visa | 7 | 9 | 7 | $1,100 | 7.6 |
| 6 | Warsaw 🇵🇱 Poland | Safety first, Remote work | 7 | 8 | 7 | $900 | 7.5 |
| 7 | Lisbon 🇵🇹 Portugal | English speakers, Safety first, Remote work | 7.5 | 8.5 | 8 | $1,200 | 7.5 |
| 8 | Bucharest 🇷🇴 Romania | Tight budgets, Remote work, Easy visa | 8 | 7 | 7.5 | $700 | 7.5 |
| 9 | Ho Chi Minh City 🇻🇳 Vietnam | Tight budgets, Remote work | 8 | 7 | 5.5 | $700 | 7.5 |
| 10 | Hanoi 🇻🇳 Vietnam | Tight budgets, Remote work | 7.5 | 7.5 | 5 | $600 | 7.4 |
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Southeast Asia · remote-work score 8.2/10
Why Kuala Lumpur ranks #1
Kuala Lumpur pairs the strongest English proficiency of any Southeast Asian city here (8.5/10) with solid safety (7.5/10) at a moderate cost (~$800/mo) — a genuinely easy city to get admin and banking done in without a translator.
Where to base yourself: KLCC, Bangsar, Mont Kiara, Bukit Bintang. Apps that work: Tinder, Bumble, Coffee Meets Bagel, Tantan.
Watch out for: Snatch theft (Moderate severity).
Davao City, Philippines
Southeast Asia · remote-work score 8.0/10
Photo: Patrickroque01 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Why Davao City ranks #2
Davao City tops this list on the strength of low cost (~$500/mo), high safety (7.5/10) and the best English proficiency of any city here (9/10) — a call with a US client rarely needs a translator. Our data lists 110 Mbps (a country-level figure); the coworking scene is real but thin compared with Manila's or Cebu's, and the directories we use don't cover it well.
Where to base yourself: Ecoland, Matina, Lanang, Poblacion. Apps that work: Tinder, Filipino Cupid, Bumble.
Watch out for: Strict smoking laws (Low severity).
Dubai, UAE
Middle East · remote-work score 7.8/10
Photo: Norlando Pobre · CC BY 2.0
Why Dubai ranks #3
Dubai offers a solid coworking scene (190 listed spaces) with top-tier safety (9/10) and English (9/10), at one of the highest costs of living on this list (~$2000/mo) and a working week that runs Sunday to Thursday.
Where to base yourself: Dubai Marina, JBR, Downtown Dubai, Business Bay. Apps that work: Tinder, Bumble, Happn, OkCupid.
Watch out for: Strict morality laws (Moderate severity).
Krakow, Poland
Eastern Europe · remote-work score 7.6/10
Photo: Andrzej Otrębski · CC BY-SA 4.0
Why Krakow ranks #4
Kraków combines a low cost of living (~$700/mo) with strong safety (8.5/10) and good English (7/10) around its large student and startup population, in a EU time zone that overlaps most of a US East Coast workday's morning.
Where to base yourself: Old Town, Kazimierz, Podgórze, Krowodrza. Apps that work: Tinder, Bumble, Badoo, Sympatia.
Watch out for: Drink spiking in clubs (Low severity).
Taipei, Taiwan
East Asia · remote-work score 7.6/10
Photo: 毛貓大少爺 · CC BY-SA 2.0
Why Taipei ranks #5
Taipei pairs strong safety (9/10) with good English among younger residents (7/10) at a moderate cost (~$1100/mo), though its coworking scene (115 listed spaces) is smaller than Bangkok's or Mexico City's.
Where to base yourself: Da'an, Xinyi, Zhongshan, Songshan. Apps that work: Tinder, Bumble, Pairs, Coffee Meets Bagel.
Watch out for: Typhoon season (Moderate severity).
Warsaw, Poland
Eastern Europe · remote-work score 7.5/10
Photo: Emptywords · CC BY-SA 4.0
Why Warsaw ranks #6
Warsaw offers solid safety (8/10) and English (7/10) at a moderate cost (~$900/mo), with Poland's strong EU-adjacent startup and IT sector behind it and a real, listed coworking scene (95 spaces) to match.
Where to base yourself: Śródmieście, Mokotów, Wola, Praga. Apps that work: Tinder, Bumble, Badoo, Sympatia.
Watch out for: Winter ice/snow hazards (Low severity).
Lisbon, Portugal
Western Europe · remote-work score 7.5/10
Photo: Vitor Oliveira from Torres Vedras, PORTUGAL · CC BY-SA 2.0
Why Lisbon ranks #7
Lisbon is one of Europe's established digital-nomad hubs, with a large listed coworking scene (120 spaces) and English at 8/10. Safety (8.5/10) is strong; cost (~$1200/mo) is the highest of any city in this top group, and Portugal's D7/digital nomad visa route is well-trodden for exactly this use case.
Where to base yourself: Príncipe Real, Chiado, Bairro Alto, Santos. Apps that work: Tinder, Bumble, Happn, Inner Circle.
Watch out for: Pickpocketing on tram 28 (Moderate severity).
Bucharest, Romania
Eastern Europe · remote-work score 7.5/10
Photo: Madalin Pentelie · CC0
Why Bucharest ranks #8
Bucharest pairs a low cost of living (~$700/mo) with the strongest English of any Eastern European city on this list (7.5/10) and solid safety (7/10) — an EU time zone at a fraction of Lisbon's or Prague's cost.
Where to base yourself: Sector 1, Herastrau, Floreasca, Cotroceni. Apps that work: Tinder, Badoo, Bumble, Tagged.
Watch out for: Stray dogs in some areas (Low severity).
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Southeast Asia · remote-work score 7.5/10
Why Ho Chi Minh City ranks #9
Ho Chi Minh City lands 9th here on a mix of cost (~$700/mo), safety (7/10) and English (5.5/10); our data lists 282 Mbps of internet and 110 coworking spaces there.
Where to base yourself: District 1, District 2 (Thao Dien), District 7, Binh Thanh. Apps that work: Tinder, Bumble, Vietnam Cupid, Badoo.
Watch out for: Motorbike accidents (High severity).
Hanoi, Vietnam
Southeast Asia · remote-work score 7.4/10
Photo: Quangnlnhe182394 · CC0
Why Hanoi ranks #10
Hanoi lands 10th here on a mix of cost (~$600/mo), safety (7.5/10) and English (5/10); our data lists 282 Mbps of internet and 75 coworking spaces there.
Where to base yourself: Tay Ho, Ba Dinh, Hoan Kiem, Hai Ba Trung. Apps that work: Tinder, Bumble, Vietnam Cupid, Badoo.
Watch out for: Bag snatching by motorbike (Moderate severity).
Honorable mentions
Just outside the top 10. Each is a strong pick if its trade-offs suit you.
How we ranked this list
Every rankable city in our database is scored on cost of living (25%, via the same affordability curve used across this site), safety (20%), English proficiency (20%), internet speed in Mbps (20%) and coworking-space count (15%). Internet speed is each country's median fixed-broadband download speed from Ookla's Speedtest Global Index (accessed via Wikipedia's dated mirror of that data, since Speedtest.net's own city-level pages weren't reliably reachable for this update) — a country-wide figure applied uniformly to every city in that country, not a city-specific measurement, so treat it as a proxy for national broadband infrastructure rather than a guarantee for any one neighborhood or building. Coworking-space counts are the number of listings on Coworker.com for that city as of September 2026, rounded to the nearest 5 — a real, city-specific figure, but a self-reported directory count rather than a full census. Both fields used to carry a flat placeholder value across most of the site's 41 cities; now that they're real and sourced, we raised their combined weight from 25% to 35%, taken evenly from cost and safety, while still keeping them under cost, safety and English combined. See DATA_SOURCES.md in the repo for the full per-field sourcing and the header comment in data/cities.ts for the exact date each figure was pulled.
Cities under an active government "do not travel" advisory (Kyiv, currently) are excluded regardless of score. Nothing on this list is sponsored; see the full method and the cost of living calculator for a budget specific to your situation.
Frequently asked questions
How is this ranking calculated?+
A weighted score: cost of living 25%, safety 20%, English proficiency 20%, internet speed 20%, coworking-space count 15%. Internet and coworking still carry a lower combined weight than cost, safety and English — see the next question.
Why don't internet speed and coworking space count for more?+
Internet speed here is each country's median fixed-broadband download speed from Ookla's Speedtest Global Index, not a city-specific measurement — we couldn't reliably source city-by-city broadband figures for most of these countries, so every city in a given country gets that country's number. Coworking-space counts are real, per-city listing totals from Coworker.com, rounded to the nearest 5, but a directory listing is an approximation of a city's coworking scene, not a full census. Both are real, sourced figures now (see the methodology below), which is why we raised their combined weight from 25% to 35% versus the placeholder-era version of this page — but the country-level and directory-count caveats are why they still sit under cost, safety and English.
Does a high score here guarantee fast, reliable internet?+
No — treat the internet figure as a rough guide, not a guarantee, and always have a backup (a local eSIM with hotspot data, or a second coworking space) for anything client-facing. Building-by-building fiber quality varies within every city on this list.
What about time zones?+
We don't score time zone directly since it depends entirely on where your clients or employer are, but each city's write-up below notes roughly which regions its working hours overlap best.
Which of these cities have an actual digital-nomad visa?+
Several: Portugal (D7/digital nomad visa) for Lisbon and Barcelona's Spain equivalent, plus a Colombia digital-nomad visa covering Medellín and Bogotá, and Thailand's Destination Thailand Visa (DTV) covering Bangkok and Chiang Mai. See our visa requirements page for current details and official sources before applying.
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