Bangkok is the world's second best city in which to work as a digital nomad because of its mix of accommodation, WiFi spots, transport and cuisine, according to a new study.
The study by the UK-based The Instant Group showed Bangkok beaten only by Lisbon, Portugal in the rankings. Bangkok's position was attributed to good local food, the availability of over 15,000 high-speed WiFi spots, good transport options as well as the cheapest accommodation available globally, averaging £27 (1,174 baht) a night for an Airbnb.
Key factors for flexible nomadic workspaces are affordability, weather, broadband speed, scenery and transport, with Bangkok scoring well in all these categories.
Many major tourist hotspots were ranked comparatively low on the list, including London, Paris and Venice which all appeared far below several unexpected winners such as Thessaloniki, Gothenburg and San Jose.
Meanwhile, over half the cities assessed in the study's top 60 are in Asia. Cities like Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Hong Kong offer travel experiences, scenery and food alongside connectivity, infrastructure and a manageable cost of living, the study notes.
For connectivity, Singapore boasted the fastest average broadband speed in the study, recorded at 256 Mbps, while Jakarta has over 97,000 WiFi hotspots across the city. There were already 35 million digital nomads worldwide in 2021.
