Felicia Melody is a writer with a background in international relations, media, and culture. They are also a beauty content creator specialising in makeup and fragrances.

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Ball out like a real hustler for cheap? Luxury is not just a dream for the millions of global workers who identify as digital nomads. Fresh coconuts by the beach at a villa in Bali, Indonesia, luxury massages overlooking scenic nature in Phuket, Thailand, free wifi everywhere downtown in Da Nang, Vietnam – digital nomads rank Southeast Asian (SEA) countries consistently among their top choices for remote work. 

ETHRWorld

 “Southeast Asia is popular for its hospitality, weather, environment, and nature. It’s a huge attraction for many. Especially on social media, such as Instagram, (the region) is very exposed as this paradisiacal location to a lot of people,” says Luke Coupland, property developer and consultant at TIBA Living. 

Interview with Luke Coupland conducted by the author

United States nationals account for nearly half of the global population of digital nomads at a striking 46%. 

Nomad List

 The worldwide economic contribution of digital nomads is estimated to be $787 billion annually, with a significant portion of this value coming from cross-border money transfers in underdeveloped nations. 

Harvard International Review

 “Indonesia aims to have a 6 to 7% economic growth. For it to expand as much, we’ll need to utilise as much investment as possible,” says Idil Syawfi, international relations and foreign policy lecturer at Parahyangan Catholic University. 

Interview with Idil Syawfi conducted by the author

 According to Nomad List's State of Digital Nomads 2024 report, the typical digital nomad makes a median yearly income of $85,000.

The flexibility that remote work provides led to a 131% increase in digital nomads from 2019 to 2022 in America alone, totalling over 17 million US citizens. 

MBO Partners

 Buffer’s 2023 State of Remote Work data found that 70% of global workers surveyed think that working from home makes them more focussed than working in an office. 

Buffer, Nomad List, and Remote OK

Meanwhile, 79% of manager respondents in Owl Labs' 2023 State of Hybrid Work report believe a remote or hybrid work setup increases team productivity. 

Owl Labs

 Aside from the beneficial exchange rates for these workers, which allow them to afford plenty more than an average local, visas for digital nomads are slowly being made available by some SEA countries. 

Nomad Girl

 The first country in Asia to launch a full-fledged digital nomad permit was Malaysia in October 2022. 

Nikkei Asia

A similar project was launched by the Indonesian government in December 2022. Called the ‘Second Home Visa,’ foreign nationals may be granted said visa to enter Indonesia without the intention of working but for a long-term stay period of five to 10 years if they meet the minimum IDR 2 billion (about $128,253) bank deposit requirement. 

ASEAN Briefing

 How does the holiday lifestyle work out for digital nomads and locals in the countries they stay in?

Currently, Malaysia’s De Rantau visa is marketed as a 

 promising to build communities for foreign workers. The applicant must operate in the digital space as a full-time remote employee, independent contractor, or freelancer in order to qualify. Notably, the primary industry targeted is information technology (IT), which includes digital marketing, software development, cybersecurity specialists, and digital content creators. 

Free Malaysia Today

To support this new industry, the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) collaborates with Airbnb, listing over 600 certified listings catered to digital nomads. Situated in popular tourist destinations such as Penang, Johor Bahru, Langkawi, and Kuala Lumpur, these accredited hotels will provide basic facilities that are ideal for digital nomads. For stays of one month or more, the amenities include designated workplaces, dependable WiFi, fully functional kitchens, and laundry facilities. 

Web in Travel

Additionally, De Rantau visa holders also get to enjoy discounts on flights by AirAsia. 

Ministry of Communications Malaysia

 Many in the SEA region have similar programs to improve digital innovations. On the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Global Innovation Index (GII) 2023, Singapore ranked 5th overall, followed by Malaysia at 36th, Thailand at 43rd, and Vietnam at 46th. Being Asia's highest-ranked country, Singapore, a financial hub and global innovation powerhouse, scored highly in terms of venture capital received, government efficacy, and business stability. 

Visual Capitalist

 These countries partly welcome digital nomads to foster innovation and continue growing relevant tech industries.

Asia, as a whole, has long been very online. In many parts of SEA, the average amount of time spent on social media surpasses the worldwide average of two hours and 23 minutes. In the Philippines, it’s three hours and 34 minutes, in Indonesia, it’s three hours and 11 minutes, in Malaysia, it’s two hours and 48 minutes, in Thailand, it’s two hours and 31 minutes, and in Vietnam, it’s two hours and 25 minutes. 

Campaign Asia

 Multiple countries in SEA reported having an internet penetration of over 75% in 2022, with Brunei having the highest total at 119.7% due to locals using multiple internet subscriptions. 

Statista

Many digital nomads maintain effective and financially stable lifestyles, particularly those who work as freelancers or part-time employees. Their top priorities include workplaces, fitness facilities, and reasonably priced lodging with access to high-speed internet. Major draws also include a sense of belonging and community involvement. “Although digital nomads usually travel by themselves, this doesn’t imply that they want to be by themselves,” explained Roberto Abusada, strategy and tech manager at HOMA, a Thailand-based developer focussed on co-living spaces to PropertyGuru. “We’ve discovered that community is a central pillar for engagement with our company and within the nomad community. As such, we host networking events, off-site outings, movie nights, and many curated fitness options.” 

Asia Property Awards

With the desire to stay flexible, plenty of digital nomads can opt to rent a room on a monthly basis at a co-living place where they can move frequently. “You’ll still see a lot of foreign nationals, who despite plans to stay for a long period, rent on a monthly basis- mainly for the flexibility of it,” says Coupland. “A lot of people do take yearly rentals, but not in the main locations. More residential areas just outside of touristy spots because that’s where there’s any level of affordability for longer term rentals.” 

 A simple search online will point out that digital nomads usually find accommodation through Airbnb. Leading real estate expert Marciano Birjmohun predicts that the rental market in Bali will witness an increase in long-term leases as well as more high-quality options for digital nomads owing to tax incentives on their personal income, and because there is no entry threshold, a wider range of nomads with varying income levels may enjoy the Indonesian island, which increases demand for rental properties at various price ranges. 

An increasing number of businesses are looking at less expensive options, such as remote work or coworking spaces, in response to the rising cost of office space. Due to this tendency, office occupancy rates have decreased as a result of a notable rise in supply without a commensurate increase in demand. A report by The Instant Group found that Singapore had the most requests for flexible workplaces in the Asia-Pacific region in 2022, with the demand for these spaces increasing by 25% between 2021 and 2022. However, the supply increased by just 3% in the same period. This has partly been the cause for rising prices for flexible workspaces in the country, reportedly increasing by 15% in Q1 2023 compared to the entire year of 2022. This, in turn, caused a 44% decrease in demand for flexible workspaces compared to the previous quarter, but even with the rate hike, there were 15% more transactions for flexible workspaces during Q1 2023 than there were during the previous quarter. 

The Straits Times

 On the other hand, Malaysia has an oversupply of office space in its capital, Kuala Lumpur, and the Klang Valley area. After the pandemic, unoccupied office space reached 33 million square feet. 

Tech Collective

 Office spaces are rethinking their role as the business landscape changes. Knight Frank, a property consultancy, found that in the coming years, there could be a tendency toward less office space, which might result in cost savings. The changing nature of work dynamics post-pandemic has forced businesses of all sizes to move to more adaptable and economical locations, and multinational employers have had to reevaluate their office space policies. Nonetheless, there is still a high demand for flexible work environments like coworking spaces.

Nine of the 10 most popular destinations for digital nomads are coastal nations with low gross national income per capita (at least, compared to said digital nomad’s budget). Countries chosen are usually ones with major airports, serving as an entry point to the region for the travellers. 

A Brother Abroad

 Most digital nomads consider the low cost of living and relatively good quality of life as top considerations in choosing their destination. 

 Workers ranging from corporate executives to freelancers contemplating a career as a digital nomad find the concept of living a ‘holiday lifestyle’ appealing in this trend of ‘bleisure,’ or business leisure. Nearly half (46%) of digital nomads come from the US, and the rest are similarly from the global West. Ranking second is the United Kingdom at 7%, followed by Russia and Canada at 5%, Germany at 4%, and France at 3%. 

 “They have a lot more purchasing power here (in Southeast Asia). People want this island paradise kind of thing. The thought of having cleaners, maids, (and) weekly massages is something only the very wealthy can do back home. Some want to have this comfortable holiday lifestyle,” says Coupland. 

Many of the bleisure travellers spend a longer amount of time in the region as well, given that they have spent a lot of time on the journey. In the UK, 45% of locals stated they planned to include leisure time on work travels in the future. 37% of North American corporate travellers in 2021 extended their business travels to include sightseeing and other leisure activities. Globally, 82% of travel managers said their teams were now just as eager, if not more so, to incorporate leisure time into their post-pandemic business travels. The same group also reported that 41% of their colleagues are requesting to extend their business trips for personal use. 

Travel Perk

33% of American workers are more worried about their physical, mental, and emotional health since the pandemic. This enhanced their understanding of the advantages of bleisure travel for their wellbeing. 86% of workers believe that leisure travel is essential for advancing one's career and preserving business ties. Companies frequently accommodate the majority of business travel expenditures. Hence bleisure travellers can negotiate a reduced rate for a longer stay. Unlike traditional business trips, most of these journeys allow employees to bring along their friends or family. Bleisure travel has a positive correlation with employee satisfaction as it allows employees to unwind before going back to work. 

RMC Asia

Integrate digital nomads with the local community

By moving to low-cost countries while keeping high-paying jobs based in stronger economies, the digital nomad lifestyle essentially 

 This phenomenon is called ‘geoarbitrage,’ a term coined by Tim Ferriss by combining the words ‘geographic’ and ‘arbitrage.’ Quoting from Frayed Passport, the idea of geoarbitrage is “moving to a place with a lower cost of living while maintaining or increasing your income, which could come from full-time work, self-employment, investments, or whatever else brings home the dollar bills.” 

Frayed Passport

 While possibly good for the economy, it could drive up prices and negatively impact local communities whose earnings remain the same. “Scholars are concerned with how the government heavily prioritises economic growth, especially on its reliance of foreign income. The question then arrives to whether the social aspect also becomes neglected,” says Syawfi. 

 In places such as Bali, where brands have to compete with foreign-owned businesses, there is no guarantee that said cash will be directly going to local communities. Tourism can affect up to 80% of the island’s economy, which could be imbalanced by gentrification. 

Face Company

 One solution is to tap into the growing digital nomad community while consciously integrating local businesses. For example, the Malaysian government tapped local brands like TapawFood as ‘ecosystem partners,’ which will assist digital nomads with food delivery services. This relationship promotes and drives Malaysian businesses while also accommodating digital nomads. 

 Brands could consider partnering with locally integrated on-demand multi-service networks to cultivate already existing ecosystems.

Internet access is one of the main issues faced by remote workers in SEA since more isolated places like islands or rural regions may have limited or unreliable connectivity. 26% of digital nomads said that having internet access when working remotely in SEA was a significant issue. 

KrAsia

Despite the challenges, Malaysia aims to have 80,000 digital nomads by 2025. Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) chief executive officer Mahadhir Aziz states that through the De Rantau nomad pass, digital nomads and De Rantau hubs can provide direct feedback on the connectivity throughout the country, tracking said digital infrastructure better benefiting both visiting foreigners and locals. 

 Dedicating targeted structural growth may also help residents to be a part of a digitised economy and/or even participate in a functional, global, remote work environment from where they are. “Free public Wi-Fi would be a good addition, but also having Wi-Fi access is a selling point for a cafe/coworking space here (in Bali). So they’d have to consider the balance to not affect the local businesses,” says Coupland. 

While WiFi may not always be available, the option to use eSIMs allows users to switch between different carriers, making connectivity as seamless as ever. Plenty of providers now also offer regional eSIMs, which simplifies things for travellers and nomads.

As an industry with such high turnover rates and relatively low permanence in its essence, the digital nomad lifestyle can be lonesome for many. “Relationships, in a networking sense, are so much more intense,” Coupland explains. “Having a more permanent sense of community is certainly something people crave. That’s why when connections are formed, it’s always, ‘let’s start a business together,’ ‘let’s do an event, a brand.’” 

 This is where coworking spaces can come in, offering communal spaces such as pantries and lounges, encouraging interaction with those within one’s vicinity. The popularity of coworking spaces is shown by transactions related to flexible workplaces rising by 15% in Singapore, despite rising costs. 

 In Bali, you’ll often find ads online and IRL on ‘community nights’ hosted by various offline venues – bars, coworking spaces, restaurants, and hostels. These events allow nomads to meet peers alike and connect, whether for social or business purposes. At the end of the day, we live in a post-pandemic reality where physically interacting with other people has become even more appreciated than before. Nomads exchange information on everything from visa policies to lodging suggestions and the best local cafés with dependable Wi-Fi. 

Digital Nomads Asia

The typical digital nomad makes a median yearly income of 

The worldwide economic contribution of digital nomads is estimated to be 

 of the digital nomad population comes from the United States, with the United Kingdom ranking second at 

Southeast Asia (SEA) is the top destination for digital nomads, a region famous for its hospitality, tropical weather, and affordability for Westerners

Countries in SEA are beginning to make provisions for digital nomads, including special visas and catered accommodations

Flexibility in work pace and place has made ‘bleisure’ (business leisure) sought after by many workers globally

Luke Coupland is a property developer and consultant at TIBA Living. Originating from the UK, he has been actively involved in the digital nomad scene of Bali over the last three years.

Idil Syawfi is a lecturer at Parahyangan Catholic University and the director of the Parahyangan Center for International Studies (PACIS). His extensive background in international relations, specifically foreign policy and strategic studies, has led to various activities related to security sector reformation in Indonesia. He also has multiple publications in academia over his career in the last decade.

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Remote work has spread over the last 10 years, allowing many professionals seeking flexibility and comfort to try working from anywhere. Known as digital nomads, remote workers who live in Southeast Asia (SEA) aim to earn the most they can while affording luxury where it’s much cheaper.

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