👩‍💻 Digital Nomads

Breaking down 30 Latin American cities that rank prominently for remote living.

So…it was a busy weekend in Mexico City.

In case you missed it, hundreds of locals marched on Friday across Mexico’s capital and largest city in protest of a spike in mass tourism and digital nomads which began a few years back with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The chilangos carried signs raging against the rising cost of living and gentrification across their city, in particular in sought-after neighborhoods like Condesa, Polanco, and Roma. They demanded stricter housing laws and regulation.

While Mexico City may be seeing the most virulent response to the influx of digital nomads since 2020, it’s far from the only metropolis attracting these remote workers. Across Latin America, teleworkers have traded in high US or European prices for sun, good food, and cheaper rents.

Let’s take a look at which places in our region they like the most, according to nomads.com, a site that helps them connect.

Top-ranked LatAm cities for digital nomad:

In fact, the world-famous carioca beaches of Leblon and Ipanema, classical architecture of Buenos Aires, and sensational food scene of São Paulo have all attracted international workers to come and establish their residency.

Governments across the region – including Mexico – have rolled out the red carpet for these foreigners (with their dollar- and euro-denominated salaries), with Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Panama among the countries which have established a digital nomad visa in recent years. Colombia has one in the pipeline.

And high, reliable internet speed has even brought some internationals to cities off the beaten path like Uruguay’s Punta del Este or Brazil’s Curitiba.

Is there a perfect balance to be found between attracting people to your city while not pricing out locals? Is there a way Mexico City, as the top-ranked nomad city in the region, can avoid the struggles of peers like Barcelona?