• Last year, Sarah Khan, 33, and her husband moved out and became digital nomads.
• So far, they've worked from Bali, Rome, Tuscany, Bangkok, Phuket, and Alicante.
• Bali has been her favorite place to work.

The Mediterranean sparkles to my left as I type from a foldable desk on the terrace of a cozy home in a quiet coastal town in Spain. Rolling green hills stretch to my right, framing the space that will be home for the next three months, until we pack up and move again.

It's been 12 months since my husband and I embarked on a nomadic life. We sold everything, ended our four-year apartment lease in Singapore, and boarded a one-way flight to Bali. Since then, we've worked from Bali, Rome, Tuscany, Bangkok, Phuket, and now the coast of Alicante in Spain.

Friends and fellow travelers often ask, "Where's your favorite place to work?" I'm sometimes hesitant to answer because it's so subjective. Choosing a base as a nomad involves a different set of criteria than picking a vacation spot. For me, factors such as community, longer-stay visas, reliable WiFi, easy access to nature, and a vibrant wellness scene are at the top of the checklist.

Still, if I had to choose, the place that stands out— and one I'd happily return to — is Bali.

I felt at home

Bali was my first port of call as a digital nomad, and I spent a happy four months working and living there.

Despite internet discourse about how "overrun" parts of the island have become, it remains my favourite place to work remotely to this day. Perhaps I'm biased — with my Indonesian roots and years of vacationing there, I feel instantly at home.

My husband and I chose Berawa as our base, a laidback neighbourhood just outside the buzz of Canggu. Located on Bali's southern coast, Canggu has transformed from a sleepy surf village into the island's hippest enclave, packed with trendy cafés and black sand beaches that draw yogis and surfers in equal measure.

This was my first time staying in Berawa, and it turned out to be the ideal spot for an extended stay. You get proximity to the action of Canggu without actually living in the thick of it. My two-bedroom villa, tucked down a quiet lane off a main road, placed me less than 10 minutes from central Canggu.

Bali's cost of living has crept up in recent years, but it still offered value for our longer stay. Our villa rent was $1,800 a month, which included a pool, fast WiFi, and weekly cleaning — less than half of what I'd paid for my apartment in Singapore.

A remote worker's dream setup

Bali was an easy place to get started on my nomad life. The island is exceptionally well-equipped for long stays: The WiFi is generally reliable, there are plenty of supermarkets and pharmacies available for daily necessities, and ride-hailing apps are affordable and convenient.

After a year on the road, I've come to appreciate how rare this combination is.

The island also boasts one of the best remote work ecosystems I've experienced, from coworking spaces such as Outpost and BWork to laptop-friendly cafés. I rotated through a few favourites: the workspace upstairs at Woods, Zin Cafe, and Lighthouse, a coworking café with beautiful rice field views and its own on-site podcast and video studio.

It's also easy to stay active and healthy in Bali. Gyms, yoga studios, and affordable massages are aplenty, especially around Berawa. And food options are great, from warungs serving fragrant local dishes to health-forward cafés and world-class restaurants.

When work felt overwhelming and I needed a break, I could hop on a scooter and be at the beach in minutes. There were also many options for weekend escapes: We managed trips to the pristine Nusa Lembongan and Ceningan islands and a day trip to serene Sidemen, and we explored the east coast's slower-paced beach towns such as Amed and Candidasa.

These experiences showed a quieter, more soulful side of Bali — one I'd missed on past short trips.

The downsides

Of course, no place is perfect. Traffic in Canggu can be chaotic, and the island's infrastructure is still catching up with its tourism growth. There's also a digital nomad community that, at times, can feel like a bubble and disconnected from authentic local life.

But once you find your rhythm and favourite nooks, it's easy to tune out the noise and settle into Bali's slower, softer pace.

I made it a point to skip the touristy spots, stay just outside the main areas, and design my life and routine around the kind of experience I wanted.

A year into nomadic living, I've felt uprooted, disoriented, and occasionally exhausted. But in Bali, I found a version of myself I liked: focused, centered, and rested.

• Sarah Khan, 33, and her husband both had flexible jobs and dreamed of living as digital nomads.
• Their rent getting doubled was the push they needed to pack up and go.
• It's been 10 months, and she's found that following this daily schedule helps her stay grounded.

Our landlord doubled our rent last year — it was the final push we needed to go remote.

My now-husband and I had been talking about it for years. We pictured ourselves spending long stretches living and working near beaches and nature. The desire only grew stronger during the quiet of the COVID lockdowns. But like many Singaporeans, we were tethered by the demands of our jobs and an apartment lease that kept our feet firmly homebound.

Not being able to afford our apartment was the perfect push.

After all, we had everything lined up: I'd been freelancing, as a content and editorial strategist, for a year, and my husband had a remote job. Being location-independent was feasible, and since we hadn't yet decided on starting a family, this window of freedom felt worth seizing.

We ended our lease, packed up, and took the plunge into nomadic living. Ten months in, we've made homes out of Bali, Rome, Tuscany, Bangkok, Phuket — and soon, Alicante, Spain — spending two to three months in each place.

Nature and novelty

There's no question: our life feels fuller now. In just a short time, we've packed in some amazing experiences: a digital detox retreat in Cambodia, train-hopping across Italy, staying on a farm near Rome, and hiking through national parks in Thailand. Even the mundane tasks — like grocery runs or riding a scooter to the gym — feel fresh and new.

More meaningfully, this year has given me a fresh lens on life and work.

I often felt pressure to follow a conventional script — buy a home, climb the corporate ladder, and have kids. But this journey opened my eyes to different possibilities of a life well-lived. We've met people building companies, writing books, and designing lives that prioritize meaning over milestones.

Working remotely has helped me dream bigger and embrace the idea that success doesn't have to be confined to one path.

Harder than expected

That said, this lifestyle isn't without its challenges. A few months in, the cracks began to show.

One big misconception about being a digital nomad is that it feels like a permanent vacation — that work plays second fiddle to leisure. Think: those laptop-on-the-beach shots. The reality is less glamorous: most days, you're indoors, working.

In the beginning, I constantly felt torn and caught in between: not quite in "vacation mode," but not working in a traditional sense either. I remember sitting in a hotel lobby in Ischia, watching vacationers frolic in the sea, while I stayed glued to my screen, powering through a 9-to-5 writing shift.

These days, I try to establish clearer boundaries. I accept that some days are for work and some are for play, and theme my days accordingly.

On paper, city-hopping sounded exhilarating; in reality, it often left me feeling scattered. Each new city brought wonder, yes, but came with a new round of logistics: finding a decent gym, adjusting to a new timezone, and resetting my workspace.

Just as I'd hit my stride, it was time to pack up again. The frequent travel can be disorienting, especially when you're balancing full-time work obligations and life admin.

Thankfully, we've since shifted to what's often called the "slomad" lifestyle, spending two to three months in each place. This slower pace has helped us find a rhythm that feels more sustainable, one where we can settle in and build routines.

A routine that travels with me

Working and traveling sounds like a dream — and in many ways, it is. But I've also learned how essential it is to stay grounded in daily rituals.

Noticing how my productivity and well-being often took a hit, especially when adjusting to a new city or timezone, I realized I needed a "transferrable routine" — something simple but effective that I could recreate anywhere.

After lots of trial and error, I've used Notion, a productivity app, to set this daily rhythm:

• 6:30 a.m. meditation and yoga
• Breakfast with my husband at our favorite local café
• 1 outreach or visibility action (e.g. following up with client leads)
• 30 minutes of focused writing
• Movement (typically strength training or Pilates)
• Reading fiction and/or catching up on favorite Substacks
• Wrapping up work by 5:30 p.m. so we can squeeze in a sunset swim
• A FaceTime or text with someone back home

Most tasks only take 10 to 30 minutes, but together, they help me stay grounded, healthy, and aligned with my bigger goals without getting overwhelmed. They eliminate decision fatigue as I find my footing in a new environment, keep me consistent with what matters, and make each new place feel a little more like home.

As someone attempting to build a career while on the road, this routine gives me the structure and space to do meaningful work and move my projects along, without constantly feeling like I'm playing catch-up.

Moving forward

My husband and I originally committed to this lifestyle for a year. Ten months in, and despite the challenges of being nomadic, we're not quite ready to stop, so we've decided to extend it for at least half a year.

Though I miss the comfort and familiarity of a permanent base, we're excited to keep exploring.

Thankfully, this time, I feel better equipped to stay grounded, even in flux.