We share insights with Employee Benefit News on what drives digital nomads and other nomadic workers to specific places around the country.
June 13, 2022
We know that employees can do their work from just about anywhere. But can one location still be better than the next?
In 2019, there were 7.3 million Americans who identified as digital nomads, according to MBO Partners’ annual State of Independence report. By 2021, prompted by the pandemic, the number of transient workers surged to 15.5 million.
“Nomadic workers are people that have a certain specialty,” says Carlos Ambisambra, president and CEO of Travelers Haven, a housing solution for nomadic workers. “And the reason they’re nomadic is because the places that they’re going to work typically don’t have those skill sets at the volume that they need, so they need [the freedom] to bring that particular skill set to work on certain projects for certain periods.”
Read More: Airbnb for work: Could providing employees with flexible housing be the next big benefit?
Of course, being able to work from anywhere comes with some requirements, including reliable internet and affordable housing options. Housing insights platform House Method recently analyzed 100 of the largest cities and ranked them according to eight factors, including availability of co-working spaces, WiFi speeds, Airbnb prices and the number of restaurants and bars in the area.
In the bottom five are Fresno, California; Memphis, Tennessee; Austin, Texas; Bakersfield, California and Henderson, Nevada. These cities (with the exception of Memphis) scored particularly poorly on cost of living factors, according to the report’s findings.
Find out what cities made the top 10 for 2022 here:
1. Saint Paul, Minnesota
Overall score: 85.1/130
2. Arlington, Texas
Overall score: 84.6/13
3. Tampa, Florida
Overall score: 78.4/130
4. Chandler, Arizona
Overall score: 76/130
5. Boston, Massachusetts
Overall score: 75.5/130
6. Minneapolis, Minnesota
Overall score: 73.2/130
7. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Overall score: 72.2/130
8. Gilbert, Arizona
Overall score: 71.8/130
9. Baltimore, Maryland
Overall score: 70.8/130
10. Boise, Idaho
Overall score: 70.2/130
Author: Travelers HavenJune 14, 2022Business Travel Insider