3 Foreigner-Friendly Digital Nomad Hubs With Conscious Communities in India: A Personal Guide

Post Covid19, offices have given way to flights and suits and ties to shorts and tshirts. Any place on earth with Wifi is a potential office and a new term has been birthed: 'digital nomad'.

But some places are better than the others when it comes to setting up a workspace and put down roots at, even for a short time.

I mean if one has an option to work from anywhere really, it doesn't have to be your ancestral village or the concrete jungle of the city you've gone to office in, is it?

Why India as a digital nomad hub?

Why India makes such a good, if less popular digital nomad hub is manyfold: Internet is fast and cheap (I mean it's the cheapest internet in the world at about $2 for a 30GB data pack and <$10 for a 300GB broadband connection), living in India itself can be pretty cheap, and there are beautiful villages, towns, and hill stations all around. What better than exploring a country with almost 50 UNESCO heritage sites, the highest mountain range, some of the most stunning beaches, vast rivers, and lush forests, and deeply cultural and spiritual moorings while doing your day job?

I'd go so far as to say: Move over hippie trail, we now have an updated version in the digital nomad trail in India.

I personally have been working remotely for half my career now and while that initially meant just staying at home in a big metro city and not going to an office -- mostly due to having two dogs --everything changed when they both passed away and I finally left a big city to come to the foothills of the Himalayas.

In the last 2 years, I've worked by the emerald waters of the Ganga, in the lap of the Himalayas, and spent many an evening sitting in straw shacks in Goa, the OG hippie capital of the world. And best on my own experiences, I can confidently say that the best digital nomad hubs in India with a strong conscious community are Rishikesh, Goa and Dharamkot. I've chosen these 3 spots based on criteria like:

1. Availability of affordable short term, no-commitment housing options

2. Presence of an international crowd and conscious communities

3. Abundance of cafes and activities to do

4. Nature and scenic views

5. Accessibility

Let's go over each of these Digital Nomad hubs and cover what they're all about, costs of living, and some pros and cons.

1. Rishikesh, Uttarakhand State, India

   
   

This one might be surprising to most. Rishikesh is better known as the yoga capital of the world is and not really popular as a digital nomad hub, but it's where my own journey as a digital nomad began. Even though I came here for a 23-day Yoga Teacher Training Course (TTC), it's along my classes that I realized it's a perfectly great place to also work from.

Not only does Rishikesh have the highest number of yoga schools and related activities (think meditation, healing, tantra, breathwork, and what have you), but its many charming cafes make it very conducive to squat and work from. Not to mention, one can find many short-term housing options with great views of the Ganga and/or the mountains (lower Himalayas) which make living in Rishikesh feel like being surrounded by nature, and modern life amenities, in equal measure.

Everyday essentials: There's ample supermarkets, fresh produce markets, hospitals, and even big malls closeby enough to stock up on everyday essentials. For the western travelers, there's enough imported stuff to get months by.

Transport: Dehradun airport is a domestic airport located an hour's drive away and the New Delhi International Airport is 4 hours by a taxi making it easy to get into and out. Most Indian cities within North India are a bus away.

Best areas to stay in Rishikesh:

Tapovan and Laxman Jhula; The parallel stretches of Tapovan and Laxman Jhula on either side of the Ganga river are thronging with yoga shalas, cafes, guesthouses, homestays, shops and temples. While Tapovan is more crowded, more touristy but also has more events, Laxman Jhula (at least until the new bridge starts) is the quieter side with beautiful ghats close to the river and almost all the cafes have a Ganga view.

Costs of living in Rishikesh:

• Housing: A simple studio in a building full of them, with a basic, chair and a small kitchenette would cost around $100-150/month. While a 1BHK (Bedroom Hall Kitchen) situation would be 50-60% more.

• Food: A one meal dish in a cafe costs around $2, a full meal with a side, main and a drink would be around $5. A meal made at home would be 1/4th of that.

• Getting around: Most places one needs to go to are within walking distance (Hardly anything over 2kms) so internal transport options really ain't needed but there are shared autorikshaws for about 25 cents a ride and a private taxi to say the railway/bus station would cost $5

What makes Rishikesh even more amazing to live in is it's location as a base for many amazing Himalayan treks that start here. Weekends will never be dull again! There's a reason even the Beatles couldn't resist the charm of this (then) obscure village by the Ganga and spent months jamming away in an ashram back in 1970.

If you're considering Rishikesh as digital nomad destination for a bit, here's a few pros and cons in brief:

Pros:

1. Abundance of yoga, meditation and spiritual activities.

2. In the middle of/close to nature

3. Many hiking and trekking spots

4. AMAZING cafes with vegan and healthy options

5. High on spiritual and positive vibes and energy

6. Great internet

7. Full of western tourists.

8. Vegetarian and alcohol-free (depending on how you look at it.)

Cons:

1. Getting more commercial by the day

2. Good houses are hard to get/expensive

3. No Uber/last mile transport could be an issue

4. Niche crowd (yoga/spiritual people)

5. Can be crowded and noisy on weekends

6. Vegetarian and alcohol free (depending on how you look at it.)

2. Dharamkot/Bhagsu, Himachal Pradesh, India

This erstwhile mountain village, hardly the size of a small English county has become synonymous with three things: Israelis, Tibetans, and digital nomads.

From a sleepy lil remote hippie outpost, the evolution of Dharamkot, just a few kms above Dharamshala and a couple of kilometers above McLeodganj, abode of the Dalai Lama and the in-exile Tibetan government, is one full of mystery and charm.

I hear it's during Covid when many Indians started coming to the hills and discovered the charms of Dharamkot. Soon enough, there was a full blown 25-room coworking and coliving space set up, with the board room overlooking the stunning 2000-meter high mountain ranges. All sorts of hipster, modern and boho cafes have been mushrooming since.

I first discovered Dharamkot a couple of years ago on a short weekend trip and couldn't believe such a place existed in India and wrote a 1000-word guide on it. A year later, I was back and this time I spent a couple of months in the place over the summer, drumming up most of this blog and my other freelance commitments at the many cafes of Dharamkot, as well as at my lovely homestay perched on what seemed like the last bit of land on the ridge.

Unlike Rishikesh, there's no Ganga or an overt spiritual or vibe to Dharamkot, but like Rishikesh, Dharamkot too is small enough to have a social scene, conscious community full of Westerners, (other than Israelis), has enough yoga studios to keep every muscle and chakra moving, and almost every cafe, house and shop has a view to die for.

What makes Dharamkot even more amazing is that other than yoga, there's a slew of workshops one could take up over hours or days and rack up skills like shells on the beach.

Think workshops for making your own silver jewelry, macrame, tshirt printing, wooden sculptures, and a lot more.

Best areas to stay in Dharamkot/Bhagsu

All of Dharamkot and most of Bhagsu are really a giant traveler + conscious community spread over a rather small space so it doesn't matter where you stay since you're a 10-15minute hike away from anywhere. But for those who prefer scenic views away from the crowds, Upper Dharamkot and Upper Bhagsu are the areas to be.

Costs of living in Dharamkot:

• Housing: A simple studio in a building full of them, with a basic, chair and a small kitchenette would cost around $175-250/month. One or two BHKs are hard to come by due to the limited flat land on a mountain village.

• Food: A one meal dish in a cafe costs around $3-4, a full meal with a side, main and a drink would be around $7-8. A meal made at home would be 1/4th of that.

• Getting around: Most of Dharamkot/Bhagsu is situated across levels of a mountain so there's barely any room for vehicles so your own two feet are your best bet. But a private cab to nearby places (say to Dharamshala) would cost $6.

  
  

If you're considering Dharamkot as a digital nomad destination for a bit, here's a few pros and cons in brief:

Pros:

1. International crowd

2. Mostly free of rowdy weekend crowds.

3. Scenic views

4. Many hiking and trekking spots

5. AMAZING cafes with vegan and healthy options

6. Full of craft and skill-based workshops

7. Great internet

8. Amazing summer hideout

9. Big on house, techno and trance music

Cons:

1. Seasonal. Can be hard to stay during the monsoons and winter months

2. Basic housing available. (Hardly any fully furnished 1BHKs.)

3. Not great for people who don't like walking/inclines

4. Remote. Multiple modes of transport needed (or one expensive taxi ride) to the nearest airport.

Goa

How could the OG hippie state not be a part of the digital nomad movement in India?

In fact it precedes even Covid as Goa has long been the retreat for Indians and foreigners alike, away or during work.

I know many freelancers who've been happily coding, writing or taking online music classes from the sunny beaches and the lush green villages of this former Portuguese colony for years.

But post Covid, the digital nomad potential of Goa has seen an altogether new life and digital nomad hubs within Goa have been blooming to say the least.

Since Goa is a state (even though smaller than the city of Bangalore), the digital nomad/traveler community is distributed in pockets across Goa.

For the more hippie and yoga side of Goa, Arambol in the north is full of amazing beach shacks where one could spend all day tucking into amazing cafe food and chugging beers, while getting your KPIs in order.

But for a decidedly more digital nomad dominant community, even if far from the beach, Siolim in the centre is the place to be.

Many bloggers, Youtubers, content creators and coders have taken up apartments in gated communities or shared villas and use them as coworking spaces. There are many dedicated pay-per-desk coworking spaces available too if a more reliable internet and a more comfortable office-like setup is desired.

Unlike Rishikesh, Goa is a no-holds barred place. Alcohol, meat and other intoxicants of choice flow freely and happily. But hey, if that's your scene, Goa is a perfectly good choice to be a digital nomad hub in.

Best areas to stay in Goa:

Arambol: For the most yoga and conscious communities and great beach shacks.

Palolem; For stunning beaches which are largely free of tourists

Siolim: The upcoming digital nomad hub with more remote workers whether Indian or Western.

Costs of living in Goa

• Housing: The best part is there's usually no deposit so renting for a short term is usually easy. Housing costs in Goa depend on proximity to the beach and views and the season. A one room house close to the beach or overlooking the sea during the high season times of Oct-March can easily cost upto $500 a month. In low season, it's usually half. The same house further away from the beach and into the city could also be half. There's plenty of 1BHKs and apartments in gated communities with swimming pools.

• Food: A one meal dish in a cafe costs around $-54, a full meal with a side, main and a drink would be around $7-8. A meal made at home would be 1/4th of that. Alcohol is cheap and a beer is usually $2 for a mug.

• Getting around: Even though Goa is a state, it's the size of a city. Still getting around can be painful as there's limited public transport and last mile connectivity is only possible through a private vehicle. The taxi world is largely dominated by a union of taxis which means high prices. The best way to get around Goa if you're solo or two people is really to rent a motorbike at $3-4 a day.

If you're considering Goa as digital nomad destination for a bit, here's a few pros and cons in brief:

Pros

1. International crowd (The OG hippie epicentre since the 60s)

2. Amazing beaches with beach SHACKS

3. Great cafes with beer, sea food and even vegan options.

4. Amazing during the winter and spring months

5. Two international airports in Goa

6. Big on house, techno and trance music

7. Easy availability of parties, workshops and big events like conferences and networking opportunities.

8. Easy to rent bikes and houses

9. Everyone speaks English

10. Great for religious Christians as around 30% of Goa is Christian and there's ample churches around

Cons:

1. Expensive (On average, a studio apartment 10 mins from the beach costs around $250/month.)

2. Summers are hot and humid

3. Powercuts are common

4. No Uber. Last mile connectivity is limited.

While I've chosen the above three destinations as the top digital nomad hubs based on factors like nature, availability of housing, internet, cafes and access, there's a few more areas in and around these which can be considered too if you prefer something less mainstream and more off the beaten path. For eg. Bir and Tirthan valley both of which are also in Himachal Pradesh have been gaining a reputation for great digital nomad spaces.

Similarly, Kochi in Kerala and Bangalore are two big cities which offer most modern and western conveniences to make bases for working remotely.