Developing an App Like Nomad List for Remote Workers Living & Traveling Globally

As a digital nomad, working remotely has several benefits. Perhaps you aspire to be a nomad entrepreneur but need a digital nomad business to get you started. Or, you are already a digital nomad seeking a change in your career. Several thriving digital nomad firms may help you achieve this goal. Digital nomads operate effectively remotely in every area imaginable, from creative industries and technology to healthcare and commerce.

However, certain business ideas for digital nomads are more readily suited to the digital nomad lifestyle than others. You will discover many digital nomads, photographers, authors, and digital product sellers, more so than in other areas.

According to recent research, more than 15.5 million American employees now identify as “digital nomads,”. These individuals are embracing a lifestyle that allows them to work remotely and live anywhere, whether working from home or touring the globe. This is a 112 percent rise from 2019 and a 42 percent increase from 2020 to 2021. And this number will likely increase: A recent poll by FlexJobs revealed that just 3% of workers would choose to return to the workplace full-time during the epidemic.

While this is a common approach to operating as a digital nomad, most digital nomads focus their energies on a single source of income. The digital nomad lifestyle in a less expensive city or nation is a fantastic approach to establishing the business you’ve always wanted while reducing your living expenses. 

We have comprehensively studied Go Nomad’s existing business strategy to provide a clear perspective on digital nomad company concepts and lifestyle.

Who and What Are Digital Nomads?

Living The Dream? 

When people hear the term “digital nomad,” they think of a young, attractive person working on their laptop on a tropical beach next to a drink with an umbrella. We can promise you that the real world has a few more shades. 

First of all, let’s face it: even if you can ignore the distractions, pull off the ocean, and concentrate on your work, you won’t be able to see your screen because of the sun. The romanticized version of digital nomadism is often the first thing that comes to mind when someone thinks about it.

Reality Looks Like This. 

A digital nomad works full-time or part-time from home while traveling to new places. Digital nomads often work from public libraries, coworking spaces, and coffee shops by connecting their laptops, smartphones, or tablets to the Wi-Fi hubs or hotspots in these places. 

As a digital nomad, you don’t have to work from 9 am to 5 pm like most people. Instead, you can make your own schedule. This way of life also lets you travel. For example, digital nomads often live in Lisbon, New York City, Playa del Carmen, and Medelln.

What’s the History of Remote Work and Digital Nomadism?

With vaccines rolling out and workers beginning to make decisions in a post-pandemic reality, an increasing With medicines being distributed, and employees beginning to make judgments in a post-pandemic world, a growing number of individuals may choose the digital nomad lifestyle and not simply young workers posing under palm palms. Globally, the growth of a significant new population of traveling remote employees is one of the dominant theme of the Covid-19-reformed work environment. 

Major companies in the travel sector have taken steps that support this forecast. Even after the era of social distancing retreats’ has come to an end, Airbnb has moved its focus from short-term accommodations to long-term rentals — a month or more – for vacations and workcations. The remote-work genie is out of the bottle: employees seek mobility more than ever before and have more resources than ever before to do so. 

However, according to other experts, we shouldn’t anticipate everyone we know to up and leave: only some groups of employees in certain occupations will be able to embrace a digitally nomadic existence, leaving others behind truly. Also unknown is the number of people who will really jump if given the opportunity. Many ‘traditional’ professionals have already begun to adopt digitally mobile labor arrangements during the epidemic. From Sweden to the United States, employees have flocked to Wi-Fi-equipped cabins and cottages to work remotely on lockdown-friendly, manager-approved staycations. “Quarantine flats” and “social distancing retreats” attracted distant employees from great distances who want more space for a few weeks or months. 

The digital nomad population in the United States is projected to increase by 50 percent from 2019 to mid-2020, from 7.3 million to 10.9 million.

What Is Nomad List? 

Nomad List: A Recipe For Happiness For Both Employees And Their Employers

“Technology firm that provides the infrastructure for individuals to live anywhere in the globe,” is how Nomad List describes what they do. Their services rank the many locations across the world that are hospitable to digital nomads (some regions are more hospitable than others), taking into account various characteristics such as the cost of living, visa requirements, and internet speed. The goal of Nomad List is to hasten the process of becoming more mobile worldwide, thanks to the availability of remote employment opportunities. 

Nomad List is all about finding the greatest destinations in the world to live, work, and explore while working remotely. It gathers millions of data points on thousands of cities worldwide every second, including the cost of living, the temperature, and the level of safety in each location. With all this information, Nomad List can give you an idea of where you should go next. 

However, Nomad List has a great many more features than just that: you can do things like finding coworking spaces in each city, see how warm it is in a city during a specific month, search for places with specific climates, read reviews, and see who among the members of Nomad List is currently in a city or will be there soon.  Nomad List was initially intended to serve the needs of digital nomads, but as the prevalence of remote work increased, the site morphed into a platform that serves the needs of remote workers located everywhere in the globe.

USP Of Nomad List?

1. City Filters 

Nomad List allows you to filter cities for remote work based on criteria that are important to you while also giving a method to interact with other remote workers who have been in a city that interests you or who will be there at the same time as you. 

2. Price of Living 

Nomad List enables you to create a budget, check whether you need a visa to work remotely abroad, and chat with other remote workers who have set up in a destination to evaluate if it’s a suitable fit. 

3. Nomad List Jobs 

While Nomad List provides connections to third-party sites for remote employment, they are not a site for locating opportunities that allow you to work remotely, nor do they assist with taxes or visa acquisition. However, they do give tools to help you negotiate these procedures. Not only can you sift through your choices for a remote work location, but you can also view them all on a map based on their score, which is decided by different ratings and community contributions to the Nomad List.

4. Testing the Idea Before the Launch 

Pieter Levels, the man who is responsible for the creation of Go Nomad List, has always been a man who has been intent on developing an outstanding concept for a business. As part of my mission to build 12 new businesses in the span of 12 months, he launched Nomad List in 2014. It was the seventh attempt he had made at starting a business, and it was the most successful one. It was constructed with the same minimum amount of effort as all of his previous offerings.

The idea for Nomad List originated when its creator turned a crowdsourced spreadsheet containing information about cities all around the world into a website. The spreadsheet included metrics such as the cost of living, internet speed, and safety. In order to generate income from Nomad List, he created a membership-based premium community that was initially hosted on Slack. After a period of five years, he presented the fifth version of Nomad List, which was given the suitable name 5.0. It is currently utilized by millions of individuals on a monthly basis, and its revenue ranges from $20,000 to $40,000 per month, which is approximately $300,000 per year with thousands of paying members.

5. Prime Remote Work Locations 

Go Nomad List provides the best options for users to work from attractive remote work locations. This allows the user to travel while effectively managing their work.  Nomad list has evaluated, assessed, and ranked various cities worldwide based on traits including economic structure, quality of life, cultural preferences,  cost of living, dating life, internet speed, development, average working hours, and more. 

How Did Nomad List Grew?

Pieter devotes no effort to promotion, marketing, or public relations. Nomad List is expanding solely through word of mouth. The free primary website (nomadlist.com) continues to be featured in prominent publications such as Time, Times, and Huffington Post. He stated that,”

I don’t do any PR or marketing. So my CAC=$0. It also ranks very well in search as it’s linked to by so many other sites. Also not actively worked on that, it just happened because people liked my site. I’ve tried FB ads last month but only saw 4 conversions. So I think organic acquisition works best for me. Which means: Make a cool site, add paid features, make it recurring. Win”.

Pieter has employed at least four part-time contractors to assist him. Regardless, he still performs the great majority of the work required to operate the business, stating, “I still do 95% of the work.”

Who’s Behind It?

Pieter Levels launched Nomad List in 2014 as the fourth company he formed as part of his quest to launch 12 new businesses in one year. He has written that being a lurker on Hacker News since 2010 inspired him to learn to code and begin constructing stuff and that reading patio11’s articles was especially motivating for him in this endeavour. The New York Times, CNN, BBC, The Guardian, CNBC, and the majority of other major media sites continuously covered Nomad List after it reached the top of Product Hunt and Hacker News and made it to the main page of Reddit.

There was data available about nomad hubs in the past, but it was scattered across thousands of blogs of varying quality. Nomad List has progressively grown to become the most popular website on the internet for digital nomads and other professionals who can do their jobs from any location in the world.

Since its inception, Nomad List has been visited 115,974,280 times; it currently receives 12,101,892 visitors on an annual basis and has grown into a business that is worth several millions of dollars.

What Is Nomad Score? 

Cost (should be inexpensive), present temperatures (should be comfortable), internet connection (should be reasonably quick and useable), and safely carry the most weight in determining a city’s Nomad Score (should have low crime). Other variables, such as minimal racism, gay/LGBTQ+ friendliness, air quality, livability, and nightlife, are also significant.

The site continually updates its statistics (including temperatures, humidity, internet speeds, and currency rates, among others) throughout the day, so you may view a list of recommended cities at any time. The scores are recalculated every ten minutes. The rating fluctuates significantly during the seasons. In the summer, the United States and Europe begin to rise, but in the winter, Asia (like Thailand) and South America (like Medellin) do exceptionally well.

How to Create an App Like Nomad List Website?

We at Emizentech can help you build an app on a similar idea like Go Nomad List. The vast majority of these applications are either completely free or can be purchased for a very low price. It doesn’t matter if you’re developing an app for a freelancer, an entrepreneur, a work-from-home mom, or a remote employee; for it to be lucrative, it needs to have the following elements: 

• Organization
• Productivity
• Money
• Travel

Step 1: Select the Digital Nomad Apps Category.

In the current market, some concepts may prove to be profitable, including:

• For traveling
• Locating Workplaces
• To Boost Productivity
• To Control Finances 
• For the sake of security and safety 

Step 2: Research, Your Competitors

Learn about competing apps in your niche, their benefits, and their drawbacks. Additionally, think about incorporating pre-made app APIs.

Step 3: Choose an App with MVP Characteristics.

User accounts, social sharing, booking, in-app purchase, and location-based search & filters should all be included in your app’s MVP.

Step 4. Locate the App Creators.

Hire the best app development business that has a track record of success.

Step 5: Start the Exploration Stage.

Define your travel app’s concept in light of the prevailing trends and features. 

Filters of Nomad List

What 

The website allows the user to choose a location based on preferences like temperature, top reviews, internet services, cleaner air, booming locations, and top-ranked or popular work destinations. 

Where

Users can work in a favored location based on their work requirements and personal choices.

When

Choice of season/ month is also given to users to make their stay more comfortable.

Reviewed by Members

Users can opt for a location based on the feedback given by existing members.

Visa Free for (>30 Days)

Users must select a passport type before choosing a work location.

How

This filter allows the user to make choices based on lifestyle choices like safety, fun, LGBTQ+ friendly, quality of nightlife, women’s safety, etc.

Health

Options like clean air, great hospitals, and a healthy population allow the business to help employees looking for better and top-ranked health facilities.

Members Data

This filter allows the user to make an informed decision based on members’ journey.

Size

Users decide whether they want to work in a mildly densely populated megacity city.

Great

This filter is used to pick out a location based on the infrastructure options like the preferable place for nomads, flashpackers, ex-pats, families, Muslims, startups, parents, dog-friendly, spiritual people, Jewish-friendly, and retirees.

Climate

Climate, UV index, and humidity level can be selected from this filter.

Investment

Helps make profitable investment decisions based on investment laws and restrictions of the chosen place.

Cost

The cost of accommodation can be managed by using this filter.

Development

Location development can be measured from the course of action presented in this filter.

Quality of Life

Economic, social, and environmental dimensions are listed to determine the life ambiances and user satisfaction.

Dating + Social

Users can search for partners from the listed options in the filters to actively pursue a romantic relationship with people from different cultures.

Geography

The user can choose coordinates, longitude, and altitudes.

Work

Alternatives like places to work, free wifi, apple store, uber facilities, lower tax, etc., are registered under this filter.

Neighborhood details can be reviewed here by choosing from the options like a tourist, normies, businesses, universities or rich neighborhoods,

Character

Cultural Enclaves

Geographical areas with a specific high ethic concentration, cultural identity, characteristics or economic activity can be filtered using this option

Sports/Food/Entertainment 

Nomad workers can choose preferred food, entertainment, and sports.

Cultural Traits

Cultural conditions suitable for growth, such as feminine culture, collectivist culture, risk-seeking culture, short-term culture, strict culture, etc., are listed below this option.

Timezone

Allows the user to set the preferred timezone to match the employer’s timezone.

Language

Language preferences can be selected in this filter.

MISC

The economic structure of a place can be filtered using this option.

Oskarisms

Options like Alpha city, Beta City, Free Economy, and mostly free economy are given to users to choose from while making the decision.

Negatives

This filter points out the negatives a location can have, such as higher corona cased, not LGBTQ friendly, high in racism, pollution, low income, not democratic, low educated, unsafe, high-income inequality, few nomad workers and dirty air, etc.

Culture

Features of Nomad List

1. Straightforward Search Filters 

Through the use of a variety of filters, users are given the ability to narrow down an extremely large range of results. As a result of the growing significance attached to the quantity of pre-filtering and post-filtering.

2. Clean, Predictive, Easy-To-Use, and User-Friendly Search Forms 

The user of Nomad List is provided with a comprehensive search panel that enables them to make an educated and analytical selection.

3. Huge Beautiful Images 

Adding images to your website is a simple method to improve users’ experience. The photographs displayed on Nomad List are designed to appeal to site visitors. In addition, it attracts attention and directs the line of sight of visitors.

4. Customer Reviews 

The cost of reaching such a large audience through more conventional marketing channels would be prohibitively high. However, the exposure gained through nomad worker reviews can help bring down those costs.

5. Favorites List 

Because of this function, it is possible to add favourable alternatives and then, in the future, quickly and simply access them.

6. Clear Pricing without Hidden Fees/ Easy Booking System 

Nomad List is committed to maintaining price transparency. Increases Knowledge While Dramatically Decreasing Uncertainty The optimal price is one factor that contributes to a company’s ability to maximize both sales and customer loyalty.

7. Simple Checkout 

Customers are able to swiftly fill out their information and make a decision thanks to the straightforward checkout process, which makes it much easier for them to do so.

How Does Nomad List Make Money? 

Nomad List generates most of its revenue through online membership fees and advertising. As previously stated, Nomad List is not a completely free service. While perusing the website and researching the data points on various cities is free, you will not have access to all of Nomad List’s free services. 

A membership subscription is required to fully utilize their services and connect with other remote workers. Joining Nomad List costs $99 (USD). However, this one-time charge grants you lifelong membership to the site. This would provide you direct access to other remote employees through their chat services (configured through Slack), forum posting, and membership in their online community. 

Their website shows Nomad List generates revenue from membership fees and advertisements. As an open startup, they are also completely public about their KPIs, new users, subscriptions, refunds, and other revenue- and success-related data.

How Much Revenue Does Nomad List Generate?

According to the information provided on their website, Nomad List generates revenue from two sources: membership fees and advertising revenue. They are open about their analytics, new users, subscriptions, refunds, and other data relevant to their revenue and success as an open startup.

This includes all of the information that may be used to measure their success. Pieter claims that Nomad List is close to reaching $400,000 in revenue annually and continues to expand. Because the primary website was, and continues to be, free, this served as a form of lead generating and acquisition funnel, encouraging users to join up and eventually become paying members.

The price has been increased to $75 per year as of right now. The remote job board RemoteOK.io, which Pieter later constructed and connected to the Nomad list, is responsible for approximately $80,000 dollars‘ worth of the company’s annual revenue. Additionally, advertisements contribute approximately 25 percent of the total earnings.

What Difference Can You Make with An App Like Nomad List?

What you want to gain from using Nomad List is the primary factor that should guide your decision on whether or not it is worthwhile to pay for the app with features provided by Nomad List. To begin, it is essential to know that the services you give members in exchange for their membership fee are community generated. This indicates that the knowledge you promote from the Slack conversation, as well as the communities, is based on the experiences of individuals, which, of course, might vary depending on several factors.

Since most of the functions on the website are free to use, it is in your best interest to provide the option in the app design to the user to look around the site to see if they can discover any information that interests them in learning before making any kind of commitment. The app should not ask for the user to acquire a subscription to use Nomad List App if their primary objective is to compare the costs of living in various locations or to learn statistics for working remotely in various locations.

Cost for Developing App Like Go Nomad List

Developing an application such as Go Nomad List entails evaluating the following factors:

1. Cost of Developing Simple to Complicated Mobile App Features

The primary factor influencing the cost of developing a mobile application is the feature set you wish to provide. If you are developing an app with only the most fundamental features, your development team will require less hours to create them, resulting in a lower development cost. In most circumstances, a mobile app is not truly user-centric if it lacks the following characteristics:

• User registration/log in
• Profile completion and revision
• Search
• Simple customer service chat
• Basic admin panel
• Analytics.

Most likely, a mobile app with the aforementioned capability is a simple mobile app. The development of these features takes around three to five months. Complex mobile app features, on the other hand, necessitate additional development time. This results in increased app development costs. In relation to Go Nomad, the app includes a few capabilities, such as meteorological or demographic data, that will cost slightly more than the basic app features. A complicated application will have elements such as:

• Notifications delivered through the Internet
• Geolocation Ads
• Audio or video streaming
• Payment system
• Offline mode Personalization based on user data
• Advanced analytics chat
• Connectivity to external hardware
• Integrations with third-party (like login with Facebook, pay with PayPal)

Depending on how many features you incorporate in your complicated programme, the price will continue to rise.

2. Cost to Develop a Mobile Application for Android versus IOS

The little cost difference between Android and iOS app development is a result of the programming languages used to create the apps. For the development of an Android application, you must employ programmers with expertise in Java or Kotlin. iOS app creation, on the other hand, involves coding in Swift or Objective C. Therefore, if you create an Android app, you will need to adjust it to various fragmentations; as a result, the cost of developing an Android app will be slightly greater.

3. Localization

The number of target markets can have a significant impact on app development expenses. And it’s not just about supporting many languages; nevertheless, language localization will certainly increase the cost of your project. Additionally, each location may have distinct app store criteria. There may also be regional differences in how you must gather and manage user information (e.g. GDPR in Europe).

What Have Been Some of The Biggest Challenges?

User Retention

The primary findings indicate that the most prevalent elements that affect customer retention are a company’s service quality, the level of happiness that its customers experience, their level of trust, and their level of commitment.  Keeping clients remain customers for longer periods, and increasing income are both benefits of this strategy. In addition to this, it assists you in developing wonderful interactions with your clients. You are not simply another website or retail establishment. Because you give them something of value in exchange for their money, they are willing to entrust it to your idea. 

The Competition that Is Ferocious

For Go Nomad to thrive, the company must operate in a highly competitive market. Such a market requires a company to lower its prices to maintain its position in the market, which results in lower profit margins for each sale or service.

What Is the Tech Stack Behind Nomad List?

The front end is built in HTML, CSS, and JS with jQuery, while the back end is developed in PHP with SQLite as the database. It is housed on a single VPS that uses Ubuntu and NGINX as its web server. JQuery is the only framework that is utilized by Nomad List; other frameworks are not used. Every single component of the site is hand-built, except the chat, which is handled by Slack.

Key Takeaway! 

The majority of the time, digital nomads have the same amount of work as everyone else, but they also have a whole new world of adventures waiting for them in each nation they visit. Being your own boss can be both terrifying and rewarding all at the same time. These are some of the most important internet resources for beginning digital nomads, and they range from podcasts and booklet tutorials to applications that can handle your immigration concerns. Get in touch with Emizentech if you are interested in developing an app similar to Go Nomad list and want some fresh and original ideas.

Frequently Asked Questions (faqs)