Coworking Bansko is a Haven for Digital Nomads

Matthias Zeitler is the co-founder of Coworking Bansko, one of the most recognized destinations for digital nomads in Europe. He chose the mountain town of Bansko, one of the main ski resorts in Bulgaria.

Today, Coworking Bansko has around 100 members from all over the world. Most of them work in the digital space and include writers, translators, graphic designers, and software developers.

In this slogging thread, our community discusses Zeitler's initiative and nomadic working.

This Slogging thread by Mónica Freitas, Sara Pinto, Limarc Ambalina and Jack Boreham occurred in slogging's official #random channel, and has been edited for readability.

"Matthias Zeitler is the co-founder of Coworking Bansko, one of the most recognised destinations for digital nomads in Europe. This German entrepreneur, a digital nomad himself, created the haven for foreigners five years ago."

"He chose the small mountain town of Bansko, one of the main ski resorts in Bulgaria. "I decided that Bulgaria is actually a very interesting location because there's a low cost of living," Matthias said. "There's low taxation. It's in Europe, so you don't have any issues with visas and it has amazing nature. I found Bansko, here in the Pirin Mountain range. As I love the mountains, for me, it was a natural choice to come here."

"Today, coworking Bansko has around 100 members from all over the world. Most of them work in the digital space and include writers, translators, graphic designers and software developers. What makes this place magical, according to Matthias, is its community."

This is such a great thing for people working remotely who want to travel simultaneously. And I love that this initiative comes from someone who has experienced this first hand.

What do you think of this? Do you know any other places like this, specially built for digital nomads?

Oh, wow! I've never heard of something like this. The concept is interesting. I see why this would work. We're all trying to make the most of our time, so to have a place where you could work while traveling is very convenient. In the article, they say they profit a lot from working with different people at the same time. The environment must be amazing! Would you like to try this haven?

Sara Pinto, though I'm not a snowy escapades type of person, I'd love to check this place out only for the ambiance. You could live in a place full of people that share the same way of life, from different areas of expertise and from all around the world. It must be such an interesting environment.

Sara Pinto, would you ever go full digital nomad?

Mónica Freitas, me too. This got me very curious. I've never explored the nomad lifestyle, but to know you have such space, it must make a difference in the quality of travel.

Mónica Freitas, I'm not sure haha. Maybe not full-on mode. I think I would like to try it for a few months, but I enjoy having my own space, and I don't think I would have it with all the traveling. What about you?

Sara Pinto, I wonder how cost-friendly this space is compared to other hostels or hotels.

Sara Pinto, I'm definitely intrigued by this lifestyle. I suspect it may be a bit tiring after a while if you're constantly traveling, but it must be a great adventure. I'd love to try it for a year.

I don't know any myself, but I'm guessing some of the best places to be would be lower cost of living areas. Since we're working fully remotely, I always thought about moving to Vietnam or Thailand. Imagine how much money you could save!

Once Covid dies down I imagine coworking spaces could make a come back and become hugely popular.

Mónica Freitas, I've actually been thinking about this a lot. All my jobs are fully remote, so it would be amazing to travel and work. The only thing that is holding me back is rent! I generally think this is a feasible lifestyle for me.

Limarc Ambalina, for sure! Vietnam is so cheap in comparison, and you could make a great living out of a small amount of income per month.

Limarc Ambalina, I'll have to try it out. I know Madeira (Portugal) is big on digital nomads too but I'd love to try this outside of my country.

Jack Boreham, same! But I think if you mix cheaper locations with more expensive ones, you'll be able to balance it out. For example, suppose you want to live in Amsterdam for a month. If you then go for some smaller city, you can easily manage your finances (save one month to spend more on the next). But mostly, I think it's just a matter of actually going and trying. If it ends up working for you, great. If not, you can always go back home.

Mónica Freitas, I didn't even think of the cost. Do you think it's more accessible than Airbnb's and so on?

Sara Pinto, I guess it depends on the location and whether you're going solo or not. I've seen Airbnb's for 500€/month (which is cheap for big cities like Rome) but I've seen them way more expensive than that - like above 1000€/month.

So sometimes, hostels are more budget-friendly.

But out of curiosity, I checked the prices for Coworking Bansko, and they're really reasonable.

Mónica Freitas, oh, wow, quite reasonable indeed! I actually thought it was gonna be a little overpriced, but it makes a lot of sense what they are asking, having in mind what's at the disposal of the nomads.

Sara Pinto, I've seen Airbnb and hostels far more expensive! This is actually amazing! I'm not a fan of snowy mountain landscapes, but maybe I'll book a room there someday. They even have "communal" dogs 😍

Mónica Freitas, you could have mentioned the dogs earlier. You would have sold me this haven much faster haha. This haven must be quite the experience.

Sara Pinto, I can do you one better. I can share the dog's photo!

Sara Pinto, I think the guests end up forming a community there which must make things easier. And being able to share experiences in new locations with such a community, can only improve their experience.