Where to Base Yourself in the United States as a Digital Nomad

Miami is the US’s Latin American capital: South Beach, Art Deco, Cuban coffee in Little Havana, murals in Wynwood and a glassy finance and tech district in Brickell, where many remote workers live. Florida has no state income tax, winters are warm and sunny, and flights reach most of Latin America and the Caribbean. It’s expensive, mostly car-centred, and summers are hot, humid and inside hurricane season. See the Miami digital nomad guide.

Texas’s capital is a young, sociable tech city of live music, food trucks, the Lady Bird Lake trail and spring-fed swimming at Barton Springs. East Austin, South Congress and Downtown are the popular areas, and the startup and remote-work scene is one of the biggest in the country. Texas has no state income tax and the city sits on Central time, easy for both coasts. You’ll want a car, and summers often pass 38°C. See the Austin digital nomad guide.

The one US city where you truly don’t need a car: subways run all night, and every neighbourhood has its own cafes, shops and character. Remote workers favour Brooklyn neighbourhoods such as Williamsburg and Greenpoint, and Manhattan’s East Village and Lower East Side. Culture, food and networking are unmatched, and East Coast hours overlap well with Europe. It’s the most expensive place on this list, flats are small, and winters are cold. New York City also has its own income tax on top of the state’s for residents. See the New York City digital nomad guide.

Home to some of the world’s biggest tech companies, Seattle sits between Puget Sound, the Cascades and the Olympic Mountains, with ferries, hiking and coffee culture. Capitol Hill, Fremont and Ballard are popular neighbourhoods. Washington has no state income tax on wages. Summers are dry, sunny and glorious; from November to March it’s grey and drizzly, with short days. See the Seattle digital nomad guide.

The Mile High City has more than 300 days of sunshine a year by local reckoning, a fast-growing tech scene and the Rockies an hour or two away for hiking, climbing and skiing. RiNo, LoHi and Capitol Hill are lively neighbourhoods, and nearby Boulder is a smaller, outdoorsy alternative. It’s on Mountain time, and the altitude takes a few days to get used to. Denver is more car-friendly than transit-friendly, though light rail links the airport and downtown.

LA is a sprawling region of beach towns, hills and neighbourhoods, each feeling like its own city. Remote workers often choose Santa Monica or Venice for the beach, or Silver Lake and Echo Park for a creative, cafe-heavy scene. The weather is sunny and mild most of the year, and the food, film and arts scenes are huge. Traffic is notorious, you’ll need a car for most things, and California has the highest state income tax in the country.

San Diego offers Southern California’s weather with a slower pace than LA: beaches, surfing, craft beer and Mexico just across the border. North Park, Pacific Beach and Little Italy are popular bases. It’s expensive and car-oriented, but less frantic than LA, and Tijuana’s airport is reachable via a cross-border walkway for flights into Mexico.

Honolulu, on Oahu, mixes a real city with beaches, hiking trails and warm ocean all year. Kaimuki, Kakaako and Manoa are calmer than Waikiki. It’s on Hawaii time (UTC−10, no daylight saving), which suits Asia-Pacific teams but makes East Coast or European meetings hard. Rents and groceries are among the highest in the US, and flights to the mainland take five to six hours. Hawaii also has state income tax at rates up to 11%.

New Orleans is unlike anywhere else in the US: jazz and brass bands, Creole and Cajun food, shotgun houses and street festivals all year. The Marigny, Bywater, Uptown and the Garden District are popular with long-stayers. Rents are lower than in the coastal cities. Summers are hot and humid, hurricane season runs from June to November, and crime is higher than in other cities on this list, so choose your street carefully.

Portland is a green, bike-friendly city with independent cafes, food carts, breweries and the Columbia River Gorge and Mount Hood close by. Southeast and Northeast Portland, around Hawthorne, Division and Alberta, are popular areas. It’s cheaper than Seattle or the California cities and has decent public transport. Winters are grey and wet, and Oregon has a state income tax but no sales tax.

• Match your time zone. East Coast bases suit Europe-facing work, West Coast and Hawaii suit Asia-Pacific.
• Follow the seasons. Florida, Texas and New Orleans in winter; Seattle, Portland and Denver in summer; California and Hawaii any time.
• Decide on a car. Only New York works fully without one; elsewhere, budget for rental or ride-hailing.
• Check health cover. Make sure your insurance pays US prices before you sign anything.