With the possibility of working from anywhere, digital nomads are increasingly seeking rural areas where they can live in community and communion with nature. Portugal is really a destination of election.
The Remote Work Revolution has transformed Portugal in one of the most attractive European destinations for digital nomads, thanks to a combination of Quality of life, good connectivity, safety, accessible cost of living and natural environment, as well as a specially favorable legal and tax framework.
According to Global Digital Nomad Report 2024, prepared by Global Consultant Citizen Solutions, Portugal occupies the 7th position in the global ranking of the most sought after destinations by digital nomads.
If we see to detail, Portugal reveals a particularly advantageous performance with regard to benefits of visa (3rd place) and quality of life (9th).
The study highlights Portugal as the most affordable country in Western Europe And where the advantages of visa D8, conceived specifically for remote workers, are highly valued, as it enables the time spent in the national territory to count on access to permanent residence, paving the way to citizenship.
In Lisbon alone, according to Nomad List 2023, more than 16,000 digital nomads already reside; And in 2023, about 2,500 Visas D8 were issued.
“Digital Rural Exodus”
Although large cities and coastal zones, such as Lisbon, Porto or Ericeira, remain reference points for remote work, there are increasing digital nomading to opt for regions of the interior of the country.
In search of a more accessible and sustainable lifethey are boosting new models of regenerative rural life, a movement that is already nicknamed “Digital Rural Exodus”.
“Life in harmony with nature can be as practical as inspiring and the growing interest in natural environments reflects the values that many remote workers seek: sustainability, sense of community, mental well-being and connection with nature,” he says in a statement sent to Zap, Samuel delestechnological entrepreneur and co -founder of Traditional Dream Factory (TDF), a pioneering regenerative project in Europe, located in Abela, in the municipality of Santiago do Cacém, Alentejo.
Conceived as a technological and collaborative ecovilathe TDF – explains in the statement – represents this new stream of digital nomadism: spaces where it is possible to work remotely with good connectivity, but also part of a community aligned with values of respect for the environment, regeneration and creativity.
Royal alternative to urban life
In this new map for the digital nomads, the Traditional Dream Factory emerges as one of the most innovative proposals at European level. Installed on the grounds of an old poultry unit, this technological and regenerative ecovila-idealized by an international community of entrepreneurs, creative and sustainability specialists-has become a collying and coworking space in the middle of nature.
“Here a decentralized, regenerative and culturally active lifestyle is promoted,” can be read in the communicated.
With an already operational infrastructure that includes caravans areas, glamping housing, sauna, cafeteria, artistic workshops and working spaces with good connection, TDF has already received more than 3,000 international visitors.
“We are building a place to live, work and learn in a community, with our own economy and a strong rooting on land and the local community. Here we regenerate the soil, cultivate our foods and share knowledge, all anchored in values that really make a difference, ”explains Samuel from them.
At a time when remote work allows you to choose not only where you work, but also as you live, projects like TDF shape a new digital nomadism paradigm: more connected to the environment, more committed to the community and aligned with a regenerative economy.
