In recent years, places like Bali and Costa Rica have attracted a growing army of laptop based workers, referred to as digital nomads. These locations have WiFi service that is as strong as a two-shot espresso, and the quality of life combined with low cost of living that makes living the dream much more affordable.
Many digital nomads escape the rat race and the city chaos and enjoy natural living close to the sea or cultural hotspots.
Such is the thinking of Gonçalo Hall, a remote work consultant who is helping to launch a community for such international nomads in the Portuguese autonomous region of Madeira.
The Pilot Program
The pilot program has already been launched on the 1st of February at the red-roofed village of Ponta do Sol. It incubated around 100 remote workers.
They plan on expanding this space to the other nearby buildings and typical village houses soon.
Although the progress is a bit slow due to the Covid-19 into play, the place would start entertaining remote workers from all over the world soon.
So far, people from Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Poland, and Ireland have reached this astonishing place. More are to follow soon. The interesting thing is, about 2,000 people have registered and showed interest in this place via online booking.
The workers who have registered online can access the slack community built for them to get housing tips, find their perfect roommate and keep them aware of the Covid-19 restrictions and many other essential tips.
Remote workers visiting this village have access to mountains and oceans. So you can go on an adventurous trek or sit by the ocean with a laptop in your hand, watching the sunset or talking to a client.
What Does Gonçalo Hall Say About the Place?
This spectacular idea came to Gonçalo’s mind in September 2020. He has spent two years of his life (2018 and 2019) traveling around the world and working remotely.
In his 2 years journey, he came to Madeira for a conference and found it to be excessively beautiful and a great destination to work remotely.
Hall described the place like something he had never seen. To him, the landscape was just phenomenal and serene.
Hall also made it clear that this digital nomad village is offering free workspace to those who are willing to stay here for a month or more. However, the offer is only available for the testing phase, which is from 1st Feb to 30th June.
How Can You Reach this Beautiful Place?
In case you’re an EU or Schengen resident, you might wanna check up with authorities and get a Covid-19 test done that you could submit before traveling to the island.
The US-based American population has to wait for some time due to the non-essential travel ban to Portugal amidst Covid.
However, the registrations are open to the worldwide population so that everyone could know about the island and the life there.
Opinion of Local People About this Initiative
Carlos Soares Lopes, the founder of StartupMadeira, mentioned that everyone in the village – the landlord, doctors, even the lawyers are welcome for such an initiative.
The layers are willing to even help in all the legal matters, VISA creations and extensions.
All-in-all, the initiative of a digital nomad village is a great idea which is appreciated by everyone. The idea is not only into testing but will soon expand to the neighboring villages and islands, incubating more and more remote workers monthly.
So, if you wanna work in natural beauty, see authentic cultures, and have some adventure – book a slot at this phenomenal digital nomad village at Madeira.
