A Picture From Capri Island, not far from Rome – my favorite photo so far from my visits in Italy, so I had to use it 😂
Digital Nomad FAQ’s
Is Rome a good city for digital nomads?
Rome can be a mixed bag for digital nomads. While it offers a rich cultural experience, historical sites, and delicious cuisine, it may not be the most optimal choice for remote work due to challenges like bureaucratic hurdles, high living costs, and occasional internet connectivity issues.
How is the internet connectivity and speed in Rome?
Internet connectivity in Rome varies across different areas. In general, you can find decent internet speeds in most parts of the city, but it might not be as fast or reliable as in other major European cities. For basic tasks, the internet should suffice, but for high-bandwidth activities like video calls, you might experience occasional slowdowns or interruptions.
Is it easy to meet people and make friends in Rome?
Meeting people and making friends in Rome can be challenging for digital nomads. While Italians are generally friendly, there’s a cultural barrier, and language can sometimes be a hindrance. However, there are expat communities, language exchange events, and coworking spaces where you can connect with like-minded individuals.
How much should I budget for a month in Rome?
Budgeting for Rome can be relatively high compared to other European cities. On average, you should budget around $2000 to $3000 per month, considering accommodation, food, transportation, and entertainment expenses. However, prices can vary depending on your lifestyle and preferences.
Are there lots of places to work from in Rome?
Rome offers several places to work from, including coworking spaces, cafes, libraries, and parks with free Wi-Fi. However, the availability of such places might not be as abundant as in other digital nomad-friendly cities. It’s essential to plan ahead and find suitable workspaces that meet your requirements.
What are the best digital nomad neighborhoods in Rome?
Some of the best neighborhoods for digital nomads in Rome include Trastevere, Monti, Testaccio, and Pigneto. These areas offer a blend of modern amenities, cultural attractions, and a vibrant atmosphere, making them ideal for remote work and exploration.
Visitor / Working Visas
For visitors to Rome, Italy, who are not citizens of the European Union (EU) or the European Economic Area (EEA), a visa may be required depending on the length and purpose of their stay.
Short-term visits (up to 90 days): Citizens of certain countries, such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and many others, can visit Italy for tourism or business purposes without a visa for stays of up to 90 days within a 180-day period. This is applicable for tourism, business meetings, conferences, or visiting friends and relatives.
Long-term stays (more than 90 days): For longer stays, such as for work or study purposes, a visa may be required. Digital nomads intending to stay in Rome for an extended period should apply for a visa appropriate to their purpose of stay. This could include:
- Work Visa (Tipo D Visa): If you plan to work in Rome, you will need to obtain a work visa before arriving in Italy. This typically requires sponsorship from an Italian employer or proof of self-employment.
- Elective Residence Visa (Residenza Elettiva): This visa is suitable for individuals who wish to reside in Italy without the need for employment. It’s often chosen by retirees or individuals with sufficient financial means to support themselves.
- Study Visa: If you plan to study in Rome, such as attending language courses or pursuing academic studies, you’ll need to apply for a study visa.
- Self-Employment Visa: Digital nomads who are self-employed or freelancers may be eligible for a self-employment visa, provided they meet the requirements and can demonstrate sufficient financial stability.
It’s essential to check the specific visa requirements and application procedures based on your nationality and intended length of stay. The Italian embassy or consulate in your home country can provide detailed information and guidance on visa applications.
For EU/EEA citizens: Citizens of EU and EEA countries have the right to live and work in Italy without needing a visa or residence permit. However, they may need to register with the local authorities upon arrival for stays longer than three months.
Overall, navigating visa requirements for Rome depends on individual circumstances, intended activities, and nationality. It’s crucial to research and plan accordingly to ensure a smooth and legal stay in the city.
Cost Of Living / Traveling Through
🏨 Avg. Price Per Night For Hotel Room (near city center) – Approximately $100 to $200 per night for a mid-range hotel room in the city center. I pretty much only use Booking
🏩 Avg. Price Per Night For Hostel Dorm Room (near city center) – Around $20 to $50 per night for a bed in a hostel dormitory in the city center, If you’re planning to stay in Rome as a digital nomad, here are the Top 2 Coliving Spaces in Rome you can book right now
🏡 Avg. Price for apartments (near city center) – Rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Rome’s city center can range from $800 to $1500 per month, depending on the location and amenities.
☕️ Latte – A latte typically costs around $3 to $5 in Rome.
🍺 – 0.5 Liter Beer – The average price for a half-liter of beer in a bar or restaurant is approximately $5 to $7.
🏋️♀️ – Monthly Gym Membership – Monthly gym memberships in Rome can range from $30 to $70, depending on the facilities and location.
🚊 – Local Transport – Avg. One Way Ticket Price – A single one-way ticket for local public transport (bus, tram, metro) costs around $1.50 to $2. Trainline is my go to for booking tickets.
🍝 Avg. Dinner Price – The average price for dinner at a mid-range restaurant in Rome is between $15 to $30 per person, excluding drinks.
📱 – Avg. Data Plan Per Month – Monthly data plans for mobile phones typically range from $15 to $30, depending on the data allowance and provider. The only ESIM company I use is Airalo.
🏢 – Avg. Cowork Per Month (near city center) – Coworking space memberships in Rome can cost between $100 to $300 per month, depending on the facilities and location of the workspace.
The 5 Quick Scores
- Internet Speed – 4/5
- I ran about 9 wifi speed tests while in the city. I got some great wifi at spots and some wifi speeds that weren’t super hot either. Safe not to assume your hotel or hostel here will have fast wifi just because you’re in western Europe. Here are the findingsAvg. Download Speed = 66.59 MBPSAvg. Upload Speed = 51.03 MBPSAvg. Latency = 58.8 MS*
- Fastest internet I Got In The City – was at TheRomeHello Hostel
- *Not sure what these metrics mean? Read my wifi guide here.
- My back up plan is Solis Hotspot
- Ease Of Connecting & Making Friends– 4.5/5
- There are a lot of single travelers here looking to make friends. There are also a number of different groups you can join to meet other expats (check out the details of these in the community
- Nightlife – 3/5
- Admittedly I was here while they were still a bit worried about COVID (April 2022). However the nightlife for a major European city felt super lackluster, a lot of restaurants and bars seemed to close super early and you had to walk a lot to go from one bar to another after midnight (albeit, walking in the city was probably one of my favorite things to do, so this wasn’t the worst situation in the world)
- If you’re looking for entertainment in general, head over to Viator for some pretty sweet things to do
- Places To Work From – 3/5
- The cafe scene here is largely built around drinking eating & leaving. Even being here in the offseason, I felt a lot of pressure to get moving along after being there for only an hour or so. They have businesses and they’re trying to make money so I get it, and I did find some spots that were cool with me hanging out. Check out the section to learn more More details on this below.
- Affordability – 3/5
- Accommodation isn’t super cheap however you can eat here for pretty cheap and the attractions aren’t outrageously priced.
Wifi Speeds At Rome Italy
Read my guide to getting fast wifi anywhere in the world here
The RomeHello
- OVERALL – 4/5
- Affordability – 2.5/5 – Not the most affordable place in the world, and they do have demand based pricing so the more demand there are for rooms, the higher the price. At the time of writing this (April 2022) it’s ~$45 for a dorm (male & female w/ 10 people) & ~$160 for a private room during the week and ~$200 for a private room on the weekend
- Wifi – 5/5 – The wifi is quite quick all over the hostel, I was able to have multiple video calls both in the lobby & my room without any problems.
- Avg. Download Speed = 173.42 MBPS
- Avg. Upload Speed = 212.17 MBPS
- Avg. Latency = 27 MS
- Sense Of Community – 5/5 – The staff is super cool and there are a lot of other single / nomadic folks here that are easy to connect with. They also put on regular free / cheap events that are run by Luigi, a great guy. There are cooking classes nightly, and regular walking tours, karaoke, all kinds of stuff.
- Location – 5/5 – The location is incredible, within walking distance of the terminal and lots of the famous spots of the city.
- Cleanliness – 5/5 – Super clean and very well kept-up
Unfortunately, I Don’t Have Any Other Hotel / Hostel Recommendations
For those that know me, I usually try to have at least 2 hostel / hotel recommendations. In this case I did stay at 3 other hotels / hostels however I didn’t find any that I would recommend. The wifi at the spots was quite slow and the ease of meeting others wasn’t there.
My Favorite Places To Work From
A Couple Of Notes About Work Spots In Rome
As many of you know, I love working in cafe’s. In (central) Rome the cafe culture is a lot more about either standing up, talking and drinking an espresso at the counter (al banco if you’re trying to learn Italian), or sitting down for a meal.
You don’t see a whole lot of people who are sitting at cafe’s working for long periods of time. If you would like to sit down at a table, then you will pay an additional fee for service, I came across this fee all over southern Italy (although I have heard some people say it’s a scam). It generally was only a few euro, so it didn’t bother me too much, but be aware of it. In my experience, especially the closer you were to tourist attractions it felt very much like most servers wanted you to eat and leave so they could seat their next table.
There were also cafe’s that were cool with you hanging out in the mornings, but once lunch came they would prefer you to leave. I understand that these are small businesses paying a fortune in rent / mortgage, so I understand it.
That being said, I was able to find some good spots!
The RomeHello
- OVERALL – 4/5 – Yes, this place again. They have a great co-working spot on the ground floor. It was my favorite spot because you had lots of room, lots of outlets and you didn’t feel like you were holding up a table for the next customer.
- Wifi – 5/5 – Super fast wifi
- Avg. Download Speed = 173.42 MBPS
- Avg. Upload Speed = 212.17 MBPS
- Avg. Latency = 27 MS
- Service & Friendliness – N/A – The staff is quite friendly but they have vending machines for drinks and snacks, so the service isn’t quite relevant here.
- Amount Of Outlets – 4/5– Quite a few outlets, all over the place
- Location / Ambiance – 4/5 – It doesn’t have the prettiest view of some of the other cafe’s I’ve been to (like El Buho Cafe in Santo Domingo)
Pan Bernando
- OVERALL – 4/5 – This place was super cool, and I was a big fan of the staff here, they were all super friendly.
- Wifi – 4/5 – The wifi is actually quite good for a cafe
- Download Speed = 29.33 MBPS
- Upload Speed = 4.45 MBPS
- Avg. Latency = 20 MS
- Service & Friendliness – 5/5 – The staff was super friendly. I was told I could work in the morning, but one lunch came I would have to leave so they can accomodate the busy lunch crowd (which makes sense).
- Amount Of Outlets – 2/5– I couldn’t find too many outlets, but I was able to get one next to a table!
- Location / Ambiance – 5/5 – This is located right by the Piazza di San Bernardo, a beautiful roundabout surrounded by sculptures and architecture.
Tre Caffe – Piazza Di Spagna
- OVERALL – 4/5 – Killer spot, and they had plenty of space and were totally cool with me working there for what ended up being about a 6 hour stretch haha.
- Wifi – 4/5 – This was the fastest wifi I got at any cafe in Dominican Republic
- Download Speed = 22.7 MBPS
- Upload Speed = 10.2 MBPS
- Avg. Latency = 58 MS
- Service & Friendliness – 5/5 – The staff was super attentive and friendly. They were also totally cool with me camping out and working from there. The owners were very nice too, and super well travelled.
- Amount Of Outlets – 5/5– Some info on outlets
- Location / Ambiance – 4.5/5 – The ambiance is killer, I do have to say the location isn’t as prime as Cafe Conde. But as I mentioned, I’m partial to colonial plazas, so take that into consideration haha.
Building Community / Making Friends
- Groups & Events
- Expats In Rome is a pretty decent FB group
- Expats Living In Rome is another decent FB group
- These guys have a pretty active website as well
- There are two Whatsapp groups I was part of, Tandem Meetings In Rome & International Rome. I couldn’t share the link for these groups, but you’ll be able to find the links in those FB groups I mentioned earlier
Transportation
- Getting There & Leaving
- There is a great train system in and out of the city and all over Italy through Italo
- Getting Around
- Walking – this was literally my favorite thing to do in the city, just wander around walking and checking out the architecture. I’d highly recommend it.
- There is also a subway system that quite a few of my friends used.
What I Ate
Not So Healthy Food – I loved getting pizza at the restaurants with pre-made pizzas. The pizza was still pretty good, and it was heated and in my mouth in 30 seconds which was my favorite part!
I also loved Pasta A La Carbonara, super creamy and bacon filled meal. I still think about that dish…
Healthier Food – I didn’t eat a whole lot of healthy food in Rome to be honest. I only ate one meal a day in the evening, that way I could eat whatever I wanted without worrying about the calories.
What I Drank / Nightlife
- Antica Enoteca
- I loved this place, a great selection of Italian wine, amaro and brandy.
- My personal favorite Italian wines I discovered in Rome
- Falanghina – a white wine from southern Italy that I hadn’t heard about before this trip. Pretty acidic and went super well with food, it felt like it literally cleaned my mouth and I was able to have a fresh bite of food every bite I had
- Pecorino – This is also the name of a wine, another lighter, acidic wine that I was a big fan of
- Jefferson Amaro – I drank a lot of Amaro’s and this one was probably my favorite
NightLife
- Scholars Lounge – I didn’t go out too much here, but this was my favorite spot by far. The music wasn’t super great, but really fun vibe and it stayed open super late.
Exercise / Outdoors
Nature – Villa Borghese Park
Pretty huge park, it wasn’t my favorite park in the world, but was quite massive and quiet.
Exercise – Monti Fitness
This is a good little gym located real close to everything and quite affordable. It was about 45 Euro for a month. They had decent selection of weight lifting equipment, they had some group classes and even boxing.
As mentioned, walking around Rome was my favorite thing to do. I would highly recommend just wandering around for a few hours.
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