The 7 Best U.S. Cities to Work From Remotely
So, you’ve found a great job that allows you to work from home, and you can move to wherever you like! That’s a great feeling. While you’re looking for your new home, it’s a good idea to consider what various places offer for remote workers.
Here are seven U.S. cities that are great for telecommuters, whether you plan to work at home or find a table in the park and work from there.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is a city of beer and biodomes, liquor flavored ice cream and unique museums. It’s also a great place to live if you have a job that lets you work remotely. In addition to having many nice places to visit, rent is affordable. You can expect your average 900 square foot, furnished home to rent for about $990 per month. Milwaukee is also a college town, so expect an intellectual vibe. It boasts 17 colleges and universities. If you get tired of working from home, Milwaukee has plenty of cafes with wifi. If you would rather rent desk or office space, Milwaukee has that too.
Charlotte, North Carolina
Looking for an intellectual town where you can get some work done, visit a museum, then sit back down with your laptop and do a little more, all without breaking your budget? Consider Charlotte, North Carolina. There, you can rent a 900 square foot furnished apartment for about $1,130 per month. And that’s the largest city in the state! Between Park Road Park and Charlotte’s various coffee shops with free wifi, you’ll be able to find a pleasant environment to work when you’re tired of working from home. The city has about 17 museums, 19 colleges and universities, and the cost of living is 10% lower than the national average.
Atlanta, Georgia
Moving farther south, let’s look at Atlanta, Georgia, another quite affordable city. There, you can rent a 900 sq foot furnished apartment for about $1,230 per month. The cost of living in Atlanta is about 4% below the national average for cities. Here, we’re getting toward the more expensive places to live. Before you consider moving here, or to the cities following this one on the list, you’ll really want to make sure your income is high enough. With schools like Georgia Tech and Georgia State University, you’ll have local places to take classes if you want to improve your work skills. The city has its share of chain and independent coffee shops for when you want to telecommute in a different environment, and many shared office spaces, too.
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado has a nice combination of liberal culture, pleasant weather, and places for a telecommuter to work. In July, the average temperature is about 87 degrees, and in January, the average daytime high is about 45 degrees, with nights dropping below freezing. Still, it averages 300 sunny days per year. You’ll find plenty of coffee shops to work at while you enjoy a drink and a muffin. While it has fewer coworking spaces than other cities on this list, there are still plenty to choose from. A 900 square foot, furnished apartment will run you about $1,720 per month.
Seattle, Washington
It should come as no surprise that Seattle, home of Starbucks, has wifi just about everywhere. So, as a remote worker, when you want a change of environment, you can choose from hundreds of places to enjoy a latte and focus on your job. There are dozens of coworking spaces if you like that feeling of going to work and being around other working people. Rent is a bit high, at about $1,950 for your average 900 sq foot furnished apartment. If you enjoy sunshine, this might not be the place for you, as Seattle is often rainy. Then again, maybe, like many, you enjoy the sound of rain on the roof as you work. Seattle is a highly creative city, so you’ll find museums, art galleries, and more to enjoy while not telecommuting.
Washington, DC
So long as you have a well-paying remote job, Washington, DC is a great place to live, especially if you have a local government job. In fact, a certain amount of telecommuting is mandated in DC. Again, the city is expensive. Rent for a 900 sq foot furnished apartment will run you about $2,230 per month. However, if you want to work in the U.S. government, you’ll find plenty of jobs there. If you want the option to work around other people there are dozens of shared office spaces, and just as many cafes with wifi.
San Francisco, California
Close to Silicon Valley, and a technological center in its own right, San Francisco is a great place to live for telecommuters, but it is expensive. Housing is at a premium, but the city is in a bay with lovely weather year-round, and there is plenty to do. Because of all these reasons, you can expect to pay about $3,540 per month in rent for a 900 sq foot furnished apartment. However, if you have a well paying tech job, that may be within your budget. Within The City (as people all over the area call San Francisco), you’ll find hundreds of fine cafes to work from and many shared office spaces in nearly every district. You can even grab your laptop and sit at Golden Gate Park and work over your mobile network.
If you can’t move right now, or don’t want to, we recommend looking for what makes your city good for telecommuting. Does it have independent cafes you could visit? Try a few of them. If you can afford it and like working around other people, look up shared office spaces and visit them. Your own city will probably have many pleasant surprises.
