How much does it cost to work in Bali, Croatia, Jamaica and Barbados

Google may be calling people back into the office, but many other companies — not to mention entrepreneurs — are still committed to remote work.

From Croatia to Barbados, destinations provide vastly different experiences for foreigners who wish to work from new shores. The weather is usually better (save hurricanes), and costs can be cheaper (excluding imported goods).

But life isn’t an Instagram photograph, warned one digital nomad who spoke with CNBC Global Traveler about living and working abroad.  

Agoro operates a travel documentary company called Passport Heavy with four members of his team from a large villa staffed by a chef, personal trainer, housekeepers and villa manager.

“We have all these people so that we can work really efficiently, and we don’t really have to leave,” he said.

Agoro gave two examples of monthly expenditures remote workers can expect:

1. Budget or solo lifestyle

• Nice apartment – $500
• Scooter – $70
• Gas – $10
• Eating out – $300
• Gym membership – $40
• Entertainment – $200
• Weekly massages – $7

2. “Six-figure” lifestyle

• Villa – $1,000
• Upgraded motorcycle – $170
• Gas – $20
• Eating out – $600-$700
• Nicer gym membership with group classes – $150
• Entertainment – $1,000
• Weekly massage – $30

Though Bali is still closed to international tourists and lacks an official program for remote workers, Bali has a community of digital nomads, some arriving via investment visas or by government invitation, Agoro said. Others are finding ways around immigration rules, as reported by Singapore digital newspaper Today.

Shipping isn’t ideal (“there’s no Amazon Prime”) and can be pricey, said Agoro, who paid $85 to have a replacement credit card sent to him from the United States. Still, he loves Bali’s balanced lifestyle and low-key nature.

“You can’t tell the difference between someone who has $10 million… versus someone who has $482 in their bank account,” he said.

He cautioned people not to be “bamboozled by the Instagram highlights,” saying most remote workers “are on a laptop, cranking stuff out … working just as hard as people around the world.”

Agoro originally planned to stay a year, but will probably end up staying two, he said.

“I’m like most people who come to Bali,” said Agoro. “I’m going to stay here as long as I can because I’m living my best life.”

Seeing “a once in a lifetime opportunity,” he applied for a 12-Month Barbados Welcome Stamp, a process he describes as very easy. Applying took no more than 15 minutes, and he was approved about 10 days later, he said.

He arrived in February of 2021 and is living in an “amazing Airbnb apartment” in Atlantic Shores, a residential area on the southern end of the island. He said the people (“super accommodating and friendly”) and the island itself (“gorgeous”) are the highlights of life there.

That said, island life in Barbados isn’t cheap, said Esposito.

“Having lived in Boston and Denver prior to Barbados, I didn’t find the same level of ‘sticker shock’ that many warned me of before arrival,” he said. “Rent prices are comparable to what I’ve seen in the United States, but goodness are the taxes on imports high!”

Food is “expensive as hell,” said Esposito, and items aren’t always available. He also relies solely on taxis due to left-hand driving, problems with drunk drivers, the unpredictability of local buses and rental prices.

“I have seen what it costs to rent a car — no, thank you,” he said.

Esposito said he arrived with no expectations, but the one thing he was not prepared for was the local attitude toward dogs, which are not regarded as pets.

“I definitely wasn’t ready for all the sideways glances, outright avoidance and aggression I’ve experienced while walking my dog,” he said.

Still, he said he’d “like to stick around for as long as I can — it’s a wonderful place!”

When Croatia began accepting digital nomads in January, Paul was the first person accepted into the program.

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