Digital nomadism was a niche phenomenon before the pandemic (2019), with approximately 7.3 million Americans working abroad. By 2024, 18.1 million U.S. citizens will identify as digital nomads, a 147 percent year-over-year increase, according to MBO Partners.
Those are the hard data that everyone knows. What no one is talking about is the relentless bombardment of publicity that encourages Americans to leave the country for friendlier lands financially.
These days, it’s easy to spot an army of TikTokers, Instagrammers, and YouTubers making millions by promoting the “infinite” benefits of a nomadic lifestyle.
In this regard, even the US government has released step-by-step guidelines for retirees to learn how to live abroad while maintaining financial benefits.
Digital nomads, remote workers, freelancers and retirees are thus promised open doors worldwide because they – in theory – bring prosperity to the entire world.
However, data shows the opposite: Americans are being blamed en masse for changing the economic dynamics of the cities where they live, driving up rents, ruining inflation and, most importantly, driving residents from their homes.
Furthermore, digital nomads face criticism for their lack of interest in integrating into local culture and their desire for such cultures to adapt accordingly (some exceptions have been reported).
For example, Lake Chapala, Mexicois home to the largest American immigrant population. There, newcomers live behind high mechanical doors, separated from the local community, where only English is spoken.
Little is known about them except when they visit local restaurants or use the health care system, to which they contribute very little and in many cases nothing.
Another relevant case: while in the Dominican Republic citizens earn an average of $300 per month, many properties are for sale for more than $175,000 (in dollars rather than the local currency), which is obviously aimed at international investors. Some returning residents say gentrification on the island is worse than in New York.
Another case of mass gentrification that has gone unnoticed is Panama. Thousands of Americans began leaving Panama City about twelve years ago after gentrifying it to the point where it became unaffordable, even for themselves.
Meanwhile, emerging digital nomad destinations are liking it Medellin, Colombiaare beginning to experience similar effects with the mass arrival of Americans following the pandemic.
But gentrification is not just a problem affecting Latin American countries.
The phenomenon has also reached Europe, where locals in popular countries are taking to the streets to protest a series of issues related to the arrival of a significant number of expensive homeworkers.
For example, house prices in Lisbon, Portugal– a city ranked among the best in the world for remote workers – has seen a staggering jump of up to 100% in the past six years, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In the meantime, Spaniards across the country have begun to push back against short-term renters and tourists, accusing them of forcing them out of their traditional neighborhoods.
In popular expat destinations such as Andalusia, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Cantabria and Valencia, the situation is so serious that “the average rental price exceeds 30% of net household income.”
In Madrid, rent takes away half of residents’ salaries, while in Barcelona buying a house today is 68% more expensive than ten years ago.
“For three or four years we have been witnessing a second gentrification of people who had already been pushed out of the city centers into the periphery and are now being pushed from there into a second circle or even further.” said former director of the UNESCO Chair for Housing in Catalonia.
Speaking of Barcelona, powerful vulture funds have been buying up hundreds of apartments to convert them into short-term rentals for digital nomads, forcing locals to move to the suburbs and even nearby towns, driving up commuting costs.
The city is currently hosting the 37th America’s Cup, the third most important sporting event in the world.
Hundreds of residents who used to live in the neighborhoods around Paseo Marítimo have been evicted in the past six months.
Locals complain that these apartments are now offered at astronomical prices that only foreigners can afford.
Tackling gentrification issues will require the cooperation of both local governments and digital nomads.
