You can visit other newsletters too - we’re not jealous (but SideStack and Google say we’re the rising stars)
The Nomag Pulse #36 - New Year's Edition
Sometime towards the end of 2025, curiosity quietly won over decorum and we did what everyone does sooner or later: we Googled ourselves. Not out of vanity - or at least not only out of vanity - but because after a year that felt like an acceleration rather than a progression, we wanted to understand how this project now looks from the outside.
What came back was unexpectedly accurate.
Google described Nomag (and The Nomag Pulse) as a rapidly growing and increasingly relevant newsletter for digital nomads, recognised for its crowdsourced stories, practical insights, and its ability to sit comfortably between hard information and lived experience. Not a guidebook, not a lifestyle brand, not a manifesto - something more fluid, and frankly harder to label.
We read that description and did the only honest thing: we nodded. Because that’s exactly what Nomag has become, largely without planning it that way.
Which is why this issue exists.
Why we’re sending you elsewhere
We suggest other newsletters, blogs and platforms because the digital nomad world doesn’t function through exclusivity. It never has. It’s an ecosystem made of overlapping perspectives, generational layers, and very different needs that change over time. Pretending that one voice could cover visas, taxes, money, work, identity, burnout, belonging, and opportunity all at once would be a disservice to readers — and to reality.
Recommending others is not generosity, and it’s not humility either. It’s a recognition that this space works precisely because no one owns it.
That said - and here’s where we allow ourselves a controlled dose of self-confidence - we’re doing this from a position that’s fairly comfortable.
As of 31 December 2025, Nomag counts around 60,000 subscribers on Substack, ranks in the top 10 travel newsletters worldwide according to SideStack, reaches roughly 70,000 readers every week, spans 110+ countries, and does all this without paywalls, funnels, or forced loyalty.
So yes, you’re free to read everything else.
We’re not jealous.
And apparently - according to both Google and SideStack - we’re also one of the new rising stars of this ecosystem.
The ecosystem we’re part of (with context, not just names)
The unavoidable classics
Nomadic Matt - https://www.nomadicmatt.com
One of the original pillars of long-term travel on the internet. Focused on affordable travel, logistics, and destination planning, Nomadic Matt helped an entire generation realise that travel could be structured rather than improvised chaos.
Goats on the Road - https://www.goatsontheroad.com
A reference point for turning mobility into something economically sustainable. Strong on making money while travelling, building online income, and treating nomadism as a long-term project rather than a sabbatical.
Never Ending Voyage - https://www.neverendingvoyage.com
Deeply practical and obsessively detailed. Known for long-stay city guides, cost breakdowns, and decision-oriented content that helps you choose where to live, not just where to dream.
The Blonde Abroad - https://theblondeabroad.com
A massive platform focused on solo and female travel. Whether or not it matches everyone’s style, it has had a huge impact on how travel content is produced, distributed, and monetised globally.
Nomad List - https://nomadlist.com
Not a newsletter, but essential infrastructure. City rankings, cost-of-living data, internet speeds, safety scores, and community input that quietly influence where nomads decide to go.
Visas, legality, long-term reality
Planet Nomad - https://www.planet-nomad.com
A calm, structured resource for visas, residencies, insurance, and compliance. Built by Renato França and Michaël Louis, it’s where enthusiasm meets paperwork without panic.
Digital Émigré - https://digitalemigre.com
Founded by Samantha North, it has become one of the most reliable European relocation resources. Citizenship, residency, taxation, timelines — explained clearly, without shortcuts or fantasy narratives.
The Remote Nomad - https://www.theremotenomad.com
Often overlooked but consistently solid, especially when it comes to destination analysis and the realities of remote work beyond hype-driven hotspots.
Personal voices that stayed human
Explore with Lora - https://explorewithlora.com
Fifteen years of solo travel across more than seventy countries. Lora Pope writes about remote work, online business, friendships, logistics, and reinvention without turning her life into a brand funnel.
Two Tickets Anywhere - https://twoticketsanywhere.com
Matthew and Ashley document leaving the 9–5 world without pretending it guarantees clarity or happiness. Their newsletters feel more like correspondence than marketing.
The Professional Hobo - https://theprofessionalhobo.com
Nora Dunn’s work centres on financially sustainable travel. Nomadism treated as a long-term economic system, with serious attention to income, spending, and resilience.
Community-first, regional, slower perspectives
Freaking Nomads - https://freakingnomads.com
Guides, glossaries, and community-driven resources built by Luca Mussari and Irene Lidia Wang. Particularly useful for navigating terminology, options, and early-stage decisions.
Wandering Hartz - https://wanderinghartz.com
Focused on slow travel, long stays, and emotional sustainability. Joel and Michelle Hartz write about building a life abroad that doesn’t rely on constant movement.
Traveling with Kristin - https://travelingwithkristin.com
Kristin Wilson brings two decades of international living into a coherent narrative about designing a life across borders, through work, retirement, or hybrid models.
Travelling Buzz - https://travellingbuzz.com
Created by Maria Stoyanova, it blends remote work, outdoor sports, Eastern Europe, and community-building, grounded in both lived experience and academic insight.
BEYONDMYFOOTSTEPS - https://beyondmyfootsteps.com
Focused on transition rather than destinations. Confidence, mindset, skill-building, and the early stages of creating location-independent income.
Platforms shaping the ecosystem around newsletters
Flatio - https://www.flatio.com
A mid-term rental platform that has invested heavily in editorial content and partnerships, addressing the housing reality of nomads: legality, deposits, flexibility, and stability.
Nomad Inspectors Club - https://www.flatio.com/nomad-inspectors-club
An interesting experiment where nomads themselves review and validate remote-work-friendly accommodation, feeding experience back into the platform.
Where Nomag stands
Nomag sits among all of this, not above it. We connect dots, question narratives, and look at what mobility does to people, cities, and work - not just where the Wi-Fi is faster this month.
Read the others. Read widely. Compare perspectives.
We’re not jealous.
And if the algorithms are to be believed, we’re doing something right anyway.
—
The Nomag Pulse