Madeira welcomes digital nomads: Come work with us

Destinations like Bali, Berlin, and Lisbon are popular choices for digital nomads seeking a perfect blend of work and leisure. These places offer strong Wi-Fi, great coffee, and an appealing cost of living for the global community of remote workers.

However, one Lisbon local believes that a tiny archipelago, often referred to as Europe’s Hawaii, could soon become the next major hotspot for remote workers.

And when Gonçalo Hall – a remote work consultant helping to launch a new digital nomad community in a small village on Madeira – talks about big, he really means small.

“With more people leaving large cities these days, we aimed to create a space where individuals can form deeper connections in a more intimate setting,” said Hall, 33, about Digital Nomads Madeira Islands.

The pilot project is set to launch on February 1, backed by the regional government of Madeira and StartupMadeira in the picturesque village of Ponta do Sol. The initiative will welcome up to 100 remote workers, offering co-working spaces and local housing. Expansion plans to include additional buildings in the village and beyond are already underway.

As with all things related to Covid-19, the situation remains fluid. On January 29, Portugal responded to a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases by extending its lockdown and closing the border with Spain, restricting international travel for the next 15 days.

Despite the uncertainty, the project is moving forward, and organizers are eagerly awaiting to see whether remote workers will flock to this new destination once it’s built.

Embracing freedom and pursuing passions

So far, around 75 digital nomads have signed up to be among the first to work in the scenic village of Ponta do Sol, which has a population of 8,200 and is nestled in a lush valley on Madeira’s southwest coast, just steps away from a pebbly beach.

Hall, currently on Madeira and having already met some of the participants, expects around 40 nomads to arrive on February 1. The group will represent countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Ireland, and the Czech Republic.

The co-working space will be based in the John Dos Passos Cultural Centre, while remote workers will be accommodated in 40 different homes and a hotel in Ponta do Sol. This initiative is supported by Carlos Soares Lopes, CEO of StartupMadeira, a business incubator that helps local companies.

Over 2,000 people from locations as distant as South Africa, the United States, and Nigeria have expressed interest through the website, according to Hall. They are invited to join a Slack community where they can share housing advice, find potential roommates, stay informed on local Covid-19 restrictions, and access other helpful tips.

American Jenn Parr, currently residing in Porto with her husband, registered to join Madeira’s digital nomad village and arrived on the island this past Sunday. Since she's traveling from an EU country, she has no issues accessing Madeira.

The 37-year-old early childhood mindfulness educator from Maryland shared that she’s ‘not a big fan of city life.’ She’s drawn to Madeira for its natural beauty, hiking opportunities, mild winter weather (with temperatures typically in the low 60s), and the chance to connect with other like-minded remote workers.

‘The co-working space really appeals to me,’ she said. ‘It’s inspiring to meet other entrepreneurs or people who have figured out how to live more freely and pursue their passions.’

Gabe Marușca and Ralu Enea, a Romanian couple who have been living the remote work lifestyle in Madeira since September 2020, recently discovered the digital nomad village and are considering joining to connect with other remote professionals.

After traveling through places like Bali, Cyprus, Malta, and Spain, Marușca shared that Madeira, a 34-mile-long island popular with sun-seeking tourists from the UK, offers ‘the full package.’

Marușca highlighted Madeira’s mountains, ocean views, affordability, welcoming locals, and ‘blazing fast internet’ as some of the island’s key benefits. He also appreciates the island's manageable size, which he believes makes it easier to build community and settle in longer than in larger destinations.

‘We don’t want to move every month – it’s exhausting,’ said the 36-year-old founder of Digital Finest, who shares a three-bedroom oceanfront apartment in Funchal with Enea for €1,200 a month.

A small place with a big dream

Hall, the consultant helping to launch the project, revealed that the idea for a digital nomad village on the island – famous for its namesake fortified wine – first came to him during a visit in September 2020.

After spending most of 2018 and 2019 traveling the world, working while chasing waterfalls in Bali and enjoying street food in Thailand, Hall returned to Madeira for a work conference – his first time back since childhood.

‘The landscapes were like nothing I had ever seen,’ said Hall about Madeira, an archipelago made up of four islands (only two of which are inhabited), located just north of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean and closer to Morocco than to mainland Europe.

‘I thought to myself, ‘I know the digital nomad community – why isn’t anyone coming here?’’

Ponta do Sol was chosen as the pilot location for the project, with plans to extend it to other parts of the island, according to Lopes from StartupMadeira.

The co-working space is being prepared with enough room for 22 desks and chairs initially, along with some covered outdoor seating. To comply with social distancing and Covid-19 regulations, workers will use the space in shifts, with access to high-speed Wi-Fi, a printer, and a crucial coffee machine, said Hall.

The goal for the project, even before it expands to other areas, is to encourage digital nomads to explore the island, living and working in various locations, while helping revitalize the local economy, which has been impacted by the pandemic and the challenges it posed to the tourism-dependent community, according to Lopes.

From February 1 to June 30, the co-working space and community membership will be free of charge, though a minimum one-month stay is required.

Networking events, skill-sharing seminars on topics like cryptocurrency, yoga sessions, and hiking trips are already being discussed as potential group activities for the community.

There are no plans to charge community members in the future, said Lopes, emphasizing that the project’s goal is to help the local community build new businesses within this niche market.

Co-working – but first, you need to get there

Residents of the European Union and Schengen Area countries are allowed to enter Madeira, but they should check with their local authorities for specific travel guidelines and be ready to present a negative Covid-19 PCR test upon arrival.

For now, most US citizens looking to join the digital nomad village beyond Slack will have to wait, as nonessential travel to Portugal and the European Union remains restricted due to Covid-19.

‘Despite the travel restrictions from many countries like the USA, Canada, and Brazil, we are still welcoming registrations from these nationalities,’ said Lopes. ‘Although they can’t travel to Madeira yet, they can start familiarizing themselves with the island and plan their future visit.’

Locals are excited about the possibility

Lopes mentioned that the local response from landlords, businesses, and even lawyers has been ‘very positive,’ with many expressing interest in participating by adjusting rental prices to monthly rates for digital nomads and offering long-term car rental options.

For a fee, local lawyers can assist digital nomads in extending their stay on the island by helping them apply for non-tourist visas, such as Portugal’s Golden Visa or the D7 resident permit.

Luis Vilhena, a Portuguese architect who has lived on Madeira since 1989 (he came for a six-month job and never left), said that once you’re here, it’s easy to fall in love with the island.

‘The landscapes are truly inspiring, and the island is safe – you can swim in the sea in the morning and hike in the mountains by the afternoon,’ he said. ‘It’s also close to mainland Europe,’ with a 90-minute flight from Lisbon.

Ponta do Sol, he said, is a natural fit for the digital nomad village, thanks to its easy access to mountain biking, sailing, surfing, and a variety of other adventure activities.

Francisco Fontes, originally from Madeira, who recently returned with his Italian girlfriend after his finance job in the US went remote, described Ponta do Sol with its narrow alleys, tiled rooftops, and pebbled beach as reminiscent of 'the villages along Italy’s Amalfi coast.'

‘It’s very small. When you think of a nomadic village, it’s really that,’ he said. ‘A place where you can step out and easily bump into others involved in the project.’

Fontes shared that his late grandmother, who was from Ponta do Sol, would have loved to see the village revitalized.

‘She always dreamed of seeing the town’s cinema restored to its former glory, like it was in the 1930s when her father built it,’ he said.

‘I believe this initiative can help restore some of the original spirit of Ponta do Sol,’ he said. ‘And I haven’t heard any negative feedback, which is always a positive sign.’