Why Brooklyn Has Become the Go-To Base for Digital Nomads Settling in the US
There comes a point for many long-term travelers when the question stops being where to go next and starts being where to actually land. The world-as-office lifestyle is genuinely freeing, but after years of moving through places, most nomads eventually want somewhere with real roots. Somewhere they can keep stuff, build friendships that last longer than a hostel stay, and engage with a city rather than just pass through it.
For an increasing number of people making that transition in the United States, that somewhere is Brooklyn.
What Makes Brooklyn Work for Former Nomads
Brooklyn appeals to the nomad demographic for reasons that go beyond the obvious. Yes, the coffee shops are good and the coworking spaces are plentiful. But the deeper draw is the borough’s genuine diversity of people and the fact that nobody here needs you to explain what you do for work or why you have lived in seven countries in the past three years.
Brooklyn has absorbed waves of creatives, entrepreneurs, and internationally mobile professionals for decades. The infrastructure for remote work, freelancing, and location-independent business is embedded in the borough’s culture in a way that most American cities cannot match. You are not an anomaly here. You are just another person with a laptop and an interesting background.
The neighborhood variety also matters. Williamsburg and Bushwick attract the younger creative crowd. Park Slope and Carroll Gardens draw families and professionals looking for a quieter pace. Bay Ridge offers affordability with a strong community identity. There is a Brooklyn neighborhood for almost every version of settled life a former nomad might want.
The Practical Side of Actually Moving There
Making the move to Brooklyn from abroad or from another US city is where the romance of the decision meets logistical reality. The rental market is fast and competitive. Landlords move quickly and apartments at reasonable prices go within days of listing. If you are relocating from overseas, trying to secure an apartment remotely is genuinely difficult and most nomads end up doing a scouting trip first, staying short-term in a target neighborhood before committing to a lease.
The physical move itself is another adjustment for people used to traveling light. Years of accumulating a real life, furniture, equipment, books, kitchenware, the things that make an apartment feel like home rather than a temporary stop, means the move into Brooklyn is often the largest relocation most nomads have ever undertaken. Good Brooklyn long distance movers are worth the investment here. Brooklyn’s older buildings come with narrow staircases, tight entry points, and strict move-in windows — the kind of obstacles that turn a straightforward move into a stressful day without the right team handling it.
Building a Life After the Road
The transition from permanent traveler to Brooklyn resident takes longer than most people expect. The first few months involve rebuilding the kind of daily structure that travel naturally strips away. Routines, local spots, a regular gym, a group of people you actually see more than once — these things take time to form.
What most nomads-turned-residents discover is that Brooklyn rewards the same quality that made them good travelers in the first place: curiosity. The borough is dense enough to keep revealing itself for years. That is a rare thing in a place you are supposed to stop moving through.
Remember, never travel without travel insurance! And never overpay for travel insurance!
I use HeyMondo. You get INSTANT quotes. Super cheap, they actually pay out, AND they cover almost everywhere, where most insurance companies don't (even places like Central African Republic etc!). You can sign-up here. PS You even get 5% off if you use MY LINK! You can even sign up if you're already overseas and traveling, pretty cool.
Also, if you want to start a blog...I CAN HELP YOU!
Also, if you want to start a blog, and start to change your life, I'd love to help you! Email me on johnny@onestep4ward.com. In the meantime, check out my super easy blog post on how to start a travel blog in under 30 minutes, here! And if you just want to get cracking, use BlueHost at a discount, through me.
Also, (if you're like me, and awful with tech-stuff) email me and my team can get a blog up and running for you, designed and everything, for $699 - email johnny@onestep4ward.com to get started.
Do you work remotely? Are you a digital nomad/blogger etc? You need to be insured too.
I use SafetyWing for my digital nomad insurance. It covers me while I live overseas. It's just $10 a week, and it's amazing! No upfront fees, you just pay week by week, and you can sign up just for a week if you want, then switch it off and on whenever. You can read my review here, and you can sign-up here!





As you know, blogging changed my life. I left Ireland broke, with no plan, with just a one-way ticket to Thailand
and no money. Since then, I started a blog, then a digital media company, I've made
more than $1,500,000 USD, bought 4 properties and visited (almost) every country in the world. And I did it all from my laptop as I
travel the world and live my dream. I talk about how I did it, and how you can do it too, in my COMPLETELY FREE
Ebook, all 20,000
words or so. Just finish the process by putting in your email below and I'll mail it right out to you immediately. No spam ever too, I promise!