Picking our first location on our digital nomad journey was extremely difficult. We had to find the right climate, cost of living, and a certain level of familiarity. It was exhausting because there are so many great places to live in the world.

Thankfully, choosing the second location wasn’t as difficult. After hours upon hours of research into potential cities to live, we already had a couple in mind for later dates. One of these is now the official plan for September.

Plovdiv, Bulgaria!

This quaint city is perfect for our second location. Let me share with you why.

High Value Per Dollar

One of the first things we look at when considering a location is the cost of living compared to lifestyle value. Plovdiv scores very high in this regard. It’s a budget destination, featuring many of the comforts we are familiar with at a fraction of the cost we’re used to in the US.

We’ve already put down a deposit for a furnished two bedroom apartment that is 860 square feet. The kitchen is large, the Wi-Fi is great, and it’s less than a 15-minute walk from one of the largest pedestrian areas in all of Europe. The cost for a single month: $480. If we were staying 2 or 3 months, it would be closer to $300. Incredible.

Eating is inexpensive, as well as grabbing coffee at a cafe. We shouldn’t have any problems saving money without sacrificing any of our little luxuries (cafe visits, eating out, and the like).

We Can Walk Everywhere

Since we won’t have a car, access to public transportation or a walkable area is essential. Thankfully, Plovdiv is a very walkable city!

Here are a few of the places I’m sure we’ll frequent and how long it’ll probably take us to walk to them.

• Nearest Specialty Coffee Shop – 10 Minutes
• Grocery Store – 7 Minutes
• Local Restaurants – 10+ Within 1 Mile (According to Google)
• Riverbridge Mall – 5 Minutes
• Cheese Shop (Not Even Sure What This Is) – 4 Minutes
• Ancient Roman Theater – 25 Minutes

Our legs should be pretty toned by the end of September.

No Shortage Of History

Plovdiv is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Europe and the sixth in the world. The first settlement was established over 8,000 years ago – before Rome and Jerusalem. It’s rich with history that’s been paved by the ancient settlers, Thracians, Macedonians, Romans, Byzantines, Ottomans, and modern Bulgarians.

Much of this history is preserved in ruins spread across the city, museums, and ancient structures on the city’s seven hills. We’re particularly excited about visiting the ancient Roman theater and hilltop ruins.

A Smaller City In The Mountains

The population of Plovdiv is close to 200,000 – not too far from Lubbock, Texas. We’re not really into huge cities, so this size seems right to us.

It’s also in the middle of Bulgaria, surrounded my forests, lakes, and mountains. We’re both pretty thrilled to take some day trips into nearby parks, hiking areas, and cute cobblestone villages scattered through the mountains.

It’s Still In Europe

We knew pretty early that we wanted to spend the Fall in Europe before returning to the States for the Christmas season, so we quickly knocked all of the cities in Asia and South America off our list for location #2. We also knew we wanted to go further south each month to avoid unfavorable cold weather.

Plovdiv is still in Europe, is basically straight south from Estonia, and the weather will be close to our target temperatures for the clothes we’ll be packing. Among everything else, it fits our regional and climate needs.

Location #3?

We’re on the hunt for a city to call home for the month of October. Right now we’re looking at Italy and Greece, but aren’t completely set on either one.

Which do you think we should choose?