Why Novi Sad is Fantastic for Digital Nomads in Europe
One afternoon, at the end of April, my name was called over the Kyiv airport PA in the final boarding call for a flight to London. It was the first time in my life I had ever intentionally missed a flight, and thinking about that still makes my stomach turn all knotty. At the end of three months in Ukraine my travel plans had changed suddenly, and I was scrambling to figure out how to spend the summer in Europe in a way that was affordable and didn’t use all my Schengen Zone time. Life had been crazy, and I wanted some place quiet to settle in and focus on freelancing for a month. I was mostly considering the Balkans, waffling between Belgrade, Pristina, and Sarajevo. Nothing was getting me excited.
And then, a serendipitous thing happened. A friend off-the-cuff mentioned she wished she had gone to Novi Sad when she was traveling in Serbia. I did a casual, twenty-second Google search on Novi Sad. It looked cute. It was cheap. So I booked myself an Airbnb for a month.
Three weeks later, as my train from Budapest pulled into the Novi Sad train station, I wondered if I had made a terrible mistake. The outskirts looked depressingly Soviet and industrial. I reminded myself that city outskirts always give the wrong impression, shouldered my gigantic backpack, and began my walk to my apartment.
The next day, since I hadn’t yet visited the city center, I strapped on my Skechers and headed out, anxiety building. I felt like I was on my way to a Tinder date. Please let it look just like the pictures. Please let it be cute. I wound my way through the back streets, hitting the pedestrian area, and then all of a sudden – I was out in the square.
And it was adorable.
Relief flooded me. Ok, this could work. And it better than worked. Novi Sad became the perfect place for me to work as a digital nomad for a month. So much so that I even extended my stay a few days. Small enough that I could make friends and become a ‘local’ at a café but big enough that there were plenty of things to tear me away from my computer. So for you digital nomads in Europe, here are a few reasons to consider basing yourself in Novi Sad.
There’s a mover-maker creative vibe. People are doing stuff in Novi Sad. There’s the Scotsman who co-founded a cider manufacturer and then opened up a craft beer joint with his Serbian girlfriend in a near-abandoned courtyard. Or the mom who left her job of fifteen years to open a bakery selling cakes and cookies with homegrown ingredients. And the experimental vineyard at the University of Novi Sad that’s bringing unusual grape varieties to Serbia. Heck, even the monks in the hills make honey and brandy.
Oh, and everyone’s a musician. It’s energizing to be around such creative people and to have conversations that inspire more creativity.
There’s always something to do in Novi Sad (at least in the summer). Novi Sad has a non-stop festival schedule during the summer. The month I was there, there was a children’s song and dance competition, a traditional music festival, a wine festival, and an international film festival. The Exit Festival, one of the biggest music festivals in Europe, takes place in Novi Sad in a 17th century fortress overlooking the Danube.
Novi Sad has a happening food scene. From the local grill around the corner where I had to mime to the curious non-English speaking chefs to the cute vegetarian café I stumbled into to the five star Google-rated “wine deli,” there’s something tasty for every palate. And if it’s hot out, make sure you stop at Moritz Eis for fanciful ice cream flavors like peanut stracciatella and apple ginger.
Novi Sad is adorable. With a pedestrianized old city center, gorgeous Austria-Hungarian architecture, and plenty of sidewalk café seating, Novi Sad may be small but she’s mighty.
It’s crazy affordable. I paid $325 to rent a studio apartment a ten-minute walk from the center. That’s half what I paid for a windowless middle room in a railroad apartment in Brooklyn. My local friends had even nicer apartments for less. Cappuccinos are a buck fifty. My fanciest meal was about $15, and that’s because my wine was $5 and I ordered a cheese appetizer. You can get a bottle of wine at the grocery store for $3-5, a Nutella crepe for $2, a pint of craft beer for $3 or $4, a movie ticket plus popcorn and soda for about $6. And ladies, you’re paying for even less. It’s a chivalrous society. I got free dessert twice. I’m not sure why. Maybe because as a solo female American traveler I confused people. But I’m not complaining.
The Serbian people are the friendliest people I’ve ever met. I was definitely nervous about settling down in the less-touristy Balkans for a month. I’m a social person, and I need friends. But I didn’t need to worry. My Airbnb host and her boyfriend invited me over for dinner. I made friends with the owners of my local pub almost immediately. A girl I met through Couchsurfing kept trying to get me to promise to return later in the summer. I’m pretty sure the baristas at my coffee shop were ready to adopt me at the end of the month. And any time I had a question I could ask a random person and they would be happy to help me.
English is amazingly abundant. I eventually stopped asking people if they spoke English because I felt like it was insulting. I did ask my friends how they all spoke flawless English. They all said it was because Serbia doesn’t dub its movie, TV shows, and video games. It made meeting people and establishing friendships really easy.
In Novi Sad, expats are unique. Here’s how my first conversation with everyone went:
Them: Where are you from?
Me: New York.
Them: Wait, what are you doing here?
English-speaking tourists are such an anomaly that I got whiplash any time I heard a dialect of English. If you’re interested in breaking away from other digital nomads in Europe and meeting locals, Novi Sad is an excellent place for that.
I went to Belgrade after Novi Sad, just for a week, and while I loved it too I was exquisitely pleased that I had chosen Novi Sad to stay for a month. I know there are many other places that are great for digital nomads in Europe, there are many other places I want to go, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I ended up back in Novi Sad for a spell. There’s something about that place that feels like home.
And maybe next time I’ll actually make it to the Exit Festival.
Have you been to Novi Sad? What did you think? Any other ‘small town’ recommendations for digital nomads in Europe?
Whether you’re staying for several months or just visiting for a day or two, here are some of my top suggestions for what to do in Novi Sad:
Toster Bar: Really great burgers with Sunday specials, like the peanut butter bacon cheeseburger.
Beeraj: Fantastic beer pub/shop where you can get craft beer to go or chill out for a bit with a pint. It’s the kind of place I could drop by at any time and know whoever was around, whether we already knew each other or not, would be happy to chat with me over a pint. The owners are great (tell them Amy says hi!). A bit tricky to find, use the address on their Facebook page and look for the passageway under the red cross windows (there are posters around).
Project 72: This wine and deli gets five stars on Google reviews, and to me it’s no surprise. Delectable food, excellent service, delightful presentation, all at a very fair price.
Carica: This is a fabulous little bakery opened by the friendliest mom in the world. When she found out I was from New York, she showed me pictures of her son who had just moved to Boston. Everything is made with super local ingredients from her own garden/farm or her friends’. The eggs come from their chickens, the fruit for the jam from their berry bushes, the nuts from their trees. It’s pretty incredible. And the first time I stopped in I meant to buy just one piece of cake, but I also walked out with a bag of cookies she had given me just because it was my first time in her shop.
It’s a bit difficult to find, but it’s in the center just two doors down from Steva Soul Food on Grčkoškolska. It really looks like a bakery, so if you get that far you shouldn’t be able to miss it.
Moritz Eis: Gourmet ice cream for a buck fifty-ish? Yes please! Their chocolate and cream based flavors are great, but I was always drawn to their intriguing fruit and spice combinations.
Kafeterija: This was my favorite coffee shop to work in. Plenty of space, pretty good wifi, big comfortable tables. You are never rushed out of there, and you can get a loyalty discount card. I came here every day at basically the same time, and one time when I showed up outside of my schedule my barista was genuinely perplexed. (Just a note, like the rest of Serbia, there’s no real ‘non-smoking’ section. But seriously, that’s like the whole country.)
Interfest: Interfest is Novi Sad’s annual wine festival, a fabulous event that takes place in the city center. You can buy a wine glass for about $2.50 (or bring your own), purchase sample tickets for about a $1 each, then meander through the stays trying different Serbian and other Balkan wines. And of course, there’s live jazz music.
Culture Exchange: If you’re staying for a long time, this expat-owned café is a happening place and an excellent way to make connections. It’s quiet enough during the day that you can get work done, but at night it’s always busy with open mics, pub quizzes, movie nights, etc.
19 Comments
Dominique
Novi Sad looks great! Eastern Europe gets me really excited! I visited Plovdiv last year, which is a “small” town in Bulgaria. It’s gorgeous – and it feels like it would be a great place to stay for a longer amount of time!
Amy
Ooh, I’ll put it on my list! I’m learning that when I travel I’m less interested in big cities and more into small towns. I’l definitely check it out. 🙂
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Rob Thijssen
You might have inspired me to check out Novi Sad while I bike nomad my way across the Balkans. Cheers!
Amy
Whoa, bike nomading? That’s another level. 🙂 Novi Sad is definitely worth a stop! If you do, duck into Beeraj and tell the guys there Amy says hi!
Jordan
Also considering Novi Sad for a one month remote stint.. any recommendations for how to meet people? Perhpas some meetup type groups? I checked CS and meetup dot com, seems to be no meetups of any kind there.
Amy
Hi, Jordan! Novi Sad was perfect for me for a month — just to reiterate, though, it *is* a quiet city compared to the likes of Belgrade. However, I think that makes it a bit easier to meet people. If I remember correctly, I put a message up on Couchsurfing just to say I was in the area and got several replies about from people happy to show me around, so that might be an option. That’s how I met one girl, who ended up inviting me to her birthday party. I’m pretty sure meetup was a dead-end for me, but it has been in many cities because I’m not a tech person. I also went on a couple of Tinder dates, in which I was very up front about mostly looking for people to hang out with. Also, people are really friendly. I would drop by Beeraj and know whoever was around would probably be down for a chat. There’s also a cafe called Culture Exchange where a lot of English-speakers hang out and which constantly throw events and things like that. Maybe they’d be able to plug you in.
I hope that helps!
Neil
Hey Amy, nice blog! I’m trying to pick my next destination and am focused on Eastern Europe (right now considering Novi Sad and Plovdiv). Can you fill me in on the following items for Novi Sad?
1. How are Internet speeds and options for cafe’s to work from?
2. Is it too hot during the summer? I don’t want to show up and see everyone has left the city for the beaches…
Thanks!
Amy
Hi, Neil! Thanks for the kind words. Here’s what I can say…
1. Ok, so my freelance work didn’t require very fast internet. Mostly I was Googling and typing, so it was adequate for me in various coffee shops. I had one particular coffee shop I liked to work in — they never rushed me out, which I appreciated. Both Novi Sad and Belgrade have a pretty strong cafe culture, so you have options there. I do remember that my Airbnb wifi was too slow to do Skype English lessons, but that wasn’t something I prioritized when picking an apartment. This is, unfortunately, an area of knowledge I’m a bit deficient in, as I don’t need very speedy internet.
2. I left at the end of June, and yes it was getting *hot.* I imagine anywhere in the Balkans you’re going to deal with that, unless you get some altitude (I was in Bucharest for seven weeks and nearly melted). As for everyone leaving… I’ve noticed that happening mostly in August in Eastern European countries. I spent August in Romania and was frequently frustrated by closed businesses.
Ukraine is a great Eastern Europe option as well. 🙂
David
Hi Amy,
I’m about embark on my digital nomad journey after living in Ukraine for the past 19 years. I’m American and I’ve finally built up my Freelance Writing business to be able to do so. I’ve been plotting my Non-Schengen Zone options and the Balkans are definitely on my list. I’d had my eye on Novi Sad for quite some time and Google Novi Sad vs Belgrade and your article popped up like Google was reading my mind. Couldn’t have come at a better time!
The only thing that gets me about Serbia is their propensity for smoking, especially indoors, yikes. Thoughts of cigarette smelling clothes the day after is something I’m not looking forward to. But otherwise, I guess I’ll have to suck it up because this country is definitely on my travel itinerary.
Good article, well done!
Amy
Hi David,
That’s super exciting about the start of your digital nomad life! It’s a great gig. 🙂
Novi Sad and Belgrade are both fantastic cities. Novi Sad I would say is better if you want something quieter and more chill, but Belgrade is also fantastic. It’s not so big as to be overwhelming. If you are a ‘city person,’ Belgrade might be more your speed.
Re: the smoking indoors — yeah, it’s kinda bizarre. But I don’t remember my clothes getting too stinky from cafes and restaurants (also I was there in the summer, and they tend to sit outdoors/open all the windows). Going to bars in the evening might get smoky. I wonder if they’ve changed it at all — in a lot of these countries where smoking indoors is still technically legal, businesses themselves are enforcing rules.
Regardless, I think you’re going to have an amazing time. Serbia is one of the most hospitable countries I’ve ever been too. The craft beer scene is great. And there’s plenty of nature if you need a break from the city! I would return in a heartbeat — and I’d love to explore more of the Balkans. Have a blast!
David
Your sweet 🙂 Thanks a lot for your reply. You made my day!
Charlie
Novi Sad is a cute, cheap, pleasant, friendly city. Great for a short trip but terrible for digital nomads, especially non-smokers. Yes, there are plenty of cheap Airbnbs and cheap street cafes. But the coffee shops are not the kinds of places where people go to work on a laptop – they’re places where locals go to smoke and chat for a few minutes. If you enjoy cute streets and getting secondary lung cancer, and your clothes stinking of someone else’s filthy cigarettes, you might like Novi Sad. But it’s far from the perfect destination.
Amy
Fair enough and good to point out. I remember being surprised the first time I saw someone lit a cigarette inside, but I don’t remember it bothering me too much when I was working in cafes. Maybe because it was summer, so the smokers sat outside.
And everything is subjective, even to one person. Novi Sad was perfect for me at that time in my life. I needed a smaller, quieter place, and the opportunities I had to connect with locals were invaluable to me. I don’t think I would have had the same relationships in Belgrade, for example. But now, a few years later, I would 100% choose Belgrade over Novi Sad. No destination is absolutely perfect, and it’s good to consider all aspects.
Sam
I ADORE Novi Sad and Serbia generally. However, be warned, Serbia in general and Voivodina included (the area where Novi Sad is), are also among the most RACE CONSCIOUS places in Europe. You had your almost universally positive experience in part because you were white (and perhaps female – they love American solo female travelers). If you are an ethnic minority American or Western European male, I would be more careful. They are still a profoundly friendly and social culture, but your experiences may not be as universally positive. (And you will be asked and should be prepared to answer…”No, but where are you really from?”)
Amy
Hi Sam! Thank you for commenting and adding this perspective. I think you make a good point about race and ethnicity. Over the years I’ve been trying to be more reflective on how the fact that it’s easy for me to blend in affects my travel experiences, especially because a lot of the places I go in Eastern/Southern Europe and Eurasia aren’t really that diverse, but also I can’t honestly describe how the experience would be if I were a different ethnicity because I just don’t know. So I do appreciate when people share their experiences or thoughts.
Carlos
Hi, I’m Carlos, from Spain. Last summer I went to Novi Sad for Exit, and then stayed there for a whole month. Yes, I’m a digital nomad too, so it was a great place to stay and work. Took an apartment at Prenociste Dvoriste, and went to visit so many places in Novi Sad and the neighborhood. When I saw your blog, I remembered everything and started thinking about going there this year again. Thank you! I think I’m going to do that for sure. It’s not expensive, and it’s really great. I fell in love with Serbia.