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Today’s PrideNomad™ Quiz:

In Today’s Email:

Publisher’s Note: We stand corrected

Cultures: We go to the shitter. Really.

Nomad Hacks: Lower your travel costs

Nomad News: Bulgaria announces a new digital nomad visa.

PUBLISHER’S NOTE:

A clarification on Budapest — and why context matters

Hi friends,

Last week, I mentioned Budapest as a place that might be worth considering.

I want to clarify — and revise — that.

A reader named Todd wrote in with detailed, current context about Hungary’s legal and political climate for LGBTQ+ people, particularly developments in 2024–2025. His note raised an important question: has the situation materially worsened since we last assessed it?

The short answer is: yes.

Hungary currently sits at 44 out of 65 on the PrideNomad Index, which already places it in a cautionary, non-recommended tier. It was never ranked as a “safe” or “encouraged” destination for long-term queer life.

That said, recent developments — including expanded restrictions on LGBTQ+ expression, events, and organizing — suggest the trajectory has continued to move in the wrong direction.

So while Budapest may still look appealing on the surface — beautiful architecture, strong café culture, reasonable costs — those surface qualities are no longer enough to justify even a soft recommendation.

PrideNomad exists to help you choose places where you can live well — not just cheaply, not just beautifully, and not while negotiating your visibility or safety.

I’m grateful to Todd for flagging this, and I appreciate everyone who holds this work to a high standard. We’d rather update, refine, and correct in real time than let outdated context linger.

We’ll be taking a closer look at a few other destinations in an upcoming issue — not to dramatize, but to explain how and why places move up or down over time.

If you ever see something we’ve missed or that needs a second look, I want to hear from you. Discernment only works when it’s shared.

With appreciation,

Ken

P.S. This isn’t about shaming places or people — especially LGBTQ+ folks living under difficult conditions. It’s about being honest with each other about where life feels lighter right now.

CULTURES:

🌍 Your Airbnb bathroom is trying to tell you something

I still remember standing in a bathroom in Thailand, staring at a little spray gun mounted next to the toilet, thinking:

…what the hell am I supposed to do with this?

No instructions. No explanation. Just a hose and a very strong implication.

A few years later, a friend of mine was in Portugal, doing laundry in an apartment she’d rented for a month. She told me that she spent a good ten minutes opening doors, checking closets, convinced the dryer had to be hiding somewhere.

It wasn’t.

And then there was Australia—where I finally accepted that the dryer I was looking for simply did not exist.

At first, I thought these places were missing things.
Cheap landlords. Incomplete homes. “Not quite finished.”

Turns out, I was reading them wrong.

Every home you walk into abroad—especially the bathroom and kitchen—is basically a cheat sheet for how daily life works in that country. The layout. The appliances. The plumbing. They’re all answers to the same question:

What’s the smartest way to live here?

Once you learn to read those clues, travel stops feeling confusing and starts getting really interesting.

Here are four you can use immediately:

1. Water next to the toilet = paper isn’t the hero.
   That spray gun you see all over Asia isn’t exotic—it’s practical. In hot climates, water-based cleaning is cleaner, cheaper, and better for plumbing. That’s also why some places ask you not to flush toilet paper. (once you start using the spray gun, you’ll wonder why it’s not next to every toilet).

2. Tiny kitchen = different eating habits.
   Small fridges and missing ovens usually mean people shop more often, cook simpler meals, or eat out more. Big American kitchens evolved around bulk buying and storage. Small kitchens signal frequency, not scarcity.

3. No dryer = look outside.
   Sun and airflow do the job for free. Dryers are energy-hungry machines that only make sense where weather is bad or convenience is king.

4. A “lighter” shower = water matters.
   Low-flow showerheads and small hot-water systems usually mean water or energy is expensive. The system expects you to adapt instead of overpowering the problem with hardware.

None of this is better or worse.

It’s just different priorities baked into everyday life.

And once you start seeing that, travel becomes a lot less frustrating—and a lot more fun.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll dig into this more: toilets around the world, U.S. vs Australia, and why ovens, dryers, and giant fridges tend to disappear once you leave North America.

Show up curious.
Not confused.

P.S. If you’ve ever stood in a foreign bathroom thinking “WTF is happening here,” hit reply. Those stories are gold.

Quick question: Which nomad destination are YOU dreaming about? Hit reply and let us know—your dream just might inspire our next story.

NOMAD HACK:

Use this to make your travel life a bit easier.

🚶‍♂️How to “See” a City So You Stop Traveling Blind

Most travelers experience cities underground.

They land.
They jump on the metro.
They pop up somewhere else.
Rinse. Repeat.

And weeks later, they still don’t understand the city they’re in.

Here’s the hack that fixes that — fast.

🧭 Do an Orientation Tour on Day One

Not because it’s touristy.

Because it gives you context.

Two options work brilliantly:

• Free walking tours (they’re not free — tip your guide)

• Hop-on / hop-off bus tours

Yes, locals roll their eyes at them.
But locals already know the city.

You don’t.

Why this works (and why it’s secretly powerful)

When you spend all your time on subways and tubes, you lose spatial awareness.

London is a perfect example:
You take the Tube everywhere…
but you have no idea what’s actually above ground.

Two stops that feel far apart underground?
They might be a 10-minute walk.

I learned this the hard way in Boston decades ago.

I kept taking the T between two stations on different lines — until I looked at a map and realized they were literally a block apart.

I could’ve walked faster.
Cheaper.
Healthier.
And actually seen the city.

The real benefit

Orientation tours:

• Give you a mental map of neighborhoods

• Help you understand what’s close vs far

• Show you how districts connect

• Let you choose walking over transit intelligently

• Make the city feel smaller, safer, and more navigable

Once you see the city above ground, you stop moving like a tourist and start moving like a local.

Bottom Line

Don’t optimize for speed on Day One.

Optimize for understanding.

One walking tour or bus loop at the beginning can save you:

• time

• money

• confusion

• and unnecessary transit for the rest of your stay

Underground gets you places.
Orientation lets you belong.

DESTINATIONS:

Curaçao moved up 12 spots. It’s still #56. Here’s why that matters.

Curaçao isn’t on most people’s radar.

But something important just changed.

The Spartacus Index moved it from #70 to #58.

For a Caribbean island, that’s real movement.

Same-sex marriage became legal in 2024.
Anti-discrimination protections are in place.
Pride events are actually happening — boat parties, parades, beach gatherings.

In the Caribbean context?

That’s a big deal.

So naturally, people started asking:

“Should I consider Curaçao as a nomad base?”

Here’s the honest answer:

On the PrideNomad Index, Curaçao ranks #56 out of 65.

Bottom third.

And before you think that’s a contradiction…

Let me explain why both things are true.

The indexes measure different things

Spartacus Index
Heavily weighted toward legal protections.

When Curaçao legalized marriage and strengthened anti-discrimination laws, it jumped.

That makes sense.

PrideNomad Index
Weighted for long-term livability — not just legality, but day-to-day life.

And that’s where Curaçao struggles.

Where Curaçao falls short

• Healthcare depth? Limited.
• Trans / non-binary protections? Weak.
• Professional infrastructure? It’s a small island.
• Social scale? There just isn’t much of it.

Here’s how Curaçao actually scores when you measure living, not visiting:

• LGBTQ+ Rights: 3 / 10
• Safety: 5 / 10
• Social Acceptance: 4 / 10
• Healthcare Access: 3 / 10
• Visa Inclusivity: 5 / 10 
• Digital Nomad Score: 3.09 / 5

Composite score: 4.24

Important context: PrideNomad scores long-term digital nomad livability, not vacation enjoyment.

So yeah…

Curaçao can be one of the best Caribbean options for queer travelers and still be a bottom-tier nomad base overall.

Both are true.

What actually works

The legal baseline is solid.
Marriage equality. Anti-discrimination laws.

The @Home Curaçao visa allows stays up to a year, with a reasonable income threshold (around $2,500/month).

English is widely spoken.

Queer couples consistently report feeling safe.

It’s warm.
It’s calm.
It’s legal.

Where it doesn’t

Trans and non-binary protections lag hard. Legal gender change isn’t available.

The island is small — limited coworking, limited nightlife, limited professional density.

If you’re expecting Berlin energy or Tel Aviv circuits…

You’re going to be disappointed.

So who is Curaçao for?

→ Retirees or semi-retired couples who want sun, safety, and simplicity.
→ Short-term nomads (3–6 months) who aren’t building complex infrastructure.
→ People optimizing for lifestyle, not growth or networking.

Who should think twice?

→ Trans / non-binary nomads needing robust legal recognition.
→ Builders, founders, and network-driven professionals.
→ Anyone who needs deep healthcare access or real scale.

Bottom line

Curaçao’s progress is real.
Its limitations are also real.

Rank #56 isn’t shade.

It’s an honest signal:

Great place to visit.
Limited place to build a life.

And that’s worth knowing before you book the one-way ticket.

P.S. If today’s issue hit you in a good way, hit reply and just say ‘yes’ — I love knowing you’re out there

Answer to Today’s Quiz

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