Nairobi is a polarizing city for digital nomads. Long-term stayers tend to enjoy its friendly, cosmopolitan vibe and outstanding weather, which averages 20-27°C year-round. It’s also a great hub for exploring Kenya’s diverse landscapes, including beaches, mountains, and savannahs. Many appreciate the convenience and low cost of getting around using Uber, and the city has a growing tech and nightlife scene. However, short-term visitors often struggle to enjoy themselves. The city has limited walkability, inconsistent infrastructure, and unreliable internet, which can be frustrating for remote work. Costs are relatively high—closer to US-level pricing than expected for the region—especially when weighed against the services offered. The dining scene also receives mixed reviews and doesn't stand out as a highlight. Overall, Nairobi tends to reward those who integrate into local culture and stay longer, while short-term visitors may find it difficult to connect or justify the cost. For those willing to invest time, it can serve as a comfortable base with access to unique travel opportunities throughout Kenya.
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excellent
great
cheap
2019
super
friendly
worse
uber
safari
vegan
weather
phenomenal
2027c
cosmopolitan
attracts
progressive
safe
Nairobi is a polarizing city for digital nomads. Long-term stayers tend to enjoy its friendly, cosmopolitan vibe and outstanding weather, which averages 20-27°C year-round. It’s also a great hub for exploring Kenya’s diverse landscapes, including beaches, mountains, and savannahs. Many appreciate the convenience and low cost of getting around using Uber, and the city has a growing tech and nightlife scene.
However, short-term visitors often struggle to enjoy themselves. The city has limited walkability, inconsistent infrastructure, and unreliable internet, which can be frustrating for remote work. Costs are relatively high—closer to US-level pricing than expected for the region—especially when weighed against the services offered. The dining scene also receives mixed reviews and doesn't stand out as a highlight.
Overall, Nairobi tends to reward those who integrate into local culture and stay longer, while short-term visitors may find it difficult to connect or justify the cost. For those willing to invest time, it can serve as a comfortable base with access to unique travel opportunities throughout Kenya.
AI-generated summary of reviews 7 months ago
Lived in Nairobi off and on since 2019 - it's my home base when not nomading. I think it's an excellent place to live. Weather is phenomenal, between 20-27C most of the time. People are super friendly and it's very cosmopolitan (attracts people from all over Kenya, Africa and the world). For Africa it's relatively progressive and I'm not sure why it gets a "not safe for women" (IME it's not perfect but no worse than many other countries around the world and much less regressive than Middle East, South Asia, etc.) It's an excellent jumping off point for the rest of Kenya which is very diverse (beaches/mountains/savannahs/deserts) - a bit like SF in that the city itself is great but a lot of the appeal is surrounding nature. Tech and nightlife scenes are vibrant. Main cons: it's not THAT cheap, it's not an amazing food city, mainly car-based for getting around (Uber is cheap though). From talking to other nomads, people who come here for a few weeks have a bad time, people who come for a few months get better integrated and have a fantastic time.
9 months ago
December 2022: Nairobi is a city less walkable than Bangkok, worse infrastructure than the Eastern European province, a non-service culture that would rival Germany, WiFi & 3G/4G like in rural Kyrgyzstan (the kind of where you walk with your phone in your stretched out hand).... All of that you get for almost US-level prices.
Nah, I didn’t have a good time. It feels utterly derelict and careless. Zero things to do except paying through your nose for Safari stuff. Although the people are very friendly (if you sift through the ones that want your wallet).
3 years ago
Lived in Nairobi off and on since 2019. I think it's an excellent place to live. Weather is phenomenal, between 20-27C most of the time. People are super friendly and it's very cosmopolitan (attracts people from all over Kenya, Africa and the world). For Africa it's relatively progressive and I'm not sure why it gets a "not safe for women" (IME it's not perfect but no worse than many other countries around the world and much less regressive than Middle East, South Asia, etc.) It's an excellent jumping off point for the rest of Kenya which is very diverse (beaches/mountains/savannahs/deserts) - a bit like SF in that the city itself is great but a lot of the appeal is surrounding nature. Tech and nightlife scenes are vibrant. Main cons: it's not THAT cheap, it's not an amazing food city, mainly car-based for getting around (Uber is cheap though).
4 years ago
I visited Nairobi twice - in 2017 and then again in 2019. On my second visit, I stayed in a comfortable 2 bdrm apartment with friends. It was super easy to move around - just call Uber. I visited a few nice shopping malls where I shopped and ate lunch. Prices were reasonable for me (an American). I'm also vegan and there were vegan options at all of the restaurants I visited as well as a great vegan restaurant (Indian cuisine). The best part of the trip for us was going on safari. It's a long drive to safari country (Amboselli NP, Maasai Mara NP) but the experience is well worth it. I also visited Mombasa which, while not as big a city as Nairobi, had lovely beaches and the hotel where we stayed was great.
5 years ago
Nairobi is one of he best place to be a Nomad in Africa. Very low cost of living especially if you know where to look.
Air quality clean 39 US AQIclean 35 US AQIclean 32 US AQIclean 19 US AQIclean 15 US AQIclean 45 US AQIclean 39 US AQIclean 29 US AQIclean 28 US AQIclean 19 US AQIclean 25 US AQIclean 35 US AQI
Sun avoid sun 9 UVIavoid sun 8 UVIavoid sun 10 UVIavoid sun 8 UVIavoid sun 7 UVIavoid sun 7 UVIavoid sun 7 UVIavoid sun 7 UVIavoid sun 8 UVIavoid sun 9 UVIavoid sun 8 UVIavoid sun 8 UVI
Green is good. Red is bad. Values shown are the medians of all daily highs in a month based on past few years, not necessarily current numbers. Remote worker count is estimated based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members.
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One-time-payment: (削除) 39ドル.98 (削除ここまで) 19ドル.99💫 0% off
Billed once. Then never again
One-time-payment: (削除) 98ドル (削除ここまで) 49ドル💫 50% off
Billed once. Then never again
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