After doing the tourist-visa shuffle for over a year I finally sat down and researched every DN visa I could find. Applied to two, almost applied to three more. These are my honest takes
Portugal (D7) – the default recommendation for a reason. Income requirement around €3,500/month, 1 year renewable. Great internet, good healthcare, English widely spoken in Lisbon and Porto. Downside: the application took me 4 months and Lisbon has gotten expensive. Look outside the capital
Spain – newer DN visa, income around €2,500/month. Amazing food, reasonable costs outside Barcelona and Madrid. Bureaucracy is infamously slow – budget 3-6 months for processing. The Beckham law tax situation can be favorable depending on your setup
Croatia – €2,500/month income, 1 year but non-renewable so you'd need to leave and reapply. Split and Dubrovnik are beautiful but internet outside major cities is inconsistent. Great for a year, not for settling down
Estonia – high bar at €4,500/month. E-Residency is a nice perk if you run your own business. Tallinn is modern and tech-friendly. Winter is brutal and dark. Underrated if you can handle the cold and meet the threshold
Greece – €3,500/month income, 1 year renewable. Islands have unreliable wifi so stick to Athens or Thessaloniki. Incredibly affordable for Europe. Flat 7% tax rate for the first 7 years on the DN visa – hard to beat anywhere
Thailand (DTV) – the new Destination Thailand Visa is 5 years, income around $16K/year. Cheapest option on this list by far. Amazing food, low cost of living. But the rules change constantly and enforcement varies by immigration office
Colombia – about $2,700/month income, 2 years. Timezone overlap with US East Coast is the killer feature. Medellín and Bogotá have solid coworking scenes. Safety concerns are real in some areas but massively exaggerated in others
Indonesia (Second Home visa) – aimed at higher earners, $130K savings requirement which is steep. Bali's internet has improved but still drops. If you meet the threshold the lifestyle is hard to beat. The B211A is a cheaper alternative but maxes out at 6 months
No single visa is perfect. Best one depends on your income, tax situation, timezone needs, and weather tolerance. Portugal and Spain are safe bets. Greece is the value pick. Thailand is cheapest. Colombia has the best US timezone alignment