Working Remotely in Flagstaff, Arizona
This is part of my remote work travel series where I review places I visit as a digital nomad.
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Flagstaff, Arizona is a wild west town run by hipsters — which is why it’s 1,000% on brand for me.
I grew up in Arizona, so I’ve seen the slow and steady hipster-fication of Flagstaff over many years. It feels like only yesterday that I went to see a Pink Floyd cover band play for a crowd that was blasted out of their minds.
Now, Flagstaff still retains the old-school hippie vibes, but with the “hipster”/millennial upgrade of juice “pubs” and avocado toast on every corner. For this reason, it’s an awesome place to work remotely.
Where to Stay in Flagstaff for Digital Nomads
The best place to stay in Flagstaff is near its Historic Downtown. Don’t let the name fool you, this cute downtown has all the boutique coffeeshops and fine dining you could want — all within an easy walk.
My partner Kyle and I stayed about a mile north in this cozy Airbnb, which was small but had a lovely porch and got nice sunlight in the bedroom in the afternoons. Not to mention, it was only $100/night, and the owners are friendly and helpful.
While we were a long walk from downtown, it was nice to make the trek. I’m still trying to get my 10,000-15,000 steps in each day, so long walks are a nice complement to days spent in Zoom meetings or working remotely.
Keep in mind that there’s a train that runs through the center of downtown, so just be aware of that when booking your stay. I didn’t see any Airbnbs that were right next to the tracks, but I could imagine that being an annoying noise factor if you stayed too close.
What to Eat in Flagstaff for Digital Nomads
Flagstaff is much more vegan-friendly than Phoenix, which honestly came as a surprise to me. I thought the quality of the food overall was actually much better than Phoenix, and I’m not sure why that is.
Here are some of our favorite places to eat in Flagstaff:
Diablo Burger. Had some good fries and a good vegan burger here!
Asia Station. Excellent mango sticky rice and pad thai.
Shift Kitchen. This was more of an upscale place, but they had great food and made a special set of vegan options just for us.
Overall, 10/10 for food quality, and 8/10 for vegan options here!
Where to Work in Flagstaff for Digital Nomads
Because I had quite a few Zoom meetings with clients and potential clients, I spent most days working from our Airbnb.
However, there are plenty of coffeeshops you can work from in Flagstaff, and when the weather’s nice, you can also sit outside and take client calls/Zooms.
Firecreek Coffee Company is my number one recommendation: I spent an afternoon working here with Kyle, and I got a chai latte and vegan breakfast burrito that were both great. They have plenty of indoor seating and outlets to plug in your laptop, and they have some tables outside if you want to get some sunshine.
The Juice Pub is another great place to settle down and do some work. Their avocado toast and acai bowls are wonderful. Skip their chai and get a matcha here instead. They’ve got a good number of indoor and outdoor tables and a parking lot that’s easy to park in.
Flagstaff naturally feels quieter and more quaint than most places we’ve been to, so you’ve got a lot of options when it comes to finding a great place to work remotely.
What to Do in Flagstaff for Digital Nomads
To be perfectly honest, we didn’t do too much else other than eat food, walk around, and do work in Flagstaff.
As y’all know, I’m a freelance writer in the web3 space, and I was expecting the huge crypto crash that happened recently to also free up my schedule. The opposite happened: I’ve had more potential client meetings than ever, and Flagstaff ended up being a bit more work-focused. I’m also working on a new book about freelance writing, so that kept me more in deep work mode this week as well.
However, there’s plenty to do in Flagstaff. The town is nestled in the forest, so you’ve got plenty of hiking options. In the winter, they have fantastic cross-country skiing, and I remember coming up here as a kid to cross-country ski at night on a trail lit by candlelight. (What a cool experience!)
There’s also Arizona’s main attraction, The Grand Canyon, about an hour outside of Flagstaff. You can take the train up or just drive. If you haven’t been, it’s a great addition to anyone’s bucket list.
Next Stop on Our Remote Work Summer Roadtrip
It’s been a minute since I’ve written on here, but after I moved out of Los Angeles, we drove down to San Diego for a week, followed by Phoenix for another week.
Moving was hectic, especially as I purged everything I owned and became a de facto minimalist. Now, everything I own fits in the trunk of our Tesla (crazy!)
I feel so much freer with fewer things, and it’s been nice to settle into the routine of working remotely again.
As I’m writing this, I’m looking over the Bellagio fountain from our hotel balcony in Vegas. Quite a view — and I’ve got some travel hacking tips to help you get the most out of your stay here :)
Have a great week, and see you at the next stop on my roadtrip!
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