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Working remotely from Cebu City: a practical guide for digital nomads
Internet, time zones and where to set up your laptop. What remote workers and freelancers should know about working from Cebu.
Cebu has become a favorite base for remote workers, freelancers and people working for companies abroad. The city has beaches and islands within reach, a lower cost of living than Manila, and a large English-speaking community. What you need to sort out is where you'll actually work.
Internet: check before you commit
Home and condo connections vary a lot from building to building, and a single outage during a client call is enough to make you look for a backup. When you choose a workspace, ask about both download and upload speed, since upload matters for video calls and file transfers, and whether there's more than one provider.
At Nest, the connection is 300 Mbps download with 45 to 60 Mbps upload, on two providers, PLDT and DataConnect.
Time zones: work when your team works
If your clients are in the US, Europe or Australia, your working day might start at night. Most cafés close by 10 or 11 PM. Look for a space that matches your hours:
- Day Pass, ₱400: 7 AM to 1 AM, which covers Australian mornings and European afternoons.
- Owl Pass, ₱550: 24 hours, for US-hours shifts.
- Membership: 24-hour access with your own keycard, every day.
Calls and privacy
Open desks are great for focused work, but not for back-to-back calls. Check whether your workspace has booths or meeting rooms. At Nest, members get 3 hours of meeting room use every month, and meeting rooms can be booked from ₱400 an hour. If you're on calls all day, a private office or booth may suit you better. See private office or coworking membership.
Short stay or long stay?
- Here for a week or two: a Week Pass is ₱1,500 for 7 days in a row.
- Here for a month or more, working a few days a week: a Flexi Pass lets you use your days when you need them.
- Making Cebu your base: a Hotdesk Membership is ₱5,500 a month, or get your own dedicated desk.
The full list of passes is on the coworking page.
Find your people
Working remotely can be lonely. A coworking space gives you people to have lunch with, community events and the chance to meet other freelancers and founders in Cebu. Members get free or discounted entry to Nest's community events.
Nest is at B1, Horizons 101 on Gen. Maxilom Ave, Cebu City, with free parking and unlimited coffee. Walk in any day from 7 AM, or find your space and we'll recommend a pass.
