Marlow Business School · Report
The Remote Expatriate 2026
A new geography of executive work
Why technology leaders, entrepreneurs and successful executives are increasingly asking not simply where they should work — but where they should live.
Information prepared August 2026
0.0m
US workers identifying as digital nomads (2025)
0%
Share of the entire US workforce
+0%
Growth in US digital nomads since 2019
0%
US nomads who are Millennials or Gen Z
Indicative figures drawn from MBO Partners and international nomad community datasets.
Executive summary
The digital nomad has grown up.
What began as a lifestyle associated primarily with freelance developers, designers, online entrepreneurs and twenty-somethings moving between inexpensive cities has evolved into something much broader. Location-independent work now encompasses employees of major corporations, entrepreneurs, senior executives, consultants, founders and investors.
For the senior technology leader, the objective is usually quite different from that of the traditional digital nomad. The question is not necessarily “Where shall I spend the next six weeks?” It is increasingly:
“If my career no longer requires me to live close to headquarters, where would I actually choose to build my life?”
Marlow Business School describes this second group as Remote Expatriates. They may continue to travel regularly, but they normally establish a permanent or semi-permanent base, often with a partner or family. Their priorities are likely to include schools, healthcare, security, international airports, taxation, property, culture and long-term residence rights as much as beaches, coworking spaces and Wi-Fi.
And there is another emerging category: the post-exit executive. After selling a business, receiving carried interest, exercising equity or completing a substantial corporate transaction, some executives reach a point at which their relationship with location changes completely. For the first time in their careers, geography becomes largely optional — and choosing a country may have profound implications for taxation, investment income, capital gains, inheritance, wealth taxes and the structuring of accumulated capital.
Placeholder imagery — to be replaced
Digital Nomad
“I can work anywhere.”
Movement is the point. Cost, community and climate lead the decision.
Remote Expatriate
“I have decided where I want to live.”
A permanent or semi-permanent base: schools, healthcare, security, airports, property and residence rights.
Post-Exit Executive
“I can choose where the next stage of my life — and my capital — is based.”
Geography becomes optional, and taxation of income, gains, wealth and succession becomes strategic.
Part one
A movement that became mainstream
Digital nomadism is no longer a fringe employment phenomenon — and the people practising it look very different from the stereotype.
Where they come from
Share of internationally mobile digital nomads by country of origin.
Cities repeatedly ranked highly
Part two
The destinations, examined
Popularity is not the same as suitability. Each destination is assessed for the senior executive rather than the backpacker.
Part three
The post-exit executive
After a liquidity event, location is no longer only a lifestyle decision. It becomes a question about income, gains, wealth, succession and the structure of accumulated capital.
£0m
Illustrative capital retained after a company sale
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Assumed annual blended gains and income
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Annual economic return exposed to residence taxation
Section 33
The Executive Location Matrix
For a senior technology leader, we suggest judging destinations against ten dimensions.
Section 34
Destination types
Instead of asking for the world's “best” location, it can be more useful to identify the type of location desired.
The European Executive
Madrid · Barcelona · Lisbon · Milan · Zurich
Executives who need regular business travel and sophisticated city infrastructure.
Mediterranean Family Life
Mallorca · Valencia · Málaga · Cascais · Cyprus
Balancing family life with connectivity.
Maximum Lifestyle
Mallorca · Madeira · Tuscany · Greek islands · Bali
Where physical attendance at headquarters is relatively infrequent.
Low-Cost Nomad
Chiang Mai · Bangkok · Bali · Latin America · Central Europe
Where purchasing-power optimisation remains central.
International Entrepreneur
Dubai · Singapore · London · Zurich
Access to capital, advisers, investors and international transport.
Post-Exit Wealth
UAE · Switzerland · Italy · Greece · Cyprus
Investigate alongside lifestyle-led locations such as Spain and Portugal.
Part four
What happens next
The next phase of the movement will not be defined by 25-year-old freelancers — and employers, tax authorities and destinations are all adapting.
Section 40
The question has changed
For most of the industrial era, work determined location. The factory determined the town. The office determined the commute. The financial centre determined where the executive lived.
Technology is beginning to reverse that relationship. For the digital nomad, that means travel. For the Remote Expatriate, it means creating a different life. For the post-exit entrepreneur, it may mean deciding where to spend the next several decades — a sophisticated calculation involving career, family, culture, health, community, immigration, tax, wealth and ultimately happiness.
“If my work can be done from almost anywhere, where do I want my life to be?”
Important notice
Immigration, residence and taxation rules change frequently and can depend materially on nationality, residence history, family circumstances, employment arrangements, asset ownership and the exact timing of transactions.
Capital-gains planning surrounding a business sale can be particularly complex. Moving jurisdiction immediately before or after a transaction does not necessarily alter the jurisdiction entitled to tax the gain, and anti-avoidance and temporary non-residence provisions may apply.
Anyone contemplating relocation, particularly before or after a significant corporate transaction, should obtain appropriate cross-border legal and tax advice before acting.
Information prepared August 2026 · Marlow Business School — Executive Training for Technology Leadership