Finding local WhatsApp and Telegram groups when arriving in a new city has always been frustratingly random—you usually discover them through chance encounters days or weeks after arrival, when they would have been most useful.
A developer frustrated by this inefficiency has built an open-source directory of 580+ digital nomad and expat communities across 70+ countries, creating infrastructure that solves a genuine pain point for travelers.
The Problem: Local Knowledge Locked Behind Random Discovery
Every destination has WhatsApp groups, Telegram channels, and Discord servers where expats and digital nomads share real-time information:
• Which coworking spaces actually have reliable internet? • Where do people meet in this city? • Is it better to buy a SIM card at the airport or downtown? • What's the best way to reach specific neighborhoods? • Which tours are legitimate versus tourist traps?
This knowledge exists—but accessing it requires luck. Someone at a hostel mentions a group. A coworking space manager sends an invite link. A friendly local adds you to the community WhatsApp.
By the time you discover these groups, you've already made the mistakes they would have helped you avoid.
The Solution: Community-Maintained Open Database
The directory, hosted on GitHub, takes a different approach: make the resource public, structured, and community-maintained.
Started in June 2023, the project now includes:
• 580+ active groups across digital nomad, expat, and backpacker communities • 70+ countries represented • Validation systems to keep data consistent • Automated checks for broken invite links • GitHub workflows that regenerate the directory automatically
Anyone can contribute new groups by submitting additions through GitHub. The schema validation ensures submissions stay consistent, while automated link checking prevents dead groups from cluttering the database.
