>The write-ups of westerners working from Bali goes into a bit of this. Yes, it adds to the local economy. No, not always in constructive ways. Feeding young egos desire for european beer and fixing their skateboard falls costs time feeding local kids in schools and providing primary health care in a stretched local economy which is 10x lower down the scale.
You're being far too nice by choosing the example of a digital nomad living in Bali.
A much closer to home and harder to ignore example is what SV money has done to places like Denver, Boulder and is doing to Boise.
I don't know what it is. I don't know how to fix it. But there's some very, very, very wrong stuff that happens when richer people move in. It shouldn't be that way.
And before any east-coasters or Mid-westerners start laughing, NYC money is doing a very good job destroying upstate, PA and VT. Masshole money is crapping all over NH and ME. Chicago is slowly eating more and more of Wisconsin and Michigan. This is a relatively universal problem at least in the US.