Do you dream about working abroad but are unsure about where to go?
Look no further. A new study has revealed the best and worst cities in Europe to take advantage of a ‘work from anywhere policy’ in 2024.
One of Europe’s smallest capitals, Luxembourg City has been crowned the best on the top 10 list – with not a single city in the UK, France, Spain or Germany making the cut.
The worst city for remote working on the list is the Greek capital Athens – although popular among tourists. Other ‘undesirable’ cities include Paris and Limassol where a one-bedroom apartment will set you back £1,336.02 ($1,685.24) a month.
The ranking, compiled by Brother UK analysed a range of factors such as Wi-Fi speed as well as the cost of an apartment including electricity, safety within the country and the general cost of living. It then used a weighted ranking to determine an overall remote worker score out of 100 for each location.
Luxembourg City is the best city in Europe for remote workers, according to a new study
Crowned champion Luxembourg City garnered a score of 68.04, followed by runner up Olomouc in Czech Republic scoring 64.27 and Rotterdam, Netherlands, taking bronze with a total of 63.88.
Rounding off the top five is Aalborg in Denmark (fourth, 63.84) and Reykjavik in Iceland (fifth, 63.72).
The Dutch city of Utrecht sits in sixth position, scoring 63.61, followed by Arhus, Denmark (seventh, 63.56); Eindhoven, Netherlands and Plzen, Czech Republic (joint eighth, 63.53); and Oradea, Romania (ninth, 63.44).
‘Luxembourg City has a six per cent higher remote working suitability score than the second-best city, Olomouc,’ said Brother UK.
‘It also ranked highly in other metrics, with an impressive quality of life score of 192.9, a healthcare index score of 75, and a happiness index score of 7.23.
‘Olomouc is a close second,’ it added, highlighting that renting a one-bedroom apartment outside the centre ‘would only set you back £350.25 ($441.80)’ per month with Wi-Fi costs at just £15.56 ($19.62).
Olomouc in Czech Republic is the second best city for digital nomads, the study suggests
Topping the less-desirable list of worst 10 cities, Athens scored a lowly 50.34 closely followed by the country’s seaside city Thessaloniki (second, 50.87) and Belgrade in Serbia (third, 51.94).
Completing the ranking is Patras, Greece (fourth, 52.33); Limassol, Cyprus (fifth, 53.29); Novi Sad, Serbia (sixth, 53.39); Larnaca, Cyprus (seventh, 53.78); Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (eight, 53.9); Paris, France (ninth, 54.21) and Lyon, France (tenth, 54.58).
‘Despite being known for its rich history and cultural significance, Athens is the worst European city for remote workers,’ said Brother UK.
Rotterdam, Netherlands, is the third best city in Europe for remote working
Athens tops the list of worst 10 cities for remote working in Europe
‘Greece’s capital is among the top 15 lowest-ranking European cities in the safety index, scoring 53 – 20 per cent lower than Luxembourg.’
It follows a study of 502 Britons, aged 18 to 54 in full-time employment, which suggests that three in four Britons admitted they would take advantage of a ‘work from anywhere policy’ if their workplace offered it.
A significant 84 per cent of those surveyed said their desire for a flexible work from home role has increased since the pandemic and 58 per cent said they would not apply for a job if it wasn’t flexible.
The survey was conducted in February, 2024.
