Do you dream of working abroad but don’t know where to go?
Look no further. A new study has revealed the best and worst cities in Europe that would benefit from a ‘work from anywhere policy’ in 2024.
One of Europe’s smallest capitals, Luxembourg City, was crowned the best in the top 10 – no city from the UK, France, Spain or Germany made it.
The worst city on the list for remote working is the Greek capital, Athens, although popular among tourists. Other “undesirable” cities include Paris and Limassol, where a one-bedroom apartment will cost you £1,336.02 ($1,685.24) per month.
The ranking, established by Brother United Kingdom, analyzed a series of factors such as Wi-Fi speed; the cost of an apartment, electricity included; security within the country and the general cost of living. It then used a weighted ranking to determine an overall score out of 100 for each site.
Luxembourg City is Europe’s best city for remote workers, new study finds
The city of Luxembourg, crowned champion, obtained a score of 68.04. She is followed by Olomouc, Czech Republic (64.27), and Rotterdam, Netherlands, who took bronze with a total of 63.88.
The top five is completed by Aalborg in Denmark (fourth, 63.84) and Reykjavik in Iceland (fifth, 63.72).
The Dutch city of Utrecht is sixth with 63.61, followed by Arhus, Denmark (seventh, 63.56); Eindhoven, Netherlands, and Plzen, Czech Republic (tied eighth, 63.53); and Oradea, Romania (ninth, 63.44).
“Luxembourg City has a remote working readiness score 6% higher than the next best city, Olomouc,” Brother UK said.
“It also ranked highly in other measures, with an impressive quality of life score of 192.9, health index of 75 and happiness index of 7.23.”
He noted that Olomouc is “just behind”, pointing out that renting a one-bedroom apartment outside the center “would only cost you £350.25 ($441.80)” per month with costs Wi -Fi only £15.56 ($19.62).
Olomouc, Czech Republic, is second best city for digital nomads, study finds
Topping the list of the 10 worst, least desirable cities, Athens scored a modest 50.34. It is closely followed by the seaside city of Thessaloniki (second, 50.87) and Belgrade in Serbia (third, 51.94).
The ranking is completed by 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,” Brother UK said.
Rotterdam, Netherlands, is the third best city in Europe for remote working
Athens tops list of Europe’s 10 worst cities for remote working
“The Greek capital is among the 15 worst-ranked European cities in terms of safety index, with a score 53 to 20 percent lower than Luxembourg.”
It follows a study of 502 Britons, aged 18 to 54, working full-time, which suggests three in four Brits admitted they would benefit from a “work from anywhere policy” if their workplace offered it.
A significant 84 percent of respondents said their desire for flexible working from home has increased since the pandemic and 58 percent said they would not apply for a job if it was not flexible.
The survey was conducted in February 2024.