en

Best Urban Cities for Digital Nomads

The world is changing, and so is the way we think about our careers. Remote work is on the rise, while office jobs, 9-to-5 shifts, and fixed holidays are (almost) behind us. More and more people are looking for location independence – the freedom to combine work and travel. If you’re thinking of giving up the desk job, maybe it’s time to become a Digital Nomad.

But is there a specific way to be a Digital Nomad? No, and that’s the point – the concept is different for everybody. But one thing’s for sure – Digital Nomads are not perpetual tourists. Most tend to live in one place for a few months, and pack up and move on when it’s time to explore something new.

So if you want to be a Digital Nomad, where is the best place to start? The most popular places are where the sun is shining, the prices are low, and the living is easy. But at Spotahome, we wanted to put more of a focus on cities. We’ve created a ‘Digital Nomad’ index that compares 56 different cities across the world. Each city is ranked on how well it performs across 9 different factors. If you’d like to learn more about our research process, please consult the methodology.

Internet Speed

Quality of Coworking Spaces

Startup Score

Migrant Acceptance

Average Rental Cost

Cafes with Free Wi-Fi

Green Space and Parks

Cost of Beer

Annual Sunshine Hours

Digital Nomad Index

Scroll to select filter

information icon

Digital Nomad Index

Internet Speed

Quality of Coworking Spaces

Startup Score

Migrant Acceptance

Average Rental Cost for a 1-Bedroom Apartment

Cafes with Free Wi-Fi per 100k People

Green Space and Parks

Cost Of Beer

Annual Sunshine Hours

information icon
Total
Work
Life
Fun
Rank
City
Country
1
Belfast
United Kingdom
6.05
10
8.12
0.02
7.5
8.28
6.65
7.14
6.36
0.38
2
Lisbon
Portugal
5.84
3
5.81
0.49
7.56
7.87
5.86
6.18
9.26
6.57
3
Barcelona
Spain
5.82
5.13
8.29
1.05
8.77
7.6
4.72
4.2
7.24
5.37
4
Brisbane
Australia
5.54
1.63
9.15
0.09
9.59
6.88
0.95
8.27
6.03
7.27
5
Luxembourg
Luxembourg
5.48
5.03
10
0
8.92
5.47
4.03
8.09
6.19
1.56
6
Adelaide
Australia
5.46
1.46
8.72
0.16
9.59
7.66
0.47
8.34
6.33
6.4
7
Madrid
Spain
5.43
3.14
7.69
0.8
8.77
7.68
1.71
6.2
6.47
6.42
8
San Francisco
United States
5.43
3.42
7.09
10
9.41
0
0.1
7.32
3.83
7.67
9
Wellington
New Zealand
5.41
1.95
8.68
0.06
10
7.28
2.82
8.38
6.15
3.39
10
Miami
United States
5.35
1.72
7.44
0.67
9.41
5.05
3.67
6.34
5.81
8.06
11
Auckland
New Zealand
5.33
3.53
8.72
0.05
10
7.14
1.41
8.23
5.74
3.15
12
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
5.26
2.85
3.68
0.12
7.5
7.67
10
8.25
6.56
0.69
13
Perth
Australia
5.23
0.89
7.52
0.12
9.59
7.44
0.21
8.15
4.78
8.38
14
Lyon
France
5.22
5.96
7.44
0.15
7.27
8.35
1.56
7.04
5.74
3.44
15
Vancouver
Canada
5.18
2.62
7.35
0.6
9.83
6.12
2.42
8.58
6.23
2.87
16
Toronto
Canada
5.13
3.39
8.63
1.35
9.83
6.24
0.64
6.77
5.91
3.42
17
Amsterdam
Netherlands
5.11
2.31
6.07
0.58
8.8
5.23
7.93
7.39
6.04
1.69
18
Geneva
Switzerland
5.1
3.74
8.03
0.11
8.41
4.63
4.29
8.53
5.74
2.4
19
Montreal
Canada
5.1
1.23
7.09
0.51
9.83
8.28
1.09
8.07
6.42
3.35
20
Melbourne
Australia
5.09
2.39
8.38
0.59
9.59
6.72
0.59
8.11
4.78
4.68
21
Berlin
Germany
5.03
2.65
6.15
1.23
8.23
7.83
1.33
8.01
8.27
1.54
22
Vienna
Austria
4.97
2.31
7.78
0.17
6.66
7.85
1.85
8.33
7.17
2.64
23
Buenos Aires
Argentina
4.97
0.54
6.32
0.52
7.35
10
0.27
5.31
9.05
5.38
24
Chicago
United States
4.95
3.17
5.9
1.43
9.41
5.25
0.63
7.71
5.74
5.3
25
Dublin
Ireland
4.88
2.53
6.75
0.43
9.22
5.27
6.67
7.49
4.78
0.8
26
Rome
Italy
4.88
2.37
6.67
0.23
7.32
7.29
2.06
5.38
5.77
6.86
27
Sydney
Australia
4.86
1.73
7.61
0.63
9.59
4.81
0.49
7.24
5.78
5.85
28
Los Angeles
United States
4.84
2.01
7.26
2.52
9.41
4.06
0.38
4.67
4.78
8.49
29
Munich
Germany
4.83
3.65
6.41
0.26
8.23
6.87
0.69
8.17
7.28
1.89
30
Bern
Switzerland
4.81
2.81
7.52
0.03
8.41
7.36
1.94
7.71
5.74
1.78
31
Prague
Czech Republic
4.72
1.77
6.92
0.31
0.87
8.42
5.32
7.12
10
1.72
32
Vilnius
Lithuania
4.7
1.97
8.89
0.18
1.57
9.02
2.44
8.72
8.15
1.38
33
Stockholm
Sweden
4.68
2.2
6.58
0.48
9.5
6.56
1.11
8.52
4.78
2.37
34
Helsinki
Finland
4.65
3.13
5.64
0.21
7.45
7.5
2.48
8.16
4.78
2.53
35
Bratislava
Slovakia
4.63
2.79
7.69
0.28
0.21
8.78
3.97
4.63
9.95
3.31
36
Brussels
Belgium
4.58
3.43
6.24
0.21
6.81
7.88
1.29
6.73
7.44
1.2
37
Warsaw
Poland
4.56
3.39
7.09
0.47
2.47
8.84
0.89
7.42
9.13
1.31
38
London
United Kingdom
4.53
2.35
6.5
4.42
7.5
3.79
2.33
7.53
4.78
1.57
39
Frankfurt
Germany
4.53
2.43
4.87
0.18
8.23
7.71
1.32
7.25
7.07
1.69
40
Tallinn
Estonia
4.53
2.41
7.61
0.36
1.04
9.03
3.87
6.77
7.45
2.21
41
Santiago
Chile
4.48
1.51
5.21
0.45
5.3
9.39
0.44
4.08
7.31
6.58
42
Seoul
South Korea
4.47
2.27
4.27
0.21
7.32
8.5
0.13
6.62
7.51
3.42
43
Budapest
Hungary
4.47
3.58
6.15
0.38
0
9.3
3.64
4.73
9.61
2.83
44
Osaka
Japan
4.47
2.22
7.18
0.05
7.21
8.72
0.52
4.16
7.04
3.12
45
Zürich
Switzerland
4.43
2.24
7.09
0.57
8.41
5.24
3.03
7.19
4.78
1.28
46
Copenhagen
Denmark
4.42
2.57
5.04
0.14
8.23
6.04
2.54
8.31
5.74
1.17
47
Milan
Italy
4.39
2.22
6.41
0.41
7.32
7.23
2.98
4.37
5.8
2.77
48
Paris
France
4.32
2.35
6.41
0.97
7.27
6.54
3.66
5.19
4.78
1.69
49
Oslo
Norway
4.28
3.05
7.01
0.13
9.21
6.16
1.04
8.29
1.91
1.72
50
Athens
Greece
4.21
0.94
8.12
0.15
2.52
9.79
1.5
1.31
6.77
6.75
51
Abu Dhabi
United Arab Emirates
4.08
0.82
6.15
0.01
6.25
6.05
0.24
6.21
0.96
10
52
Dubai
United Arab Emirates
4.01
0.92
7.44
0.29
6.25
5.87
1.01
4.74
0
9.57
53
Tokyo
Japan
3.98
1.27
3.85
0.16
7.21
7.61
0.57
5.44
7.13
2.61
54
New York
United States
3.91
1.28
6.75
1.05
9.41
0.66
0.47
6.34
3.83
5.42
55
Singapore
Singapore
3.62
0.84
6.32
0.06
5.37
4.81
0.54
7.61
3.83
3.23
56
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
3.31
2.28
6.58
0.44
6.4
3
0.22
4.61
3.83
2.43
Show all results

methodology

Each category consists of the latest data available from reputable sources, and is standardised using minmax normalisation:

This results in a score between 0 and 10 for each data point.

City level data is used for the majority of the categories in this study. As a result, each city has a unique score. The only data point that uses country level data is Migrant Acceptance - so for this category, the scores are only unique to each country.

Internet Speed

Evaluates the average fixed broadband speed within a city.

TestMy.net
Data related to City

Quality of Coworking Spaces

Compiles the average Google rating of up to a total of 60 Coworking spaces.

Google Places API
Data related to City

Startup Score

Analyses the presence of Startups within a city, looking at Coworking spaces and Startup accelerators.

StartupBlink
Data related to City

Migrant Acceptance

Presents country-level data from Gallup's Migrant Acceptance Index.

Gallup World Poll
Data related to Country

Average Rental Cost for a 1-Bedroom Apartment

Looks at city-level data from Numbeo for the average cost of a 1-bedroom apartment.

Numbeo
Data related to City

Cafes with Free Wi-Fi per 100k People

Extracts data from Tripadvisor for cafes with free Wi-Fi.

Tripadvisor
Data related to City

Green Space and Parks

Crowdsourced data on the quality of green space and parks within a city.

Numbeo
Data related to City

Cost Of Beer

Looks at the average cost of beer in different cities.

Expatistan
Data related to City

Annual Sunshine Hours

Analyses the average hours of sunshine within a city.

Local Government Sites / Weather Hubs

Data related to City
facebook icon twitter icon linkedin icon copy icon