These Are the 10 Absolute Best (and Worst!) European Cities for Remote Workers

published Feb 21, 2024
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Moselle river by Wormeldange, Luxembourg country, with vineyard hills and a cargo barge ship
Credit: Boris Stroujko / Shutterstock

With plenty of companies offering employees opportunities for remote work, a hybrid lifestyle feels more within reach than ever before. But with so many options available for where you can work remotely as a digital nomad (especially on the heels of Japan’s digital nomad visa and South Africa’s digital nomad visa announcements), the question is less “Can I do it?” and more “Where to do it?”

The British business solutions company Brother set out to answer this question in a recent report, where the brand identified the best and worst locations in Europe to work remotely based on factors like Wi-Fi speed, cost of living, and safety. (The company did not limit its selections to only feature countries offering digital nomad visas as a metric for their selections, and excluded several countries as part of its data collection.)

Credit: Marcin Krzyzak / Shutterstock

Luxembourg took first place with a score of 68.04 out of 100 on Brother’s report. The small European country sits right between Belgium, France, and Germany, so planning excursions on your off days should be a breeze. The city also ranked high in terms of health care and overall quality of life.

Second place went to Olomouc, a city in the Czech Republic. One big selling point? Its cost of living. As Brother found in its report, the average one-bedroom apartment in Olomouc will cost you just $440 in U.S. dollars.

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If you’ve ever dreamed of traveling to the Netherlands, consider Rotterdam as a cost-effective alternative to Amsterdam — especially if you’re looking to live there in the longer term. The city placed third on Brother’s list and boasted high quality of life and safety scores, as well as a 7.2 out of 10 happiness rating.

Here are the remaining top 10 best European cities for remote working, according to Brother.

4. Aalborg, Denmark
5. Reykjavik, Iceland
6. Utrecht, Netherlands
7. Arhus, Denmark
8. Eindhoven, Netherlands 
9. Plzen, Czech Republic
10. Oradea, Romania

Brother named Athens, Greece; Thessaloniki, Greece; and Belgrade, Serbia, as the first, second, and third worst destinations for remote workers, respectively, selected (in large part) for low safety index scores. 

If you’re looking for just happiness while living and working abroad, Finland, Denmark, and the Netherlands took top honors for cities where remote workers will find themselves the happiest. 

It’s important to know as much about the city you’re moving to before you get there, so you can read Brother’s full report here and decide for yourself.