The pandemic has undoubtedly had a profound impact on our work and travel habits, with the most obvious change being its widespread adoption distance work. This change has led to a certain lifestyle where working from different countries has become a widespread choice.
The type of work you do, how much money you make and how flexible your position is all influence where and how much you can travel.
If you are toying with the idea of going abroad to work, more and more countries are issuing visas to digital nomads, but every country has different requirements. Therefore, the choice can be very overwhelming.
Norton Finance, a lender, conducted research into the most favorable European capitals for digital nomads, and the results are in.
The company’s travel specialists evaluated 184 countries and ranked them based on their average prices for rent, utilities, transportation, food, gym membership and internet access, as well as return flights from the United Kingdom.
While it obviously depends on where in the world you’re traveling from, the other criteria provide a fairly thorough analysis of how affordable a city is, with Skopje close behind. North Macedonia comes in at number one.
The city is known as a cheap tourist spot and is also known for its delicious street food. One factor contributing to Skopje’s high rating is the affordability of public transport, which is as much as eight times cheaper than comparable transport in London.
The picturesque capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, comes in second place. The average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the city center is insanely cheap €275 (£238, $289). Third on Norton Finance’s list is Chisinau, Moldova, where a pint costs just €1.30 (£1.12, $1.37).
Cities like Copenhagen and Dublin, which are certainly among the most expensive places to live in Europe, are at the other end of the scale. Here the average rent is about five times higher than in the ten largest cities.
The next ten towns in Europe are the most affordable for digital nomads:
- SkopjeNorth Macedonia
- SarajevoBosnia and Herzegovina
- ChisinauMoldavia
- SofiaBulgaria
- BucharestRomania
- BelgradeSerbia
- BudapestHungary
- WarsawPoland
- VilniusLithuania
- RigaLatvia
