What is the Phoenix of Europe?

[BizyDad]

A lot has been written over the years about people moving to the Phoenix area in pursuit of their Fastlane dreams.

For those of you that don't know, Phoenix is a city that has been steadily growing for the last, I don't know, 70 years? The more than that, I like to call it the biggest small town in America.

It's a place that attracts young up and coming entrepreneurial thinkers. There are other such places in the US, obviously.

But I'm wondering what are the cities in Europe that are attracting young up-and-coming entrepreneurial thinkers?

Second question, what cities are considered tech hubs in Europe?

Thanks for your help.

 

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[ChocolateFactory]

Cyprus maybe? It has very low taxes, good weather and the overall a "small town" atmosphere.
A friend of mine lives there and he loves it because it's very laid back, zero attitude, super successful people hanging out there in shorts and a t-shirt, not showing off their wealth, just happy to connect with likeminded people, and it's super easy to get funding, because you just hang out with the people with a lot of money like everyone else.
He says it's the opposite of the "startup culture" in his home country, where it's all about attending networking events/cocktail parties, pretending you're successful, instead of actually building something.

 

[Mike Partee]

@MTF probably can offer some insight.

Cyprus maybe? It has very low taxes, good weather and the overall a "small town" atmosphere.
A friend of mine lives there and he loves it because it's very laid back, zero attitude, super successful people hanging out there in shorts and a t-shirt, not showing off their wealth, just happy to connect with likeminded people, and it's super easy to get funding, because you just hang out with the people with a lot of money like everyone else.

Love this, it's very much how San Juan, Puerto Rico is for the Americans who come.

You can go play volleyball on a weekend and be talking to a billionaire, never knowing it.

Although the crowd is typically finance oriented (traders, funds, etc.), not startup.

 

[ChocolateFactory]

I don't know, I think it's quite mixed? There's finance people and crypto bros, but also lots of people working in IT, a lot of "life coaches"/influencers, ...
The biggest thing though is that there are a LOT of Russians.

 

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[Robdavis]

But I'm wondering what are the cities in Europe that are attracting young up-and-coming entrepreneurial thinkers?

I'll have a stab at this, but I haven't been to the USA so I don't have a good idea of what I'm comparing Europe with.
In general, I don't think that Europe has particular cities "where the entrepreneurs go", so people are spread all over the place. Obviously, the bigger cities tend to have more entrepreneurs because they have more people anyway.

There is a dynamic in Europe between "east" and "west". Eastern Europe was very poor at the point of the collapse of communism, so around 20 - 30 years ago there was quite a lot of migration from the eastern countries to the west for economic reasons. However, in the meantime, the economies of western Europe have tended to stagnate, whilst the eastern european economies have become "tiger" economies, which whilst they are still somewhat poor have high growth rates. As far as I can tell, entrepreneurial talent is therefore tending to move east from the slow growing wealthier economies to the poorer faster growing ones. It wouldn't surprise me if in twenty years or so, eastern Europe becomes wealthier than western Europe.

The other place that is attracting a lot of European entrepreneurs, particularly those who have had some financial success, is the Middle East, so places like Qatar or the cities of Abu Dhabi or Dubai in the UAE and also Bahrain.

Second question, what cities are considered tech hubs in Europe?

I'm not sure about most of Europe, so I'll answer for the UK. A couple of tech hubs that spring to mind are Cambridge and Dundee.

Cambridge is nicknamed "Silicon Fen" and now consists of around 5,000 companies specialising in biotech, fintech and AI.

A guide to the Silicon Fen tech sector - Growth Business

Cambridge-based companies are generating revenues of £46.6bn, with Silicon Fen now home to over 5,000 tech companies

growthbusiness.co.uk

Dundee has a thriving software cluster which includes a lot of companies involved with computer games. Examples would be 4J studios that worked on minecraft making it available on more platforms, (they don't own it or create it, they were working as subcontractors for Mojang, a Swedish company). Also, DMA design was involved with Lemmings and Grand Theft Auto before they were taken over and so are now headquartered in Edinburgh.

Oxford has a tech hub. I think that this is mainly biotech.

Oxford Cluster

A kaleidoscope of thought, problem-solving, and talent, Oxford turns 1,000 years of history into world-beating science.

oxfordcluster.com

There is an energy research hub just down the road and also in Oxfordshire there are some automotive companies near to Silverstone racing circuit. It used to be the case that most Formula 1 and Indycars were designed and built in the UK, but I don't know if that is still the case. One thing about Oxford that might put some people off, is that it is becoming increasingly left wing in its local politics.

 

[BizyDad]

The other place that is attracting a lot of European entrepreneurs, particularly those who have had some financial success, is the Middle East, so places like Qatar or the cities of Abu Dhabi or Dubai in the UAE and also Bahrain.

Thank you for such a detailed response. It is helpful.

This made me think of asking a different way. What cities in Europe can compete with Abu Dhabi or Dubai in attracting these kinds of people? Both those cities are more wealthy than Phoenix, but that is still a good example of newer cities that are building and attracting more entrepreneurs.

 

[ChocolateFactory]

I don't think you can really compare that.

I live in Dubai and people from Western countries usually come here because of the low taxes, so it's usually people who are already successful who relocate here. Non-Western people mostly move to the UAE because of liberal immigration policies. That goes for wealthy Russians and Ukrainians, but also for people from India and Pakistan.
Immigration into Europe for non-Europeans is difficult, probably similar to moving to the US.
And except for Cyprus, Malta and maybe Portugal, you don't have people migrating to European cities because of taxes, as the taxes don't differ very much across Europe.
My subjective impression is that the startup scene in the UAE is rather small.

So I really don't think it makes sense to compare Europe to the UAE. I wouldn't consider Dubai a tech hub, let alone Abu Dhabi, which is much smaller.

In terms of tech and startups, Scandinavia is actually quite impressive. Those countries with a population that's smaller than what you'd find in major US cities. But they have still been able to create major companies like Spotify. Regardless, you'd probably still have a way bigger startup scene in a larger city like Berlin or especially London.
And even then, I'm not sure what you're asking about. Because Berlin sure has a lot of startups, but I don't know if there are a lot of successful startups.

 

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[MTF]

But I'm wondering what are the cities in Europe that are attracting young up-and-coming entrepreneurial thinkers?

The hottest cities in Europe, at least among young digital nomads (not necessarily broke digital nomads that go to Southeast Asia) and professionals are:

• Lisbon and Portugal in general, though locals are already fed up with it. Madeira is also slowly growing due to its favorable year round weather and perks for digital nomads (though due to its geography it'll never be super popular).
• Romania. This is primarily for technology. The country has a low cost of living but intelligent people living there which results in a lot of local talent available.
• Barcelona is super popular among digital nomads. Mostly for lifestyle reasons as Spain isn't the friendliest country for entrepreneurs.
• Andorra is a safe haven for YouTubers, particularly from Spain, who live there to have dramatically lower taxes while still being able to easily go to Spain.
• Canary Islands, primarily Gran Canaria and Tenerife, are popular destinations for those who have successful online businesses. Again, lifestyle reasons.
• London is still THE place to go if you want to make the best connections and go "famous." This is where you will find most money and this is still the only place in Europe remotely close to the "go big or go broke" kind of a city you can find in the US.

There are also specific places for specific industries where you need to live if you want to make it big. Milan/Paris for fashion, Vienna for art, Zurich for finance, Malta for gambling, etc.

Second question, what cities are considered tech hubs in Europe?

I don't know much about the startup world but like I mentioned, Romania is like the Silicon Valley of Eastern Europe.

Poland may also become one of the main tech hubs in Europe though the government isn't pushing it as much as in Romania.

Scandinavia also has potential but few people outside of locals can tolerate its brutal winters, even if the safe, comfortable lifestyle is great.

Cyprus maybe? It has very low taxes, good weather and the overall a "small town" atmosphere.
A friend of mine lives there and he loves it because it's very laid back, zero attitude, super successful people hanging out there in shorts and a t-shirt, not showing off their wealth, just happy to connect with likeminded people, and it's super easy to get funding, because you just hang out with the people with a lot of money like everyone else.
He says it's the opposite of the "startup culture" in his home country, where it's all about attending networking events/cocktail parties, pretending you're successful, instead of actually building something.

Cyprus is a very backward country even for Europe. It is very small town in style but it's also very rundown in style. I don't consider it a good place if you have big ambitions in life. Great if you've already made it, not great if you want to make it. Southern Spain is a MUCH better alternative as it has a big population, similar good weather, but a lot more money around plus younger more energetic people.

This made me think of asking a different way. What cities in Europe can compete with Abu Dhabi or Dubai in attracting these kinds of people? Both those cities are more wealthy than Phoenix, but that is still a good example of newer cities that are building and attracting more entrepreneurs.

Europe unfortunately isn't very forward thinking. There's little futuristic development here (hardly any proper skyscrapers, let alone growth the magnitude of Dubai). Europe is awesome for a safe, relaxed lifestyle (particularly in the summer) but it's not a place where you can meet many ambitious people hungry for success. This is one of the biggest differences between Europe and the US. Europe priorities life quality at the expense of everything else.

Turkey is probably poised for most growth though most of the country isn't on the European continent. Still, Istanbul, with all its problems, is probably a solid alternative to Dubai.

Other than that, countries with good weather will always attract people. If Spain, Portugal, Italy, or Greece were to implement easier rules welcoming entrepreneurs, they'd grow super fast for sure. As it is now, they're mostly terribly stagnant economies with 30%+ of young people unemployed.

So my answer is that Europe doesn't really care much about attracting these kinds of people. What they want is old money, people who will come with millions or billions and spend it locally on villas, vineyards, yachts, supercars, etc. The keyword for Europe is "status quo," with all its good and bad aspects. Or at least that's my perception.

 

[ChocolateFactory]

Completely agree with what you wrote.
If you put Romania on the list, you might as well include Bulgaria. Many (relatively) successful Europeans move to Bulgaria, again, for tax reasons, like with Romania.
But I have no idea what it’s like there, I’ve never gone there.

 

[BizyDad]

The hottest cities in Europe, at least among young digital nomads (not necessarily broke digital nomads that go to Southeast Asia) and professionals are:

• Lisbon and Portugal in general, though locals are already fed up with it. Madeira is also slowly growing due to its favorable year round weather and perks for digital nomads (though due to its geography it'll never be super popular).
• Romania. This is primarily for technology. The country has a low cost of living but intelligent people living there which results in a lot of local talent available.
• Barcelona is super popular among digital nomads. Mostly for lifestyle reasons as Spain isn't the friendliest country for entrepreneurs.
• Andorra is a safe haven for YouTubers, particularly from Spain, who live there to have dramatically lower taxes while still being able to easily go to Spain.
• Canary Islands, primarily Gran Canaria and Tenerife, are popular destinations for those who have successful online businesses. Again, lifestyle reasons.
• London is still THE place to go if you want to make the best connections and go "famous." This is where you will find most money and this is still the only place in Europe remotely close to the "go big or go broke" kind of a city you can find in the US.

There are also specific places for specific industries where you need to live if you want to make it big. Milan/Paris for fashion, Vienna for art, Zurich for finance, Malta for gambling, etc.



I don't know much about the startup world but like I mentioned, Romania is like the Silicon Valley of Eastern Europe.

Poland may also become one of the main tech hubs in Europe though the government isn't pushing it as much as in Romania.

Scandinavia also has potential but few people outside of locals can tolerate its brutal winters, even if the safe, comfortable lifestyle is great.



Cyprus is a very backward country even for Europe. It is very small town in style but it's also very rundown in style. I don't consider it a good place if you have big ambitions in life. Great if you've already made it, not great if you want to make it. Southern Spain is a MUCH better alternative as it has a big population, similar good weather, but a lot more money around plus younger more energetic people.



Europe unfortunately isn't very forward thinking. There's little futuristic development here (hardly any proper skyscrapers, let alone growth the magnitude of Dubai). Europe is awesome for a safe, relaxed lifestyle (particularly in the summer) but it's not a place where you can meet many ambitious people hungry for success. This is one of the biggest differences between Europe and the US. Europe priorities life quality at the expense of everything else.

Turkey is probably poised for most growth though most of the country isn't on the European continent. Still, Istanbul, with all its problems, is probably a solid alternative to Dubai.

Other than that, countries with good weather will always attract people. If Spain, Portugal, Italy, or Greece were to implement easier rules welcoming entrepreneurs, they'd grow super fast for sure. As it is now, they're mostly terribly stagnant economies with 30%+ of young people unemployed.

So my answer is that Europe doesn't really care much about attracting these kinds of people. What they want is old money, people who will come with millions or billions and spend it locally on villas, vineyards, yachts, supercars, etc. The keyword for Europe is "status quo," with all its good and bad aspects. Or at least that's my perception.

Thanks for chiming in. Super detailed, insightful and helpful.

 

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[sojeer]

Worth mentioning might be Tel Aviv. It's not in Europe but very close, with young, educated, vibrant people and a lot of successful tech companies.
Although they might have very high taxes, not sure about it

 

[Andy Black]

This post by @Nomads seems relevant:

HOT! - EXECUTION - Driven To Be Location Independent / "Not Another Web Agency"

This could be great! “Who already has your customers.” (Jay Abraham) Yes - super excited. We have really been trying to connect with owners of FB communities related to the service industry. There are a lot of shady players in these groups spamming "Websites & SEO for $300" and the outcome...

www.thefastlaneforum.com