User Power
Value/Post Ratio
455%
- May 1, 2011
- 7,613
- 34,643
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.
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.