Welcome to one of the most comprehensive lists of the easiest cities in Europe to move to. Expat and digital nomad culture are on the huge rise, and many young people in the United States are deciding to call up international moving companies to pack their things and move to Europe. Some of them find overseas jobs, while other are making their ends meet by working as freelancers and searching for their clients on popular freelance market place platforms like UpWork, Freelancer or Fiverr.
The situation in Europe is not that different. Many young people dream of moving to other countries and building their life and professional career from scratch. That is the reason why we also created the list of the easiest cities to move to in America.
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Before making our list, we visited the official website, made by the Department of State and Bureau of Consular Affairs that provides information on passports and international travel. Since all of the cities we added to our list are in the EU, the only requirement for moving there is the valid American passport. Still, this only allows you to stay for three months and then you need to leave the EU and spend three months back in the US or in some European country that is not part of the Schengen zone. If you want to stay longer than three months in any EU country, you will need to find a job and get a residence permit.
Since all the cities on our list are within the Schengen zone, we didn’t use consular requirements as one of the ranking criteria. Instead, our quest for sources has started from the list that describes ‘the livability’ of European cities. The list was published by the Business Insider, and it is the part of the large global livability survey, conducted by their Economist Intelligence Unit. Each city that was mentioned in the Business Insider’s article was awarded the number of points (from 1 to 24) that is reversely proportional to their list ranking.
Apart from the list of the most livable cities, we have also used the list created by Transfer Wise that defines the cheapest European cities for expats. Each city on the list received the number of points that is reversely proportional to their ranking, and since the list contains only ten places, in the end, we have multiplied the score by two. We did that because besides the consular affairs the price of living is the most important criteria for expats and nomads.
Easiness of travel is also very important. That’s why we also used the list of 23 cheapest European cities and airports to fly to in 2017. This list compares the prices of airplane tickets from European cities that have direct lines to American airports. Since we already had our selection of ten cheapest and most liveable cities, we have checked the average prices of tickets to the United States from their airports and ranked them accordingly. Same as with previous lists, each city has received the number of points that is reversely proportional to its ranking.
In the end, we decided to make one more check before publishing the final list of easiest cities in Europe to move to. We discovered the website called Airdna, which is run by the Analytic Department of Airbnb. There we found information about average Airbnb rentals in each city. We took the average daily studio rental as a starting point and ranked the cities accordingly. We thought that studios are the most popular logging options for digital nomads and employed expats.
Just when we thought that we had finished our list of easiest cities in Europe to move to, we noticed that we didn’t include the job finding criteria in our methodology. If you want to move abroad, you will definitely need a well-paid job, so we have also decided to rank cities by employment and award the ones with the lowest unemployment rates. We have used the country rankings provided by Eurostat. The official EU statistic institution has presented their unemployment data for the period between 2005 and 2016 in this convenient table. We have only taken the 2016 data in consideration. After ranking the cities by the average unemployment rates, we have finally created the most comprehensive list of the ten easiest cities in Europe to move to.
10. Athens
Score: 34 points;
Ranking on BI’s list of the most livable cities: not ranked (0 points);
Ranking on the Transfer Wise’s list of the cheapest European cities for expats: #5 (12 points);
Ranking on the Price of Travel’s list of cheapest European cities and airports to fly into 2017: #9 (12 points);
Average daily rent for a studio apartment on Airbnb: $48 (9 points);
Average unemployment rate in Greece: 23.6% (1 point);
Athens is one of the oldest and the busiest cities in Europe. It has the best climate out of all ranked places, but it lacks good job opportunities. The recent crisis left severe consequences on the Greek economy and has drastically increased the unemployment rate. Athens is still great if you want to earn your money online, and enjoy affordable living and the tastiest tomatoes, cheeses and olive oil in Europe. Now, let’s see what’s next on our list of easiest cities in Europe to move to.
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9. Copenhagen
Score: 37 points;
Ranking on BI’s list of the most livable cities: #8 (17 points);
Ranking on the Transfer Wise’s list of the cheapest European cities for expats: not on the list (0 points);
Ranking on the Price of Travel’s list of cheapest European cities and airports to fly into 2017: #12 (12 points);
Average daily rent for a studio apartment on Airbnb: $88 (3 points);
Average unemployment rate in Denmark: 6.2% (5 points);
Unlike Athens, Copenhagen, that ranked 9th on our list of easiest cities in Europe to move to offers great job opportunities. If you manage to cope with high rent and utility costs, this tolerant city is the perfect for peaceful family living. Copenhagen welcomes hundreds of expats from the United States every year and its alternative squatting village called Christiania is the European hipster mecca that hosts a large number of alternative art galleries and some of the wildest parties on the continent.
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8. Paris
Score: 39 points;
Ranking on BI’s list of the most livable cities: #15 (10 points);
Ranking on the Transfer Wise’s list of the cheapest European cities for expats: not on the list (0 points);
Ranking on the Price of Travel’s list of cheapest European cities and airports to fly into 2017: #2 (22 points);
Average daily rent for a studio apartment on Airbnb: $73 (5 points);
Average unemployment rate in France: 10.1% (2 points);
We are continuing our list of easiest cities in Europe to move to with the Paris that is a dream destination for many Americans. Although most people think it’s the place with high crime rate and high living costs, some suburbs of this huge European metropolis are ideal for family living and much more affordable than many U.S. cities. Paris has direct flights to almost all big city centers on the East Coast all year round, and therefore it is one of the best destination for the U.S. expats.
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7. Brussels
Score: 39 points;
Ranking on BI’s list of the most livable cities: #13 (12 points);
Ranking on the Transfer Wise’s list of the cheapest European cities for expats: not on the list (0 points);
Ranking on the Price of Travel’s list of cheapest European cities and airports to fly into 2017: #8 (16 points);
Average daily rent for a studio apartment on Airbnb: $62 (8 points);
Average unemployment rate in Belgium: 7.8% (3 points);
The capital city of Belgium, next up on the list of easiest cities in Europe to move to hosts some of the most important NATO, EU and UN institutions. Many expats who live here, take some of the highest positions in these institutions and earn three figure salaries and great benefit plans. When it comes to renting apartments, Brussels is much more affordable than most other cities on our list, and it is the place where you will enjoy the best fried potatoes, chocolates and the famous Belgium beer.
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6. Amsterdam
Score: 41 points;
Ranking on BI’s list of the most livable cities: #12 (13 points);
Ranking on the Transfer Wise’s list of the cheapest European cities for expats: not on the list (0 points);
Ranking on the Price of Travel’s list of cheapest European cities and airports to fly into 2017: #3 (21 points);
Average daily rent for a studio apartment on Airbnb: $135 (1 point);
Average unemployment rate in Netherlands: 6.0% (6 points);
Many people want to move to Amsterdam that ranked 6st on our list of easiest cities in Europe to move to, because of the liberal drugs legislation. That is also one of the reasons why millions of tourist visit Amsterdam and other cities in the Netherlands. Still, Amsterdam offers much more than legal weed and red light district. If you go outside the main tourist areas, you will realize that this is a very green and peaceful city. Netherlands is one of the most developed countries in Europe, and it offers great career opportunities in many industries. Amsterdam is also an important transport hub that has steady air connection with many U.S. cities.
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5. Stockholm
Score: 44 points;
Ranking on BI’s list of the most livable cities: #10 (15 points);
Ranking on the Transfer Wise’s list of the cheapest European cities for expats: not on the list (0 points);
Ranking on the Price of Travel’s list of cheapest European cities and airports to fly into 2017: #1 (23 points);
Average daily rent for a studio apartment on Airbnb: $93 (2 points);
Average unemployment rate in Sweden: 6.9% (4 points);
Most Stockholm residents have small cottages outside of the city, where they spend their weekends and enjoy incredible Scandinavian nature. If you want to move to one of the best European cities regarding the quality of living, you will need to cope with expensive rent, utilities and groceries cost and harsh climate. Other than that Stockholm is an expats’ paradise with many high paid jobs, great connection to all major European and US cities and a very high living standard. That is why we added the Sweden’s capital to our list of the easiest cities in Europe to move to.
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4. Oslo
Score: 45 points;
Ranking on BI’s list of the most livable cities: #9 (16 points);
Ranking on the Transfer Wise’s list of the cheapest European cities for expats: not on the list (0 points);
Ranking on the Price of Travel’s list of cheapest European cities and airports to fly into 2017: #7 (17 points);
Average daily rent for a studio apartment on Airbnb: $76 (4 points);
Average unemployment rate in Norway: 4.7% (8 points);
Norway, next up on the list of easiest cities in Europe to move to is not an official EU member, but when it comes to immigration policy, it follows the Schengen legislature. American citizens need to find a job before moving to Norway, and local companies accept only the people with shortage occupations and several years of work experience. Oslo is the multicultural and peaceful city. Norway has an incredibly high living standard. Although the climate can be severe in the northern areas, the Norwegian fjords, forests and country side are unspoiled and widely known worldwide for their rugged beauty, so prepare to spend a lot of time outdoors.
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3. Budapest
Score: 46 points;
Ranking on BI’s list of the most livable cities: #23 (2 points);
Ranking on the Transfer Wise’s list of the cheapest European cities for expats: #1 (20 points);
Ranking on the Price of Travel’s list of cheapest European cities and airports to fly into 2017: #17 (7 points);
Average daily rent for a studio apartment on Airbnb: $47 (10 points);
Average unemployment rate in Hungary: 5.1% (7 points);
Budapest, next in line on our list of easiest cities in Europe to move to is the best ranked Eastern European destination on this list. It has amazed Westerners with its baroque charm, affordable prices, and a wild party life. This city is also one of the biggest transport hubs in Europe that is used by many different low-cost airlines. When it comes to finding work, the unemployment in Budapest is smaller than the national average (which is also solid btw), so good jobs are easy to find. The only bad thing about living and working in this city is the fact that salaries are much lower than the Western Europe or the U.S. average, but rent, utilities, and groceries are also more affordable.
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2. Frankfurt
Score: 49 points;
Ranking on BI’s list of the most livable cities: #6 (19 points);
Ranking on the Transfer Wise’s list of the cheapest European cities for expats: not on the list (0 points);
Ranking on the Price of Travel’s list of cheapest European cities and airports to fly into 2017: #10 (14 points);
Average daily rent for a studio apartment on Airbnb: $71 (6 points);
Average unemployment rate in Germany: 4.1% (10 points);
As one of the biggest industrials centers in the Western Germany, Frankfurt, that ranked 2nd on our list of easiest cities in Europe to move to is often associated with great career prospects and high average salaries. People with IT, engineering and medical degrees can easily find a well-paid job in in the city. Frankfurt is a huge transport hub, with one of the biggest airports in Europe being just a few kilometers away. From there you can reach any continent and go to weekend trips with low-cost carriers to various European cities.
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1. Berlin
Score: 56 points;
Ranking on BI’s list of the most livable cities: #7 (18 points);
Ranking on the Transfer Wise’s list of the cheapest European cities for expats: #10 (2 points);
Ranking on the Price of Travel’s list of cheapest European cities and airports to fly into 2017: #6 (19 points);
Average daily rent for a studio apartment on Airbnb: $70 (7 points);
Average unemployment rate in Denmark: 4.1% (10 points);
The first place on our list of easiest cities in Europe to move to goes to Berlin that is the youth capital of Europe. Although the German capital offers much fewer job prospects than cities in the Western Germany, it is a home of amazing alternative culture and the biggest expat community in Europe. Berlin welcomes expats from all over the world, and that is why it is the definite winner of our list of the easiest cities in Europe to move to. Renting a flat in Berlin is easy and affordable compared to the other Western capitals. Airport near the city is well-connected with the most popular destinations in Europe and the United States, and highly efficient German railway connects Berlin with the biggest German and European metropolises. In this city, you will find amazing club life and lots of relaxing parks, which makes it ideal for both family and bachelor life.
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