From Atlantic shores to the Black Sea coast, Baltic beaches, and the banks of the Danube, Europe boasts a growing number of vibrant tech hubs and ‘unicorn factories’ which offer a wide variety of attractive opportunities for IT professionals and investors. If London, Paris, Dublin and Berlin don’t take your fancy as places to live and work, there are plenty more European tech hubs to choose from, and some of them aren’t quite so obvious.
Lisbon, Portugal
Portugal, and Lisbon in particular, have emerged as top destinations for digital nomads, tech entrepreneurs, and established companies in search of talent. Attractions for the digital nomads are obvious – climate, affordable cost of living, high quality of life, and the capability to command pay rates not far off those of London and Dublin add up to a heady mix for remote tech workers willing to cross national borders.
A quite liberal visa and tax regime make it very attractive for non-EU nationals as well. The Non-Habitual Resident (NHR) visa scheme, for example, allows holders to pay a 20% flat rate of income tax for a period of 10 years and no tax at all on income earned outside of Portugal. The so-called Golden Visa scheme also offers a range of benefits for entrepreneurs starting up businesses in the country.
Schemes such as these, generous government support, and a ready supply of talent have seen Portugal attract statement investments from companies like Revolut, Google, and Amazon in recent years. Other home-grown success stories include Talkdesk, Feedzai, DefinedCrowd, and Outsystems.