best of, wellbeing
The happiest cities for digital nomads
“Happiness” rankings usually measure how residents feel about their own country. Useful, but not what you want when you’re showing up as a nomad. Our Wellbeing Score combines the seven dimensions that actually shape a nomad’s day, safety, clean air, weather, English-friendliness, cost-relief, social density and visa-ease, into one transparent 0–10 number. Methodology lives on the /methodology page.
the ranking
- 01
Lagos, portugal8.68 /10·~$1,689~$1,689120mb19°C7.5 nomad8.68/10 - 02
Leiden, netherlands8.67 /10·$1,525$1,525130mb20°C7.7 nomad8.67/10 - 03
Evora, portugal8.63 /10·~$1,689~$1,689120mb17°C7.5 nomad8.63/10 - 04
Cascais, portugal8.62 /10·~$1,689~$1,689120mb19°C7.5 nomad8.62/10 - 05
Lisbon, portugal8.52 /10·$2,334$2,334200mb19°C7.7 nomad8.52/10 - 06
Sintra, portugal8.51 /10·~$1,689~$1,689120mb17°C7.4 nomad8.51/10 - 07
Amsterdam, netherlands8.48 /10·~$1,606~$1,606200mb16°C8.1 nomad8.48/10 - 08
Cagliari, italy8.47 /10·~$1,737~$1,73790mb23°C7.0 nomad8.47/10 - 09
Aveiro, portugal8.41 /10·~$1,689~$1,689120mb18°C7.3 nomad8.41/10 - 10
Dublin, ireland8.39 /10·$3,488$3,488200mb21°C7.1 nomad8.39/10
frequently asked
Quick answers.
- How is your Wellbeing Score calculated?
- It's a weighted blend: safety (25%), social density (15%), air quality (15%), weather comfort (15%), English-friendliness (10%), cost-relief (10%), visa-ease (10%). All seven inputs are sourced from open public datasets, no Gallup data, no proprietary surveys, no licensing strings.
- Why not just use the World Happiness Report?
- The WHR measures how residents feel about their lives, a long-term wellbeing signal for citizens. Useful for policy work, less useful for nomads who don't live there yet. Our score weighs what a nomad actually encounters in week one: safety, internet calls home, English service, finding people to meet.
- Which city scores highest?
- Vienna leads the current Wellbeing ranking, high safety, mature transit, clean air, strong English, dense coworking. Lisbon, Porto and Berlin round out the top four.
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