The Best and the Worst
Cities for Remote Working
The catalyst of technology means that remote working is more popular than ever, with work culture allowing people to work where they want by linking into internal systems and reducing business costs for increased productivity, collaboration and quality of life.
Here at BroadbandDeals.co.uk, we wanted to know: if you could work remotely from anywhere in the world, which city would be the optimal place for remote working? So we created the Remote Working Index to find out which cities in the world are the best and worst for remote working.
How Does the Remote Working Index Work?
The Remote Working Index looks at 50 of the world’s most popular cities and ranks them from best to worst for remote working based on the following factors:
Internet Speed
By cities - the internet needs to be reliable
Availability of Food Delivery
So you can have food ordered home
Remote Working Jobs
The availability of jobs in the city
Cost of a Laptop
Costly outgoings could affect remote working
Cost of Living
Outgoings could drive where to work from
| Rank | City | Country | Uber Eats |
Deliveroo |
Remote Working Jobs (%) |
Cost of MacBook (£) |
Internet Speed (Mbps) |
Cost of Living (£) |
|---|
Bucharest, Romania Revealed as the Best City for Remote Working
Thanks to its fantastically low cost of living at £421.32 a month and a high percentage of remote working jobs at 4.33%, Romania’s Bucharest is the best city for remote working across the world. If working from Bucharest you won’t be short on your lunch break either with amazing food choices available from Uber Eats from a wide range of restaurants and take-aways. But it isn’t all cheap and cheerful, although overall it is the best city to work from overall a Macbook is going to set you back £1,444. So for all the perks, you need to make that initial investment.
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Top 10 Best Cities for Remote Working
| City | Country | Uber Eats |
Deliveroo |
Remote Working Jobs (%) |
Cost of MacBook (£) |
Internet Speed (Mbps) |
Cost of Living (£) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bucharest |  |
 |
 |
4.33% | £1,444.52 | 52 | £421.32 |
| 2 | Houston |  |
|
|
2.76% | £1,212.39 | 61 | £710.12 |
| 3 | Las Vegas | |
|
|
3.08% | £1,212.39 | 36 | £714.98 |
| 4 | Atlanta | |
|
|
2.84% | £1,212.39 | 45 | £807.60 |
| 5 | Budapest |  |
|
|
2.33% | £1,552.09 | 41 | £470.39 |
| 6 | San Francisco | |
|
|
4.29% | £1,212.39 | 49 | £955.72 |
| 7 | Los Angeles | |
|
|
2.80% | £1,212.39 | 35 | £818.86 |
| 8 | Kiev |  |
|
|
1.60% | £1,444.52 | 29 | £349.14 |
| 9 | Chicago | |
|
|
2.64% | £1,212.39 | 40 | £845.30 |
| 10 | Warsaw |  |
|
|
2.15% | £1,539.15 | 29 | £463.83 |
The United States and Eastern Europe are the places to be when it comes to remote working, but when it comes to the number of jobs available to do this San Francisco and Bucharest are the place to be with 4% of jobs in these cities available as remote working roles. Houston, Texas came in second place as the best place to work remotely due to its great internet speed at 61 Mbps and lower outgoings for a Macbook and the cost of living.
If the cost of living is your main focus then you may want to remotely work from Kiev in Ukraine or the Polish capital Warsaw. At £349.14 a month in Kiev or £463.83 in Warsaw and a nice cheap internet connection, the cost of living could mean you have more budget to spend on Uber Eats during those lunch breaks. But if that isn’t for you then head to the USA where Las Vegas, Atlanta, LA and Chicago all have brilliant internet speeds which means you can get your head down and into work mode instantly.
Rome Revealed as the Worst City to Work From Remotely
It may have great options for food delivery but Rome in Italy ranks as the worst city to work from remotely in our Index. This is because of the low average internet speeds at 16 Mbps, a high cost of living at £729.18 and a low 0.61% of jobs allowing for remote working. Combining these key indicators means that Rome is not ideal for remote working and could be costly to do so.
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Top 10 Worst Cities for Remote Working
| City | Country | Uber Eats |
Deliveroo |
Remote Working Jobs (%) |
Cost of MacBook (£) |
Internet Speed (Mbps) |
Cost of Living (£) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rome |  |
|
|
0.61% | £1,594.91 | 16 | £729.18 |
| 2 | Milan | |
|
|
1.08% | £1,594.91 | 21 | £786.31 |
| 3 | Seoul |  |
|
|
0.14% | £1,331.65 | 19 | £819.85 |
| 4 | Paris |  |
|
|
0.52% | £1,550.50 | 28 | £883.36 |
| 5 | Hamburg |  |
|
|
0.73% | £1,550.50 | 27 | £777.94 |
| 6 | Amsterdam |  |
|
|
1.10% | £1,550.50 | 22 | £838.36 |
| 7 | London |  |
|
|
1.90% | £1,557.76 | 19 | £828.39 |
| 8 | Cologne | |
|
|
0.26% | £1,550.50 | 32 | £730.55 |
| 9 | Munich | |
|
|
0.79% | £1,550.50 | 35 | £780.29 |
| 10 | Manchester | |
|
|
1.29% | £1,557.76 | 23 | £657.10 |
With declining internet speeds, European Cities as well as Seoul in South Korea are some of the worst cities to work from remotely. Interestingly Italy continues as the country that you’re least likely to successfully work from remotely with Milan’s low amount of remote working roles and weak average internet speed at 21 Mbps holding it back.
Germany does not hold much stead either with Hamburg, Cologne and Munich’s high cost of living and low proportions of remote working jobs making it a less than ideal country to aim for. The UK’s Manchester and London follow in the same path but with the prospect of more jobs in London, with 1.9% of jobs available as remote work.
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Best Cities for Remote Working by Internet Speed
Internet access is imperative to working remotely and so is internet speed. Looking at the remote working index it is clear that great internet is available across the globe with the highest average internet speed in Hong Kong at 70 Mbps followed closely by Houston in the states with 61 Mbps. To work remotely you need your internet to be reliable so if America or Hong Kong isn’t to your taste then remotely working from Dublin is your best bet, with average internet speeds of 57 Mbps.
Best Cities for Jobs in Remote Working
You can’t work remotely if the job doesn’t exist, so as part of the remote working index we looked at the percentage of remote working jobs available in each city. Bucharest came in the top spot with 4.33% of the job market available for remote working followed closely by San Francisco with 4.29%. This pattern follows through to Seattle, with 3.60% of the job market available for remote working. Making the States look very well equipped for remote workers.
Best Cities for Buying a MacBook
When it comes to remote working you need to rely on your tech, and if this is costly then it starts to weigh up on how feasible it is to work remotely. When it comes to buying a MacBook Pro, Tokyo is the city you want to be working from at £1,188 a pop with Kuala Lumpur close behind at £1,208. But if you are wanting to tie this in with the overall best cities for remote working then Houston is your best bet, coming in second place overall and having one of the lowest cost MacBook’s at £1,212.
Top Cities for the Cost of Living
The cost of living is integral to the decision to remote work, if this is too costly then sometimes it does not make the choice to work outside a conventional office worth it. So if this is your main focus then Mumbai is the city for you. At £295.88 per person a month, not including rent, remote working in India could be for you! But if you want to stay in Europe then Ukraine is the country of choice with the cities of Kharkiv (£331.19) and Kiev (£349.14) coming out with the lowest costs of living.
The World’s Best and Worst Airports for Remote Working
Remote working essentially means working outside of a traditional office environment, this could mean working at home, in another city or another country. But remote working could also mean that you have no fixed point or rely heavily on travel for your work. Because of this we’ve incorporated the Airport Remote Working Index into our findings so you can plan your travel around the best airports to work remotely from.
How Does the Airport Remote Working Index Work?
The Remote Working Index looks at the 100 busiest airports in the world by the following factors:
Internet Speed
An airports average internet speed
On-Time Performance
The frequency of flight delays
Service Quality
Cleanliness, queues and customer service
Number of Services
Both food and retail shops
Number of Airport Lounges
So there is somewhere comfortable to work
Singapore Changi Revealed as the Best Airport for Remote Working
With the highest average Mbps per city, Singapore Changi Airport comes in first as the best airport to work remotely from across the world. With 29 lounges and a variety of cafes, Singapore Changi Airport is the perfect place for a productive layover. Its high levels of service with a score of 9.2 mean that you’ll have great customer service and clean surroundings whilst hopefully not missing your next meeting with low flight delays with an on-time performance of 7.8.
Top 10 Best Airports for Remote Working
| Airport | Country | Airport Internet Speed (Mbps) |
On-Time Performance Score |
Service Quality |
Number of Services |
Number of Lounges |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Singapore Changi (SIN) |  |
87 | 7.8 | 9.2 | 8.7 | 29 |
| 2 | Tokyo Haneda International (HND) |  |
26 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 8.4 | 26 |
| 3 | Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International | |
42 | 7.9 | 7.8 | 8.1 | 15 |
| 4 | Indira Gandhi International (DEL) |  |
7 | 7.3 | 9.1 | 9.0 | 18 |
| 5 | Hong Kong International (HKA) |  |
70 | 6.2 | 8.3 | 7.7 | 21 |
| 6 | Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) | |
28 | 5.8 | 7.9 | 8.1 | 25 |
| 7 | Seoul Incheon International (ICN) | |
18 | 5.8 | 8.8 | 8.8 | 21 |
| 8 | Dublin |  |
57 | 6.8 | 8.2 | 7.8 | 7 |
| 9 | Dubai International |  |
13 | 5.7 | 8.9 | 8.7 | 24 |
| 10 | Los Angeles International | |
34 | 7.6 | 6.9 | 7.5 | 25 |
Clearly South East Asia is the place to travel and work remotely with Hong Kong International Airport in fifth place and Japanese Airport Tokyo Haneda International coming second in the top 10 airports to work from remotely. With 26 lounges, a great selection of food, drink and shops and a service quality of 15 Tokyo is one of the perfect places to work from. However the mid-range average internet speed of 26 Mbps means you may want to try and plan to work offline, great if you’re working on a detailed project and need to focus.
Outside of Asia, Ireland’s Dublin Airport, and Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, are the ideal airports to work remotely from. So if you are planning on a Eurotrip any time soon then keep this in mind. With a great selection of airport lounges and high levels of service and food choices, these could be the perfect airports to join a conference call or find that inspiration to finish a project.
But if you’re more likely to work remotely in the states then Los Angeles International Airport or Hartsfield - Jackson Atlanta International Airport could be for you. With decent average internet speeds and plenty of space to get into work-mode and make your career truly international.
The Worst Airport to Remote Work From Is London Stansted
With only 1 lounge and the low internet speed with an average of 19 Mbps, London Stansted Airport is the worst airport to remotely work from according to our index. It is these key indicators plus its poor level of service quality that mean that it is not ideal for remote working. With less working space and slow internet, it is not likely that your time in London Stansted Airport is going to be productive. Maybe make the most of its food and shops with a low score of 7.7, they might not be great but they should keep you busy.
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Top 10 Worst Airports for Remote Working
| Airport | Country | Airport Internet Speed (Mbps) |
On-Time Performance Score |
Service Quality |
Number of Services |
Number of Lounges |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | London-Stansted | |
19 | 6.4 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 1 |
| 2 | London-City | |
19 | 6.5 | 7.6 | 8.0 | 1 |
| 3 | London-Gatwick | |
19 | 5.7 | 8.0 | 7.9 | 4 |
| 4 | Edinburgh | |
23 | 5.9 | 8.1 | 7.6 | 4 |
| 5 | Manchester | |
23 | 5.2 | 7.8 | 8.0 | 10 |
| 6 | Bristol | |
23 | 7.1 | 8.2 | 7.6 | 2 |
| 7 | Birmingham | |
23 | 7.0 | 8.1 | 7.8 | 5 |
| 8 | Istanbul Atatürk (IST) |  |
11 | 7.8 | 8.3 | 8.1 | 5 |
| 9 | Frankfurt (FRA) | |
17 | 6.2 | 7.8 | 8.1 | 28 |
| 10 | London Heathrow (LHR) | |
19 | 6.8 | 8.4 | 8.0 | 9 |
With declining internet speeds and lack of lounges, British airports are among some of the worst airports in the world to work remotely from. Manchester Airport is the best of the bunch for getting stuff done compared to London Stansted Airport, with 10 lounges compared to Standstead’s 1. But with the lowest on-time performance at 5.2, you could be spending much longer in Manchester Airport than expected.
If travelling through Frankfurt Airport you might want to plan to work offline. With an average Mbps speed of 17, you aren’t likely to get much done in the way of emails or downloading files but it could give you the concentration space you need to really get into a project or complete a write up in one of their 28 lounges.
Best Airports by Internet Speed
When it comes to remote working, not only is the strong internet connection imperative but so is its speed. You need to know that you will be able to send that last-minute document or answer any last-minute emails without any hiccups. From our remote working index, it is clear that Singapore Changi Airport is the most reliable when it comes to internet speed with an average of Mbps at 87, with Hong Kong International Airport not far behind with an average of 70 Mbps and Dublin Airport in third place with an average of 57 Mbps.
Best Airports by Number of Lounges
Lounges are important when it comes to remote working, more lounges mean more opportunities to get your head down and work, especially if some get busier than others. The top three airports for remote working when it comes to lounges are Singapore Changi Airport with 29 lounges, closely followed by Frankfurt Airport with 28 and Tokyo Haneda International Airport with 26. With great service, wi-fi and multiple power points, lounges are the ideal place to get your head down and get on with your to-do list.
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Best Airports by the Quality of Service
When it comes to remote working, feeling comfortable in your surroundings is important in order to focus your attention and make the most of downtime in airports. Because of this, the quality of service is a high priority when it comes to remote working in airports. Yet again, Singapore Changi Airport comes first with a service quality score of 9.2, followed closely by Indira Gandhi International Airport with 9.1 and Dubai International Airport with 8.9 meaning that they were voted the best airports for service, cleanliness and queues.
Best Airports by Food and Shops
Lounges might not be accessible to you, so you may need the next best thing - cafes and bars. When it comes to the best airports for food, drink and shops, it is Indira Gandhi International Airport that comes first with a score of 9. Seoul Incheon International Airport is only 0.2 behind with a score of 8.8 followed very closely by Singapore Changi Airport with 8.7. So you can find yourself a spot to plug in with your favourite tipple and make the most of your layover.
Top 3 Airports for On-Time Flights
From the remote working index, it is simple to see that Tokyo Haneda International Airport is the most reliable when it comes to flights running on time, with an on-time performance score of 8.4. With Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Singapore Changi Airport following closely behind with scores of 7.9 and 7.8. Timing is imperative to remote working, delayed flights could mean you are late for your next meeting or they could mean you have to work from a specific airport for longer. So if that airport is in the lower half of the remote working index then it could affect your work output.
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