Portugal was ranked as the best country for remote workers in a 2022 survey conducted by travel website, Momondo. And it goes without saying that Lisbon—the city freelancers, digital nomads and hybrid teams are raving about—has a large part to play in its success.
But why is Portugal’s capital city so popular? What makes it great for remote working? Is it really worth the hype?
We’re so glad you asked.
Lisbon’s cost of living is lower than many other popular cities
At the time of writing this article (July 2022), Nomadlist reported that it costs $2,175/£1,816 a month for remote workers to live in Lisbon.
🇬🇧 London is 134% more expensive than Lisbon ($5,090/£4,251 a month)
🇺🇸 New York is 143% more expensive than Lisbon ($5,283/£4,412 a month)
🇪🇸 Barcelona is 72% more expensive than Lisbon ($3,748/£3,130 a month)
🇦🇺 Melbourne is 50% more expensive than Lisbon ($3,262/£2,724 a month)
Lisbon is a tax-friendly city for remote workers
Portugal is still recovering from the 2008 financial crisis and in 2021, it recorded its biggest population decline in 50 years. In response, the Portuguese government has introduced new initiatives to attract people from other countries to work, live and spend money there.
One of these initiatives is the NHR (non-habitual resident) program. This program gives some remote workers favourable tax rates including 0% tax on foreign income, 0% tax on crypto and 0% tax on wealth. Without as many tax complications as other countries, Lisbon has become one of the easiest places to work from anywhere.
Lisbon has great transport links
The airport is just 6km from the city centre, with a metro that gets you from luggage-claim to Lisbon in a mere 20 minutes.
And while you’re in Lisbon, you can hop on and off the historical trams, or cruise along the waterfront on one of the many ride-as-you-go bikes or electric scooters that are all over the city.
Want to explore more of Portugal? You can travel to destinations like Cascais, Sintra or Porto from one of Lisbon’s four train stations.
Talk about well-connected.
Lisbon’s a hotspot for prolific tech events
Web Summit is one of the hottest events on the tech calendar, bringing together thousands of guests and speakers every year. In 2018, it was announced that Web Summit will stay in Lisbon for the next 10 years, after a historical €11 million agreement with the Portuguese government.
The city also hosts an annual NFT conference, plus Lisbon Blockchain Week—putting it firmly on the map as a hub for the web3 community.
It’s likely that over the years, people have come to Lisbon to attend these events and decided to stay, encouraging their friends and network to join them. And nothing sells a city more than word of mouth.
Lisbon’s food scene is *chef’s kiss*
Lisbon is incredibly proud of its culinary heritage and you can find classic Portuguese dishes such as pastéis de nata (custard tarts), bacalau (salt cod) and polvo à lagareiro (grilled octopus) in many of the city’s traditional eateries.
You’ll also find restaurants and cafes that are less on the traditional side like A Cevicheria, Copenhagen Coffee Lab, Farès, Coyo Taco and AO26 Vegan Food Project, amongst many others.
It’s impossible to mention Lisbon’s food scene without mentioning the incredible Time Out Market. Here, you can try all kinds of delicious street food, traditional dishes and cocktails under one roof. Both visitors and locals love it.
Lisbon knows how to party
Lisbon’s nightlife is as vibrant as the colourful buildings that make up the city, with a variety of clubs (like LuxFrágil and Dock’s), wine bars (like Prado Mercearia and By the Wine) and rooftop bars (like Park Lisboa and Seen by Oliver) to suit any vibe.
Lisbon has amazing coworking spaces
With the Hubble Pass, you and your team can access hundreds of coworking spaces, private offices and meeting rooms in cities all over the world. And of course, Lisbon happens to be one of these amazing cities.
Second Home, for instance, is spacious, edgy and lets in tonnes of natural light. Could this coworking space get any better?
Yes, yes it can. Because it’s also in the exact same building as the Time Out Market! So, if you’re taking your team for a work retreat, you’ve got everything you need in one space.
Then there’s WorkHub, located in the popular Marvila neighbourhood. This coworking space gives you the option to cowork on hot desks or alone with your team in a private office.
There’s also bike storage on site, showers for all guests and beautiful floor-to-ceiling warehouse windows that complement the industrial-inspired interiors.
Looking to join the thousands of hybrid teams, freelancers and digital nomads? See all of the coworking spaces you can access in Lisbon using the Hubble Pass.
