Movinga, Europe’s leading online removals platform, has released a study revealing the cities in which London professionals displaced by Brexit would feel happiest. Dublin is the most favourable city for bankers, based on the average high-end rent prices, language spoken, cuisine, luxury stores and bars, pushing the cities of Frankfurt and Paris unexpectedly far down the list. Startup employees, on the other hand, should try to convince their boss to consider Berlin due to the low income tax rate, average rent, number of co-working spaces, travel costs and the widespread use of English.

There is much uncertainty surrounding the future of London’s banking sector and it is widely reported that banks, British and foreign ones, are looking to move a large part of their workforce to cities such as Frankfurt and Paris. Movinga’s new study shows, however, that the banks might be overlooking the needs of their employees, who are likely to want to continue enjoying an excellent choice of restaurant and bar options, while wanting to keep the costs of monthly essentials, ranging from dry and house cleaning to gym membership, to a minimum. According to the study, Dublin ranks first and is followed by Amsterdam in second and Valletta in third, while Frankfurt trails far behind in sixth place and Paris in ninth.

What is important for bankers is often unaffordable for startup employees. Their requirements are directed more towards travel costs, combo lunches, shared rent prices as well as the price of beers instead of expensive cocktails. Rather than an office in a high rise, they also prefer to have an array of co-working spaces to choose from. The study confirms what many already believe: Berlin is the up and coming startup capital of Europe, closely followed by the cities of Warsaw and Budapest, in second and third place respectively.

“Everyone talks about Paris and Frankfurt as the new financial centres of Europe after Brexit,” said Finn Hänsel, Managing Director at Movinga. “But other cities like Dublin, Valletta, Luxembourg and Amsterdam may actually be better equipped to make these workers feel happy and at home. Individuals and businesses alike should consider the unique factors important to their relocation before planning their move.”

City Banker Index: Results

The results reveal that Dublin is the most desirable city for London bankers to relocate to, scoring high for proximity (70 minute flight), English language comprehension (100%), and more affordable high end rent prices (£1,669.08).

Milan was found to be the least desirable city for London bankers to relocate to due to the expensive high end rent (£2,461.00), the long distance from home (130 minutes), expensive flight tickets (£180.78), and low English comprehension (34%).

Top Five Cities For Bankers (Extract*)
City Max Inc Tax English Comprehension High-End Rent Uber Flex Ticket Flight (Minutes) Overall
Dublin 52% 100% £1,669.08 Yes £89.54 70 1
Amsterdam 52% 90% £1,698.09 Yes £107.28 65 2
Valletta 35% 89% £1,895.21 No £190.08 200 3
Luxembourg 40% 56% £1,924.50 No £120.80 80 4
Brussels 50% 38% £1,283.56 Yes £115.74 70 5

*In total, the cities were ranked based on 12 factors, you can access them all by visiting the results page.

Other findings in the city banker index include:

  • Valletta, Malta has the lowest maximum income tax rate at 35%.
  • Dublin and Amsterdam have the highest maximum income tax rate at 52%.
  • Brussels has the most affordable high end rent prices at an average monthly cost of £1,283.56
  • Paris has the most expensive high end rent prices at an average monthly cost of £2,841.69.
  • The most affordable cocktail on average can be found in Valletta (£4.61) and the most expensive in Paris (£10.14).
  • Paris had the most Burberry stores (8), followed by Madrid (4) and Milan (3).
  • Paris has the most Michelin starred restaurants (82), followed by Brussels (19) and Milan (17).

Startup Cities Ranking: Results

The results reveal that Berlin is the most desirable city for startup employees to relocate to, scoring high for proximity (115 minute flight), English comprehension (56%), and shared rent prices (£393.47). The city ranks second for availability of capital (9.90) and number of coworking spaces (93), second only to Paris. However, the relative affordability of living in Berlin compared to Paris makes the city far more suitable for startup employees.

Copenhagen was found to be the least desirable city for startup employees to relocate to due to the very expensive shared rent (£957.60), low access to capital (3.62), and the high price of a 0.5L beer (£5.11).

Top Five Cities For Startup Employees (Extract*)
# City English Comprehension Access to Capital Shared Rent Monthly Transit Budget Gym .5L Beer Club Mate Rank
1 Berlin 56% 9.90 £393.47 £68.43 £16.90 £2.03 £1.27 1
2 Warsaw 33% 1.51 £243.31 £22.04 £19.46 £1.56 £1.27 2
3 Budapest 20% 1.96 £216.70 £26.66 £24.84 £1.10 £1.27 3
4 Brno 27% 0.48 £210.15 £17.19 £24.42 £0.94 £0.94 4
5 Barcelona 22% 5.44 £364.33 £43.09 £16.89 £2.11 £1.27 5

*In total, the cities were ranked based on 12 factors, you can access them all by visiting the results page.

Other findings in the best cities for startup employees include:

  • Budapest has the lowest income tax rate of 25%.
  • Copenhagen has the highest income tax rate at 43.42%.
  • Unsurprisingly, Dublin has the highest English comprehension at 100%. This is closely followed by Amsterdam at 90%, making Amsterdam the non-native English speaking city with highest level of English.
  • Budapest has the lowest English comprehension at 20%.
  • Paris is ranked with the highest access to capital at 10.00.
  • Bratislava is ranked as having the lowest access to capital at 0.00.
  • Paris has the highest number of co-working spaces (148).
  • Brno has the least number of co-working spaces (9).
  • Bratislava has the most affordable shared rent (£195.15).
  • Copenhagen has the highest shared rent (£957.60).
  • Brno has the most affordable monthly travel costs (£17.19).
  • Dublin has the most expensive monthly travel costs (£103.07). Both are still more affordable than London (£122.27).

(Source: Movinga)