Top 10 countries to live and work in 2022: Instead of working in a gray office or tiny kitchen, do you want to do the same on a sun-drenched balcony or on a white sand beach? Remote work has gone mainstream during the pandemic. With the opening of the tourism industry, working from another country has become even easier.
In fact, freelancing culture is thriving all over the world, and countries like Croatia actively encourage workers to choose their country as a new base. So, if you want to add travel to your work-life balance this year, what options do you have?
Choosing a country with good internet access, plenty of local cafes, and cheap rent should be a top priority. But of course, you need to think about time zones as well. While the idea of working from Tokyo can be exciting, if your company is operating on a London schedule, you won’t have an easy time.
To help you make the right choice, travel search engine KAYAK launched the Work From Anywhere index. To develop it, they analyzed 111 countries, ranking them in six different categories: travel costs and affordability, local prices, health and safety, remote work opportunities, social life, and perhaps most importantly, weather.
To make things even easier, they also created a time zone ranking system so you can make sure the place you work is closely related to where your head office is located.
Here are the top 10 countries to live and work from home in 2022.
- Germany
The Western European country made it into the top 10 with an impressive 83 out of 100. Germany performed well in the health and safety category, and also praised political stability and LGBTQ+ rights. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t perform as well in the weather category, scoring 16 out of 100 for damp.
- Czech Republic
The Czech Republic scores one point more than its neighbor and has excellent local prices: on average, a long-term apartment rental is only 389 euros per month. Transport, food, and restaurants are also cheap here, with a one-way train ticket costing around €0.96.
- Panama
If you really need warmer weather, this is the place for you. Panama scored 78 out of 100 on the weather scale and also has a good accessibility score.
- Costa Rica
Costa Rica is on this list thanks to its brilliant environmental certifications. 75% of the country is now covered in forest, and thanks to the great weather and strong LGBTQ+ rights, this is a dream remote workplace. On the other hand, Wi-Fi speed can be slow. In addition, there are not many museums or theaters here.
- Malta
The Mediterranean island of Malta excels in the health and safety category thanks to good political stability and low road traffic deaths of just 4 per 100,000 people.
However, in the category of social life, the country scores only 10 out of 100 points, with only 16 theaters, museums, and galleries per 1,000 people. But what do you want from the most populous country in Europe.
If you work on a European schedule, Japan may not be right for you. But if you can work flexibly, there are many suggestions here. The country scores an impressive 94 out of 100 on the social life scale, with 149 cultural centers per 1,000 people and 1,707 bars and clubs per 1,000 inhabitants. Although the average temperature is only 14°C per month, this means that you can go skiing in your free time.
- Mauritius
The island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean is magnificent. The average monthly temperature is 24°C and local prices are low. A long-term apartment rental costs an average of only 188 euros per month, and an average three-course meal for two costs only 31 euros.
- Romania
In third place is the southeastern European country of Romania. With an impressive 92 points, the country scored high in every category except the weather. The average monthly temperature here is only 7 degrees, so if you want to work on the beach, this is not the place for you. However, if you don’t mind a cooler climate, rent and food are very cheap and internet speeds are quite fast.
- Spain
The enduringly popular Spain comes in second place, scoring high for LGBTQ+ equality. Air pollution is also low here, and a long-term apartment rental will cost you an average of 507 euros per month. Wi-Fi is fast, and there are 807 clubs and bars per 1,000 people.
- Portugal
Portugal leads the way with an unrivaled score of 100 out of 100. The country scores incredibly well in the health, safety, and social life categories with the lowest air pollution in the top ten, along with a high level of English proficiency among locals.
The Portuguese are also very interested in encouraging remote workers: in 2021, the first digital village for freelancers will open in the Portuguese Autonomous Region of Madeira.
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