One of the many profound effects of the pandemic has been to induce a sort of global cabin fever, and now that constraints are beginning to ease many of us are considering whether life elsewhere might be better. Lockdown was an unforeseen and sustained test bed for remote working and the findings of this imposed experiment were striking; remote working works better than we had previously realised. Suddenly, staying put was not the only option and the pre-pandemic trend for relocation got a shot of adrenalin. Portugal, and Lisbon in particular, has for some years now been ahead of the game when it comes to attracting entrepreneurs and here are some of the reasons why.

Connected and well positioned

Located within mainland Europe and with three international airports each linked to 120 destinations, Portugal is extremely well connected. Lisbon is served by its own international airport but is also close to the airport at Faro, meaning that it is accessible from most European cities in under three hours.

One of the best places for ex-pats to live and work

Lisbon regularly features top of lists such as the Nomad List for best places to live and work and there are a string of reasons why this is so. High up on the list of reasons must be Lisbon’s delightful climate, 300 days of sunshine a year and short, mild winters. Add to that one of the lowest costs of living in Europe, proximity to some of the best beaches in the world, outstanding local cuisine, world class art and architecture and a ranking as third safest country in the world and you can begin to see the attraction.

English is widely spoken

English is taught in all schools in Portugal and is recognised as the language of business. English speaking entrepreneurs will consequently not have to cope with the language barriers that they might encounter in other countries.

Cheap office space

Although property prices have continued to rise, year on year in Lisbon, the city still offers some of the cheapest capital city accommodation in Europe with rental prices for office space around 80% cheaper than London’s West End.

A pool of skilled labour

An impressive 53% of Portuguese between the ages of 20 and 30 are STEM graduates and they can be employed for a third of the cost of other European cities. Lisbon also attracts a considerable number of overseas tech workers, particularly from Brazil. The government has long gone out of its way to welcome foreign workers with measures which range from the ‘Non-Habitual Resident’ tax status with zero tax rates on foreign income, crypto currency and foreign dividends to tech visas, start-up visas and entrepreneur friendly fiscal infrastructure.

A nurturing environment

Lisbon is part of the ‘Start-up Cities Alliance’ or SCALE, a European initiative designed to promote ‘innovation with heritage, talent with diversity and knowledge with opportunity.’ The city is one of the top five best performing start-up communities in Europe with around 334,000 companies and 127 co-working spaces.