These days most millennials will consider a broad range of factors when considering a city to reside in, including living costs, how liberal a city is, the employment opportunities, as well as more fun aspects, such as what the nightlife’s like.
Recognizing this, the apartment hunting website Nestpick analyzed 110 cities, taking four main concerns into consideration: Is there work available? Can you afford to live a good life? Is the city open and tolerant? And finally, can you have fun?
In its ranking, the company assigned a score for each city based on 17 “micro factors,” including its immigration tolerance, gender equality, whether or not its LGBTQ+ friendly, the state of the startup scene, as well as its beer and festival ranking.
Amsterdam took the top spot in Nestpick’s 2017 ranking, but this year it crowned a new best city for millennials, so keep scrolling for the 13 cities where under 30s want to live most right now.
1# Berlin, Germany.
If there’s one philosophy that defines the attitude of millennials, it is working hard and party hard. Berlin with its sheer number of nightclubs and pubs, and flexible opening/closing nightlife venue hours scores big on work opportunities as well as a thriving nightlife. It is little wonder then that young professionals want to make a beeline for Germany’s eclectic metropolis.
Berlin and its world-famous techno scene naturally scored highest in the nightlife stakes. It has a strong startup scene and is considered one of the most LGBTQ+ friendly cities in the world.
2# Montréal, Canada
Canadian city with a good festival scene to offer its millennial inhabitants, according to this ranking. Montreal, much like Vancouver scores high on immigration tolerance. The authorities as well as locals are warm and welcoming of immigrants, unlike many other nations. Plus this North American city with charming French influences scores high on the festival scene as well as the LGBT friendliness score. Montreal is also picturesque and features a pleasant, old-wordly charm, which makes it a perfect abode for youngsters looking for a culturally rich and serene yet happening North American city.
3# London, UK
The fact that London scores high on tourism is no secret. However, London town ranks high in terms of universities, startups, ‘openness,’ nightlife. well-developed public transport and innumerable food outlets (yes, you’ll practically lay your hands on every type of cuisine in this buzzing and eclectic English Capital). And who can resist the hundreds of shopping outlets, department stores, and high street stores?
4# Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Apart from being the top ranker where the world’s most livable cities for millennials is concerned, Amsterdam also scores when it comes to alternate sexuality friendliness (one of the important determinants for millennials) and a liberal, open attitude that embraces different ways of life. It won the top spot for being the most LGBT friendly city based on a ILGA Annual Rainbow Report data, in addition to its liberal legislation, a live and let live philosophy and inclusive values.
5# Toronto, Canada
Photo by Justin Main on Unsplash
oung professionals working in the heart of Toronto face many challenges, whether they are commuting from out of city or live within. Young commuters have been exhausted by excessive traffic congestion, never-ending construction, and harsh winter road conditions that have overwhelmed commuters much more than ever before. Combine that with Toronto housing prices stretching beyond the average millennials budget, consequently buying or renting a condo near to their place of work appears to be one of the most viable options.
Millennials prefer to live in areas with a unique charm and affordability. Places that highlight trendy restaurants, nightlife, but still within a close radius of their work. New condo developments in all different neighbourhoods in Toronto provide many opportunities for young professional. Here are three of the best neighborhoods that have been catching the eyes of well-paid millennials.
Toronto got a particularly high festival score.
6# Vancouver, Canada
Vancouver currently features one of the most start-up friendly scenes in the world, which is great for enterprising millennials. Then there are music festivals and favorable immigration policies. The authorities are believed to be welcoming and friendly towards immigrants, thus making this North American city a much sought after migration destination for young professionals.
7# Barcelona, Spain
Though it isn’t the best city in terms of employment opportunities, Barcelona has a lot going for it in terms of food, culture, beer, and tourism. It also scores well in the health department. How can you not feel good when you live in the midst of crisp Mediterranean air, fresh seafood, and good old sangria? Plus, there’s tapas to rave about!
8# New York, US
Unsurprisingly New York scored high across factors categorized under ‘business ecosystem’. It also scored relatively high for ‘openness’ and ‘essential living’ factors, which include things like internet speed and universities.
9# Cologne, Germany
One of the biggest advantages of setting home in Cologne is that you don’t have to jostle for space with hordes of tourists. Tourism isn’t growing at an alarming rate here, compared to other European cities, which means you can still enjoy your leisurely evening stroll without pushing for space. The social justice quotient is rather string in Cologne, and the food plus drinks are great too. The city is off beat yet delightful!
10# Manchester, UK
Greater Manchester has seen a huge surge in the number of young people setting up home here. The city scored highly for personal freedom and choice and its LGBTQ+ friendly. There were 440,221 people living in our city in 2002, figures from the Office for National Statistics show. By 2017, that number had climbed to 555,610 people – an increase of 115,389 or 26 percent.
Experts claim the rise in popularity of city centre living is one of the major factors behind the boom.
A 2015 report from the Centre for Cities found that: “Young people tend to prefer having good access to leisure facilities, culture, transport and jobs – which explains why students and young skilled professionals are attracted to city centre locations.”
11# Hamburg, Germany
Photo by Christoph Mahlstedt on Unsplash
Hamburg was just picked as one of the topmost ‘liveable’ cities in the world. The latest Mercer ranking of best cities for expats put Hamburg within the top 20 best cities for quality of life.
And perhaps there’s good reason: Hamburg has an especially strong connection to British ex-pat communities, which makes sense since it was occupied by UK forces at the end of the Second World War.
Perhaps one of the most important ways Hamburg is a great and interesting place to live is that the city has been dubbed one of the happiest regions in Germany.
It was rated the fourth happiest state in the country in Deutsche Post’s annual “Happiness Atlas” for 2015, though this was a bit of a slip from its first-place spot in 2012.
The latest Happiness Atlas showed that on average, Hamburgers rate their life satisfaction 7.14 out of 10, which was more than comparatively gloomy Berlin (6.89) could say.
12# Bristol, UK
There were 491,499 people living in Bristol in 2002, figures from the Office for National Statistics show. By 2017, that number had climbed to 572,563 people – up 16 percent. The number of 21 to 30-year-olds living in Bristol has soared by 40 percent in that time to 111,481 people.
According to Dr Artjoms Ivlevs, associate professor of economics at UWE, there are several reasons why young people want to live and work in Bristol. He said: “Bristol is one of the most attractive, creative, fun, tolerant, and outward-looking places to live in the UK and globally. “The city is known for its vibrant cultural and arts scene, which is certainly a magnet for many young people.”
With unemployment in the South West the lowest (3.1 percent) among UK regions, Dr Ivlevs says the city and region offers “good opportunities” for work in a range of sectors.
13# San Francisco, US
Photo by Edgar Chaparro on Unsplash
There are dozens of things to love about San Francisco. For instance, the architecture, the water, the people, the food, the arts scene, the events – the list goes on and on. Did you know, though, that the City by the Bay is also ranked as one of the best cities for young professionals? Recently, a Niche.com survey ranked SF as one of the top cities in the United States for young people starting their careers.
When people think of San Francisco, the first thing that probably comes to mind is Silicon Valley. And for a good reason – it’s what places SF among the best cities for young professionals. Silicon Valley is one of the world’s foremost tech hubs, home to mega-campuses belonging to companies like Google and Facebook.
Thanks in large part to the Valley, San Fransisco saw 35% job growth in the years between 2010 and 2018. Compare that to the 14% experienced by the U.S. as a whole, and it’s clear how fast the area is booming. Between 2017 and 2018, San Francisco added about 19,000 new jobs.