Barcelona, the best city in southern Europe to live and work in
Barcelona is the first Spanish city to appear in the ranking of the best European cities to live and work, which is still led by London, according to a report developed by the consultancy firm NTT Data, in collaboration with Barcelona Global.
The Barcelona Global association and the consultancy firm NTT Data have recently presented the City Talent Index 2022 report, which aims to measure the ability of Europe’s leading cities to attract and retain talent. This report concludes that Barcelona is the best city in Southern Europe to live and work in ‘because of its attractive entrepreneurial ecosystem, excellent graduate education system and attractive lifestyle’.
Barcelona is the first Spanish and southern European city to appear in the ranking, occupying the 12th place out of a total of 32 European cities analyzed, which all share the common feature of being part of the top 50 cities with the highest regional GDP and population.
The report evaluates the main axes of competitiveness of cities based on more than 50 indicators from organizations such as the OECD, Eurostat, the World Bank and Unicef, among others.
A two-speed Europe
The overall results of the report highlight a rift between Northern Europe, and Eastern and Southern Europe, which separates the most advanced cities from those lagging behind in the ability to attract and retain talent.
This differential is mainly explained by the leadership of Northern European cities in the economic aspects of the continent and consequently by the existing correlation between the economic determinants of geographical mobility and the ability to attract and retain talent.
An entrepreneurial ecosystem
One of the reasons that most influences Barcelona’s ranking is its attractive entrepreneurial ecosystem, with a very good position in the birth and stabilization of start-ups in the city. Added to this is the possibility of postgraduate studies at some of the world’s most renowned business schools.
An attractive lifestyle
Barcelona leads in the area of attractive lifestyle thanks to its wide range of public services for citizens, for example, in mobility and transport or sanitation. In addition, the city is seen as an indispensable tourist attraction, which generates a pull effect for attracting talent.
Talent attracts talent
Among the challenges proposed by the group of experts to improve Barcelona’s position in the ranking are the internationalization of the education system to create and attract a greater number of international students; the adoption of measures to help attract international talent, such as streamlining and digitizing administrative procedures; attracting the establishment of technology and innovation hubs for large corporations; and strengthening attractive teleworking policies to attract digital or research talent to settle in the city.
Flexible workspaces
In this sense, Barcelona has managed in recent years to consolidate its position as one of the world’s favorite teleworking cities for digital nomads. This has led to an exponential increase in the interest and hiring of flexible workspaces in Barcelona, such as those offered by Gran Via Business & Meeting Center.
Private offices, common areas for socializing, terraces and outdoor spaces, meeting rooms and Business Club in the economic and cultural heart of Barcelona.
