Cost of living makes Dublin less attractive for remote workers

'We need to make Ireland the best place to work remotely,' according to Grow Remote co-founder Tracy Keogh, who is pictured launching the Meitheal in Kinvara, Co Galway.

The cost of living and the price of home office rent in Dublin makes it less attractive to so-called digital nomads, when compared to other cities around the world, a new study has found.

However, overall, the capital ranks 32nd out of 75 major cities globally in the index which examines the best cities to live and work remotely from, according to data on legislation, costs and overall livability.

Digital nomads are people who can work from anywhere using a laptop and an internet connection.

The ‘work-from-anywhere’ index, which was released by on-demand housing platform Nestpick, found Melbourne was the highest-ranking city, and is best prepared to attract this new breed of worker.

The Australian city scored highly on livability factors like safety, healthcare and culture and leisure activities, and is boosted by its remote working infrastructure and the presence of a specific ‘Digital Nomad’ visa.

Dubai and Sydney placed second and third, while Medellin in Colombia, Marrakesh in Morrocco and Shanghai in China placed 75th, 74th and 73rd respectively.

Dublin ranks 32nd out of 75 major cities globally in the index which examines the best cities to live and work remotely from. Picture: John Coveney

Dublin, the only Irish city included in the index, scored well (11th out of 75) for remote working infrastructure, which refers to the legal framework for remote work combined with an estimate of the percentage of jobs that are teleworkable in the city.

It also scored well (11th out of 75) for pollution, indicating a relatively low pollution level compared to other cities.

Cost of living

However, it scored low for the cost of living, coming in at 68 out of 75 cities, and 64 out of 75 cities for the price of home office room rent, meaning home office space is less affordable than most other cities.

Tracy Keogh, co-founder of Grow Remote, said the important things for digital nomads when choosing where to travel to are the culture, experience and a sense of community.

"If you think about the number one driver of travel is experiencing other cultures and we're rich in that. Even the Gaeltacht areas, our arts, our culture, our food, all of that," she said.

We need to just take everything that we already sell abroad and repackage it for nomads and remote workers. We have it all, it's just about selling it correctly and communicating that properly."

Ms Keogh said nomads were “niche” until recently, but expects the numbers of them to grow in the coming years.

"There is a huge amount more we can do in this space. When you are talking about making Ireland more attractive, we need to ensure they are existing in an environment that is conducive to keeping them there. We need to make Ireland the best place to work remotely."

Omer Kucukdere, founder and chief executive at Nestpick, said the pandemic has revealed the benefits of remote working flexibility.

Earlier this week, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar announced there would be supports in the upcoming budget for remote and blended working post-pandemic.