Where to live, work and invest in Europe

London

Being the capital city of one of the world's biggest economic powerhouses, London has an outstanding performance in a range of fields including infrastructure, interconnection, inclusion, inspiration, and innovation. In spite of the uncertainty brought about by Brexit negotiations, London remains the ideal city for work and investment. Along with its impressive cultural diversity, London offers multiple opportunities with tremendous support for those looking to set up a new business. The construction of the Peninsula Place, a tower of over £1 billion, provides not only office space but also a new transportation hub and recreational areas including winter gardens. Also, the region is currently experiencing a real boom with the development of over 15,000 residential units with educational and medical facilities, community spaces, media and film studios, and a refurbished bike and walking track. Located in the heart of London, the Greenwich Peninsula is expected to turn into one of the city's most active squares in the coming years.

Cambridge

Historically famous due to Cambridge University, Cambridge has been attracting a massive number of international students over the years – which probably explains its cultural and linguistic diversity that fosters inclusion. Today, Cambridge is one of the leading technology centres in Europe with over 4,700 highly specialised firms and some 60,000 talents. On its own, it generates a total income of £12 billion. It's therefore not surprising that Cambridge ranks among the ten best European cities for innovation and investment. The Cambridge Biomedical Campus in the south, the Cambridge Science Park in the north, and the Cambridge Scientific and Technological Research Center in the west are some of the city's innovation hubs. Regarding investment, the number of patents granted to new businesses is higher than in any other British city mentioned in the report. Cambridge also has a dynamic real estate market with an average of 2,000 new residential units being developed every year due to the demand.

Paris

Paris comes up third mainly due to ongoing development projects. In fact, Paris is among the top 10 most dynamic European cities for its performance regarding infrastructure and interconnection, primarily due to the Grand Paris project which includes four new automatic metro lines. While the first phase is due for the Summer Olympic Games in 2024, the second phase is expected for 2030. This project should generate some 100,000 additional positions, taking into account the extension of 200 kilometres of railway tracks. Grand Paris project has also been stimulating the real estate market, especially alongside subway stations. Saint-Denis Pleyel, one of the biggest stations in this area, has accelerated the development of new commercial, hotel, and residential complexes as well as office space. Paris has the potential of becoming the ideal European city for entrepreneurs having innovative ideas to develop. It's also planned that the Olympic Village will be converted into a vast multipurpose area including a manufacturing laboratory post-Olympic games.

Amsterdam

One of the world's most attractive cities for foreign talent, Amsterdam stands out in the fields of interconnection, innovation, and investment. The Zuidas district, the city's most prominent financial hub, is currently undergoing a major development project to meet the demand for commercial and residential space. In the next few years, some 400,000 square meters of office space and around 7,000 residential units shall be ready to be occupied. The Netherlands is a country where sustainable development is of vital importance. In line with its energy and environment program, Amsterdam is planning to reduce its energy consumption per capita by at least 20% between 2013 and 2020. New commercial and residential buildings, therefore, have to be BREEAM certified. Regarding interconnection, the Amsterdam Zuid station expansion shall include not only green spaces but also additional tracks where some 300,000 passengers will transit, compared to only 80,000 today.

Berlin

In spite of its tragedic past, today Berlin is one of the most modern and innovative cities in Europe. The city can boast of its impressive infrastructure along with incentives provided to foreign professionals and investors. It's worth noting that most investments made in Germany in 2017 were recorded in Berlin. As a dynamic capital city, Berlin's accelerated growth had a significant impact on the real estate market as evidenced by new office buildings in Mediaspree, Adlershof, and Europacity. Nicknamed the “City of Science, Technology, and Media”, Adlershof is home to 6 departments of Humboldt University. The area also hosts ten non-university research and innovative institutes along with 1,100 specialised firms with 18,000 employees.