Best places in Europe to work or get a job in UX

Careers & Mentoring
#1

Hi everyone,
Me and my partner have been talking for a few years to leave UK and move / settle somewhere else in Europe. We have many factors to take into consideration. One is that we’re not city people and rather live in the country side. But on the other hand, I want to be close to an area where there are UX jobs available. My questions now are:

  • What are cities are considered to be the UX hubs of Europe? Is there any ‘up and coming’?
  • We’ve been looking at Lisbon. Anyone in here that works in UX in Portugal?

I appreciate your help!
Lin

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#3

Paging @dopamino, who might be able to give some insight.

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#4

hi @Malin

It depends on the sector you are looking at, among the others:

  • London for the Fintech and big web companies such as Facebook, is always a great city to work. Keep in mind that UK is starting the Brexit process so I don’t know what will happen once they will be out of the UE
  • Hamburg for the companies focused on cloud solutions
  • Zurich for the Fintech, the Pharma and the brand new Google hub +3000 people
    I would not take into consideration the Mediterranean countries.
    They’re the most beautiful in the area with a lot of financial issues though :frowning:

I’ve never had any experience, related to the design field, in Portugal. I think is a fantastic country, great food, a lot of history and people are great. Said that, again, the Mediterranean countries (I know Portugal is on the ocean) are not growing as the middle and the northern part of Europe

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#5

Thanks for you reply and the link! I’d love to work remotely. But it seems like remote jobs are very sought after and you’d need a pretty good resume to even have a chance. Right now I’m still on the learning curve but it’s definitely something I’d be aiming for in the future when I got some experience behind me!

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#6

Thanks for you input! Zurich might be a place to look into. I have no idea if I have permission to work in Switzerland though to be honest since they’re not in the EU.

As much as I would like to argue with you I see your point with regards to the mediterranean countries. There are a lot of jobs in UX in Lisbon but the salaries are pretty appalling. Question is how big a pay cut a warm climate and beautiful scenery is worth…

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#7

It depends on what you’re looking for.
I moved to Switzerland because my company I was working for acquired a Swiss company and, at the time, they were without an internal design team. Honestly, I was not excited by the idea to leave my city (Rome) and my Country. After 5 years of Swiss life, I can tell you that I’m enjoying my homeland much more now that I go there as a “local tourist”.
Of course, I miss a lot of things, my family and food in the first place. I’ve to say, though, that the way how I work here is just fantastic and, at the moment, I will never move to another European country.

@Malin where are you coming from?

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#8

@dopamino wow that seems like a pretty big change, from Rome to Zurich! Glad to hear things worked out for you and that you’re happy where you are! I’m from Sweden, lived for a couple of years in New Zealand where I met my partner (who’s from the UK) and when our permanent visa applications to NZ fell through (despite having jobs and qualifications… don’t get me started on the subject) i decided to move with him to Cornwall (where he had spent most of his adult life). I’ve lived here now some 6 years we’ve both realised we don’t want to spend our future here, or raise a family here. It’s more about the politics than anything else – this is not a country run for the common man. Things like maternity leave, sick leave, education costs and quality of healthcare, and the overall wages… (I’ll try not dive to far into the politics!!) To be honest, I’ve been thinking more and more about moving back to Sweden. But both me and especially my partner would prefer to live in a country/town/city with a nicer climate, beautiful scenery and with a more community-oriented culture (Swedish towns can be very clicky and ‘reclusive’ – in lack of better words). Hence us looking at Portugal. Again, it has to make sense financially though. And I’m starting to realise that we’re probably never going to find a place that meets all of our requirements… :confused:

#9

I was considering moving to Cyprus. It is definitely not a UX hub, but many IT companies have their branches there due to its favorable tax climate (Facebook, Cisco). However, the weather climate can be hot. But people are also warm and friendly, and Limassol is quite a safe place - my friend lets her 6-year-old son walk several quarters alone, people do not lock their doors (in non-tourists areas).
But I suppose it is better to get a job offer with relocation option and then move.

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#10

Indeed it was/is, cultural-wise it’s a big challenge. I’ve decided to stay here only because of the short distance, with a one hour flight I can be again in the “Caput Mundi” :wink:

As I wrote, Switzerland is a fantastic country, especially if you are a nature lovers and you like to hike, sky and swim in the lake waters. Said that, to be honest, the expats can have a good life until they’re productive because the permit is subordinate to your working status (as the personal insurance, the pension etc). I don’t have any clue how it works for no-EU citizens.

Good luck!

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