Originally Posted by : The No. 1 city in the world to travel and work remotely is in the US—and it isn’t New York or LA
Published Fri, Jun 24 20229:00 AM EDTUpdated Fri, Jun 24 20229:15 PM EDT
Jennifer Liu @JLJENNIFERLIU
Americans don’t need a passport to get to the No. 1 global city to take a working vacation.
Kansas City, Missouri, was named the best city in the world to work during the day and explore after hours without having to use too much of your PTO time, according to a recent analysis from Icelandair.
Kansas City — known for its barbecue, jazz scene and for having more fountains than Rome — is home to attractions including The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kauffman Stadium, Worlds of Fun and a bustling downtown. It comes out on top of 115 global cities in the ranking, which were chosen because of their prominence in the tourist industry and availability of “slow” travel options.
Tourist attractions aside, the Icelandair ranking considers metrics that paint a picture of each city’s quality of life (like cost of living, safety, health-care access), how easy it is to work there (internet speed, average working hours, commute time), environmental factors (climate index, noise and light pollution, air quality) and data from the United Nations’ World Happiness Report.
Here are the top 10 best global cities to take a working vacation, according to Icelandair.
Kansas City, United States
Vienna, Austria
Wellington, New Zealand
Copenhagen, Denmark
Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Victoria, Canada
Perth, Australia
Frankfurt, Germany
Brisbane, Australia
Helsinki, Finland
Travelers may be surprised to find typical big cities like New York or Los Angeles don’t top the list. That’s because these metros “aren’t always best when you’re looking to take a step away from the busy hustle of a usual working day,” says Gisli S. Brynjolfsson, director or global marketing at Icelandair.
“Slow travel” is a growing trend that “emphasizes connections, whether that be with the local people, businesses, culture, food, and to leave places in a condition future travelers can explore, too,” he tells CNBC Make It.
Slow travel is especially attractive to people planning working vacations, who are more likely to travel alone and spend longer periods of time at their destination. “It’s about being mindful, not burning yourself out and taking your time to get to know the places around you,” Brynjolfsson says.
While remote work makes it easier than ever to take a working vacation, a lot of people are coming back from these “breaks” more burned out than when they left. Some 61% of Americans who took a working vacation in the last year didn’t consider them to be “true” vacations, according to Expedia’s latest Vacation Deprivation study of 14,500 working adults across 16 countries. What’s more, 72% of people who worked through their vacation reported feeling more burned out than ever.
The Icelandair report recommends travelers find balance by connecting with nature, staying active and practicing mindfulness while on vacation. For days you’re working, take mini-breaks from devices and find an accountability buddy who can help you prioritize your rest, whether they’re a remote colleague or a travel partner.
Finally, even though these cities have the infrastructure for remote work, make sure some of your trip is spent logged off — delete email, practice proactive recovery and immerse yourself in your new destination.
The only nice thing about KC is how affordable it is. The day that changes is the day I move. It sucks there's people actively trying to make it a more expensive city [Reply]
That’s pretty cool. I’m an aspiring digital nomad and I would absolutely live in KC during the fall and then split for warmer weather after football season. [Reply]
Brisbane Australia is a pretty cool city. The Gold Coast is awesome, tons of hot Aussie chicks sunbathing topless and plenty of nightclubs.
Adelaide is an under the radar city. Very much a college town, a little more artsy and older than some of the other major cities. Lot and lots to do.
Was there in 1987 when I spent a month in Australia and 2 weeks in New Zealand. Loved it. Also did Perth and Rottnest Island, Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef, Alice Springs and Ayers Rock, Sydney with wineries / beaches , Melbourne and the cricket grounds. Did the fairy penguins tour and saw quokkas on Rottnest. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BWillie:
Another reason Im really worried about the suburban housing market in about 10 years. Im not sure who will fill tbese homes. We finally had our first population decline as a country last year. And genz does not value living in the suburbs or having a family quite like millenials and gen x. They are also having less children so a single family home is not as saught after.
Yep, all those condos for the gen-x are going up near the entertainment districts. They have no interest in suburbia. Most going up are rental properties. Gen-z will pay a higher % of their income in rent than previous ones. [Reply]
Why the KC shade in this thread? I fucking love living here! Having 4 seasons kicks ass. You pussies need to get better jackets or better jobs or something. [Reply]
The Europeans are gonna be disappointed when they get to Le Taxitour in Europa at WOF. Probably a slower working vacation than they're looking for. [Reply]
