Wish list:
1) Very warm climate (Brisbane has this)
2) Decent tech scene (or in a near enough timezone to enables remote work for US or EU employers) (Brisbane barely has this)
3) ACTUALLY diverse and cultured (Brisbane has gotten a lot better in the past ten years, but falls well short here IMO)
4) Non-car centric with good public and alternative transport opportunities (Brisbane falls well short here too)
The ultimate city for me would have the huge population and excellent public transport of Tokyo, the diversity of NY, Miami, London and Paris, the climate of Singapore and the non-car centrism of Amsterdam.
Short list so far:
* Barcelona?
* Lisbon?
* Miami?
* Austin?
* Tel Aviv?
* ??? Any Latin American or African cities I'm missing? Maybe Fortaleza, Recife, Salvador Bahia, Lagos, Dakar ???
Cities like NY, Toronto are diverse and have lots of opportunities but are too cold. Also not that great on public and alternative transport.
Sydney, Melbourne and Vancouver are too cold in winter and not that diverse. Also not that great on public and alternative transport.
Paris, Amsterdam, Copenhagen are very non-car centric but too cold.
Yes, I'm too picky and probably asking for the impossible =) but would love to hear more suggestions
The Brazilian cities you described do not have good public transport or bikes, and almost no foreigners. The advantage is that cost of living is very low, but Lisbon is also not that expensive as well.
Have you thought of India? the major South Indian cities (Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad) have large tech scenes, with Bangalore probably have one of the largest in the world. Many major US and EU employers have remote workers and/or offices here. The weather is certainly warm, perhaps even too warm :P
I'm from one of these cities and spent several years living in Europe. It wasn't until I moved from continental Europe to the UK that I found a comparable restaurant scene to my home city. Beaches, deserts, forests, and mountains are all just a short flight away. Not sure what diversity means to you though, so I might get this one wrong.
Uber, Ola, and other alternatives to cars are preferred by many, if not, well, you could always get a car with a driver, it's quite affordable on a developer wage. All three cities are building up their metro systems as well.
Of course, life in India doesn't suit everyone. There are several negatives, which I guess everyone knows. As I said, it's probably the most ridiculous suggestion, but here it is.
If it's not what you want on any given day super cheap to duck off somewhere else.
Tech scene, still french influenced, last time I was there a couple could live very comfortably for 2k a month, or even 1.5k.
"Actually diverse" is a tall order. Maybe a handful of cities fit that globally imo: in addition to the list above, nyc and I don't know, can't think of any but I am sure they exist.
Like Scottish in UK, they have a peculiar way to speak Spanish and all the common nuissances of being in a big city, but you will be dealing with just one language (Valencia and Barcelona speak two at the same time) and should be cheaper to live than both. Andalucía has a lot to offer in terms of gorgeous nature, culture (ancient mix of jew, muslim and christian heritages and links with America) and great food. Many good beaches at a reasonable distance and connected with Madrid by fast train AVE (2 hours 30 min) 15 times a day or so.
The climate in summer is a little hot to me but if you live in Australia shouldn't be much different. Similar range of temperatures than Brisbane but less humid.
My main concern would be the tech scene. Barcelona/Madrid are unbeatable in that.
Unfortunately it's a little bit too car-centric despite the expensive prices of cars, and I find the culture to be a little bit "unhinged".
The scenary, temperature and all the rest gets old pretty quickly and you are left with the social connections you can make as the only metric of how you are faring in a city. And that is dependant upon your relevancy
Given that you are planning to go as a foreigner all things being equal you should go for a place where you speak the local language and it has a decent amount of mobility and social volatility.
Without mobility and social volatility you are essentially looking at people still latching onto social relationship they established early on such as high school or college, that makes harder to create connections for somebody who is just arriving.
Mobility I don't think I have to explain, social volatility I'd define it as uhmm...essentially if you don't see fist fights or people arguing and going at each other, you won't even enjoy the opposite side of the emotional spectrum . Which I suppose is what you desire (maybe I am projecting)
An international South American city where people make friends and fall off quickly: say Sao Paolo or Rio or Mexico City seems a good fit, but as I said depends upon your relevancy and ability to speak the language.
I'm Adelaide based these days, and coming from London, the lack of day-to-day diversity is rather shocking!
I'd suggest London and the South of England during the summer months!
I doubt you’d stick to a place like Lagos for more than a month.
Pros for Austin:
* It definitely meets your first 2 goals of having a warm climate and a good tech scene.
* I would describe Austin as moderately diverse. Not as much as SF, NYC, or Houston, but it has some things going for it. A lot of people are moving there from out of state, so it's growing a lot. There's great fusion food, especially if you like Mexican food, and it has the 3rd highest rate of LGBTQ people in the country. Despite being in Texas, the cities here are tolerant and diverse.
* Great music scene and festivals.
* Fun summer activities, like tubing down nearby rivers.
* It would probably be a good place to raise a family, as it has some really nice neighborhoods and decent schools.
* You have a lot to do if you'd like to get out of the city. Fredericksburg for German restaurants/culture and Texas wine country, Corpus Christi and North Padre Island for long weekend beach trips, San Antonio for very good Mexican food, Fiesta (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiesta_San_Antonio), or seeing the Riverwalk or historic missions. I live in San Antonio, for reference.
* I'm not super familiar with the parks and trails, but I think they are good, if you enjoy cycling or running. The Austin Marathon is a blast.
Cons:
* It is car centric, and the traffic isn't great. However, a lot of people bike, so you could arrange it so that your work and errands are within a bicycle commute. I would definitely have a car for getting around elsewhere, though.
* Cost of living is high, but tech salaries cover that. It's not to the level of cities like NYC or SF, though, and I think it's mainly limited to housing.
* It is Texas, so there are certain regressive state policies, like a recent declaration from the attorney general attempting to criminalizing gender affirming healthcare for trans youth. A lot of these get challenged in court and thrown out, but it is something to consider.
Good luck with your decision! Lisbon or anywhere in Spain sound amazing, too.
Whilst you'll get by OK in any large city with just English, some places are better than others. For example, in my experience, Lisbon (and Portugal in general) has a much higher level of English than Barcelona.
Maybe language isn't a huge concern for you but you still have a level of bureaucracy and settling in moving to any new place.
Buy a good winter coat and come here to Stockholm, it is cold but (like Copenhagen) the infrastructure is really good and built for the weather.
Lisbon is Atlantic climate and the sea is colder but should be also a competitive option. Barcelona is one of the 3 most expensive cities to live in Spain. Portugal should be more affordable probably.
The climate wasn't _very warm_ this year around though and the energy crisis is going to hit Greece hard. The summer is fantastic though as you can hop around the islands with ease.
The diverse culture, hm. Well it's no Vienna or Berlin, I guess but you can meet ppl from all over the place.
The tech scene is booming.
Pre-covid, it was a wonderful place to live (although outside of restaurants customer service is non-existent)
It has some tech scene, would love to have someone comment on this.
80%+ of Dubai are expats so it is probably diverse.
Its a bit car centric though with only one metro line.