Business & Marketing

The best cities for introverts

February 5, 2024

In a rapidly changing, technologically advanced world, living an introverted lifestyle is becoming increasingly easier. Introverts are those of us whose personalities focus on internal feelings, rather than extroverts, who focus on external stimulation in their daily lives. With two in five people across the world describing themselves as introverts, we have explored where are the best cities for introverts.

We investigated the best and worst cities, both in the UK and globally, for introverts based on metrics including population density, wifi speed and cost, average monthly salary, quality of greens and parks, noise and light pollution, things to do and number of remote jobs available.

The top 10 UK cities for introverts

City	Population Density	Wifi Speed (Mpbs)	Cost of Wifi	Average monthly salary	Quality of Greens & Parks (/100)	Noise & Light Pollution (/100)	No. of things to do	No. of remote jobs per 10,000 people
Edinburgh	1,830	135.5	£29.74	£2,416.50	80.95	37.10	45	37
Milton Keynes	930	92.0	£29.43	£3,053.89	93.42	27.50	6	172
London	5,598	129.5	£33.00	£3,168.76	80.17	55.10	332	4
Swansea	632	116.5	£30.14	£1,662.00	91.67	33.33	11	75
Cardiff	2,571	92.0	£25.22	£2,094.33	81.52	42.71	12	3,218
Preston	1,039	62.0	£31.67	£2,670.00	81.25	12.50	5	147
Leeds	1,472	120.5	£30.76	£2,368.41	69.70	53.12	28	35
Belfast	2,500	126.5	£30.69	£2,074.35	72.30	34.46	17	35
Sheffield	1,513	86.0	£28.08	£1,962.67	88.10	36.90	20	20
Glasgow	3,400	92.0	£31.28	£2,478.82	82.41	42.31	34	23

Securing the top spot, Edinburgh stands firm as the best city for introverts to work in the UK. With a less dense population (1,830), the city offers an average salary of up to £2,416.50 a month and the fastest wifi speed of all cities analysed (135 Mbps). The city is home to plenty of green spaces and parks, scoring a healthy 80.1/100 and has 45 different things to do around the area.

Milton Keynes presents a staunch second option. Living amongst a smaller population density of 930 and a highly competitive monthly salary (£3,053.89). Milton Keynes also has a much lower noise and light pollution score (27.5/100) compared to other cities in the top ten.

England’s capital, London, ranks highly, as does Wales’ capital, Cardiff, but for very different reasons. London boasts the highest average salary of £3,168.76 a month, and comfortably possesses the highest number of things to do, with over 300 activities available across the city.

Cardiff offers a huge 3,218 remote jobs per 10,000 people, the highest number out of all cities in the top 10! The Welsh capital also provides the cheapest wifi at just £25.22 per month.

Swansea has the least dense population (632) and the second highest score for quality of green spaces and parks, only behind Milton Keynes, scoring a huge 92/100.

Notable cities also include Preston, which offers the cleanest area to live with the least amount of noise and light pollution (12.5/100), supplemented by high-quality green spaces and parks (81/100).

The 10 worst UK cities for introverts

City	Population Density	Wifi Speed (Mpbs)	Cost of Wifi	Average monthly salary	Quality of Greens & Parks (/100)	Noise & Light Pollution (/100)	No. of things to do	No. of remote jobs per 10,000 people
Luton	5,196	52.9	£26.67	£1,988.50	57.14	53.57	3	357
Leicester	5,027	108.0	£32.80	£2,008.59	65.00	46.67	13	95
Wolverhampton	3,798	122.5	£29.67	£2,033.33	50.00	75.00	12	25
Blackpool	4,041	93.0	£31.67	£2,134.00	71.43	57.14	6	34
Sunderland	1,995	103.0	£36.25	£1,500.00	62.50	37.50	8	664
Liverpool	4,346	107.5	£32.20	£2,000.62	80.56	41.96	25	54
Stoke-on-Trent	2,765	103.5	£32.83	£1,820.82	50.00	31.25	19	128
Manchester	4,773	100.0	£29.33	£2,162.05	53.12	56.25	34	12
Coventry	3,501	120.5	£32.62	£3,071.25	50.00	63.46	14	18
Birmingham	4,275	130.5	£27.78	£2,405.08	58.55	53.75	28	8

With the highest population density of all UK cities (5,196) and slower than average wifi speeds (52.9 Mbps), Luton presents as the worst city in the UK for introverts.

Sunderland stands out by having the least dense population of 1,995 while having the highest number of remote jobs, offering 664 jobs per 10,000 people. Sunderland also has the most expensive wifi cost of £36.25 a month and the lowest monthly wage of just £1,500 a month.

The West Midlands consistently appears to provide the poorest quality of green spaces and parks as Wolverhampton, Stoke-On-Trent and Coventry all share a ranking of just 50/100. Wolverhampton has the highest score for noise and light pollution (75/100) – the worst in the UK.

Manchester and Liverpool rank highly as the worst UK cities for introverts because of their dense populations in comparison to other UK cities, however, both cities offer little in terms of remote work, averaging just 32 jobs per 10,000 people in total.

The top 10 best cities in the world for introverts

City	Population Density	Wifi Speed (Mpbs)	Cost of Wifi	Noise & Light Pollution (/100)	Cost of Netflix	No. of things to do	No. of remote jobs per 10,000 people
Ubud	1,764.98	40.0	£24.11	n/a	£6.01	19	186
Tallinn	2,850.90	101.0	£22.26	32.44	£8.54	64	42
Ko Pha Ngan	80.75	71.0	£11.44	n/a	£7.69	1	801
Madeira	2,734.63	77.0	£21.49	n/a	£10.25	2	2,131
Timișoara	1,929.16	115.0	£7.29	40.14	£8.54	10	158
Porto	5,596.33	116.0	£30.10	36.28	£10.25	42	200
Zagreb	1,196.40	90.0	£21.16	39.82	£6.83	59	23
Warsaw	3,601.92	143.0	£11.40	53.66	£8.39	131	41
Budapest	3,249.91	112.0	£12.91	49.04	£7.75	157	13
Lisbon	5,484.29	114.0	£32.61	37.18	£10.25	93	84

Ubud, belonging to the paradise island of Bali, tops the chart as the best global city for an introvert. With beaches, jungles and party havens, the tropical island offers a variety of things to do (19). Ubud is also home to the cheapest Netflix prices, at just £6.01 a month and offers 185 jobs per 10,000 people in the city.

Second on the list is Estonia’s capital, Tallinn. The Baltic nation has the lowest noise and light pollution score (32/100) of all cities in the top 10, as well as offering 64 different things to do around the city.

Thailand’s utopian island of Koh Phangan ranks third and unsurprisingly has the lowest population density (80.75), providing a truly tranquil Thai experience. Being a remote island, there’s only one registered activity to do, but who’s going to complain when staying in paradise?

Madeira offers the ideal work destination for introverts, with one in five jobs, or 2,130 per 10,000 people, being remote. Romania’s western city of Timișoara provides the cheapest wifi available at £7.29 per month. Warsaw has the fastest wifi (143 Mbps), while Budapest boasts the highest number of things to do of all cities, offering 153 registered activities across the city.

The 10 worst cities in the world for introverts

City	Population Density	Wifi Speed (Mpbs)	Cost of Wifi	Noise & Light Pollution (/100)	Cost of Netflix	No. of things to do	No. of remote jobs per 10,000 people
New York	7,195.38	119.0	£58.69	68.89	£12.19	195	282.69
Barcelona	15,979.71	122.0	£29.20	63.89	£11.11	117	56.89
Mexico City	6,201.98	51.0	£22.46	63.44	£9.97	207	10.58
Singapore	8,058.83	54.0	£26.82	50.00	£10.26	86	1.92
Playa del Carmen	8,241.68	53.0	£21.32	57.81	£9.97	7	319.60
Auckland	2,435.84	47.0	£45.12	46.45	£8.85	14	5.23
Medellin	6,749.18	54.0	£20.02	61.46	£5.40	38	18.90
Tenerife	480.79	47.0	£26.40	50.00	£11.11	7	94.24
Tbilisi	2,462.73	69.0	£14.70	62.83	£10.08	27	3.81
Taipei	9,178.86	80.0	£22.46	50.75	£8.26	98	2.51

New York’s concrete jungle represents a challenge for introverts, possessing the most expensive wifi (£58.69) and Netflix (£12.19) per month, while having the highest noise and light pollution score (68.89/100).

Barcelona raises different flags as it has more than double the population density of New York (15,979) and is home to the fastest Wifi (122 Mbps). Barcelona also offers 117 registered activities to do across the city.

Limited remote jobs in Mexico City (11 per 10.000) mean introverts would be exposed to this high-octane megalopolis’s hustle and bustle. Meanwhile, Singapore, Auckland and Tsilisi have only 11 remote jobs available per 100,000 people combined, the lowest of all cities analysed.

Five tips for introverts in the workplace

1 – Take advantage of hybrid working

The growth and gradual acceptance of hybrid working have opened new doors for introverted workers to find opportunities globally. As we can see from our research, remote working is available in every corner of the world. This option is great for introverts as they can work from the comfort of their own environment, creating a recipe for productivity.

2 – The early bird catches the worm

Sometimes distractions are unavoidable. As our research shows, cities like New York and Cardiff provide plenty of remote working opportunities amidst the commotion. Get the best of both worlds by getting up before the noise and clearing your schedule before the rest of the world wakes up.

3 – Play to your strengths

Introverts are highly skilled individuals, oftentimes more than revealed at first glance. One common trait of introverts is that they’re great listeners. In a rowdy office environment, being the person who absorbs information the best can really make you an invaluable asset to any team.

4 – Create boundaries

Plan specific times for your meetings and work separately. This allows you to have concentrated time to contribute to group sessions or ideations, yet dedicate time to your personal work without blurring the lines. Make it clear when you’re working so people can avoid distracting you. Many introverts work better while listening to music, and use their headphones as a cue to others that you’re head down at work and not available for conversations.

5 – Communicate

Working from home isn’t always an option. When working in an office is unavoidable, make it clear to those around you when you can and can’t talk. Be honest about how busy your schedule is and prioritise your priorities over avoidable chit-chat.