Top 5 techno-hubs in the world: a paradise for IT people and real estate investors

American analytical portal Expert Market has published a list of cities that are considered the best for the life and work of specialists in the field of IT. Analysts of the portal analyzed the average income level, the amount of funding available for local startups, and the cost of living in different cities of the world. Tranio experts studied the top five techno-hubs in the world according to Expert Market to find out how the concentration of IT-specialists per square meter affects its cost?

Beijing
Beijing topped the list of the best cities for the life and work of IT specialists, although a year ago it was not even among the top ten. In Beijing, there are 56 Fortune 500 companies, which include the largest organizations in terms of revenue in the world, the headquarters of Xiaomi, a manufacturer of smartphones and Google Google, Baidu.

According to analysts from Expert Market, in Beijing, startups get better opportunities for funding compared to other technology hubs zhang kaiyv / Unsplash
According to official statistics, wages in the IT sector in China are almost two times higher than in other areas. The average income of IT specialists in Beijing, according to one of the world’s largest job search portals Glassdoor, is $ 25,000 a year. At the same time, the cost of living in the Chinese capital is low: on the Numbeo service, which collects data on prices in different countries, the city ranks 277th among 439 cities.

The cost of residential real estate in China and Beijing
$ 25 thousand per year
The average salary in the IT sector

$ 0.9 thousand
The cost of renting a one-room apartment in the city center (per month)

$ 14,8 thousand / m²
The cost of buying a one-bedroom apartment in the city center

According to the National Bureau of Statistics for 2016, the cost per square meter in Beijing is almost four times higher than the average in China. In 2013, the difference was less: real estate in the capital was worth three times more than the national average. The rise in property prices in Beijing is largely related to general economic indicators: since 2010, the population of Beijing has been growing by 4–5% annually, the average income of the population is growing, and urban GDP in 2016 surpassed the 2011 figure by one and a half times.

Berlin
Berlin ranked second in the Expert Market ranking. The city is called the “European Silicon Valley”: more than 500 startups a year are opening here. According to the Berlin Business Location Center information service, in 2018 1.07 billion euros was invested in start-ups in Berlin, 40% of which came from abroad.

In 2016, Expert Market analysts named Berlin the best place to work and live IT specialists Stefan Widua / Unsplash
The city offers excellent conditions for start-up companies: the cost of living in Germany is generally lower than in Europe, and renting and buying a home is much cheaper than in other major German cities: Munich, Frankfurt or Dusseldorf.

The cost of residential real estate in Germany
$ 58 thousand per year
The average salary in the IT sector

$ 1 thousand
The cost of renting a one-room apartment in the city center (per month)

$ 6 thousand / m²
The cost of buying a one-bedroom apartment in the city center

Berlin is one of the most active real estate markets in Germany. Cheap mortgages and the influx of population stimulate a rise in housing prices: the city is growing by 50 thousand people a year with a total of 3.6 million. Largely due to young professionals from abroad, today almost one fifth of Berlin’s population are foreigners.

San Francisco
San Francisco, the birthplace of giants such as Apple, Airbnb, Google, Facebook, Twitter and Uber, ranks third in the Expert Market ranking.

San Francisco loses its attractiveness for startups due to high real estate prices Anthony DELANOIX / Unsplash
IT specialists in San Francisco receive the highest salary compared to other techno-hubs, but also spend more than others: with an average salary of 137 thousand dollars, according to the Glassdoor for December 2018, life in Silicon Valley costs an average of 110 thousand USD per year is more expensive than anywhere else in the US, analysts of the financial portal Go Banking Rate concluded.

The cost of residential real estate in San Francisco
$ 137 thousand per year
The average salary in the IT sector

$ 3.4 thousand
The cost of renting a one-room apartment in the city center (per month)

$ 12,5 thousand / m²
The cost of buying a one-bedroom apartment in the city center

San Francisco is facing a crisis in the affordable housing sector. According to the City Planning Department, less than a third of real estate built since 1990 is accessible to people with low or middle income.

Austin
Analysts at Expert Market identified Austin in fourth place in the ranking, and CNBC journalists in 2016 called it the best place to start a business in the United States.

Austin has gained a reputation as a barrier-free city for women who want to build a career in the IT sector (unlike San Francisco)
Austin has gained a reputation as a barrier-free city for women who want to build a career in the IT sector (unlike San Francisco) Jeremy Banks / Unsplash
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