[mstade]

Speaking of Estonia, I was at their embassy in Stockholm last fall and they were pushing hard for Tallinn as the next European capital of tech. Nearly every conversation you had with them, regardless of topic, would somehow gravitate toward how great Estonia is to set up a tech shop. Whether because of cheap real estate or the quality of their work force, or the prevalence of craft beer – it was all just a great place to be.

Frankly I kind of bought it. I'm going to visit this summer.

[charlesdm]

I know a guy who lives there (he moved there, not a native), doing consulting and working remotely.

The advantage partially comes from the fact that developers are paid significantly above average wages, i.e. the average salary for most people is low (like 400 to 600 euros a month pre tax) yet developers take home 1,500 / 2,000 / 4,000 euros per month.

Cost of living + taxes are low as well.

[piva00]

Honestly speaking, Tallinn is a boring place. Might be good for business but I don't see it as attractive for people willing to move, maybe in the short-term for a job but it's not a place I'd see many settling in.

Go visit it anyway, that's, of course, just my impression, but even living in Stockholm (a place I consider a bit boring for my standards of big city life) I found Tallinn very very dull.

[mstade]

To each their own! :o)

Having lived several years in London, and experienced plenty more cities including NYC and San Francisco I’m more than ready for boring. Indeed, this is why my current home town is Stockholm because I kind of agree with you – it’s a little bit boring and very safe, and I love it!

[gaius]

Tallinn is massively more fun than Helsinki

[piva00]

Haha, that I really can't disagree with.

[saintPirelli]

I have vague plans to visit too. And keep in mind Estonia already has produced a success story in tech: Skype.