The most relaxing cities to live in are dominated by the Netherlands, which landed four spots in the top 10 according to new research from Remitly analyzing quality of life factors worldwide. Eindhoven and Utrecht claimed the top two positions, with Groningen and Rotterdam rounding out the Dutch dominance at fifth and tenth place respectively. If dreams of escaping holiday stress have you fantasizing about relocating somewhere more peaceful, this data-driven ranking provides concrete destinations to consider. Remitly, an American money transfer service, analyzed cost of living, commute time, healthcare quality, crime rates, and pollution levels to identify cities offering the best balance of livability and low stress. Australia and Norway each placed two cities in the top 10, with Canberra and Brisbane representing Australia while Trondheim and Bergen represented Norway. The complete list also includes Tallinn (Estonia) and Porto (Portugal), revealing that relaxation isn't confined to one region but reflects specific policy choices and urban planning priorities that reduce daily friction in residents' lives.
The Complete Ranking of Most Relaxing Cities Worldwide
The top 10 most relaxing cities offer diverse geographic and cultural options for those seeking lower-stress living environments. Eindhoven, Netherlands takes first place, followed by Utrecht, Netherlands in second position. Canberra, Australia claims third, while Tallinn, Estonia secures fourth place. Groningen, Netherlands holds fifth position, with Trondheim, Norway at sixth and Bergen, Norway at seventh. Porto, Portugal ranks eighth, Brisbane, Australia takes ninth, and Rotterdam, Netherlands closes out the top 10. What these cities share beyond their rankings is intentional urban design that prioritizes resident wellbeing over purely economic metrics. They feature efficient public transportation reducing commute stress, accessible healthcare systems removing medical anxiety, and environmental policies maintaining clean air and low pollution. The Netherlands' remarkable showing reflects decades of policy decisions favoring cycling infrastructure, work-life balance protections, and compact urban planning that keeps services within easy reach. For comparison, Remitly's most stressed cities list placed New York first, Dublin second, and Mexico City third, highlighting how urban density without corresponding infrastructure investment creates the opposite effect.
How to Use Relaxing Cities Data for Life Planning
Best-of lists like the most relaxing cities ranking serve as valuable starting points for life and career planning, whether or not you ultimately relocate. These rankings spark ideas you might not have considered and force reflection on what quality of life factors matter most to your specific situation and values. Remitly prioritized cost of living, commute time, healthcare, crime, and pollution, but your personal priorities might differ significantly. Perhaps you work remotely, making commute time irrelevant to your daily stress levels. Maybe your happy place is the beach, mountains, or plains, narrowing your geographic possibilities from the start regardless of what appears on any top 10 list. The key is using external rankings as mirrors to clarify your own values rather than accepting them as prescriptive answers. Take time to brainstorm which quality of life factors genuinely impact your daily happiness and stress levels—is it access to nature, cultural amenities, food quality, social connection opportunities, or something entirely personal? Once you've identified your non-negotiables, you can evaluate any city or location against your customized criteria rather than generic rankings.
Brainstorming Career Moves Compatible with Relocation
Planning a potential relocation forces valuable introspection about your current career path and whether it aligns with the life you actually want to live. You might already work remotely, but could you work from anywhere—and what specific conditions do you need to be at your most productive? Some remote workers discover they need consistent timezone overlap with colleagues, while others thrive with complete schedule flexibility. If you don't currently work remotely, is the digital nomad lifestyle genuinely appealing, or would the instability create new stresses that outweigh benefits? Consider what would need to change if you needed to switch jobs to change locations—what would be your ideal role, company, and industry in a new city? Would you consider changing careers altogether, perhaps pursuing work that's more aligned with the relaxed lifestyle you're seeking? These questions matter even if you never relocate, because they reveal whether your current career path supports or undermines your wellbeing. The exercise of imagining your ideal work situation in a most relaxing city often exposes misalignments in your current professional life that you've been tolerating without realizing the cumulative toll they're taking.
Testing Relocations Before Making Permanent Moves
If introspection about the most relaxing cities inspires you to change jobs, careers, or locations, such dramatic moves could prove too disruptive without testing first. Consider negotiating a sabbatical so you can experience life in a new place while keeping your current job as a safety net. This allows you to discover whether the reality of living somewhere matches the fantasy you've built in your mind—sometimes the most relaxing cities on paper don't suit your personality or lifestyle needs in practice. Negotiate with your manager for a temporary remote work schedule to test whether virtual work suits you and to plant seeds for keeping your job if you decide to relocate permanently. Many employers have become more flexible about remote arrangements post-pandemic, making these conversations more viable than they would have been five years ago. At minimum, plan an extended vacation to places you're considering so you can experience firsthand what changing locations might do for your stress levels and overall happiness. Spend time in different neighborhoods, try the local commute options, visit healthcare facilities, and talk to residents about their experiences to gather data beyond what rankings can tell you.
Small Wins for Reducing Stress Without Relocating
If your city creates stress but you can't or won't move to one of the most relaxing cities, you can still significantly improve your quality of life through strategic changes. Start by creating a comprehensive list of no- or low-cost activities that help you relax within your current location. Even the most expensive cities offer free days at cultural sites, discount entertainment opportunities, and hidden gems that residents overlook. Opt for student massages at beauty schools instead of several-hundred-dollar spa days that create financial stress while supposedly reducing it. Plan social gatherings for breakfast, lunch, or afternoon tea instead of expensive dinners that strain budgets. Get books from the library rather than buying them, find free meditations online, and map the green spaces in your area so you don't have to travel far to access nature. These small tactical wins compound over time, creating pockets of relaxation and joy that buffer against the stresses your city generates. The key is consistency—building these practices into regular routines rather than treating them as occasional treats creates sustainable stress reduction that doesn't require relocating to the Netherlands.
Closing Major Quality of Life Gaps Where You Live
If you're trapped in toxic work or life environments, relaxation rituals can only take you so far before you need to address root causes. You may need to change jobs, have that candid promotion conversation with your boss that you've been avoiding, or prune relationships that consistently drain your energy. Living in one of the most relaxing cities wouldn't fix fundamental problems in your work situation or personal life—those issues follow you wherever you go. Start by listing everything that drains your energy or causes stress, then identify the top three problems that would create the most positive impact if solved. Tackle whichever of the three you're most motivated to start, is easiest to begin, or represents your biggest pain point depending on your current capacity. Breaking large problems into specific actions makes them less overwhelming—instead of "change careers," your action might be "schedule informational interviews with three people in fields I'm curious about." Instead of "fix my relationship," it might be "initiate honest conversation about division of household labor." These concrete steps create momentum and prove that you have more agency than you thought, even in situations that feel unchangeable.
Investing in Yourself Through Strategic Relaxation Funding
If you've been building emergency reserves or a dream fund, earmark a specific portion for relaxation investments, whether that's low-cost activities or making progress toward relocation or career change. Investing in yourself consistently and proactively might actually prevent the emergencies that reserves are meant to cover—like sickness from burnout or job loss from revenge quitting when stress becomes unbearable. By tackling stress strategically rather than waiting until you break, you increase vitality and motivation to pursue bigger life and career goals like starting a side business or pursuing passion projects you've deferred for years. Consider that living in the most relaxing cities often costs less than living in high-stress urban centers where you're compensating for misery through expensive leisure activities and purchases. Calculate how much you currently spend on stress-induced shopping, eating out because you're too exhausted to cook, or premium conveniences that paper over quality of life gaps. Redirecting even a portion of that spending toward deliberate relaxation practices or saving for eventual relocation creates better returns on investment. The goal isn't perfection—it's incremental improvement that compounds over time into dramatically different quality of life, whether you ultimately move to Eindhoven or transform your experience of wherever you currently live.
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