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The way employees work has changed dramatically since the COVID-19 pandemic first struck 19 months ago, causing many companies to shutter offices and transition their workforce to remote positions. On a scale that was never before considered, people found themselves working from home, or anywhere else, with more freedom and flexibility.
Soon enough, remote workers realized they could take their “office” on the road, basically anywhere they could find a reliable Wi-Fi connection, getting to travel and perform their jobs at the same time. The bleisure travel or “workcation” trend has been booming ever since, allowing people to take longer trips and attain a better work-life balance.
With ‘National Work Life Week’ having only recently passed into our rearview and autumn officially here, Iceland’s flagship airline Icelandair decided now was time to determine the world’s ideal workcation destinations. Analyzing a range of factors, including quality of life, restaurant prices, internet speeds, annual hours of sunshine, warmest and coldest annual temperatures, annual rainy days, average snowfall and “Instagrammability”, it came up with an overall score for cities around the globe.
As it turns out, two of the top 10 best winter workcation destinations are in the U.S., three in Australia and New Zealand, and four in Europe. One Canadian city also made its way into the top 10.
In the U.S.
Who would’ve guessed it, but Northern California’s largest city of San Jose took the top spot when all criteria were considered. Maybe it has something to do with Silicon Valley’s superior internet speed of 54.99 mbps, which lends itself to remote working. It also ranked highly in terms of quality of life, which was measured by factors like purchasing power index, pollution index, cost of living, safety and healthcare.
The Southern California hotspot of San Diego came in seventh place, but also claimed the top spot for being the most “Instagrammable” city by boasting more than 30 million hashtags on Instagram. The year-round warm weather, beautiful beaches and nearby mountains probably don’t hurt either.
Your idea of an ideal workcation could involve escaping to a spot with sunshine and warm weather while it’s the cold season in North America. Or, alternatively, you might be someone who delights in snowy landscapes, winter sports and sitting by a cozy fire at the end of the day.
Top three cities for a sunny workcation
The top-ranked sunniest spots for a winter workcation are all in the U.S.—Austin and Dallas, Texas and Charlotte, North Carolina. Austin’s average warmest temperature is 97.7°F. Dallas comes in a close second at 97.2°F average highest temperature and Charlotte follows with an average 89.6°F.
Top three cities for a snowy workcation
In terms of average annual snowfall, Copenhagen, Denmark; Madison, Wisconsin; and Reykjavik, Iceland take the top spots. Copenhagen receives an astounding average of 193 inches of snowfall each year, while Madison sees an annual snowfall of 53 inches yearly. Reykjavik rounds out the top three with an annual snowfall of 32 inches.
Icelandair’s 20 best winter workcation spots:
1. San Jose, California
2. Lisbon, Portugal
3. Luxembourg, Luxembourg
4. Victoria, Canada
5. Brisbane, Australia
6. Canberra, Australia
7. San Diego, California
8. Munich, Germany
9. Wellington, New Zealand
10. Eindhoven, Netherlands
11. Dallas, Texas
12. Austin, Texas
13. Reykjavik, Iceland
14. Geneva, Switzerland
15. Kansas City, Missouri
16. Charlotte, North Carolina
17. Copenhagen, Denmark
18. Vienna, Austria
19. Madison, Wisconsin
20. Zurich, Switzerland
For the latest insight on travel around the world, check out this interactive guide:
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