I quit my tech job due to burnout and left London. Moving to Lisbon cured my loneliness and restored my work-life balance.

• Startup laminitis Charlie Baron felt lonely and burned retired successful London.
• He moved to Lisbon successful 2023 and started a caller institution focused connected building community.
• Baron told Business Insider he has a healthier and cheaper manner successful Lisbon.

This as-told-to effort is based connected a transcribed speech pinch Charlie Baron, 30-year-old laminitis successful Lisbon, Portugal, astir moving from London. It has been edited for magnitude and clarity.

When I moved to Lisbon, I was burned out and lonely from moving from location for a tech startup I'd co-founded.

One week successful November 2022, I hardly near nan house. I needed to alteration my lifestyle. I'd been reasoning astir moving to different country for a while. Moving overseas would push maine to meet caller group and unrecorded a much fulfilling life.

I co-founded a startup

I've ever been entrepreneurial and worked connected small projects from a young age. In 2012, I went to Loughborough University to study business. When I near assemblage successful 2016, I joined Tesla successful their London income team. I had ever wanted to activity successful tech.

While there, I started a broadside business helping inventors motorboat their products connected crowdfunding platforms for illustration Indiegogo. I discontinue Tesla successful 2017 to activity connected it full-time.

Through that, I met nan laminitis of a portable telephone charging web ChargedUp. I consulted for them, past wrapped up my business and joined ChargedUp arsenic a cofounder successful November 2017. I led various teams, including income and marketing. We raised superior from VCs successful nan UK.

The COVID-19 pandemic stopped america successful our tracks. We pivoted to creating manus sanitizer dispenser stations nether nan sanction CleanedUp. Five years into nan business, we sold nan CleanedUp broadside and launched different tech merchandise for the hospitality manufacture successful 2022.

I was lonely

I started to consciousness somewhat mislaid and tired of London. I'd grown up successful London and moved astir nan metropolis successful my 20s.

When nan COVID-19 pandemic hit, everyone near nan superior and moved to nan outskirts pinch their partners. When restrictions were lifted, I realized I hardly saw my friends anymore. We would meet up erstwhile a period if we could.

I struggled to meet caller people. I joined a shot squad locally but still spent astir of my clip moving remotely from location and not gathering anyone.

Over nan 5 years, I often worked 18-hour days and was burned out.

I considered moving to nan US

Moving to California had ever been a dream. But aft nan pandemic, nan authorities seemed to beryllium connected nan decline, pinch tons of group moving out.

I'd visited Lisbon earlier and loved it. It felt for illustration location connected nan ascent. One of my friends had moved location and encouraged maine to join. I decided to spell for 3 months successful 2022 while moving part-time for ChargedUp.

I wanted to unrecorded location instantly and applied for a D7 visa that summer. The visa is for group who make astatine slightest $7,673 a twelvemonth successful passive income. It took maine astir 5 months to get nan visa. I flew backmost to nan UK a batch for my visa appointments and still had an flat location pinch my brother.

I sewage nan visa successful January 2023 and moved to Lisbon soon after.

Since I started my application, digital nomad visas person go available. Those require a higher minimum income.

I near ChargedUp successful April 2023 but kept equity successful nan company. I took six months disconnected to bask myself, surviving disconnected my savings.

I scoured WhatsApp for groups to meet caller people, tried retired caller sports, and spent clip successful nature. Hiking astir Lisbon is very easy.

People I met often had akin stories to mine. They lived successful different cities and struggled to link pinch group there. They each moved to Lisbon to reconnect.

I started my ain business

These interactions inspired my caller business. I started it successful July 2023 arsenic a nosy broadside project. It's a rank app called Tribe, which connects group caller to a metropolis connected communal interests for illustration sports, arts, aliases music. We big events astatine our societal clubs, which are besides coworking spaces.

I launched nan business pinch money from my erstwhile businesses and utilized AI devices to thief maine build nan app.

I met my cofounder paddleboarding successful Lisbon. He'd tally a concatenation of cocktail bars successful London. We'd moreover worked together but ne'er met. We bootstrapped nan app together.

London's business segment is ahead

Building successful Lisbon was astir apt harder than it would've been successful London. Getting finance and uncovering tech talent successful London mightiness person been easier, and it would person been faster to group up a business successful London.

In Lisbon, it was a agelong process, and employers person to salary Social Security taxation proportional to an employee's salary, truthful it's much expensive to pay people higher salaries, which is frustrating.

We scheme to return nan app to Spain, France, and nan UK complete nan adjacent fewer months.

My manner is amended and cheaper

The UK, particularly London, is perpetually successful a rush. Lisbon is much laid-back. My manner is focused connected wellness and being outdoors. I locomotion and workout more.

Playing sports 4 times a week is easy, moreover while building nan business, because everything is nearby. In 20 minutes, I tin beryllium connected nan formation aliases up a beautiful mountain.

I haven't taken a net yet from my business, but I dream to adjacent year. It helps that I unrecorded a elemental life, and it's overmuch cheaper than London. There's immoderate of nan nicest vino successful Europe, and it's 3 aliases 4 euros for a glass. I didn't spell retired successful London overmuch because it was truthful expensive.

When I first moved here, I had a one-bedroom flat successful nan halfway of town. Rent has since gone up. I now unrecorded 10 minutes distant from nan halfway successful a bully community, and I rent a three-bedroom location from a friend for little than double my first rent.

I consciousness truthful overmuch little lonely than I did successful London. I'm almost overstimulated now from gathering truthful galore caller people. It was a bully determination to move.

If you've relocated to different state and would for illustration to stock your story, email ehopkins@businessinsider.com.