The World's Most Hipster Cities Have Just Been Revealed

If you are eager to find the where in the world to go for the best vegan restaurants, the coolest vintage and vinyl shops and perhaps even a new tattoo, read on to discover the world’s most hipster cities.

A new study by relocation website MoveHub has asked the question that’s been keeping us all up at night: just where is the most hipster city on earth?
The so-called Hipster Index looked at five key signs of hipsterdom (or in other words, independent businesses that add a bit of personality to a city): the number of vegan food joints, coffee shops, tattoo studios, vintage boutiques and record stores per 100,000 city residents. (Cities with under 150,000 residents were excluded from the study). The survey looked at 446 cities in 20 countries – that’s 93,203 coffee shops and 14,588 tattoo studios! Combined and weighted, they then created a Hipster Index score out of ten for each city.

The top spot

The difference between the first and second place cities was just a thousandth of a point, but Brighton and Hove in the UK just pipped Portland, USA, to the top spot.
With its winding alleys full of vintage stores, Brighton is the top spot globally for vinyl-hunters, with nine record shops per 100,000 people. The environmentally conscious people of Brighton also have 37 vegan cafés and restaurants and the only Green Party MP in the UK.

In third place is Salt Lake City, followed by the notoriously hipster Seattle, Lisbon and, perhaps surprisingly, Fort Lauderdale in Florida.
The top 10 is rounded off by Miami, Orlando, Helsinki and Spokane.

Vintage shops

Who knew that Portugal was the world capital of vintage shopping? The country is the best place to have a good old root through some secondhand stores: Lisbon has 78 vintage shops per 100,000 people, and Porto has 68.

Vegan

The USA really came into its own in this category, with Portland taking the crown for the most vegan restaurants per 100,000 people, and Seattle coming in fourth.

Vinyl

Bordeaux might be known for its wines, but it should also be known for its record stores. It came in second after Brighton, with five record stores per 100,000 people.

Coffee shops

If coffee is your drug, Australia should be your destination of choice. Gold Coast, Geelong and Melbourne came first, second and fourth on the list.

Tattoo parlours

The USA completely dominates when it comes to tattoos, with the top 22 cities for the number of tattoo studios per 100,000 people all located in the States. Las Vegas takes the top spot, with 29 tattoo parlours per 100,000 people.