My name's Nabihah Iqbal, otherwise known as Throwing Shade.
I'm a DJ, producer, and NTS radio presenter from London.
I've lived here my whole life, and I love this city,
but things seem to be changing.
Last year, a massive 323,000 people emigrated from Britain,
and with spiralling costs of living contrasting with better quality of life elsewhere,
it's easy to see why.
I'm visiting Lisbon and Leipzig,
two cities with burgeoning music and art scenes
I want to see whether they can offer me the same kind of life as London does,
but in a more affordable way.
Will I ever relocate there permenantly?
So far, I've met a Londoner who made the move, as well as local musicians in the city.
Now I'm off to visit an old friend, Sara, to explore Lisbon's nightlife.
Hey! How are you? - Hi! How are you!
Why do you think so many young creative people
are making the move to Lisbon now?
You can live in the city centre, which is a luxury these days
You can live in a top floor, overlooking the river
and surrounded by other artists, and just walk to your studio
Our mayor is trying to keep young people in the city centre
-Oh really? That's really interesting because London seems like
it's the opposite, and people are moving out.
You have a lot of old buildings and palaces that serve as
residences for artists.
- I think that's something I really want to try and check out while I'm here
Hey! DJ Firmeza? Hey, nice to meet you.
Sara and I met up with DJ Firmeza
one of the leading producers of Lisbon's batida sound.
He wanted to show us what Lisbon's club scene has to offer.
I had a great night with DJ Firmeza,
and it left me even more curious to meet the artists
taking advantage of the sorts of spaces that Sara mentioned.
So we made some calls, and managed to get in touch with
an artist called Ricardo.
He's been working in a converted studio inside an old coastal fortress.
It feels really surreal to be in an old palace that's full of artist's studios,
how did the whole project start?
- It started as a curator's project, he invited people to occupy this space as their residence.
Do you think Lisbon is a good place for young artists?
Being an artist here is both good and bad.
Things are not as expensive.
That being said, you also have less opportunities to show your work.
But I wouldn't trade Lisbon for anywhere else.
It was like, super interesting to speak to him, and
I think it's so cool that these young artists are being
accommodated for in such a way.
Ricardo's studio is right next to the beach, which must be really inspiring.
That would be a massive plus point for me living in this city.
There's a great atmosphere here,
young people seem to be able to afford the kind of spaces you could
only dream of in London, and I think
it's really benefiting the music and art scenes.
In our next episode, I'm going to visit Leipzig,
another city that lots of young people are moving to.
It couldn't be more different to what I found in Lisbon