LUXEMBOURG _ Little Luxembourg is luring firms on the lookout for a post-Brexit foothold in the European Union, from JPMorgan Chase & Co. to insurance giant American International Group Inc.
While many find the Grand Duchy a multilingual paradise, would-be expats are being warned not to expect the cosmopolitan lifestyle they currently enjoy in London and that they should prepare to spend long hours on clogged roads.
"It will be crazy," said Jose Pedro Fernandes, a 56-year-old taxi driver, who moved to Luxembourg from Portugal 15 years ago and earns a living transporting financial workers around the jammed capital that lacks a subway and suffers from inadequate bus services.
Traffic congestion has become "unbearable," according to Fernandes, because of construction sites everywhere to create a new tram line and a wave of new office buildings that can be seen popping up in and around Luxembourg city, the capital of by far the EU's richest state.
AIG in March said it will open an operation in Luxembourg following the U.K.'s vote to leave the European Union. U.S. insurer FM Global and Lloyd's of London insurer Hiscox Plc., as well as private equity firm Blackstone also chose Luxembourg as their new EU hub. JPMorgan this month said it plans to move hundreds of London-based bankers to expanded offices in Luxembourg, Dublin and Frankfurt.
