The Best Places to Live Abroad in 2016
The Best Places to Live Abroad in 2016
FTN News
Monday, 29 August 2016 18:47 Published by Ozgur Tore
With more than
14,000 respondents, the third annual InterNations Expat Insider 2016 survey
results reveals the list of the best places to live abroad and this year a
newcomer tops the list. The survey, which is one of the most extensive studies
ever conducted to explore the general living situation of expatriates, has
surprises in its Top 10 destinations.
The newcomer
Taiwan tops the list of the best places to live abroad, while the Czech
Republic has jumped from 22nd to 10th position out of 67 countries worldwide;
along with Malta and Austria, it is now among the European top scorers.
Apart from
typical expat destination Luxembourg, the most popular places for living and
working abroad in 2016 are perfect for adventurers: according to InterNations,
the largest global network and information site for expatriates, Ecuador,
Mexico, New Zealand, Costa Rica, and Australia prove to be great homes for
global minds.
The InterNations
Expat Insider survey ranks countries by a variety of factors such as the
quality of life, personal finance, working abroad, and settling in. After
ranking first for two years, Ecuador has been dethroned by career boosters
Taiwan and Malta. The country has dropped from a strong 7th rank to a mediocre
30th position in the Working Abroad Index, mainly due to heavy losses in the
Job Security subcategory, where it comes in 50th place. Even worse, only 6
percent, about one-third of the global average of 17 percent, believe the state
of the country’s economy to be very good. As oil is Ecuador’s key export, its
low price has had adverse effects on the economy. Despite the difficult state
of the Ecuadorian economy, 27 percent of expats there are very happy with their
financial situation, which is almost twice the global average of 15 percent.
This may be because four out of ten expats in Ecuador (41 percent) are retirees
and may not be relying on Ecuador’s economy for their income.
In addition to
the best overall rating, Taiwan also holds first place for personal finance and
quality of life, and second place for its working conditions. An impressive 85
percent of expats are satisfied with their financial situation, compared to a
global average of 64 percent saying the same. An ever higher percentage of
expats in Taiwan praise the quality and affordability of the local healthcare
system, with 94 and 95 percent respectively. Over one-third of expats in Taiwan
(34 percent) are completely satisfied with their jobs, which is more than twice
the global average of 16 percent. Looking at these results, it comes as no
surprise that one in six expats living in Taiwan (17 percent) has entered the
country seeking — and obviously finding — a better standard of living.
Malta, ranking
second this year, has jumped from 42nd to 6th position for personal finances,
despite the fact that one-third of working expats in Malta say their income is
generally lower than back home. This may be due to the high rankings for
general cost of living and affordable housing, which are both rated very well
by 30 percent of the survey respondents, as opposed to a global average of only
14 and 13 percent respectively. Luckily, there are plenty of options to spend
one’s money on: due to the country’s first position worldwide for climate and
weather, as well as the highly rated availability of leisure options, expats
can find a wide range of diversions right on their doorstep.
Europe Winning
the Hearts of Expats
While Taiwan has
ousted two-time champion Ecuador to win this year’s survey, the true winner of
the Expat Insider 2016 survey is Europe: six out of the ten countries that
record the highest leaps in the overall ranking are situated on this continent
— apart from Finland, all of them are located in Southern and Eastern Europe.
Whereas Finland’s jump ahead is mainly due to its third position in the Health
& Well-Being subcategory, Mediterranean nations Cyprus and Spain are praised
for welcoming foreigners with open arms, with an 8th and 5th position
respectively. Central and Eastern European countries Czech Republic, Romania,
and Hungary, on the other hand, do especially well regarding the Working Abroad
index and its Job & Career subcategory, as well as the local cost of
living. In both respects, all three countries are situated in the first
quartile of the global ranking.
The Asian
continent is divided between Taiwan and Vietnam becoming some of the world’s
most popular destinations for expats, whereas at the same time many traditional
destinations for expatriates are steadily losing appeal. Indonesia with
Jakarta, Hong Kong, Malaysia with Kuala Lumpur, Thailand with Bangkok, and
Singapore have all dropped between 9 and 20 positions since last year’s report.
What all these destinations have in common is the fact that expats located
there are less than impressed by their work-life balance: Apart from Thailand,
which just makes it to 26th position in the according subcategory, all of these
countries belong the lower half of the field when it comes to balancing career
and leisure.
Expats’
Unfavorable Choices: Where Not to Move in 2016
The least popular
countries for those living abroad are mostly situated in Africa and the Middle
East, with Nigeria on 65th and Kuwait on 67th position at the end of the
ranking scale. Financially troubled Greece remains sandwiched between the two
on second-to-last position, whereas the only other European country at the very
end of the ranking was able to proportionately move up slightly: Italy, rated
the seventh-worst country in 2015, almost managed to get itself out of the
bottom ten expat destinations in this year’s country ranking. While the Asian
continent gets off with a slap on the wrist, with Indonesia coming in 52nd out
of 67 countries overall, the biggest loser from the American continent is
Brazil, ranking 64th worldwide . The world’s fifth-largest country had to get a
lot of homework done before it hosted the Olympic Games in summer 2016 — when
the Expat Insider survey was carried out in February 2016, foreigners in the
country were particularly unhappy with their personal finances and the lack of
political stability.
