Top ten cities rated by expats revealed in extensive annual survey

InterNations, the world's largest expat community with more than 4.5 million members, yesterday (29 November) published its Expat City Ranking 2022. 

It is based on the annual Expat Insider survey, which is one of the most extensive surveys about living and working abroad. This year, 11,970 expats participated in the survey.

In 2022, 50 cities around the globe were analysed in the Expat City Ranking, offering in-depth information about five areas of expat life: Quality of Life, Ease of Settling In, Working Abroad, Personal Finance, and the new Expat Essentials, which covers digital life, admin topics, housing, and language.

Out of 50 cities in the Expat City Ranking 2022, Valencia (1st), Dubai, Mexico City, Lisbon, Madrid, Bangkok, Basel, Melbourne, Abu Dhabi, and Singapore (10th) are the top 10 cities for expats to live in 2022. 

On the other hand, expats consider Johannesburg (50th), Frankfurt, Paris, Istanbul, Hong Kong, Hamburg, Milan, Vancouver, Tokyo, and Rome (41st) the world's worst cities to live in.

Valencia (1st), Dubai (2nd), and Mexico City (3rd) are the top 3 destinations in the Expat City Ranking 2022 by InterNations, the world's largest expat community with over 4.5 million members. 

They all do very well in the Ease of Settling In Index but also have their particular highlights: Valencia and Mexico City are great for personal finances, and expats in Valencia and Dubai enjoy a high quality of life. 

Dubai is a top choice when it comes to working abroad, and expats find it easy to navigate life there. On the other hand, Johannesburg (50th), Frankfurt am Main (49th), and Paris (48th) are the worst destinations in 2022. 

Expats in Johannesburg are particularly disappointed with the low quality of life and their working life, while Frankfurt and Paris do poorly in the Ease of Settling In and Expat Essentials Indices. Additionally, expats in all three cities struggle financially.

The Expat City Ranking is based on the annual Expat Insider survey by InterNations, which is one of the most extensive surveys about living and working abroad, with 11,970 respondents in 2022. 

This year, 50 cities around the globe are analyzed in the survey, which offers in-depth information aboufive areas of expat life: Quality of Life, Ease of Settling In, Working Abroad, Personal Finance, and

Expat Essentials Index, which covers digital life, admin topics, housing, and language.

Top 10 cities for expats in 2022

1 Valencia: Livable, Friendly & Affordable

Valencia places 1st out of 50 in the Expat City Ranking 2022, as well as 1st in the Quality of Life Index. Expats describe public transportation as affordable (85% happy vs. 70% globally) and love the great opportunities for recreational sports (92% vs. 75% globally). And 92% of expats feel safe in Valencia (vs. 81% globally). When it comes to the Ease of Settling In Index (3rd), expats feel at home there (74% vs. 62% worldwide) and are happy with their social life (72% vs. 56% globally).

The city also ranks third in the Personal Finance Index, even placing first for cost of living: 83% of expats rate it positively (vs. 45% globally). While Valencia performs well in the Expat Essentials Index (13th), the Working Abroad Index (41st) is by far its weakest point. It places last for Career Prospects (50th): 50% of expats rate the local job market negatively (vs. 27% globally), and 30% judge their own career opportunities unfavorably (vs. 22% globally).

2 Dubai: Great for Both Work & Leisure

Dubai comes first worldwide in the Expat Essentials Index and its Admin Topics Subcategory. Expats report that it is easy to deal with the local authorities (66% vs. 40% globally), and 88% are happy with the availability of government services online (vs. 61% globally). However, 18% are unhappy with the access they have to online services (vs. 7% globally). The Ease of Settling In Index (8th) — expats are happy with their social life (68% happy vs. 56% globally) and feel welcome in Dubai (81% vs. 66% globally) — and the Quality of Life Index (6th) are two more highlights.

Nearly all expats (95%) are satisfied with the infrastructure for cars (vs. 75% globally), and they rank both the culture and nightlife (5th) and the culinary variety and dining options (3rd) highly. Dubai comes sixth in the Working Abroad Index. Expats are happy with their job (70% happy vs. 64% globally) and report that the local business culture encourages creativity (78% vs. 51% globally).

3 Mexico City: Friendly & Affordable but Unsafe

Mexico City ranks first worldwide in the Ease of Settling In Index. Expats feel at home (82% happy vs. 62% globally) and welcome (89% vs. 66% globally) there, and 87% describe the local residents as generally friendly (vs. 66% globally). The city performs equally well in the Personal Finance Index (1st). Expats there are the most satisfied with their financial situation (73% happy vs. 60% globally). Despite its average performance in the Working Abroad Index (24th), expats are happy with both their personal career opportunities (71% vs. 58% globally) and their jobs overall (73% vs. 64% globally). In the Expat Essentials Index (30th), Admin Topics (44th) are an issue, but housing is both easy to find (9th) and to afford (6th).

Lastly, Mexico City ends up in the bottom 10 of the Quality of Life Index (44th). Expats are especially disappointed with the Environment & Climate (41st) and the Safety & Security (47th) Subcategories. Over one in three (35%) are unhappy with their personal safety (vs. 9% globally).

4 Lisbon: Amazing Climate & Quality of Life, but Mediocre Work Options

Lisbon is one of the best-rated cities in the Quality of Life Index (5th). Among other things, expats appreciate the climate and weather (98% happy vs. 62% globally), the culture and nightlife (87% vs. 67% globally), and feel safe there (94% vs. 81% globally).

Lisbon also ranks fifth in the Ease of Settling In Index — expats find it easy to get used to the local culture (81% vs. 62% globally) and are happy with their social life (69% vs. 59% globally) — and the Personal Finance Index. This is mainly due to expats' high satisfaction with the cost of living (69% happy vs. 45% globally).

However, just 71% say that their disposable household income is enough or more than enough to lead a comfortable life (vs. 72% globally). This might be related to the fact that 27% do not feel paid fairly for their work (vs. 20% globally). Since they also find that moving to Lisbon has not improved their career prospects (28% vs. 18% globally), Lisbon only places 36th in the Working Abroad Index overall.

5 Madrid: Great Leisure Activities & a Welcoming Culture

Madrid performs best in the Quality of Life Index (4th). Expats love the climate and weather (88% happy vs. 62% globally), their travel opportunities (95% vs. 82% globally), and the available culture andnightlife (90% vs. 67% globally).

In the Ease of Settling In Index (7th), Madrid also shines, particularly in the Culture & Welcome Subcategory (4th). Expats find it easy to get used to the local culture (77% happy vs. 62% globally) and feel welcome in Madrid (77% vs. 66% globally). The Personal Finance Index (10th) is another highlight, which is mainly due to the cost of living (7th), rated positively by 69% (vs. 45% globally).

Madrid comes in an above-average 20th place in the Expat Essentials Index and performs worst in the Working Abroad Index (38th). Among other things, expats do not believe that the local business culture promotes flat hierarchies (36% unhappy vs. 28% globally) and are worried about their job security (27% vs. 20% globally).

6 Bangkok: Expats Feel at Home despite Safety Concerns

Bangkok ranks second worldwide in the Personal Finance Index. Expats are not only happy with the general cost of living (69% vs. 45% globally), but affordability is also a highlight in the Expat Essentials Index (22nd). Housing is both affordable (70% happy vs. 39% globally) and easy to find (85% vs. 54% globally).

On the other hand, expats rank the city 42nd in both the Digital Life and the Admin Topics
Subcategories. The Working Abroad Index (39th) is another lowlight, with Bangkok landing among the bottom 10 in the Salary & Job Security (41st), Career Prospects (41st), and Work Culture & Satisfaction (46th) Subcategories. In fact, 35% are unhappy with the local job market (vs. 27% globally). Lastly, Bangkok comes 39th in the Quality of Life Index, ranking among the worst destinations worldwide for
Safety & Security (45th) and Environment & Climate (48th). Expats are unhappy with the air quality (67% unhappy vs. 19% globally) and the political stability (36% vs. 15% globally).

7 Basel: Expats Are Satisfied with Their Finances, Jobs & the Quality of Life

Basel does best in the Personal Finance Index (8th), ranking second worldwide for both expats' satisfaction with their financial situation and them feeling that their disposable household income is enough to lead a comfortable life abroad. The Swiss city also lands in a good 14th place in the Expat Essentials Index, mainly due to its strong performance for Admin Topics (7th) and Digital Life (12th), and it does well in the Quality of Life Index (12th), too.

Expats rate the natural environment positively (98% happy vs. 83% globally) and feel safe in Basel (98% vs. 81% globally). In the Working Abroad Index (14th), Basel ranks first in the Salary & Job Security Subcategory. About four in five feel paid fairly for their work (79% vs. 62% globally) and agree that moving there has improved their career prospects (81% vs. 60% globally). However, in the Ease of Settling In Index (42nd), expats describe the local residents as unfriendly (30% vs. 17% globally) and find it hard to make friends (58% vs. 37% globally).

8 Melbourne: An Easy City to Get Used To

Melbourne performs best in the Working Abroad Index (4th). Expats are happy with their work-life balance (72% happy vs. 62% globally), their career opportunities (68% vs. 58% globally), and feel paid fairly for their work (70% vs. 62% globally). In the Expat Essentials Index (16th), expats find it easy to deal with the local authorities (53% vs. 40% globally), but 30% consider housing difficult to find (vs. 27% globally), while 59% say it is hard to afford (vs. 43% globally). The Personal Finance Index in general is the one where Melbourne does worst (27th).

Luckily, the city performs better in the Ease of Settling In Index (17th) — expats consider the local residents generally friendly (72% happy vs. 66% globally) and find it easy to get used to the local culture (74% vs. 62% globally) — and the Quality of Life Index (19th). Expats benefit from the opportunities for recreational sports (86% happy vs. 75% globally), the urban environment (79% vs. 67% globally), and top air quality (83% vs. 65% globally).

9 Abu Dhabi: Excellent Healthcare & Worry-Free Bureaucracy

Abu Dhabi performs best in the Expat Essentials Index (2nd), placing just behind Dubai. Like in Dubai, expats are especially happy with the Admin Topics Subcategory (4th). Expats find it easy to open a local bank account (74% happy vs. 64% globally) and deal with local bureaucracy (53% vs. 40% globally). In the Working Abroad Index, Abu Dhabi only ranks midfield (27th).

While 75% of expats feel that moving has improved their career prospects (vs. 60% globally), 31% feel paid unfairly for their work (vs. 20% globally). This perceived low pay could also be a reason for the city's bottom 10 ranking for expats' satisfaction with their financial situation (43rd). The result: A below-average spot in the Personal Finance Index (34th) overall. However, expats are quite pleased when it comes to the Ease of Settling In Index (12th) and enjoy a great Quality of Life (8th). The city claims first place for both the availability and the quality of medical care in the Health & Well-Being Subcategory (1st).

10 Singapore: The Place to Be for Easy Administration, Satisfying Finances & Improved Career Prospects

Singapore ranks third in the Expat Essentials Index and is one of the best-rated destinations for Language (1st), Digital Life (3rd), and Admin Topics (9th). Expats find it very easy to get high-speed internet access at home (97% happy vs. 79% globally) and to pay without cash (97% vs. 84% globally). However, housing is considered unaffordable (71% unhappy vs. 43% globally) and the general cost of living too high (56% vs. 35% globally).

Still, 75% are satisfied with their financial situation (vs. 60% globally), ranking Singapore 16th in the Personal Finance Index. It might help that 74% feel paid fairly for their work (vs. 62% globally). But since the Work & Leisure (33rd) and Work Culture & Satisfaction (37th) Subcategories leave a lot to be desired, Singapore only ranks 28th in the Working Abroad Index.

The city-state performs better in the Quality of Life Index (20th). For example, it is among the top 5 for both the affordability (3rd) and the availability (4th) of public transportation.