It’s the top global city where expats are thriving, says new report
The dome of Malaga Cathedral rises above Spain’s picturesque coastal city as the sun begins to set.
Photos by Moelyn | Instant | Getty Images
A southern Spanish port city is home to some of the happiest expats in the world, according to Internations’ latest report on where people are thriving in their lives abroad.
Malaga, Spain, was named the #1 city for expats this year, based on responses from more than 12,000 people living in 172 countries or territories.
Malaga is the highest-rated city in the world for local friendliness, where 89% of expats say locals are particularly friendly towards foreigners, compared to 65% of expats who say the same globally. The coastal city is also known for its good weather, recreational options, affordable housing, and reasonable cost of living. It scores the lowest (but still well above average) for its factors related to working abroad: Newcomers say the local job market isn’t great, but it also claims the first place in supporting a good work-life balance.
Two other Spanish cities round out the top three: Alicante, number 2, which stands out for its available and affordable housing, and Valencia, number 3, which tops the list for its exceptional healthcare options.
Here are the top 10 cities where expatriates are enjoying their new life far from home:
La Farola de Malaga and the cathedral seen at sunset. Malaga, Andalusia, Spain.
Henryk Sadura | Instant | Getty Images
- 88% of expatriates are overall satisfied with their life abroad
- 79% are satisfied with the cost of living
- 67% say it is easy to make local friends
- 69% are overall satisfied with their work
- 80% are satisfied with their work-life balance
- 80% are satisfied with the cost of medical care
Sunny promenade with palm trees in Alicante city, Spain travel pphoto
Arcadia_31 | Istock | Getty Images
- 92% of expatriates are generally satisfied with their life abroad
- 78% are satisfied with the cost of living
- 59% say it is easy to make local friends
- 52% are generally satisfied with their work
- 70% are satisfied with their work-life balance
- 80% are satisfied with the cost of medical care
Iglesia de los Santos Juanes and the central market of Valencia.
Abrill_ | Istock | Getty Images
- 91% of expatriates are overall satisfied with their life abroad
- 86% are satisfied with the cost of living
- 67% say it is easy to make local friends
- 64% are generally satisfied with their work
- 79% are satisfied with their work-life balance
- 90% are satisfied with the cost of medical care
Man visiting Middle East Dhayah Fort, north of Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, on top of desert mountain at sunset. Caucasian man traveling in the Middle East
Stefan Tomic | E+ | Getty Images
- 79% of expatriates are generally satisfied with their life abroad
- 59% are satisfied with the cost of living
- 63% say it is easy to make local friends
- 78% are generally satisfied with their work
- 67% are satisfied with their work-life balance
- 81% are satisfied with the cost of medical care
An Emirati woman paddles a canoe in front of skyscrapers in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, October 2, 2019.
Christophe Brochet | Bloomberg | Getty Images
- 74% of expatriates are generally satisfied with their life abroad
- 45% are satisfied with the cost of living
- 42% say it is easy to make local friends
- 68% are generally satisfied with their work
- 54% are satisfied with their work-life balance
- 88% are satisfied with the cost of medical care
Madrid, Spain
Jorg Greuel | Peter | Getty Images
- 85% of expatriates are generally satisfied with their life abroad
- 57% are satisfied with the cost of living
- 59% say it is easy to make local friends
- 64% are generally satisfied with their work
- 69% are satisfied with their work-life balance
- 85% are satisfied with the cost of medical care
- 90% of expatriates are generally satisfied with their life abroad
- 58% are satisfied with the cost of living
- 65% say it is easy to make local friends
- 76% are generally satisfied with their work
- 75% are satisfied with their work-life balance
- 57% are satisfied with the cost of medical care
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
- 81% of expatriates are overall satisfied with their life abroad
- 74% are satisfied with the cost of living
- 59% say it is easy to make local friends
- 66% are generally satisfied with their work
- 65% are satisfied with their work-life balance
- 68% are satisfied with the cost of medical care
- 85% of expatriates are generally satisfied with their life abroad
- 73% are satisfied with the cost of living
- 54% say it is easy to make local friends
- 66% are generally satisfied with their work
- 77% are satisfied with their work-life balance
- 80% are satisfied with the cost of medical care
Landscape view of ancient buildings stretches along the harbor and overlooks mountainous rock formations, Muscat, Oman – December 2, 2018
Emad Aljumah | Instant | Getty Images
- 71% of expatriates are generally satisfied with their life abroad
- 55% are satisfied with the cost of living
- 68% say it is easy to make local friends
- 64% are generally satisfied with their work
- 62% are satisfied with their work-life balance
- 61% are satisfied with the cost of medical care
- 72% of expatriates are overall satisfied with their life abroad
- 44% are satisfied with the cost of living
- 43% say it is easy to make local friends
- 64% are generally satisfied with their work
- 63% are satisfied with their work-life balance
- 70% are satisfied with the cost of medical care
The ranking, published by the online community Internations, analyzed 49 cities around the world in five main areas: quality of life (such as healthcare and leisure), ease of settling in (such as how easy it is to get making friends and feeling welcome), work. abroad (including the local job market and work-life balance factors), personal finances (taking into account the cost of living) and an overall ‘expat essentials’ index which assesses things like ease of completing administrative tasks and finding housing.
Survey responses were collected in February and published in November.
At the bottom of the list is Milan, Italy, where expats say it’s a challenge navigating bureaucracy, opening a local bank account, obtaining a visa and finding accommodation. A third of expats in Milan say they are unhappy with their social life (compared to 25% who feel the same globally) and don’t feel at home (compared to 20% globally).
Other poorly ranked global cities for expats living abroad include Rome, Vancouver, Hamburg, Berlin and Dublin.
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