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| Madrid spain |
With more than 14,000 respondents, InterNations Expat Insider 2016 survey explored the general living situation of expatriates.
Madrid is the top city in Europe for living abroad and the third-best in the world, according to previously unreleased data from the third annual InterNations Expat Insider 2016 survey. The only cities that are even more popular than Madrid among expats are Melbourne and Houston. However, European cities generally do well in the global ranking: Vienna ranks first for the quality of life, Frankfurt is best for working abroad, and Munich tops the chart for job security.
Melbourne, Houston, Madrid: Top Scorers for Expats
Melbourne takes the top spot for expat life out of the 35 cities analyzed. Expats in Australia’s second-most populous city are particularly pleased with their work-life balance: 79 percent of respondents rate this positively, which is notably higher than the global average of 60 percent. Overall job satisfaction in Melbourne is also above average, with 71 percent rating this factor positively. This city down under also excels when it comes to the availability of leisure activities: an astounding 91 percent rate this aspect positively, 19 percentage points higher than the global average of 72 percent.
Houston, Texas, finds itself in second place overall and for general satisfaction among expats. The United States of America’s fourth-biggest city also excels when it comes to the cost of living and personal finance, ranking fifth and seventh, respectively, in both of these categories. Houston comes in first place in the Ease of Settling In Index, too. However, the data was collected before the US presidential elections: it is yet to be seen if the election results will have an impact on such ranking categories as "Friendliness" or "Feeling Welcome", which the Ease of Settling In Index is based on.
Madrid ranks third overall, mainly due to expats feeling welcome there and finding it easy to make friends: the Spanish capital takes the top spot in both of these categories. Spain’s capital is also appreciated for its comparatively low cost of living: 72 percent of expats rate this factor positively, in comparison to the 49 percent global average. Duesseldorf, Germany, and Singapore round out the top five best cities for living abroad.
