The list of most expensive cities and countries for expats to live in 2021 is out, and Turkey’s Ashgabat has topped the list. Hong Kong and Beirut have made it to the top three list. Tokyo has bagged the fourth spot, while Zurich has come fifth, rounding up the top-five list. The survey was conducted by global consultancy Mercer, and here’s everything you must know.
Asian Cities Cover Most Of The Spots In The Top 10 List
When it comes to the top 10 cities, more than half of the list is dominated by Asian cities. Shanghai and Singapore are ranked 6th and 7th respectively. And rounding off the top 10 were Geneva in the eighth position, followed by Beijing and Bern. The ranking is based on comparative costs of more than 200 items, which include, housing, transport and food.
Riyadh Becomes Most Expensive City In The GCC
When it comes to the Middle East, Dubai is ranked 42nd, down from 23rd place last year, while Abu Dhabi has fallen to 56th place from 39th place. The cost of living in these emirates have fallen massively due to the diversification of the UAE economy. In terms of the most expensive city, Riyadh was ranked the most expensive city in the GCC.
World’s Cheapest City For Expats Is Bishkek
For the United States, New York bagged the spot for being the most expensive city in the US, followed by Los Angeles, San Francisco, Honolulu and Chicago. The UK maintained a balance, with London bagging 18th spot and Birmingham at 121st position. As per the survey, the world’s cheapest city is Bishkek, followed by Lusaka and Tbilisi in Georgia.
Another survey was done by InterNations which has ranked UAE as the 18th best city in the world for expats to live and work. Taiwan took the lead, for the third consecutive year, followed by Mexico, Costa Rica, Malaysia and Portugal. Kuwait, Italy and South Africa made it to the bottom three.
Also read: UAE Eases Travel Protocols For Vaccinated Residents
Findings From The Survey
The survey was conducted across 12,000 respondents, taking several parameters into consideration including quality of life, ease of settling in, working abroad, personal finance and cost of living. Besides, the survey also took into consideration the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the respondents.
The UAE is a country where expats can settle in easily and that’s one big reason why the country made it to this list. Besides, the lifestyle is yet another thing that expats love, because the country lets people live here without the need to learn the local language. 93% respondents said they could live in the UAE without learning Arabic, putting the country in the first position in this category. In addition, 69% respondents said Emirati culture was easy to adapt to. And the best bit- 95% expats feel the UAE is the safest country to live in. Well, we certainly can’t agree more!
Meanwhile, 25% of UAE expats admitted that the pandemic impacted their work, while 16% said their personal finances were affected.
Overall, Taiwan stood first, followed by Mexico, Costa Rica and Malaysia. Oman bagged the 24th position while Saudi Arabia and Kuwait stood 42nd and 59th overall. Bahrain took the 12th followed by Qatar on the 17th position.
Top 10 Countries For Expatriates To Work And Live
- Taiwan
- Mexico
- Costa Rica
- Malaysia
- Portugal
- New Zealand
- Australia
- Ecuador
- Canada
- Vietnam