Luxembourg a top five destination for expats

(CS) In a survey quizzing 14,000 people from 195 countries about their experience of living abroad, Luxembourg emerged as the fifth best country for expats.

The Top Expat Destinations 2015 ranking, released earlier this week, placed Ecuador, Mexico, Malta and Singapore in its top five, with New Zealand, Thailand, Panama, Canada and Australia completing the top ten.

A total of 64 countries were assessed in the study, with Nigeria, Greece and Kuwait making up the bottom three.

Released by InterNations, the report also showed that the experience of living in Luxembourg was more enjoyable for men than women, with the Grand Duchy ranking fourth in the top expat destinations for men but only sixth for women. 

Criteria assessed in the study include ease of settling in, family life, cost of living, housing costs and work-life balance, among others.

Luxembourg ranked 10th in the family life index, but only 36th for ease of settling in. However, the country was ranked first among expats on job security and fifth on job and career opportunities.

In the housing category, Luxembourg scored badly, receiving 81 percent negative feedback from respondents, leaving it at the bottom of the scale together with Hong Kong and Mozambique. And while cost of living was seen as high, the Grand Duchy nonetheless ranked second in personal finance.

On quality of life, Luxembourg ranked 20th. Expats also said that they have mainly expats friends, with the foreign residents in Luxembourg among the least likely in the study to have local friends.

The combined score of all categories left Luxembourg in a respectable fifth place overall. However, this marked a decrease compared to the last edition of the survey from last year, when Luxembourg came second.

For more details visit internations.org