Asian cities dominate the global top 5 in the Expat City Ranking 2019, while Italian cities Rome and Milan join Kuwait City at the bottom of the scale.
Bangkok experienced a significant drop compared to the 2018 edition of the list, where Thailand’s capital ranked 5th worldwide and 4th in Asia. Poor environmental management and horrendous traffic conditions eventually took a toll on Bangkok ratings.
Bangkok now faces fierce competition in Asia, with Taipei, Kuala Lumpur and Ho Chi Minh City taking the lead.
- #1 Taipei manages to defend its first place from 2018.
- #2 Kuala Lumpur is rated the best city for getting settled.
- #3 Ho Chi Minh City ranks first in the Finance & Housing Index.
- #4 Following Singapore (#4) and Montréal (#5), European cities make up the rest of the top 10.
Ranking fifth out of all the cities surveyed in Asia, Bangkok ranks third in the Finance and Housing Index, but the city ranking was shot down by poor scores for environmental quality and political stability.
Some 59% of respondents say the environment is poor in Bangkok (vs 17% globally), and 36% worry about political stability (vs 17% globally).
Singapore’s fourth place further adds to Asian destinations dominating the Expat City Ranking 2019. The four top cities all do very well regarding finance and housing, with Singapore receiving the “worst” result here, a 15th rank mostly due to the expensive housing in the city-state: 53% of expats rate this factor negatively (vs. 44% globally). All four Asian cities rank among the top 20 of the Getting Settled Index, though results in the Urban Work Life Index and especially the Quality of Urban Living Index vary greatly.
Bangkok A Relatively Affordable Capital
Bangkok, the Thai capital, stays in the top 3 in the Finance & Housing Index for another year running. Although the city has dropped from second place in 2018 to third place in 2019, the feedback from expats is still positive.
With regards to how easy it is to find housing in Bangkok, 80% of respondents give agreeable answers, and 35% even completely agree (vs. 50% and 17% globally). The ease of finding a new, reasonably priced home appears to be an attractive aspect for expats moving to Bangkok; 58% of respondents find that the housing in the city is affordable (vs. 36% globally).
For the local cost of living in general, 63% of respondents rate Bangkok positively, which is 20 percentage points higher than the global average (43%). An expat in Bangkok praises the city for having a “much lower expense comparing to the same level of living standard”. The results also illustrate the contentment of expats with their financial situation in Bangkok: 63% rate this factor…
Source link : Bangkok drops to 20th spot on expat-friendly cities ranking by Olivier Languepin
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