The Best and Worst Countries to be an Expat

[dnoblett]

Very interesting post in the Washington Post today.

 

 

 

China and Thailand are the two best countries to be an expatriate, according to a recent study by British bank HSBC that looked at economic opportunities and quality of life for expats in 34 countries.

 

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For 24 of those countries, the study also looked at metrics gauging the suitability of raising children as expats. If you incorporate the data on child rearing abroad along with the economic and quality-of-life measurements, China ranks first overall, following by Germany and Singapore. The study concludes that Germany is the best of these countries to raise expat children, that Thailand provides the best work-life experience for expats, and that Switzerland has the most favorable economy for expatriates.

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/files/2013/11/expats.jpg

 

You can see right away that the data is very favorable for expat life in Asia's developing economies. Companies in these countries prize expat workers and tend to pay them 15 percent more, the report explains. This, combined with lower costs of living, can give expats much higher spending power than they'd enjoy elsewhere. Expats in East and Southeast Asia also tend to report that their social lives become much more active on moving there, due perhaps to the boost in disposable incomes as well as better weather and proximity to beaches.

 

Still, I was surprised to see mainland China rank so high. The country's worsening air pollution and food safety issues, particularly severe in the major cities likely to host expats, have sent a number of expats packing as China once again becomes a "hardship" posting. Perhaps the economics really are that favorable to outweigh these costs.

 

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Based just on this report, if you're thinking about flying off for the life of an expat and you don't want to have kids there, then you should consider China, Thailand or someplace else in Asia. And if you want to have kids abroad, then Germany should also be near the top of your list.

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/11/05/want-to-move-abroad-this-map-shows-the-best-and-worst-countries-to-be-an-expatriate/?tid=sm_fb

[Guest ExChinaExpat]

These kind of rankings often appear as news pieces for different television and print media. Stories like, best countries or places to visit, best countries to work or live, and so on. But, as I read the article I searched for the information and evidence of coming to the conclusion that China and Thailand were the 'best' countries for expats. Though the article cited a "recent study" it didn't go into any detail about how the analysis was performed and the system of measurement, and simply stated it was based on raising children abroad and taxes. So, I clicked the link at the top of the Wash Post article "recent study." That link opened and HSBC table with measurements and results.

 

Interesting enough, while China was in fact number 1 as cited in the Wash Post article, Thailand did not even appear at the top of the list, and in fact does not even appear until you scroll to an un-numbered position of 25th with an asterisk (*). The footnote states:

 

 

 

* Unfortunately we cannot give an overall ranking for these countries as we received insufficient Raising Children Abroad data. To see rankings for these countries, simply uncheck "Raising Children Abroad" criteria.

 

The report seems to be quite subjective. Okay, so if you click about the criteria on the cited "study" and eliminate criteria for children, then Thailand appears number 1. So, what's that mean? Does it mean it's a good country for pedophiles and a bad country for Children?

 

 

Also, if you read the comments section from the Wash Post article you will find it filled with typical Western China bashing commentary. Even if the "study" took a sampling of expat feedback, what other methods were used to make these comparisons? During my years living in China, I've learned if I want an answer to question to be very careful of feedback from expats. At the same time, some of the expat feedback can be helpul. In the end, one is left to their own feeling and can make a choice based on where they want to be and what they want to do. *Expats are a strange lot and a mixed bag of criminals, whoredogs, professionals, and vagrants.

 

* Started as a professional, later became a whoredog, and now a vagrant.

Edited November 5, 2013 by GuangDongExpat (see edit history)