December 30, 2024, 6:08 am | Read time: 7 minutes
The InterNations network once again surveyed more than 12,500 people from 175 countries who decided to move to another country about their experiences. The result is a ranking of the best and worst cities for expats. TRAVELBOOK presents the winning cities and reports on how Germany fared this year.
Many people dream of a life somewhere completely different, in cities filled with history, culture, and special lifestyles, for example. But what is it really like to live as an expat in metropolises such as New York, Paris, or Rome? This question is answered once a year by the “Expat Insider” report, one of the world’s largest surveys on living and working abroad. It is published by the expat platform InterNations, together with the resulting city rankings about the best and worst cities for expats.
Overview
The Ranking
In February 2024, InterNations surveyed 12,543 expats from 175 nations for the ranking, including people who had moved abroad for work or love, to study, or to build a new life elsewhere. For a city to be included in the study, “a sample size of at least 50 survey participants was required,” according to InterNations. This year, 53 cities met this requirement.
The survey participants rated up to 53 factors from a total of 16 categories of their life as an expat on a scale of one to seven. The focus was on personal satisfaction with the individual areas; factual and emotional aspects weighed equally. Data from official sources was not included. The results were used to create five indexes for individual areas of life: Quality of Life, Ease of Settling In, Working Abroad, Personal Finances and Essentials for Expats. Combined with the answers to the question “How happy are you with your life abroad overall?” these indexes were used to determine the city ranking of the best and worst cities worldwide for expats.
This is the Best City for Expats in 2024
The winner of 2022 is also the winner of this year’s ranking of the best cities for expats: Valencia. The Spanish port city scores highly with its immigrants in the categories of quality of life and personal finances; Valencia also ranks first in both indices. Respondents are also satisfied with the cost of public transport and the leisure sports facilities, and they feel safe in the city. Three-quarters are satisfied with the cost of living and their financial situation.
However, Valencia’s employment situation isn’t quite as rosy, ranking only 31st. However, the situation here has already improved; in 2022, the city was still in the bottom ten worldwide in 41st place. So what are the problems with working abroad? Almost half of expats are dissatisfied with the local job market, and 38 percent are not particularly impressed by the supposedly improved career opportunities after their move. Nevertheless, they feel their pay is fair and enjoy the work-life balance. Incidentally, most expats did not move to Valencia because of the job anyway: for many (27 percent), the improved quality of life was the decisive factor.
Spanish Cities Also in Second and Third Place
Following Valencia, the 2023 champion Málaga takes the second spot. The happiest expats in the world live there, and Málaga is also ahead when it comes to settling in. This is probably mainly due to the fact that expats feel welcome and at home here and have a good personal environment and a fulfilling social life. In terms of working life, however, expats in the Spanish city are not doing too well. In this category, Málaga finds itself in the 44th position. It should be noted that last year the city was still in 13th place for working abroad.
The third Spanish city in this year’s ranking is Alicante in third place. Still in second place in 2023, it has also deteriorated, but is the only Spanish city in the top 10 of the Essentials for expats index. InterNations sees the reason for this particularly in the housing sub-category: more than two-thirds of expats in Alicante are positive about the affordability of housing, and the search for it also seems to be quite easy. Incidentally, the only index in which Alicante did not make it into the top 10 is the work situation of expats. Here, Alicante ranks 41st.
Expats Are Not Happy in Germany
And how did the German cities fair? Quite poorly, unfortunately. After all, six cities made it into the ranking, but they are all at the bottom of the list. Only Düsseldorf, in 41st place, remains outside the worst ten cities for expats. It is followed by Frankfurt (45th), Berlin (46th), Cologne (48th), Munich (50th), and Hamburg (52nd). In the country ranking, Germany only comes 50th out of 53. Why are expats not satisfied in Germany?
The expats surveyed by InterNations complain about the digital backwardness, for example, with regard to cashless payments, the speed of the internet, or the ability to find government services online, as well as the fact that the bureaucracy is generally so complicated. In Berlin in particular, expats struggle with paperwork and the local authorities. The language barrier makes things even more difficult. Not only do many expats find German a difficult language to learn, but it is also noted that in many places it is still not possible to get by without speaking German. Cologne ranks worst here, with almost 60 percent of emigrants saying that life there is anything but easy without knowledge of German.
Beyond the language barrier, expats often face a lack of friendliness in their new surroundings. Four of the six German cities in the ranking are in the flop 10 in terms of friendliness, with Berlin in last place. Cologne and Düsseldorf at least make it into the lower midfield. As a result, many expats feel unwelcome, making their adjustment to the new environment challenging.
Friendliness Flop, Work Situation and Quality of Life Okay
On the other hand, expats in Germany are not doing too badly with their personal finances. Here, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Cologne, and Berlin rank in the upper midfield. Conversely, Hamburg (37th) and Munich (48th) rank lower, which may not come as a surprise. Once the German hobbyhorse, the country is now deteriorating in terms of the work situation for expats. While three German cities were still in the top 10 in 2022, this year Düsseldorf is the only German city to make it into the top 20 with its 16th place. Munich and Frankfurt follow in 21st and 27th place. Expats in Germany rated job security and working hours positively.
When it comes to quality of life, Munich (21st) performs particularly well, followed by Berlin (29th), Düsseldorf (31st), and Cologne (32nd). For example, the availability of environmentally friendly products and services as well as the infrastructure for cars are rated highly. At the same time, expats clearly do not feel safe in Germany, with Munich alone achieving a good 14th place. The remaining cities find themselves in the lower mid-range. Expats also dislike the difficult access to healthcare, as well as the climate.
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An Overview of the Best and Worst Cities for Expats in 2024
- Valencia, Spain
- Málaga, Spain
- Alicante, Spain
- Panama City, Panama
- Mexico City, Mexico
- Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates (UAE)
- Madrid, Spain
- Bangkok, Thailand
- Abu Dhabi, UAE
- Dubai, UAE
- Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Muscat, Oman
- Nairobi, Kenya
- Melbourne, Australia
- Vienna, Austria
- Doha, Qatar
- Jeddah/ Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- Brussels, Belgium
- Sydney, Australia
- Warsaw, Poland
- Barcelona, Spain
- Hong Kong, China
- Copenhagen, Denmark
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Tokyo, Japan,
- Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Singapore, Singapore
- New York City, USA
- Lisbon, Portugal
- The Hague, Netherlands
- Zurich, Switzerland
- Auckland, New Zealand
- Luxembourg, Luxembourg
- Basel, Switzerland
- Geneva, Switzerland
- Prague, Czech Republic
- Dublin, Ireland
- Budapest, Hungary
- Stockholm, Sweden
- London, England
- Düsseldorf, Germany
- Oslo, Norway
- Paris, France
- Rome, Italy
- Frankfurt, Germany
- Berlin, Germany
- Milan, Italy
- Cologne, Germany
- Istanbul, Turkey
- Munich, Germany
- Toronto, Canada
- Hamburg, Germany
- Vancouver, Canada