Map of the best and worst places for expats in 2021 (Photo courtesy of InterNations) The survey delivers insights on 12,420 respondent expats’ satisfaction with thelocal quality of life, ease of settling in, working life, personal finance, andcost of living in 59 countries.
All three places in Asia – Vietnam (10th place), Malaysia (4th), and Taiwan(1st) – got the thumbs up from the expat community for the local cost ofliving and impacts on personal finances, but other indices vary.
Vietnam comes first in the personal finance index and the cost of living index,and has consistently been among the top 10 since 2014.
“Three-quarters of expats in Vietnam (75 percent) say that their disposablehousehold income is more than enough to cover everything they need for dailylife (versus 52 percent globally). In fact, 90 percent say it is enough or morethan enough (versus 77 percent globally),” the survey reads.
Nine percent of expats in Vietnam say their gross income is more than 250,000 USDa year – compared to 3 percent globally, which is attributed to the fact that45 percent of expats here move to the country for job-related reasons.
For the Working Abroad Index, Vietnam got 9th place, after Taiwan in 1stplace, mainland China in 4th, but ahead of Norway (11th), Sweden (20th) orSingapore (30th).
The survey includes a quote from an US American expat stating: “I like thecheap cost of living, friendly people, good food, relaxed atmosphere.”
The Quality of Life index in Vietnam was poorly rated, ranking only 53rdglobally, with problems like air quality, water and sanitation infrastructure,plastic pollution appearing to be among the highest concerns.
However, the lion’s share of the expats in Vietnam (85 percent) still seestheir life in the country as “generally happy,” higher than the 75 percentglobally.
In the subsets for life quality index, some figures are worth mentioning –personal happiness of expats in Vietnam is at 15th position globally, whilefeeling of safety and security is at 31st, health and well-being at 46th,whereas travel and transportation, digital life and environment quality aretowards the bottom of the ranking – at 51st, 54th and 57th respectively,according to the report.
Regarding the Ease of Settling In index, Vietnam was ranked 25th globally,lower than Mexico (1st), regional peers like the Philippines (7th), Taiwan(13th), Thailand (20th) and Singapore (22nd), but higher than places like theUSA (26th), the United Kingdom (31st), Hong Kong or mainland China (at 38th and39th).
In the index, Vietnam secured ninth place for ease in making local friends./.
VNA
