Expat Reliant Cities: Top 25 Cities for Expats to Move to Post COVID-19

With Covid-19 stunting the travel plans of millions of expats this year and forcing many to return back to their home countries, which cities still heavily rely on expats to support the economy and provide a better quality of life?

Whilst living and working abroad may seem like a pipe dream right now, in this study MoverDB has revealed the top international locations for expats to move to remotely post-coronavirus, analysing the cities with the best safety, quality of life, cost of living, salary, work-life balance and the percentage of expats.

Take a look at the top 25 cities below:

Top 25 Cities for Expats to Move to Post COVID-19

Rank	City	Expats (%)	Average Salary	Life Expectancy (Years)	Food + Drink Cost	Transport Cost	Bill + Wifi Cost	Rent Price	Reported Employee Overtime (%)	Quality of Support Network (%)	Life Satisfaction Index	Night Safety (%)	Overall Score
1	Madrid	12.70%	£17,718	83.1	£13.60	£1.40	£159	£895	4.00%	93%	167.05	82%	6.8
2	Reykjavik	11.50%	£27,892	82.4	£21.50	£2.70	£123	£1,149	15.10%	98%	180.74	86%	6.7
3	Luxembourg	44%	£41,535	82.4	£19.90	£1.60	£252	£1,410	4%	93%	190.92	76%	6.7
4	Helsinki	5.70%	£28,776	81.4	£16.90	£2.50	£95	£907	3.80%	95%	186.4	85%	6.6
5	Geneva	29.40%	£60,592	83.3	£28.00	£2.60	£236	£1,712	0.40%	93%	190.92	85%	6.5
6	Rome	9.70%	£16,143	82.8	£18.10	£1.40	£179	£858	4.10%	92%	138.97	58%	6.4
7	Ljubljana	11.40%	£13,461	80.9	£9.70	£1.20	£211	£535	4.40%	92%	169.81	86%	6.4
8	Stockholm	16.80%	£28,518	82.4	£16.50	£3.50	£90	£1,137	1.10%	91%	172.18	76%	6.3
9	Lisbon	8.10%	£10,999	81.5	£9.00	£1.40	£128	£808	8.30%	88%	162.46	73%	6.3
10	Vienna	17.50%	£24,089	81.9	£12.60	£2.20	£196	£793	6.70%	92%	181.68	81%	6.3
11	Belfast	13.20%	£20,979	81.4	£16.20	£2.10	£105	£634	12.20%	94%	161.2	78%	6.3
12	Edinburgh	13.20%	£22,657	81.4	£19.00	£1.70	£178	£801	12.20%	94%	161.2	78%	6.3
13	Oslo	14.20%	£31,594	82.5	£22.50	£3.00	£160	£1,094	2.90%	94%	174.55	90%	6.2
14	Berlin	14.90%	£27,457	81	£11.30	£2.60	£238	£822	4.30%	90%	177.25	73%	6.2
15	Prague	3.80%	£12,553	79.2	£6.40	£0.80	£172	£698	5.70%	91%	154.7	72%	6.2
16	Tallinn	15.40%	£13,202	77.8	£11.30	£1.80	£180	£490	2.40%	92%	175.99	69%	6.2
17	Copenhagen	10.10%	£34,961	81.2	£20.60	£2.90	£212	£1,209	2.30%	95%	192.53	84%	6.1
18	London	13.20%	£33,515	81.4	£20.00	£2.90	£207	£1,762	12.20%	94%	161.2	78%	6
19	Vilnius	4.70%	£10,800	75	£9.70	£0.90	£117	£467	0.50%	88%	159.77	56%	6
20	Paris	12.10%	£27,264	82.9	£19.90	£1.70	£178	£1,065	7.70%	90%	150.68	71%	6
21	Amsterdam	11.70%	£32,130	81.6	£19.00	£2.90	£195	£1,453	0.40%	91%	184.18	82%	6
22	Brussels	12.30%	£26,323	81.2	£17.20	£1.90	£165	£776	4.80%	91%	149.75	70%	6
23	Bratislava	3.30%	£12,763	77.4	£7.20	£0.80	£186	£559	4.10%	91%	149.93	64%	5.9
24	Dublin	15.90%	£27,546	81.5	£19.20	2.7	£204	£1,546	5.30%	95%	150.16	76%	5.8
25	Monaco	55.80%	£57,255	82.9	£30.70	£1.80	£227	£3,499	7.70%	90%	150.68	71%	5.7

Madrid Revealed as the Best City for Expats, Followed by Reykjavik and Luxembourg

Madrid has been revealed as the top city to relocate to for expats across the globe, in terms of work opportunities, health, happiness and overall satisfaction. The city is steeped in culture and history with strong support networks available for new residents as well as a high life expectancy and one of the best healthcare systems in the world.

It has great and affordable transport available for just £1.40 as well as low cost of living and has more top rated restaurants than anywhere else, with 18 Michelin starred restaurants in a 25 kilometer radius.

Reykjavik is the second most popular city for expats, with Iceland’s rich culture, social welfare system, and natural beauty making it a perfect place for expats wanting a good work life balance and close proximity to other places in Europe. Icelanders have a life expectancy of 82.4 years, approximately 2 years more than the OECD average.

Like other Scandinavian countries, Iceland also has a modern welfare system, with free healthcare, free education, and a good pension. Iceland is also ranked highest in terms of gender equality, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap. In terms of climate, the average summer temperature in Reykjavik is 24.7ᵒ C while winter temperature drops to approximately 0ᵒ C.

Riga, Santiago and Bratislava Are the Worst Cities for Expats

While Santiago is a great place for young people due to its vibrant culture, nightlife and creative scene, it is the least attractive option for expats looking to move post Covid-19. It is one of the more dangerous options with only 16% of people feeling safe when walking at night and it is significantly lower on the life satisfaction index than other cities. Although it has relatively low cost of living, the average salary is only £6,186 and offers a poor work life balance, an undesirable option for a long term career.

Bogota and Cape Town were the next least desirable options for expats moving abroad. Bogota’s population only contains 0.3% of expats making it a relatively untouched option for those moving abroad. However, the city offers a very lower average salary of just £3,005 annually and is one of the more dangerous countries with only 10% of people feeling safe when walking at night. wWhile Cape Town is much higher on life satisfaction index, it has a very low life expectancy of just 63 years and disportionately higher average rent of £506 on average.

Top 10 Worst Cities for Expats to Move to Post COVID-19

Rank	City	Expats (%)	Average Salary	Life Expectancy (Years)	Food + Drink Cost	Transport Cost	Bill + Wifi Cost	Rent Price	Reported Employee Overtime (%)	Quality of Support Network (%)	Life Satisfaction Index	Night Safety (%)	Overall Score
1	Santiago	2.60%	£6,186	79.5	£8.70	0.8	£120	£340	18.20%	85%	102.02	16%	4.7
2	Bogota	0.30%	£3,005	75.1	£4.40	0.53	£84	£299	18.10%	89%	101.7	10%	4.9
3	Cape Town	5.80%	£10,767	63.6	£6.90	£0.80	£97	£506	18.10%	88%	132.39	36%	5
4	Mexico	0.90%	£5,566	76.6	£7.80	0.2	£45	£473	18.00%	81%	120.65	14%	5.1
5	Brasilia	0.30%	£5,616	75.1	£5.90	0.7	£57	£232	7.10%	90%	105.28	10%	5.4
6	Athens	11.30%	£8,652	81.2	£12.70	£1.30	£165	£377	6.40%	80%	131.51	60%	5.6
7	Budapest	4.60%	£8,136	76	£6.50	£0.90	£144	£417	3.00%	86%	128.4	56%	5.6
8	Riga	13.40%	£5,566	75	£9.90	£1.00	£181	£380	1.30%	86%	148.68	62%	5.6
9	Warsaw	1.60%	£10,110	77.8	£7.10	£0.90	£154	£589	6.00%	86%	125.2	67%	5.7
10	Moscow	8.10%	£8,708	71.9	£9.30	£0.60	£107	£722	0.10%	89%	101.57	53%	5.7

Norway Is the Safest Country for Expats Looking to Move Post COVID-19

Norway is the safest country for expats to move to in 2020 with low crime in major cities such like Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim, and Stavanger. 87% of Norwegians are confident in their local police, and 90% feel safe when walking home alone at night, making it a great option for first time movers.

Brazil on the other hand is one of the least safest options for expats with only 36% of residents feeling safe when walking at night and a significantly higher crime rate than the top European countries

Top 10 Safest Cities for Expats

Rank	Country	Night Safety (%)
1	Norway	90%
2	Slovenia	86%
3	Iceland	86%
4	Switzerland	85%
5	Finland	85%
6	Denmark	84%
7	Canada	82%
8	Spain	82%
9	Netherlands	82%
10	Austria	81%

The United Arab Emirates Has the Highest Percentage of International Expats at 88.4%

In terms of expats, the United Arab Emirates has the highest percentage of international migrants at 88.4% making it one of the most popular choices for people seeking a range of diverse cultures and backgrounds. Similarly, Qatar and Kuwait are popular destinations for migrants looking for a strong international population.

On the other hand, for people who hate to follow the status quo, countries like Colombia, Morocco, Peru and Cuba have the lowest percentage of expats with less than 0.3% of the population international migrants.

Top 10 Countries With the Highest Percentage of Expats

Rank	Country	International migrants (% of population)
1	United Arab Emirates	88.4
2	Qatar	75.5
3	Kuwait	73.6
4	Sint Maarten	70.4
5	Liechtenstein	62.6
6	Andorra	59.7
7	Macao, China	58.3
8	British Virgin Islands	57.5
9	Monaco	55.8
10	Virgin Islands (U.S.)	53.4

Summary

While the prospect of moving to a new city or country in this climate can be daunting, it’s more important now than ever to look towards the future. Use 2021 as an opportunity to plan experiencing a new culture and way of life in a city you’ve always dreamed of.

All the cities the study has revealed are great options when it comes to quality of life and new experiences. Whether you choose the rich culture and delicious foods of Madrid or the vibrant nightlife and breathtaking beaches of Cape Town, there’s a city that caters to every expat lifestyle preference.

So start planning now and use this time of reflection and staying safe indoors to plan your expatriate adventure of a lifetime.

Sources and Methodology

In order to calculate the best cities to move to for expats we analysed 12 metrics weighing them to account for factors that were deemed more crucial than others including the cost of a takeaway, rent price, night safety, life satisfaction, work/life balance, salary and popularity.

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