InterNation's top five best expat cities all Spanish-speaking locations

There is a sad irony in the timing of the publication of a global survey that names Valencia - which, at the end of October, was devastated by the deadliest floods in modern Spanish history - as the world's best city for expats to live in.

David Sapsted

25 November 2024

Read the Autumn 2024 issue of Think Global People magazine

More than 220 people died in the floods and thousands of properties were ruined along with much of Valencia's infrastructure. Unfortunately, the Expat City Ranking, which is published on November 26 by the global expat organisation InterNations, can reflect none of this as it is based on the Expat Insider survey on living and working abroad, carried out early in the year.Even areas of Malaga, which comes second in the rankings of 53 cities across 35 countries, subsequently suffered damage from floods. In a statement, InterNations said: "Data for the Expat City Ranking was collected in February 2024 prior to the floods in some regions of Spain that occurred in October and November. It therefore does not reflect the impact of these catastrophic events."The rankings are based on the responses of more than 12,500 expats who were asked a series of questions covering five broad categories: Quality of Life, Ease of Settling In, Working Abroad, Personal Finance, and Expat Essentials.Valencia, which came in third in the 2023 rankings, was placed first this year (as it was in 2022) with world-leading scores in the Quality of Life and Personal Finance indices.

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"No respondent in Valencia had anything negative to say about the affordability of public transportation, opportunities for recreational sport, or their personal safety," says the report. "More than three in four expats are also satisfied with the general cost of living and their financial situation."On the downside, expats are not impressed with the local jobs market and 38% were pessimistic about Valencia having improved their career prospects. "Nevertheless, they feel that they’re paid fairly for their work and enjoy their work–life balance," InterNations found. "Working abroad isn’t what drew expats to Valencia anyway: only 8% of respondents cite job-related reasons (versus the 35% global average). The main deciding factor was a better quality of life (27% versus 9% globally)."Second-placed Málaga features the globe's happiest expats, in part due to a global first place in the Ease of Settling In index, as well as top scores when it came to feeling welcome, the local social life and feeling at home. However, the city was only ranked 44th globally in the Working Abroad index, coming in the bottom three as far as career prospects were concerned.Alicante rounded off a top three for Spain in the rankings with expats happy about lifestyle and housing affordability. But, like the other Spanish cities, Alicante does not rate highly when it comes to work and career prospects. "But as in the top two cities," InterNations points out, "working abroad isn’t the draw for Alicante. More than half of respondents are either retired, not doing any paid work, or aren’t looking for a job (versus 21% of respondents globally)."At the other end of the table, Vancouver has fallen to 53rd place, with the affordability of housing rated the worst in the world and the availability of such accommodation among the world's ten worst cities."It’s not just housing that’s expensive: 52% of expats in Vancouver are dissatisfied with their financial situation (versus 26% globally)," says the survey. "Close to three in ten respondents are currently looking for work, too, nearly three times the global average."On the plus side, Vancouver does well when it comes to such sub-categories as the climate and pleasant rural environment, though it is ranked world's worst when it comes to culture and nightlife.Hamburg ranks only one place better than Vancouver with expats particularly unhappy with the Ease of Settling In and with various aspects of the Expat Essentials index.The report adds: "Expats find the local language necessary to get by — but difficult to learn. This might in part explain their struggles to get used to the local culture, feel welcome and make local friends. Though it should be noted that nine in ten speak at least a little German."Meanwhile, back in Canada, Toronto - which was ranked 19th best in the world only two years ago - has tumbled to 51st place this year, mainly due to a big fall in the Working Abroad index. "Close to two in five expats rate the local economy negatively. Not only is this twice the global average, it’s also over four times the result Toronto saw a year earlier (9%)," says InterNations.Toronto has discovered how rapidly things can change in expats' eyes - though not nearly as rapidly as the tragedy that has affected Valencia so recently.

Top 10:

Valencia
Málaga
Alicante
Panama City
Mexico City
Ras Al Khaimah
Madrid
Bangkok
Abu Dhabi
Dubai

Bottom 10:

Rome
Frankfurt
Berlin
Milan
Cologne
Istanbul
Munich
Toronto
Hamburg
Vancouver

Disclaimer: The Expat Insider survey was conducted in February 2024, before the devastating floods in some regions of Spain. The rankings of Spanish cities therefore do not reflect the impact of these catastrophic events.

About the Expat City Ranking

The Expat City Ranking is based on the annual Expat Insider survey by InterNations. With more than 12,500 respondents, Expat Insider is one of the most extensive surveys about living and working abroad and has been conducted since 2014.The Expat City Ranking provides insights into expat life in 53 cities across 35 countries. Survey participants were asked to rate up to 56 different aspects of life abroad on a scale of one to seven. These factors are grouped into 16 subcategories, which are combined into five topical indices: Quality of Life, Ease of Settling In, Working Abroad, Personal Finance, and Expat Essentials. For a city to be featured in the Expat City Ranking 2024, a sample size of at least 50 survey participants per destination was required.

About InterNations

With more than 5 million members in 420 cities around the world, InterNations is the largest global community and a source of information for people who live and work abroad. InterNations offers global and local networking and socializing, both online and face-to-face. At around 4,000 events and activities per month, expatriates have the opportunity to meet other global minds. Online services include discussion forums and helpful articles with personal expat experiences, tips, and information about life abroad. Membership is by approval only to ensure we remain a community of trust.

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