Friendliest cities in the world for British expats – ‘welcoming, warm people’
Brexit: British expat discusses difficulty of living in Spain
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info
The InterNations Expat Insider City Ranking asked expats to judge their city based on a few important factors. Expats rated their city based on local friendliness, feeling welcome and ease of making friends.
The friendliest city in the world was Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia. Almost three quarters of expats thought it was easy to make friends there.
One expat said: “It’s very international with lovely people” while another said: “Making friends is not difficult.”
Almost 100 percent of expats thought it was easy to live in Malaysia without speaking the local language.
Over 80 percent of the expats thought that Malaysian people were very friendly and open to foreigners.
The second friendliest city was Mexico City, the capital city of Mexico. Just under 90 percent of expats in Mexico City thought local people were friendly towards foreign residents.
Almost 100 percent of expats thought that it was easy to get used to the local culture in Mexico.
Most of the expats also felt that it was easy to make friends in Mexico City.
One said: “The city is so beautiful, people are friendly, and the climate is perfect.”
Expats should learn Spanish before moving though as only a third of foreign residents thought it was easy to get back in Mexico City without speaking the language.
Sunny Malaga was ranked as the third friendliest city in the world. Over three in four expats in Malaga were happy with their social life.
One said: “If you make an effort and respect the local community, it is returned more than equally to you.”
More than two thirds of expats thought it was easy to find new friends in Malaga.
British expats that choose to settle in Malaga will be very close to the beautiful beaches of the Costa del Sol.
Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya was ranked as the fourth friendliest city in the world in the InterNations index.
The majority of expats thought it was easy to make friends in Nairobi while most found it easy to get by without the local language.
At the other end of the scale, Tokyo in Japan was ranked as the least friendly city to international residents.
One expat said: “Expats are treated fine. But they are never looked at as part of the Japanese community.”
Dusseldorf in Germany also came at the bottom end of the scale and two out of five expats felt dissatisfied with their social life there.
One expat said: “It’s very difficult to socialise with the locals” while one third thought people were unfriendly towards foreign residents.
Paris was the third least friendly city and two in three expats thought Parisians weren’t friendly to local residents.
The majority felt it was difficult to make friends in Paris while another said: “It’s difficult integrating into French society.”
Friendliest cities in the world for expats (InterNations)
- Kuala Lumpur
- Mexico City
- Malaga
- Nairobi
- Muscat
- Dubai
- Lisbon
- Madrid
- Vancouver
- Ho Chi Minh City
Least friendly cities in the world for expats (InterNations)
- Tokyo
- Dusseldorf
- Paris
- Copenhagen
- Stockholm
- Hamburg
- Munich
- Vienna
- Warsaw
- Zurich
Source: Read Full Article
