Canada comes top of world's largest expat lifestyle survey

Australia and Thailand rank 2nd and 3rd respectively UK scores poorly for quality of life Established markets outperform emerging markets Expats generally enjoy a better quality of life. Expat Experience 2009 is conducted by HBSC

Being an expat means a better quality of life

Overall, the survey revealed that expats enjoy a better life in their new country. Germany, France, and Thailand topped the survey in this respect, with expats living in these countries reporting the greatest increases.

Better accommodation

For most expats, the biggest increases in quality were seen in the categories of accommodation and travel with 42% of expats saying that the quality of their accommodation had improved, and 44% reporting that they had a better commute into work. Canada, Thailand and the US were the top countries for better quality of accommodation, with 68%, 63% and 61% respectively claiming that their homes are better now. However, the picture was very different for expats living in the UK, with more than half (58%) stating that accommodation standards were poorer than in their home country.

Trying new things

The opportunities to try new food and cultural dining experiences are often reasons cited as motivators to travel, but what about when you're an expat? Do you pine for the familiar flavours? More than one-third of expats living in UAE (37%) thought food quality had increased significantly compared to their country of origin. Singapore is clearly a top spot for gourmands with 43% of expats living in the region agreeing that the food quality had improved significantly since moving there, however France topped this category with 71% of expats claiming a better quality of food.

But work long hours and your family suffer

Although no link was found between better working hours and an increased social life, there is a clear correlation between poor working hours and a decreased quality of family life. Over half of all expats moving to India (60%) and Hong Kong (52%) noted that a worsening of their working hours had created deterioration in the quality of their family life.

Entire report available here.