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UK among worst in 'quality of life' league for expats: Canada, Australia and Thailand rated best
The UK is one of the world's worst locations to live for expats, a survey today revealed.
Expats find it difficult to find somewhere to live in the UK, with many finding their quality of accommodation poorer than back home, the poll by HSBC Bank International showed.
Canada was seen as the best place to live for expats, followed by Australia, Thailand and Singapore.
Based on responses from more than 3,100 expats from 50 countries, the survey showed 41 per cent of expats in the UK found it difficult to find somewhere to live, compared with 28 per cent averaged across all the countries.
Only 16 per cent of expats in the UK found their quality of accommodation had improved since moving to the UK, compared to 58 per cent who felt the quality had gone down.
Also, 31 per cent of expats said their health had deteriorated since coming to the UK, with 53 per cent reckoning the daily commute had got worse.
As many as 79 per cent of expats in the UK said living costs were higher than in their country of origin.
On the positive side, 58 per cent of expats thought the quality of entertainment in the UK had improved.
Also, 89 per cent of expats in the UK said improved employment prospects were among the main reasons they chose to live here, compared with 59 per cent of expats on average worldwide.
Expats gave the highest accommodation quality marks to Canada, the US and Australia.
Thailand was the country where it was easiest to make friends. Only 28 per cent of expats said they had bothered to learn the local language.
David Norton, head of customer propositions for HSBC Bank International, said: "We have seen that there is a distinct trade-off between income and overall quality of life, as many of the top performers in our first report, which examined the best places to make and save money, have scored towards the bottom of this report's league table.
"What is clear is that the locations where salaries may not be as high, such as Canada and Australia, are where expats are really enjoying not only an increased quality of life but are also finding it easy to fit in to their new communities."
Top 10 quality of life locations
1. Canada
2. Australia
3. Thailand
4. Singapore
5. Bahrain
6. South Africa
7. France
8. USA
9. Spain
10.Hong Kong
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Thursday 09 February 2012
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