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Dubai and Abu Dhabi impress with their easy administration and Singapore with its online options. German cities, on the other hand, still struggle to enter the digital age.

Top Findings

• In #1 Dubai, expats particularly appreciate how easy it is to get a visa.
• It is easy to access government services online in #2 Abu Dhabi.
• #3 Singapore impresses with the ease of getting high-speed internet.
• Five of the top 10 cities are located in the Middle East.
• The bottom 3 cities are all in Germany, where digitalization lags behind.
• Eight of the ten worst-rated cities in this index are located in Europe.

The Top 10

Methodology

The Expat Essentials Index features 50 cities with a minimum sample size of 50 respondents each. This index — new in 2022 — is based on four subcategories, with at least two rating factors per category. Survey participants rated the individual factors on a scale of one to seven.

The Admin Topics Subcategory covers the ease of opening a bank account, getting a visa, and dealing with local bureaucracy. Topics included in the Digital Life Subcategory are the ease of paying without cash and getting high-speed internet access at home, as well as unrestricted online access and the availability of digital government services. In the Housing Subcategory, respondents were asked to rate the ease of finding accommodation as well as its affordability. Finally, the Language Subcategory covers the ease of living in a particular destination without speaking the local language(s) and how easy it is to learn it/them.

#1 Dubai: Easy Admin & Housing Search

Dubai ranks 1st out of 50 in the Expat Essentials Index of the Expat City Ranking 2022. It is also the best-rated city in the Admin Topics Subcategory (1st). An impressive85% of expats agree that it is easy to get a visa in order to move there (vs. 56% globally). According to a Nigerien expat, the fact that “it is easy to get a visa to come,” is what he likes best about life in Dubai. Nearly two in three respondents (66%) also find it easy to deal with the local authorities (vs. 40% globally). In fact, 36% are completely happy with this factor, almost three times the global average (13%).

The city also does well in the Housing Subcategory, especially when it comes to the housing search. Dubai ranks second for this factor, with 48% completely happy with the ease of finding accommodation, over twice the global average (22%). What is more, expats also find it easy to get by without local language skills in Dubai (1st).

They are not as pleased with the Digital Life in Dubai, though. While 88% agree that the availability of government services online is good (vs. 61% globally), they are not as happy with the unrestricted access to online services in general, such as social media. In fact, 18% are unhappy with this factor (vs. 7% globally), with the city ranking in 46th place.

#2 Abu Dhabi: Little Bureaucracy & Convenient Online Services

Another city in the UAE, Abu Dhabi, places second in the Expat Essentials Index. Like Dubai, it also does best in the Admin Topics Subcategory (4th). Eight in ten expats (80%) found it easy to get a visa (vs. 56% globally). They also find it quite straightforward to deal with the local bureaucracy (53% happy vs. 40% globally) and open a local bank account (74% vs. 64% globally). “Most day-to-day things are easy to do,” says an expat from South Africa.

Abu Dhabi narrowly misses out on a top 10 ranking in the Housing Subcategory (11th). Although finding housing does not seem to be an issue for most expats (72% happy vs. 54% globally), they are less pleased with its affordability (31% vs. 39% globally).

The Middle Eastern city performs worst in the Digital Life Subcategory (23rd). As in Dubai, respondents are satisfied with the availability of government services online (85% vs. 61% globally). They are less happy, however, when it comes to unrestricted access to online services, for example, social media (54% happy vs. 82% globally).

#3 Singapore: Well Connected & Online in No Time

Another expat hub, Singapore (3rd), rounds out the top 3 of the Expat Essentials Index. In terms of digitalization, it is the place to be, coming in third place in the Digital Life Subcategory. In no other city in the ranking is it as easy to get high-speed internet access at home (1st), with 97% of expats happy in this regard (vs. 79% globally).

Over nine in ten respondents (91%) are also happy with the availability of government services online (vs. 61% globally). Almost two in three (66%) are even completely satisfied, well over twice the global average (26%). An Indonesian expat appreciates the “fast and organized online services for many administrative purposes.” And it is also easy to pay without cash in Singapore, according to 97% of expats (vs. 84% globally).

Singapore ranks in the top 10 in the Admin Topics Subcategory (9th), too. Not only do survey participants report that it is easy to deal with the local bureaucracy (63% vs. 40% globally), they also had no trouble opening a local bank account (81% vs. 64% globally). However, unlike in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, getting a visa for Singapore is more challenging (58% happy vs. 56% globally).

In the Housing Subcategory, Singapore lands in a more or less average 24th place. Although it still ranks in the top 10 for the ease of finding housing (10th), the city-state shows a below average performance for its affordability (36th).

The Bottom 3: Germany Lags Behind Digitally

Three German cities fill the bottom 3 spots in the Expat Essentials Index — Frankfurt am Main (50th), Munich (49th), and Hamburg (48th).

All three cities end up among the bottom 10  in the Digital Life Subcategory. Expats are particularly displeased with the lack of cashless payment options. Frankfurt, for example, ranks 49th for this factor, with only 46% happy (vs. 84% globally). Getting high-speed internet access at home is another pain point in all three cities. Only slightly more than half the respondents in Frankfurt (52%) agree that this was unproblematic (vs. 79% globally). “The internet connections are very poor,” criticizes a Portuguese expat.

All three cities also rank in the bottom 10 in the Housing Subcategory. Munich even comes in last place (50th). Respondents there are particularly unhappy with how hard it is for expats to find accommodation (75% dissatisfied vs. 27% globally). They are not thrilled with the affordability, either (5% pleased vs. 39% globally). When asked what they most dislike about life in Germany, a Croatian expat responded: “The housing prices in Munich and how it is actually pretty difficult to find new housing.”

It also does not help that it seems to be difficult to live in Germany without speaking German, yet expats do not find the language easy to learn. In Hamburg, only 32% agree it is easy to live there without speaking the local language (vs. 51% globally). However, only one in four (25%) agrees that German is an easy language to learn (vs. 41% globally).

Trends in the Top 10

Half of the top 10 cities in the Expat Essentials Index are located in the Middle East — Dubai (1st), Abu Dhabi (2nd), Doha (5th), Riyadh (6th), and Muscat (8th). In all of them, it is relatively easy to find housing, ranging from Dubai (2nd) to Riyadh (13th). The availability of government services online is also a plus, with top 10 results in all cities except for Muscat (29th).

Two of the index’s remaining top 10 cities are in Southeast Asia — Singapore (3rd) and Kuala Lumpur (10th). However, a closer look at the results shows very different reasons for their strong performance. Whereas Singapore does best in the Digital Life Subcategory (3rd), Kuala Lumpur even lands in the bottom half for some of these factors. For example, it comes in 37th place for the ease of paying without cash. However, the Malaysian capital does shine in the Housing Subcategory (2nd). It ranks third for both the ease of finding housing and its affordability.

The rest of the cities in the top 10 of this index are scattered around the globe — Tallinn (4th), Toronto (7th), and Nairobi (9th). Tallinn is in first place for the availability of government services online, Toronto impresses with the ease of opening a local bank account (2nd), and in Nairobi, it is easy for expats to find housing (6th).

Trends in the Bottom 10

Eight of the index’s bottom 10 cities are located in Europe, with five of them in Germany. As mentioned above, Germany generally performs very badly in the Digital Life Subcategory. The German cities in the bottom 10 — Frankfurt (50th), Munich (49th), Hamburg (48th), Berlin (44th), and Dusseldorf (42nd) — hold the bottom 5 spots for the ease of paying without cash.

Italy has two cities in the bottom 10, Rome (43rd) and Milan (41st). They are considered the two worst destinations for the ease of dealing with the local authorities (50th for Rome and 49th for Milan).

Paris (47th) rounds out the European cities in the bottom 10. It gets the poorest result in the Language Subcategory (47th), coming in last place for the ease of living there without speaking the local language (50th). Expats in the French capital also struggle when it comes to Admin Topics (46th) and Housing (45th).

The last two cities in the bottom 10 are located in Asia: Shanghai (46th) and Tokyo (45th). The two cities show striking differences in terms of cashless payment options. Whereas Tokyo ranks 45th for this factor, Shanghai is actually in 1st place. However, the lack of unrestricted access to online services and the difficulty of getting high-speed internet access at home drags down Shanghai’s ranking in the Digital Life Subcategory (50th) and in the index overall.

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Image credit: InterNations

Filed under: Survey Data on November 29th, 2022