Hungary overtakes UK, US in expat survey

There are many factors to consider when one is planning to relocate, temporarily or permanently, to a foreign country. Job and career opportunities, health care, the quality of life, or the accessibility of the culture all play a part in one’s experience of living abroad. The InterNations has conducted the Expat Insider, one of the largest expat surveys worldwide to find the best place for expatriates. Hungary improved greatly compared to last year’s result, origo.hu reports.

The InterNations social network unites more than 2.3 million expatriates from all around the world who can share their experiences of living abroad with each other. For the third year, they have released a list of the best and worst countries for expats. In 2016, the list ranked 67 countries based on the feedback of 14,000 participants who represented 174 nationalities from 191 countries and territories.

Out of the 67 countries, Hungary came 21st, which is a strong position considering that it overtook countries such as the UK, at 33th place, and the USA, at 26th place.

In contrast to last year’s result Hungary managed to advance 8 places up the list, which is the 10^th best improvement among the countries.

The categories that make up the survey provide fascinating insight into the reality of expat-life.  According to the survey, the Quality of Life Index ranks Hungary at the 20^th place. The subcategories show Hungary at the 11^th place in travel & transport, it is the 13^th related to personal happiness, but only the 38^th and 39^th in safety & security, and health & wellbeing, respectively.

Hungary also ranks at the very last place in terms of language, which contributes to the ease of settling in.

Expats’ relationships and love life puts Hungary at 7^th place, while the country took 3^rd place in terms of affordability of housing. Hungary also ranks in the top 10 when it comes to personal finance, job & career opportunities, and cost of living.

Another interesting aspect of the survey is the differences between the experiences of men and women. According to internations.org,

“Hungary ranks 7th out of 57 countries for women but only 36th out of 62 countries for men.”

Two thirds of women find career prospects satisfactory, while only half of men express the same opinion. However, 4 out of 10 men find their disposable household income “a lot more than enough”, while only 1 in 10 women states the same. 35% of female expats find socialising and leisure activities fulfilling, compared to 19% of their male counterparts. Women also find it easier to get used to Hungarian culture than men. 

According to the 2016 survey, the three best countries for expats are Taiwan, Malta, and Ecuador, while Kuwait, Greece, and Nigeria occupy the other end of the list. You can check out the full survey here.

Photos: internations.org

Copy editor: bm

Source: origo.hu, internations.org