Most liveable locations for European expats revealed

Copenhagen and Bern have been named the most liveable cities in the world for European expats.

It is the second consecutive year that the annual expat liveability index, carried out by ECA Colorful houses in Copenhagen old town at sunset - Emigrate2International, has ranked the Danish and Swiss capital as the number one location for European expats.

Cities located in northern European and Scandinavian nations once again dominate the top ten most liveable locations for European expats. The Netherlands and Switzerland each have three cities within the top ten, while Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg and Sweden are also represented in the higher echelons on the rankings. Ireland’s capital, Dublin also make it into the top place, finishing in joint 9th position alongside Luxembourg City and Gothenburg.

“Cities in Scandinavia, Switzerland and the Netherlands have offered good liveability across the board for many years now; with factors such as excellent infrastructure, reliable transport systems, and a high level of healthcare all contributing to their consistently excellent liveability score,” explained Ashman, Senior Location Ratings Analyst at ECA International.

The most liveable non-European location for European expats was found to be Toronto in Canada. Canadian cities in general all score well, with Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa and Montreal all scoring higher than Belfast, London and Glasgow in the UK.

“Canadian cities have always featured high up in the rankings for European expatriates thanks to low crime levels, good public facilities, and little air pollution,” explained Ashman.

Edinburgh is the only UK city in the top 20 most liveable cities in the world for European expats, closely followed by Aberdeen at 21.

“Edinburgh and Aberdeen lead the way for UK cities in terms of liveability due to a range of factors including lower air pollution and a greater level of personal security,” said Ashman. “However, what really makes these two cities outshine others in the UK is the existing expat community. This is an important factor in the liveability analysis as a solid network of expatriates will help newcomers feel less isolated and reduces the anticipated culture shock for workers that relocate from overseas.”

Elsewhere, all of the Australian and New Zealand locations included in the rankings feature in the top 100 (480 cities are ranked overall), with Canberra (40th) and Wellington (45th) the highest ranked cities in those countries respectively.

Singapore is the most liveable Asian location for European expatriates and the only one that makes it into the top 100.

Article published 22nd February 2019