As in previous years, InterNations, the largest global network of people living and working abroad, interviewed its members in the ‘Expat Insider 2018 Survey’ on their living conditions and has recently published the results.
More than 18,135 interviewees living in 187 countries have taken part. With their replies, they are providing us with unique insights into life as an expat in 2018.
All in all, questions were asked on five categories:
- Quality of life (recreational possibilities, personal satisfaction, traffic, health, safety, and digitalization)
- Acclimatization and integration
- Workplace
- Family life (childcare, school and education, family friendliness)
- Financial situation
Data on 68 countries were evaluated:
According to that, right now the best places to be for expats are Bahrain, Taiwan, Ecuador, Mexico, Singapore, Portugal, Costa Rica, Spain, Colombia, and the Czech Republic.
The least attractive places, however, are Great Britain, Greece, Italy, Peru, Egypt, Turkey, Brazil, India, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait.
And where does Germany stand in this ranking?
Germany only managed 36th place, losing 16 places compared to the previous year!
A major reason for this is the newly introduced ‘digitalization’ category under ‘Quality of life’:
Of all countries surveyed, Germany ranks among the 10 who bring up the rear.
In this context, availability of public online services was examined, as well as the possibility to pay cashless. In particular, many expats regard the unbroken popularity of cash as backward, if not antediluvian.
Expats take a positive view of the possibilities of working in Germany, and of occupational health and safety:
In this field, Germany managed 8th place, the best evaluation by far of all categories. In addition, also the educational system receives high marks.
In contrast to this, however, many expats find it extremely difficult to take root in Germany and establish social contacts:
Above all, it is the language that acts as an enormous barrier here. Without an adequate command of German, getting into private contact with Germans is next to impossible. And there is also the fact that we in Germany still tend to keep our working and private lives separate, which means that workplace contacts will not automatically lead to joint leisure activities with colleagues.
Hence, if German organizations are vying for experts at a global level and want to retain them in the long term, it will become increasingly important to support them intensively in learning the language and understanding the German way of life. This is the only way for expatriates and their families to feel at home in Germany in the long run.
