Cities in North America
8. Mexico City, Mexico
Mexico City ranks 8th out of 57 in the Expat City Ranking 2021, making it into the top 5 of three indices. It performs best in the Getting Settled Index (2nd), following right after Kuala Lumpur (1st) and even ranking 1st in the Feeling Welcome Subcategory. Expats find it very easy to get used to the local culture (93% vs. 65% globally) and feel at home in Mexico City (80% vs. 65% globally). They are also happy with their social life (67% vs. 57% globally) and find it easy to make new friends (73% vs. 48% globally). It might help that 88% of expats describe the local people as generally friendly towards foreign residents (vs. 67% globally).
Mexico’s capital also performs very well in the Local Cost of Living (5th) and Finance & Housing (4th) Indices: close to three-quarters (73%) are satisfied with their financial situation (vs. 64% globally), and 92% say that their disposable household income is enough or more than enough to cover their expenses (vs. 77% globally). Moreover, housing is both affordable (60% vs. 42% globally) and easy to find (74% vs. 60% globally).
On the downside, Mexico City only ranks 42nd in the Urban Work Life Index. While overall job satisfaction is high (6th), working hours (52nd) are rated negatively by 25% (vs. 16% globally). The city even ends up in the bottom 10 of the Quality of Urban Living Index (49th). Well over four times the global average do not feel safe in Mexico City (37% vs. 8% globally). In addition, expats are dissatisfied with the public transportation system (30% vs. 20% globally) and rate the urban environment negatively (25% vs. 16% globally). “There is a lot of noise and environmental pollution in the city,” shares a Venezuelan expat. However, they love the climate and weather (88% vs. 66% globally) and the local leisure options (81% vs. 72% globally).
25. Vancouver, Canada
Ranking 25th out of 57 in the Expat City Ranking 2021, Vancouver performs best in the Getting Settled Index (9th). Expats find it easy to get used to the local culture (81% vs. 65% globally) and feel at home there (73% vs. 65% globally). Interestingly, expats in Vancouver also find it easier to make friends (21st) and are happier with their social life (22nd) than those in Toronto (38th and 41st, respectively).
Vancouver ranks nearly as well in the Quality of Urban Living Index (13th). Apart from the political stability (10th) and the affordability of healthcare (10th), which are rated positively across Canada in general, expats point out the urban environment (2nd) as a particular highlight. More than nine in ten (91%) are happy with this factor (vs. 71% globally), and 61% even consider it very good (vs. 32% globally). Only Stockholm (1st) ranks better in this regard. “I love the peaceful environment, the beautiful surroundings, and the closeness to nature,” says a female expat from Poland about life in Vancouver.
While its result in the Urban Work Life Index (29th) is still all right, Vancouver ends up in the bottom 10 for two indices. It ranks 53rd in the Local Cost of Living Index: 72% are unhappy with this factor, compared to 34% globally. It also places 54th in the Finance & Housing Index, only ahead of Milan (55th), Munich (56th), and Dublin (57th). More than a quarter (27%) are unhappy with their financial situation (vs. 19% globally), and 42% say that their disposable household income is not enough to cover expenses (vs. 23% globally). To make things worse, housing is hard to find (33% vs. 23% globally) and to afford (75% vs. 39% globally). More than two in five (41%) even consider it to be completely unaffordable, compared to 12% globally.
27. Toronto, Canada
Toronto ranks 27th out of 57 in the Expat City Ranking, performing best in the Getting Settled Index (17th). More than four in five expats (82%) describe the locals as generally friendly towards foreign residents (vs. 67% globally), and 75% find it easy to get used to the local culture (vs. 65% globally). “I like how multicultural Canada is,” says a female expat from Turkey. “I have friends from all over the world.” Nevertheless, 44% find it hard to make new friends (vs. 32% globally), and 32% are unhappy with their social life (vs. 25% globally).
Toronto also performs well in the Urban Work Life Index (27th), even slightly better than Vancouver (29th). This is mainly due to expats’ high satisfaction with their work-life balance (76% vs. 66% globally) and working hours (75% vs. 66% globally). In fact, the average working week (full-time and part-time jobs combined) is shorter in Toronto (36.1 hours) than in Vancouver (37.9 hours) — and both cities are well below the global average (39.9 hours).
While the city does well enough in the Quality of Urban Living Index (28th), this is not the case in the Finance & Housing Index (48th). The Finance Subcategory (52nd) is the bigger issue: 30% are unhappy with their financial situation (vs. 19% globally), and 35% say that their disposable household income is not enough to cover expenses (vs. 23% globally). The Housing Subcategory (36th) looks better at first glance, but housing is still unaffordable (67% vs. 39% globally) and hard to find (28% vs. 23% globally). “Housing costs are astronomical,” a male expat from the USA complains. Lastly, Toronto ranks 39th in the Local Cost of Living Index, which is a lot better than Vancouver (53rd), but 54% are still unhappy with this factor (vs. 34% globally).
48. New York City, USA
Coming 48th out of 57 in the Expat City Ranking 2021, New York even places second to last in the Local Cost of Living Index (56th), just ahead of Geneva (57th). In fact, three-quarters of expats (75%) are dissatisfied with the cost of living in New York, compared to just 34% globally. New York also performs poorly in the Finance & Housing Index (47th), especially for one factor in the Housing Subcategory (44th): 78% of expats find housing in New York not affordable (vs. 39% globally).
The Quality of Urban Living Index (48th) does not look much better. Expats are worried about the political stability (48% vs. 16% globally) and their personal safety (28% vs. 8% globally). A Filipino expat shares: “I do not like the political and social instability.” Healthcare is also an issue since expats find it unaffordable (67% vs. 21% globally) and rate its availability negatively (25% vs. 11% globally). While 25% are also unhappy with New York’s urban environment (vs. 16% globally), 84% rate the local leisure options positively (vs. 72% globally). The city even ranks 2nd out of 57 for this factor, right after Madrid (1st).
New York gets mixed results in the Urban Work Life Index (35th). On the one hand, expats are very happy with the local career opportunities (69% vs. 45% globally), but on the other hand, they rate their work-life balance negatively (38% vs. 17% globally). What is more, 26% view their job security negatively, compared to 20% globally. The results in the Getting Settled Index (20th) are a lot better: expats find it very easy to get used to the local culture (77% vs. 65% globally) and feel at home in New York (70% vs. 65% globally).
