Expat Insider - The World Through Expat Eyes

Expat Insider 2024
Ease of Settling In Index for Cities

Expat Insider 2024

Discover the Top Cities to Feel at Home Abroad in 2024

Spanish destinations dominate when it comes to the Ease of Settling In Index, while German cities disappoint. So where exactly should you head for the warmest welcome?

Methodology
Experiencing a Warm Welcome in Málaga (1st)
Meet the Friendliest Locals in Mexico City (2nd)
Enjoying a Great Social Life in Alicante (3rd)
No Bavarian Gemütlichkeit for Expats in Munich (53rd)
A Lack of Local Friends in Hamburg (52nd)
Berlin (51st), No Home for Expats?
Trends in the Top 10
Trends in the Bottom 10
The Biggest Winners in 2024
The Biggest Losers in 2024
Full Ranking
Further Reading
External References

Disclaimer: Data for the Expat City Ranking was collected in February 2024 prior to the floods in some regions of Spain that occurred in October and November. It therefore does not reflect the impact of these catastrophic events.

The Top 10

Methodology

The Ease of Settling In Index is made up of three subcategories with two to three factors each.

Culture & Welcome takes at look at whether expats feel at home and welcome in a city, as well as how easy it is to get used to the culture there.

The Local Friendliness Subcategory is based on the friendliness of the local population — both in general and towards foreign residents in particular.

Finding Friends considers three factors: whether expats feel they have a personal support network in their new city; if they’re happy with their social life; and how easy they find it to make local friends.

To be included in the index, a city had to have a minimum of 50 respondents. In 2024, a total of 53 cities met this requirement.

Experiencing a Warm Welcome in Málaga (1st)

Málaga checks all the boxes when it comes to the Ease of Settling In and defends its 1st place in the index. In fact, it ranks among the top 5 for every single underlying factor.

Local residents are perceived as both friendly (84% positive ratings vs. 63% globally) and easy to make friends with (67% vs. 38%). Consequently, expats very much agree that they have a personal support network and are happy with their social life — Málaga ranks 1st for both factors.

“What I enjoy about life here? The weather and climate, the possibility to travel, and the friendly environment and people.” – Belarusian expat

Expats find it easy to get used to the local culture (78% vs. 59% globally), too. And around four in five feel both at home (84% vs. 58%) and welcome in Málaga (80% vs. 63% globally). In fact, 61% give the latter the best possible rating, more than double the global average of 28%.

It’s worth noting that the Expat Insider survey was conducted in February, prior to the protests against overtourism that happened in many Spanish cities in 2024, including Málaga.¹

Meet the Friendliest Locals in Mexico City (2nd)

Mexico and Mexico City regularly rank among the best destinations in the Ease of Settling In Index, and 2024 is no exception: Mexico City places 2nd. Like Málaga, it receives stellar results across all areas of the index.

“I really appreciate the openness and kindness of the Mexicans. I’m enjoying a fantastic social life!” – French expat

Over three in four respondents (77%) share this sentiment and agree they’re happy with their social life (vs. 52% globally). According to 72% of expats — nearly twice the global average (38%) — it’s easy to make Mexican friends. In fact, an above-average share are friends with mostly local residents (28% vs. 17% globally).

The fact that Mexicans are friendly in general (1st) and towards foreign residents in particular (1st) surely helps here. As a consequence, more than half of expats (52%) feel completely welcome in the city, compared to just 28% of respondents worldwide. And they also find it easy to get used to the local culture (1st).

Enjoying a Great Social Life in Alicante (3rd)

With Alicante, a second Spanish city finds its way into the top 3 of the Ease of Settling In Index. As in Málaga, expats there feel very much welcome (4th) and at home (2nd). Over four in five agree that the people there are nice towards foreign residents (82% vs. 61% globally) and in general (83% vs. 63%).

Making local friends is thus easy, according to nearly two-thirds of expats (62%). Worldwide, only 38% say the same. Though interestingly, expats in Alicante aren’t more likely to be friends with mostly local residents than the global average (18% vs. 17% globally).

“I love the outdoor life and the ease of meeting people.” – British expat

Close to three-quarters of respondents (73%) are happy with their social life, over 20 percentage points more than the global average of 52%. And while Alicante receives its “worst” result in the index in regard to personal support networks, it’s still in a very good 9th place!

No Bavarian Gemütlichkeit for Expats in Munich (53rd)

Munich has never performed well when it comes to the ease of settling in. Its last place in the 2024 index is a new low, however.

Over two in five expats (41%) find it difficult to get used to the local culture (vs. 21% globally). And they feel neither welcome (52nd) nor at home (50th) in the Bavarian capital. Munich ranks dead last when it comes to the friendliness of the local population towards foreign residents (53rd): close to half the respondents (46%) give this factor a negative rating (vs. 20% globally).

“It’s difficult to make any sort of social contact with locals.” – Italian expat

When asked about their friends, most expats in Munich say they’re fellow expats (54% vs. 37% globally). In fact, close to two-thirds (65%) find it difficult to make local friends in Munich (vs. 41% globally), and only 37% are happy with their social life (vs. 52%).

A Lack of Local Friends in Hamburg (52nd)

Hamburg has a reputation for a wet and cold climate — but according to expats, it’s not just the weather that lacks warmth.

“The locals are cold and not welcoming towards foreigners.” – Spanish expat

The city ranks last (53rd) when it comes to respondents feeling welcome, and close to half (44%) say they don’t feel at home in Hamburg (vs. 23% globally). The struggle to get used to the local culture (51st) is one contributing factor here.

Another is the unfriendliness of the locals. Only 42% of respondents find that Hamburg’s population is friendly, a result that’s more than 20 percentage points below the global average of 63%. Making local friends is thus difficult according to 73% of expats, with close to a third (31%) giving this factor the worst possible rating (vs. a global 41% and 17%, respectively).

In fact, for nearly half of respondents in Hamburg (49%), their circle of friends consists of mainly other expats (vs. 37% globally). And many point out that they don’t have a personal support network in the city, ranking Hamburg 50th for this factor.

Berlin (51st), No Home for Expats?

The final spot among the three worst cities for settling in again goes to a German destination: Berlin ranks 51st in the index, though it’s the first of the three to not land in the bottom 10 for every factor of the index.

However, even its best result here — Berlin’s 41st place for how happy respondents are with their social life — is nothing to write home about. As in Munich and Hamburg, expats struggle to feel at home (53rd) and welcome (51st) in the German capital.

“Even if I understand the language, I just don't feel welcome.” – Hungarian expat

The local population seems to be both unfriendly and difficult to connect with. In fact, Berlin ranks last in the Local Friendliness Subcategory (53rd), and 64% of respondents disagree with the statement that it’s easy to make local friends (vs. 41% globally).

Trends in the Top 10

Málaga
Mexico City
Alicante
Valencia
Ras Al Khaimah
Bangkok
Madrid
Panama City
Nairobi
Muscat

Next to Málaga (1st) and Alicante (3rd), two more Spanish cities join the top 10 of the Ease of Settling In Index: Valencia in 4th place and Madrid in 7th. All four perform extremely well across all factors of the index. In fact, Valencia’s 13th place for the ease of making local friends is the “worst” result among them.

Two of the ten best cities for settling in can be found in the Americas: Panama City (8th) joins Mexico City (2nd). While the latter ranks 1st in the Local Friendliness Subcategory, this is Panama City’s weakest area — though it still places 10th. Close to three-quarters of respondents (73%) agree the local residents are friendly, compared to 91% in Mexico City and 63% worldwide. Expats in Panama City are also less likely to have mostly local friends (6% vs. 28% in Mexico City and 17% globally).

Ras Al Khaimah (5th) and Muscat (10th) represent the Middle East in the top 10, with Dubai (11th) and Riyadh (12th) close behind. The two cities perform well across the index but stand out especially for how easy expats find it to get used to the local culture (Ras Al Khaimah 6th; Muscat 9th) as well as for the general friendliness of the population (7th; 3rd).

Bangkok (6th) and Nairobi (9th) are the odd ones out among the top 10. Expats feel at home in Bangkok (4th) and love their social life there (4th). Nairobi, meanwhile, makes it particularly easy to make locals friends (2nd) thanks to a population that is friendly towards foreign residents (5th).

Trends in the Bottom 10

Vancouver
Stockholm
Oslo
Basel
Cologne
Zurich
Frankfurt
Berlin
Hamburg
Munich

German cities set what must be a new record, though not a joyous one: half of the 10 worst cities regarding the Ease of Settling In can be found in Germany! Next to the bottom 3 — Munich (53rd), Hamburg (52nd), and Berlin (51st) — there’s Frankfurt in 50th place and Cologne ranking 48th. None of the five do well in the different areas of the index. But what stands out in particular is their performance for making expats feel welcome: ranging from Cologne’s 49th rank to Hamburg’s last place (53rd), they’re the five worst-performing cities when it comes to this factor.

Neighboring country Switzerland is also overrepresented in the bottom 10 with Zurich ranking 49th and Basel 47th. In both cities, the share of respondents who are mostly friends with other expats is very high (65% in Zurich; 58% in Basel vs. 37% globally). A result that doesn’t necessarily surprise: the two rank last (Zurich) and second to last (Basel) for making local friends.

Further north, Oslo (46th) and Stockholm (45th) see similar results. Expats struggle to find local friends and rank the two cities 48th and 47th, respectively, for this factor. They’re also unhappy with their social life (Oslo 51st; Stockholm 45th) and perceive the local population as unfriendly (45th; 50th).

Vancouver completes the bottom 10 as the only non-European city, ranking 44th. It receives below-average results when it comes to getting used to the local culture (31st); the general friendliness towards foreign residents (33rd); and feeling welcome (35th). And it’s also the city where only about a third of respondents (35%) say they have a personal support network (vs. 55% globally), ranking dead last for this factor.

The Biggest Winners in 2024

Riyadh jumps 10 places to rank 12th in the 2024 Ease of Settling In Index. Across all factors of the index, expats regard Saudi Arabia’s capital more favorably than they did in 2023. For instance, while in 2023 three in ten expats (30%) agreed completely that locals are friendly, this share is now at 41% in 2024. Riyadh’s biggest gains can be found in the Culture & Welcome Subcategory, though, where it rises from 30th place in 2023 to rank 14th.

After two years in the bottom 10 of the index, Copenhagen improves enough to rank 38th in 2024. Expats still don’t find it easy to make local friends (46th), but they’re happier with their social life (52% positive ratings vs. 43% in 2023). What’s more, close to three in five (59%) now feel at home in the city. While this share isn’t substantially higher than the 52% who said the same in 2023, it’s a positive development for a factor that has globally seen a downward trend (from 62% positive ratings in 2023 to 58% in 2024).

Vienna (42nd), too, has escaped the bottom 10 of the Ease of Settling In Index after ranking last in 2023. The infamously unfriendly locals are something expats still struggle with — Vienna ranks 51st in the Local Friendliness Subcategory — but expats feel more at home (from 49th to 29th) and are happier with their social life (46th to 23rd), among other things.

The Biggest Losers in 2024

With worse results across all factors of the index, Toronto loses 16 spots to rank 36th in 2024. Respondents feel less at home and welcome in the city, with the share of expats rating these two factors favorably dropping by 12 and 15 percentage points, respectively. And while in 2023 over two-thirds (68%) agreed that locals were friendly towards foreign residents, just 57% say the same in 2024. Even worse, Toronto now ranks in the bottom 3 when it comes to expats’ personal support network (51st), compared to 28th place in 2023.

After a brief respite in 2023 when it ranked 33rd, Stockholm (45th) is back in the bottom 10 of the Ease of Settling In Index. Compared to the previous year, expats are noticeably less satisfied with their social life (from 18th to 45th) and how easy it is to get used to the local culture (30th to 44th). While close to two-thirds of respondents (66%) said they felt at home in Stockholm in 2023, this share is down to 49% in 2024.

Like Stockholm, Zurich couldn’t stay out of the bottom 10 for long, dropping from 37th place in 2023 to rank 49th in 2024. Only a third of expats (33%) find it easy to get used to the local culture, compared to more than half (51%) in 2023. In fact, Zurich ranks last for this factor. And this isn’t the only area for which the city performs worse in 2024. Even its best result in the index — 38th place for feeling at home — is a major step down from its 2023 result when Zurich ranked 20th here.