The Kingdom of Bahrain has topped 2017's InterNations Expat Insider survey:
The reputations of the U.S. and U.K. as good places to live and work are in free fall among some of the world's most mobile and cosmopolitan people. Since last year's presidential and Brexit votes, both the U.S. and Britain are perceived as less friendly to foreigners and less politically stable, according to a survey of almost 13,000 expatriates of 166 nationalities. Expats also say the two countries' quality of life is declining by other measures, especially the affordability of child care and health care in the U.S. and housing in the U.K.
[...] The top-ranked country in 2017 is Bahrain, given high marks by its expats as a place to work and raise a family and for making foreigners feel welcome. It vastly outranks Persian Gulf neighbors such as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which ranked in the bottom 10 of the 65 countries in the survey.
Greece was at the very bottom of the list, weighed down by the country's economic problems. Australia, which ranked in the top 10 last year, dropped more than any other country, to 34th place. Expats' ratings of jobs, career prospects, work hours and work-life balance all dropped.
One of the expats' favorite places to work is China, where two-thirds of respondents are happy with their careers. But China ranks 55 out of 65 overall because of quality of life. Expats, especially those with children, are concerned about the severe pollution and the quality and cost of health care and education. Elsewhere in Asia, Taiwan, which topped last year's list, slipped to fourth place, while Singapore edged into the top 10. Hong Kong, Singapore's long-time rival, languished at 39th, up five places on last year.
Localized perspectives:
- Expats in Switzerland like the safety but not the locals
- Brexit is killing the expat's dream of moving to Britain
- UK Falls Below Kazakhstan In Top Expat Destination Survey
- Portugal has the best quality of life in the world for expats
- Not such a dolce vita: Italy ranked among worst countries for expat life
- India among least preferred nations to live and work in, say expats
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 13 2017, @03:34AM (1 child)
I guess it depends on who you ask. [duckduckgo.com]
(Score: 5, Touché) by realDonaldTrump on Wednesday September 13 2017, @05:14AM
If you ask me, the Kingdom of Bahrain is terrific. Our countries have a wonderful relationship together, but there has been a little strain, but there won’t be strain with this administration. We’re going to have a very, very long-term relationship. I look forward to it very much -- many of the same things in common. King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa threw a huge, huge party at my hotel in Washington. To celebrate his accession to the throne. Before my huge, huge inauguration. So the Emoluments Clause doesn't apply! 🇺🇸
(Score: 5, Informative) by n1 on Wednesday September 13 2017, @04:25AM (3 children)
One can assume the results of this survey are based on experiences of english speaking westeners working in financial services or the energy industries, the majority or foreign workers however...
https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/09/30/bahrain-abuse-migrant-workers-despite-reforms [hrw.org]
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 13 2017, @05:23AM (2 children)
Well, that's just it. Rich white males from the US/UK/Europe/Australia are "ex-pats". Sure they'll do great in places like Bahrain. All the rest are "migrants" and "refugees". How many black people are in this little "survey" of theirs? Let's ask them what their favorite country is. The whole thing sounds bogus.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 13 2017, @05:32AM (1 child)
The thing isn't bogus, it's useful. For rich white male ex-pats.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by bob_super on Wednesday September 13 2017, @05:34PM
The target audience is obviously boardrooms trying to decide where to open the EMEA office.
(Score: 5, Informative) by Shinobi on Wednesday September 13 2017, @05:35AM (3 children)
Some of the reasons US/UK/Canadian expats are moderately tolerated most of the time, and sometimes heavily disliked:
Entitlement attitudes
Refusing to learn Swedish
Whining about road signs etc being in Swedish, despite having lived here for several years
Whining about companies, government and other organisations having swedish menus and such as the primary choice on websites and over telephone, and that they need to wait for a few seconds to be told how to switch to the english menu
Expecting everyone around them to adopt their mannerisms(No, seriously, as an example, the worthless fucking US expats that have their kids in the same school that one of mine attends whined about how no other kid was dressed up for St. Patricks day. Newsflash, we don't care if you celebrate it. It's just not something we celebrate, so fuck off with your demands that we celebrate something that doesn't mean anything to us!)
Treating stores as playgrounds for their children, while the parents go and do other things
I've neither read any complaints about Swedish use, nor have I met any aussie expats who've displayed the above examples yet. The aussie expats I've met have all made a point of trying to learn a passable level of everyday swedish inside of 3 years of coming here, which is an interesting cultural difference.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 13 2017, @01:37PM (1 child)
Do you mind if I use English to call the Waaaambulance for you?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 13 2017, @05:43PM
Make sure you have a spare Waaaambulance to dispatch to the whites in the USA who hate Mexicans for the same reasons.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 13 2017, @01:45PM
Refusing to learn Arabic.
FTFY
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 13 2017, @05:41AM
"expats" - douchebag migrant workers.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by KritonK on Wednesday September 13 2017, @07:57AM
Greece has always been at the bottom of most lists, except when a list is about something bad, in which case Greece is usually at the top. Why should we treat this list any differently and break our record?
Things may be bad for US/UK expats in Greece, but they are actually a lot worse for most of the Greeks themselves...
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 13 2017, @09:29AM
All we need is an indentured working class stripped almost entirely of rights and more grossly extravagant outlets and venues for those with money, and one day we too can become just as amazing a place as Bahrain. We're getting there!
(Score: 2) by bart9h on Wednesday September 13 2017, @06:38PM
Well, I guess all the XML must be well formed there.