Friendly people, local friends, and a comfortable atmosphere. If this is what you think about when the word “moving abroad” comes to your mind, don’t miss the top 10 most welcoming countries for expats.
Don’t go to the typical expat destinations if you want to meet friendly people –this is the main conclusion one can take after reading the latest Expat Insider Survey carried out by Internations. The truth is that among the top 10 most welcoming destinations for expats, only Canada, on the 10th position, can be considered a traditional expat hub.
Portugal, the most welcoming expat destination
The good news is that you don’t necessarily need to move extremely far to find a pleasant and welcoming environment. Portugal, just a few hours away from Hungary, is actually the leader of this ranking.
A friendly, ready to help and caring population are some of the adjectives assigned by expats to the Portuguese people. In fact, 94% of the expats living in the country consider that Portuguese have a friendly attitude towards expats and the charm of Portuguese citizens seems to be as overwhelming that almost half of the survey participants are likely to stay in the country forever (47%) – if this is true or not, only the time can tell!
US: Worse attitude towards foreigners
On the other side, expats who want to live the “American dream” are experiencing more and more struggles. Although most of the expat have a positive attitude towards the locals (59% define them as welcoming and 64% as outgoing), establishing long-lasting connections with the locals is becoming harder. 35% of the expats living in the USA consider it difficult to have local friends. Due to the country’s size, this can vary considerably depending on the area of residency inside the USA. However, as stated in the Expat Insider Survey, a lot of expats find the US culture considerably different to their own one. As one Ukrainian expat living there mentioned: “People are really friendly on the outside, but in fact, they don’t care”. If this thought can’t be generalized, it’s not clear, however, 19% of the expats living in the US reported that they don’t feel at home there.
Top welcoming countries for expats
1. Portugal
2. Taiwan
3. Mexico
4. Cambodia
5. Bahrain
6. Costa Rica
7. Oman
8. Colombia
9. Vietnam
10. Canada
Either if you are moving to Portugal or Taiwan, to Germany or to the US, contact our consultants for a personalized assessment and quote of your international relocation.