An organization called Nation Ranking recently released its 2011 Quality of Life Index. One hundred thirty-seven countries were ranked according to:

“a nation’s livability for its average inhabitant. It is a composite of six sub-indexes, each describing one of the elements which objectively influence the quality of life: health, education, wealth, democracy, peace and environment.”

You can find the entire report here. I’ve pulled out the Top 10 for you in the overall Quality of Life and several of the sub-categories.

Countries with the Best Quality of Life

1. Iceland
2. Norway
3. Sweden
4. Switzerland
5. Luxembourg
6. Austria
7. Finland
8. New Zealand
9. Germany
10. Canada

Additional rankings that might interest you: Australia is #14, France is #15, the United Kingdom — current scene of riots — comes in at #19, the US at #31. Expat haven Costa Rica is #36, Panama #44, Malaysia #50, Thailand #71. Not surprisingly, the bottom 10 include Haiti, Afghanistan, and eight impoverished African countries.

Also interesting to me are the sub-rankings.

Health

Factored into the Health index were life expectancy at birth, infant mortality and access to health care. “Mortality amenable to health care (when available)” was also a factor.

1. Singapore
2. Iceland
3. Japan
4. Australia
5. France
6. Canada
7. Switzerland
8. Spain
9. Israel
10. Sweden

The UK comes in at #18 here, and the US is #39 (behind Slovenia, Cuba, Hungary, Croatia, Poland, Chile, Bosnia, Serbia and Kuwait).

Education

This one was full of surprises, for me at least. The study looked at the adult literacy rate, school life expectancy and PISA results (when available). The PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) is a set of standardized tests given to 15-year-old students throughout the world. Including those results for some countries but not for others might account for some of the surprising rankings.

1. Finland
2. S. Korea
3. Canada
4. New Zealand
5. Cuba
6. Estonia
7. Netherlands
8. Australia
9. Switzerland
10. Germany

One of the surprises was #11, N. Korea. I really don’t understand how any educational system that relies on basically fabricated versions of “history” can get good grades. . .

The UK was #17, the US #22.

Democracy and Peace

Results were based on Freedom House and Global Peace Index studies.

Not too many surprises here. The Scandinavian countries scored highest in the Democracy category, with the US, Canada and the UK at #15, #17 and #17 respectively (there were several ties).

Countries without standing armies scored highest for Peace — New Zealand, Iceland, Japan, Austria and Norway were the top five. Canada was #14, Australia #19, the UK #31, and the US came in at #81. Last were Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan, Sudan and Pakistan — again, no surprises.

Environment

Again, not many surprises here. Iceland claimed the #1 spot, followed by

1. Iceland
2. Switzerland
3. Costa Rica
4. Sweden
5. Norway
6. France
7. Austria
8. Cuba
9. Colombia
10. Finland

The UK was #12, New Zealand #13, Panama #21, Mexico #37, Canada #40, and the US straggled in at #52.

photo by o pallson on flickr

Were you surprised by any of these results? If so, which ones?

It’s been a while since I shared some of the expat-related blogs and websites I’ve been reading. Time for another roundup of interesting blogs by and about expats! Here are an even dozen for your enjoyment.

Africa

Africa Expat Wives, a UK citizen moves to Africa two days after her marriage, and raises a family there.

Middle East

Intercultural Meanderings. Lynne Diligent, a long-time expat and Middle Eastern resident since 1990, writes about interesting questions relating to intercultural business, expat issues and multicultural issues.

Asia

Our Big Expat Adventure, moving the family from Australia to Singapore.

The Dropout Diaries. No, not education related, this is one person’s account of packing it all in and going to China to teach. . . and what happens next.

The Sublime Portal, an online community and reference sites for all things Turkey.

Europe

Kitchen Chinese Adventures in Food, France and Beyond with chef and journalist Ann Mah.

Expat-En-Provence, tales of a young American woman in the south of France.

Central and South America

What’s Up El Salvador, an American woman falls in love with El Salvador and moves there with her husband and young daughter.

Xpat Escape tells about one woman’s move to Panama, with stunningly gorgeous photos.

Ecuador 4 U, a lovely photo blog about life in Ecuador.

Global Nomads

The Displaced Nation, a site devoted to global nomads.

Unwire Me — Work Anytime from Anywhere. All about portable careers.

If you’d like to see more of the sites I follow, check out my bookmarks page on Delicious.com – it’s all there!

Do you have an expat blog or website you’d like to recommend? You can share it on Facebook, or add it to the Comments below.

Last week we published the top cities in the world for high cost of expat living. Now it’s time to flip it around and show you the lowest-cost cities. I explained the methodology here.

While most of the high cost-of-living cities are in the Pacific Rim and Europe, most of the lowest cost cities are in Africa.

So, without further ado, here are the least expensive cities for expats in the world.

1. Sanaa, Yemen
2. NukuAlofa, Tonga
3. Tripoli, Libya
4. Thimpu, Bhutan
5. Colombo, Sri Lanka
6. Phnom Penh, Cambodia
7. La Paz, Bolivia
8. Tunis, Tunisia
9. Kampala, Uganda
10. Dushanbe, Tajikistan

The question is, would you want to actually live in any of them?

I confess I don’t know much about these cities. I’m quite sure I wouldn’t be happy in Libya, Yemen or Tajikistan.

Other notable low-cost cities include Pyongyang, Korea (287), Tianjin, China (284), Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzogovina (282), Kathmandu, Nepal (281) and Quito, Ecuador (280). In the United States, Indianapolis, IN (285), Memphis, TN (272) and El Paso, TX (270) are the least expensive cities ranked.

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam ranks at 264.

Low-cost cities in countries already popular with expats include Belmopon, Belize (256), Panama City, Panama (216), San Jose, Costa Rica (206), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (198), Bangkok, Thailand (181), Mexico City, Mexico (180) and Manila, Phillipines (177).

The lowest-ranked western European city is Gibraltar (183).

Could you see yourself living in any of the the lowest-cost cities?

Social networking is playing an ever-increasing role in our lives. With a computer and an internet connection, an expat can investigate their new overseas location and connect with people already there.

There are many ways you can use social networking to ease your overseas move — before, during and after. Besides the obvious sites like Facebook and Twitter, there are lots of social networking sites expats and future expats can take advantage of. Here are just a few you might find helpful.

1. Boomers Abroad. Geared toward baby boomers, and therefore retirement, this site bills itself as

   "the Expat and Future Expat Online Community. Meet, contact, connect, network,…with others that already live abroad and with those that would like to live abroad. Ask, learn, share with us your experiences."

   "At Boomer Abroad Online Community we strive to fill the information gap and educate and update Baby Boomers on the news, trends and opportunities in Latin America & The Caribbean.”

   
   

   Boomers Abroad focuses on Latin America, so if you’re interested in Europe or Asia, this is not the place for you. But if you’re looking toward Mexico, Panama, or any other Latin American country, you’ll find an active forum, news, expat blogs and other resources, including a job board.

2. Expat Forum claims to be the largest online community with 60,000 members who have either moved abroad or want to. There are forums for a long list of countries, as well as articles and news. Some of the countries include:
   • Australia
   • Cyprus
   • Dubai
   • Egypt
   • France
   • Germany
   • Greece
   • Hong Kong
   • Japan
   • Mexico
   • Philippines
   • Singapore
   • South Africa
   • Thailand

3. Go South Expat is a social site dedicated exclusively to living in South America. News, forums, blogs, and an ezine cover:
   • Argentina
   • Bolivia
   • Brazil
   • Chile
   • Colombia
   • Ecuador
   • Paraguay
   • Peru
   • Uruguay
   • Venezuela

   One of the unique features of this site is the ability to set up a private, password-protected forum area exclusively for you and your invited guests. There is a fee to do so, although they offer a free 30-day trial.

   Another social networking site devoted to Latin America is Gringos.com.

4. Expat Focus “aims to make life easier for anyone moving or living abroad by being the most comprehensive information and support resource for expatriates on the Web today.” It provides destination information, opinions and advice from experienced expats on the ground, forums, and even a podcast. Their country list is extensive and worldwide.

5. Expat Exchange "been helping expats navigate international relocation and the phases of culture shock” since 1997. Their list of country forums ranges from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, with pretty much everything in between.

6. Expat Blog is “the living abroad website, by expats for expats.” They offer information and advice on most countries on every continent. Their forums, organized by country, include discussions and classified ads.

7. Expat Forums is a bulletin board site. The list of countries is limited, but if you’re interested in Australia, Canada, Dubai, Japan, New Zealand, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UK or the US, you’ll find some value here.

8. The Expat Directory has a forums section. However, I personally find the site a bit off-putting as it’s filled with advertisements.

9. Live Mocha is a language-learning site that calls itself “the world’s largest language-learning community.” It gives you the opportunity to connect with native language speakers in the countries you’re interested in. It’s a great chance to make friends with future neighbors who are interested in learning your language.

   No discussion about social networking for expats and wannabes would be complete without a mention of the new Facebook Groups, rolled out yesterday. It’s too early to tell, but these groups look like they have tremendous possibilities for making discussions bewteen members super easy. It’s not a group yet, but check out Future Expats Facebook Page and we’ll see who’s interested in starting one of the new Groups.

   _____________________________
   

   Finance Your New Life Overseas

   The Versatile Freelancer
   ______________________________
   ]]> http://futureexpats.com/social-networking-for-expats/feed 3 http://futureexpats.com/10-best-expat-destinations http://futureexpats.com/10-best-expat-destinations#comments Tue, 07 Sep 2010 15:36:18 +0000 FutureExpat http://futureexpats.com/?p=2654
   
   

   A few days ago, I posted the results of International Living’s 2010 Annual Retirement Index. Topping this prestigious list are

   1. Ecuador
   2. Panama
   3. Mexico
   4. France
   5. Italy

   Today I’m looking at a very different list: this one includes the 10 Most Suitable Countries for American Expatriates.
   
   
   
   According to the website Expatify.com, they considered these important criteria:

   • How receptive is the local culture to Americans?

   • How popular is the country for American expats already?
   • Can you manage speaking only English?
   • Is there overlap between local and American customs?
   • Ease of finding jobs and affodability?

   If you truly want to immerse yourself in a very different culture, this is not the list of countries you should consider. But if you want to go someplace where you can fit in fairly easily, consider the following countries:

   1. Argentina

   2. Thailand
   3. Czech Republic
   4. Australia
   5. Italy
   6. Brazil
   7. Spain
   8. Mexico
   9. South Africa
   10. Costa Rica
   
   
   
   ]]> http://futureexpats.com/10-best-expat-destinations/feed 1 http://futureexpats.com/9-expat-blogs-to-follow http://futureexpats.com/9-expat-blogs-to-follow#comments Mon, 12 Apr 2010 21:00:44 +0000 FutureExpat http://futureexpats.com/?p=1848
   
   

   It’s been a while since I’ve done any kind of list, so I thought I’d give you a look today at some of the expat blogs I follow, and that you might find helpful, too.
   
   

   1. Empty Nest Expat. Currently living in Prague, the blogger describes herself as “an American expatriate bursting with enthusiasm to GET OUT AND EXPERIENCE OUR GLOBE! ”

   2. Living In the Sun. This is a website with four offshoot blogs, each dealing with a European/Mediterranean country. There’s one for France, Portugal, Spain and Greece.
   3. Soul Travelers 3. Two fifty-something parents and a nine-year old travel the world in “an epic odyssey: open-ended, years long slow trip around the world as a family adventure, unschool, spiritual journey and lifestyle.”
   4. Expat+Harem. A Berkely, CA native living in Istanbul with her Turkish husband.
   5. My Several Worlds. The author is a traveler and photographer. Originally from Ottawa, Canada, she currently lives and works in Taipei. Her site features gorgeous photos, as well as information about teaching English abroad.
   6. Career by Choice. Megan Fitzgerald helps expats develop their careers abroad.
   7. Traveling4Health. While not specifically an expat blog, this is a terrific resource for anyone interested in health care abroad.
   8. Mid-Atlantic English, the blog of an American who’s lived for an extended time in the UK.
   9. The Cranky Yank. This is the personal blog of Dan Prescher from International Living, and he always has a unique perspective.

      Do you have a favorite expat blog? Share it by clicking on the Comment link below.

      ]]> http://futureexpats.com/9-expat-blogs-to-follow/feed 7 http://futureexpats.com/bahrain-worlds-friendliest-country http://futureexpats.com/bahrain-worlds-friendliest-country#comments Wed, 09 Dec 2009 01:40:04 +0000 FutureExpat http://futureexpats.com/?p=1063
      
      

      According to Forbes.com, Bahrain scored the top spot in HSBC’s recent survey of 3,100 expats. They admit this might be a fluke — only 31 responses came in from Bahrain, compared to 450 from the UK, for example. But it’s an interesting list, nonetheless. Canada moved down from its No. 1 spot last year to No. 2, followed by Australia, Thailand, Malaysia, South Africa, Hong Kong, Singapore, Spain, and in the No. 10 spot, the US.

      Read the article here, and see the scored list of countries here.

      ]]> http://futureexpats.com/bahrain-worlds-friendliest-country/feed 0 http://futureexpats.com/expat-survey http://futureexpats.com/expat-survey#comments Mon, 06 Jul 2009 20:43:35 +0000 FutureExpat http://futureexpats.com/?p=482
      
      

      Expat Explorer Survey: Expat Economics

      

      St Basil's Cathedral, Moscow

      HSBC has just released the first segment of its 2009 Expat Explorer Survey, Expat Economics. Over 3100 expats working in 26 countries were questioned about their financial circumstances. The survey respondents were all expats who were employed full time in their expat country. Some of the findings were no surprise, but others are worth noting.

      Expats in the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries whose economies are growing rapidly did well. So did expats in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore. In fact, most of the positive movement was in the East.

      Expats surveyed were able to save more if they were in Russia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, India and UAE than they could at home. Expats in France, Spain, UK, Japan and the USA saved less. Disposable income was highest in Qatar, Russia, Japan, UAE and Saudi Arabia, lowest in Belgium, Australia, Germany, Canada and France.

      Expats in the US and UK were most likely to cut back their spending on essentials.

      The survey also looked at quality of life regionally, in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific and the Americas. The report didn’t specify what the quality of life rankings included, but their results were a little surprising: Switzerland, Qatar, Russia and Mexico held the top spots for their respective regions.

      
      The biggest surprise to me was the country that’s home to the wealthiest expats – Russia.

      You can download the full report here.

      Have a comment? Click the link below.

      ]]> http://futureexpats.com/expat-survey/feed 1