Bermuda ranks five for expatriates in quality of life
Bermuda delivers one of the best quality of life scores in the world for expatriate residents, according to the HSBC Expat Explorer Survey.
The Island ranks fifth on quality of life in the poll of of more than 4,000 expatriates living in more than 100 countries in the survey's section on Expat Experience.
Thailand, Bahrain, South Africa and Canada were the only countries to do better in the survey.
The survey found that Bermuda, along with Bahrain, were popular with expatriates looking to boost their career prospects and increase their earnings potential.
One of the biggest challenges for expatriates is to make friends in a new country, but Bermuda was top of the league with 80 percent of respondents saying it was easy to make local friends here.
The Shelter Offshore website carried out its own analysis of the top five countries. Here is its analysis:
1. Thailand
This stunning Asian nation consistently ranks highly as one of the friendliest nations where expatriates find it easy to integrate and even find love. It is also now ranking exceptionally well with retirees looking for a more affordable cost of living, as well as a decent quality of life balance.
Thailand is considered a lifetime move by a high proportion of expats surveyed, i.e., it seems that once you make a home in Thailand you really don't want to leave. However, visa issues and dodgy property ownership laws and problems mean that Thailand does have its complications and complexities.
For those marrying a local or legitimately relocating to Thailand for work, the visa issues aren't so complex, and the quality of life on offer can really make any bureaucratic issues seem less significant anyway! You have an almost perfect climate year round, exceptionally beautiful scenery including idyllic beaches and lush flora, and many of the issues relating to poverty and the slightly seedier side of Thailand are improving.
2. Bahrain
This is an excellent country for career-orientated expats looking for a high salary, good job prospects and all the benefits that come hand in hand with these factors. It's not as difficult as many countries in the Middle East when it comes to integration either, although you do of course need a sponsored visa to live and work in Bahrain.
The quality of life on offer is high grade – with excellent healthcare and educational offerings, high grade infrastructure and exceptional weather all being big plus points in this country's favour.
The lifestyle expats enjoy is good, with the social side of life varied and plentiful. Expats can usually afford a housekeeper which can mean they have more time on their hands to enjoy life in Bahrain too.
The cost of living is not cheap however, and Bahrain is not considered as a place to move to for life. It's seemingly a place for working expats who want to earn well, live well and set themselves up for life financially speaking.
3. South Africa
In sharp contrast, South Africa is definitely a life destination as far as the majority of expatriates surveyed were concerned. It was also the country that came out on top in terms of creating a positive first impression for expats because relatively speaking, the ease of relocation to South Africa was reported to be simple.
The only area where expats reported having difficulties was in arranging their finances, and because of the country's reluctance to allow the removal of wealth from the nation at a later date, all expats are certainly urged to consult an expert before moving or receiving any monies into South Africa.
The country scored very well as a place to integrate with ease – although this may be because most expats surveyed were living in well-populated parts of the nation already popular with international citizens! South Africa certainly has good weather and stunning scenery going for it too, it also has high healthcare standards, a large expat community and decent infrastructure…but on the downsides it has well reported incidences of violent crime, an uncertain political landscape and an extreme problem with Aids.
4. Canada
Canada came a close second to South Africa in terms of the ease of relocation and integration. Once an expatriate has overcome the hurdles required to get a visa to relocate to Canada, it seems the entire experience of settling in is relatively smooth. Naturally for Britons the lack of a language barrier in most of Canada helps on this front.
Canada is also considered a relocation destination for life by most expats surveyed, with one of the only main downsides cited being the geographical distance of Canada from the surveyed expatriates' home countries. This was cited as an issue as it meant that expatriates missed their friends and family after immigrating. Achieving an improved quality of life was a reason cited by many expats now living in Canada as a reason behind their original move…and the weather in the nation was cited as one of the most challenging aspects of settling in to life.
5. Bermuda
Finally we come to Bermuda, which ranks alongside Bahrain in terms of the main reasons cited by expats as choosing the destination for relocation - i.e., namely for career and financial prospects. Bermuda is certainly not a destination chosen for cost of living or even ease of integration by expats, but of those who make the move successfully into well-remunerated employment, the majority state that their quality of life is high.
The absolute most critical downside of this destination to cite is that the cost of living is almost unbelievably high however! Therefore you really do have to move to Bermuda and land up in a very highly paid job to really get the most out of your relocation.
Immigration red tape can be challenging too, there is also a very sharp contrast between 'those who have' and 'those who have not' in Bermuda, and until you really get in with the expats you can feel slightly isolated in this rather alien environment.
If you are earning well then yes, you can enjoy the high quality of life available for those who can afford it. You are also more likely to really get the most of the natural benefits of living in Bermuda too such as the climate and geography, the natural environment and the decent local infrastructure.
On the whole Bermuda really does have a lot going for it, but it is only at number five in the rankings because of its very high cost of living!
To access the full survey online, go to: http://www.offshore.hsbc.com/½/international/expat/expat-survey/expat-experience-report-2010.