The survey, with nearly 12,000respondents in 52 destinations, offers in-depth information on expats’ satisfactionwith the Quality of Life, Ease of Settling In, Working Abroad, and PersonalFinances in their respective country of residence. For the first time, theranking also includes the Expat Essentials Index, which covers digitallife, admin topics, housing, and language.
The survey highlighted that Vietnamexcels when it comes to Personal Finance, ranking first worldwide in thisindex. The majority of expats (80%) are happy with the general cost of living,compared to only 45% globally.
There is no stress when it comes totheir financial situation: about four in five (79%) are satisfied with thisfactor (compared to 60% globally), and 92% said that their disposable householdincome is enough or more than enough to lead a comfortable life (compared tothe 72% globally). “I live comfortably on my limited income,” said a USAmerican expat.
Expats in Vietnam ranked thecountry 9th in the Ease of Settling, and 6th in the LocalFriendliness. Most expats (84%) described the local residents as generallyfriendly, and 83% find them friendly towards foreign residents in particular.
“The warmth, honesty, andfriendliness of the people” are what a US American enjoys most about life inVietnam, while a Malaysian expat highlights “the people and the friendlyculture”.
Indeed, the local culture isanother area where expats are especially pleased. About 83% feel welcome inVietnam while the world proportion is 71%.
The survey noted that creating apersonal network is certainly important to expat life. Expats ranked Vietnamamong the top 10 in the Finding Friends Subcategory (7th), saying it is easy tobefriend locals (54%).
More than two in three (69%) are happywith their social life while globally, 56% feel the same. Moreover, 63% have apersonal support network in Vietnam, and they said can go to forpractical/emotional support (vs. 59% globally).
Meanwhile, concerns among expatsliving and working in Vietnam include the urban environment, the availabilityof green goods and services, the air quality, health & well-being, localbureaucracy, opening a local bank account and cashless payment./.
VNA