InterNations has released their latest Expat City Ranking, and it is not very pleasant to read for Copenhageners. The city was 46th overall, but landed particularly low in terms of cost of living and settled in.
Valencia topped the rankings, with Lisbon, Panama City, Singapore and Madrid also placed in the top ten. At the other end of the table, Salmiya finished in Kuwait at the bottom, and Paris, Dublin, Rome and Milan were also among the lowest placed.
Hostile and expensive
Copenhagen is in the top ten for almost all factors included in the Getting Settled Index, with the ease of living there without speaking the local language the only exception. In particular, expatriates seem to be struggling to make new friends, with 59 percent saying it is difficult compared to only 33 percent worldwide.
Perhaps less surprisingly, the city can also be found at the bottom 10 of the Local Index of Living Index table. A total of 72 percent of expats reported dissatisfaction with local living costs as opposed to 36 percent globally, and 16 percent even described themselves as ‘very’ unhappy (compared to only 8 percent worldwide).
A price worth paying?
But that’s not all bad news. Copenhagen ranks 17th in the Quality of Urban Living Index – a result driven by strong performance in both safety and politics (12th place) and the subcategories Health and Environment (10th place).
The city also receives good results in the Urban Work Life Index – ranking 17th overall – mainly as a result of high ratings in the subcategory Work-Life Balance, where the city ranks second. Nearly nine out of ten expatriates (89 percent) rate their working hours positively compared to only 65 percent globally.
Expat City Ranking 2020 is based on responses from over 15,000 expats in 66 cities around the world.
Source: The Nordic Page