The Best Countries For Expats In 2013, According To HSBC's Expat Explorer (PHOTOS)

LOOK: The Best Countries For Expats

If you're sick of your home country and are yearning for a change, you might want to consider settling in Asia for the next chapter of your life.

A new study by HSBC ranks several Asian nations among the best countries for expatriates in 2013. The annual Expat Explorer Survey analyzes the findings from 7,000 expats to rank their new homes according to criteria including economics, experience, and raising children.

When considering all three categories, China comes out on top with high scores in economics and experience. Despite faring poorly in the field of raising children, expats in China report high salaries and better quality of life than in their home countries.

Switzerland tops all nations in terms of economics, though it remains unranked overall due to insufficient data in the raising children category. Hailed as a "beacon of growth," Switzerland instills financial optimism in its new inhabitants, with expats citing strong fiscal policy and healthy markets.

When it comes to experience, however, Thailand outpaces the field, thanks to top scores for healthy diet, working environment, social life, local shops and markets, and local culture. Expats living in Thailand enjoy a high quality of life with little trouble integrating; 76% noted how easy it was to make friends in their new land. And of course, food plays an important role in satisfying these expats. Like Switzerland, however, Thailand also could not be ranked overall because of its lack of data on raising children.

In that category, Germany reigns supreme, with high scores in child education, quality of childcare, and child health and wellbeing. Expat parents laud German education options as cost-effective while still reporting an improvement in the quality of schooling over those available in their home countries. Deutschland also received high scores in economics, helping the nation to place second overall among all three criteria.

The United States ranked 12th overall, hampered by poor scores in both economics and experience. It did, however, place first in local work culture, as well as in several subcategories for raising children. Expats enjoy access to high quality education for their kids and report that their children seem more outgoing and experience a good amount of diversity within their friend circles.

Furthermore, despite ranking 23rd in economics, the U.S. maintains its reputation as a "land of opportunity" among expats. According to the survey, 80% of respondents say they would not leave the country given the choice, citing opportunities for home ownership, access to luxuries like better cars, and the security of pensions and savings for later in life as their main reasons for staying put.

Check out the full ranking of the best countries for expats below:

No. 24: Ireland

The Best Countries For Expats

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot