Bangkok ranks 6th out of 50 cities worldwide in Expat City Ranking 2022, Friendly atmosphere a highlight

[webfact]

 

By Adam Judd

 

Bangkok ranks 6th out of 50 cities in the Expat City Ranking 2022, performing best for personal finance and worst for working abroad and quality of life.  

– In 2022, Valencia (1st), Dubai, Mexico City, Lisbon, Madrid, Bangkok, Basel, Melbourne, Abu Dhabi, and  Singapore (10th) are the top 10 cities for ex-pats to live in.  

 

– On the other hand, ex-pats consider Johannesburg (50th), Frankfurt, Paris, Istanbul, Hong Kong,  Hamburg, Milan, Vancouver, Tokyo, and Rome (41st) the world’s worst cities to live in.  

Bangkok ranks 6th out of 50 in the Expat City Ranking 2022 by  InterNations, the world’s largest ex-pat community with over 4.5 million members.

 

The city excels when it comes to both Personal Finance and the Ease of Settling In, ranking among the top 5 in both indices. While it gets somewhat mixed results in the Expat Essentials Index (22nd) — ex-pats find it easy to find housing but are unhappy with the digitization and local bureaucracy — Bangkok performs worst for both the Quality of Life and Working Abroad.

 

 The Expat City Ranking is based on the annual Expat Insider survey by InterNations. It is one of the most extensive surveys about living and working abroad, with 11,970 respondents in 2022. A total of  50 cities around the globe are featured this year, offering in-depth information about five areas of ex-pat life: Quality of Life, Ease of Settling In, Working Abroad, Personal Finance, and the new Expat  Essentials Index, which covers digital life, admin topics, housing, and language.  

 

Expats Enjoy Life without Monetary Concerns

 
Bangkok ranks 6th out of 50 cities in the Expat City Ranking 2022 and 2nd worldwide in the Personal  Finance Index. Expats are not only happy with the general cost of living (69% vs. 45% globally), but affordability is also a highlight in the Expat Essentials Index (22nd).

 

Full story: https://thepattayanews.com/2022/11/29/bangkok-ranks-6th-out-of-50-cities-worldwide-in-expat-city-ranking-2022-friendly-atmosphere-a-highlight/

 

-- © Copyright The Pattaya News 2022-11-30

 

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[Andrew65]

I'll always love BKK, mainly for the great memories I have from there.

Negatives:

Sometimes too hot for too much of the time. (Not a well defined cool season).

Traffic.

Not a very pretty-city, architecture-wise (so much 'brutalist' concrete).

[VinnieK]

Reading thru this..BKK only saving grace is the cheap living.

All the other scores are low

BKK is not and will never be an intl city imo.

Have you checked English proficiency statistics lately?

Been falling every year.

Can't sugarcoat a t**d.

 

[Swampy999]

6th for personal finance and 39th for quality of life, 45th for safety and security and 48th for environment and climate out of 50 cities, sounds rather <deleted> to me.

Just another load of bo!!ocks headline from aseannow.

[Isaan sailor]

Personal Finance?  Don’t look at currency fluctuations—you might not like what you see this month.

[Archie Baker]

42 minutes ago, Swampy999 said:

6th for personal finance and 39th for quality of life, 45th for safety and security and 48th for environment and climate out of 50 cities, sounds rather <deleted> to me.

Just another load of bo!!ocks headline from aseannow.

Bur you can get Chang at 60b a bottle, spliffs delivered and never need to go outside your 35sqm apartment since you can get your food via grab.  High quality of life eh!

Oh and go to Tops and look at the cheese counter and drool. 

[TheFishman1]

TIT

[HappyExpat57]

2 hours ago, VinnieK said:

Reading thru this..BKK only saving grace is the cheap living.

All the other scores are low

BKK is not and will never be an intl city imo.

Have you checked English proficiency statistics lately?

Been falling every year.

Can't sugarcoat a t**d.

Actually, you CAN sugarcoat a turd (seems like the best option you were hinting at). That's exactly what this government has been doing as long as I can remember.

[Tarteso]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

performing best for personal finance

 

[SiSePuede419]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

In 2022, Valencia (1st), Dubai, Mexico City, Lisbon, Madrid, Bangkok, Basel, Melbourne, Abu Dhabi, and  Singapore (10th) are the top 10 cities for ex-pats to live in.  

Valencia: Romanians

Dubai: Oil Workers from Australia, Canada and America

Mexico City: Americans of Mexican heritage who want to live in a polluted dump

Madrid: So hot in the summer their brains must be fried

Basel: People working for big multinationals who must not eat out very much because so expensive 

Melbourne: Ozzie, Ozzie Ozzie

Abu Dhabi: More Oily Workers

Singapore: Free Sauna and 2nd Best Street food behind Thailand 

 

Don't see much of a big deal in those locations ????

 

 

[lujanit]

What!  Thailand not number one?  This story must be fake news.

[bradiston]

Looking at their website and the survey methodologies and scope it seems a lot more interesting than the normal "Thailand voted best country in the world for 23rd consecutive year" type survey. But I've a question. This is an expat forum. No idea how many read it or contribute. Must be in the 1000s I guess. Maybe not even representative of expats here. But, even so, how many members got polled, or know anyone, or even know anyone who knows anyone, who got polled? They say each questionnaire had to have a minimum of 50 respondents. Who knows? They might have all been Embassy workers, corporate employees, contractors, for instance. The poll results don't give a breakdown of the poll responders details - anonymous, obviously.

 

The full set of results is here:

 

https://www.internations.org/expat-insider/2022/

Edited November 30, 2022 by bradiston

[happydreamer]

All I know is my quality of life is much better here than it was in LA and Chicago. 

 

My metrics for measure..

 

Physical and mental health improvement.

 

Healthcare options have improved.

 

Convenience of services / cost ratio drastically improved.

 

Availability of conveniences much improved.

 

Much improved financial situation.  LT savings, preservation, etc.  Money just stretches further here.

 

When I first came here and started looking for a partner I found the women much closer to what I was looking for in terms of appearance, demeanor, and willingness to try / take a chance on someone new.  

 

Overall attitudes of thai people regardless of their cultural prejudices, antiquated thinking and / or upbringing are much more palettable than the self entitled, self-important, woke culture back home.

 

There's quite a few things I find annoying but in the end...all these things I've listed make waking up everyday a hell of a lot better than grinding out week after week through cold winters

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sambum]

47 minutes ago, bradiston said:

Looking at their website and the survey methodologies and scope it seems a lot more interesting than the normal "Thailand voted best country in the world for 23rd consecutive year" type survey. But I've a question. This is an expat forum. No idea how many read it or contribute. Must be in the 1000s I guess. Maybe not even representative of expats here. But, even so, how many members got polled, or know anyone, or even know anyone who knows anyone, who got polled? They say each questionnaire had to have a minimum of 50 respondents. Who knows? They might have all been Embassy workers, corporate employees, contractors, for instance. The poll results don't give a breakdown of the poll responders details - anonymous, obviously.

 

The full set of results is here:

 

https://www.internations.org/expat-insider/2022/

I'm always dubious about these "polls". Like you, I do not know anyone that has ever been asked to participate in these "Do you like Thailand" type of polls. Makes you wonder where they get their respondents from? Certainly doesn't appear to be the average Joe/expat.  

[Pib]

Here's the detail on Bangkok's rating.  Seems the Personal Finance Index rating (a.k.a., cost of living) carries a lot of weight in the overall ranking as Bangkok scores average to poorly in some other categories of this survey.

 

 

https://cms-internationsgmbh.netdna-ssl.com/cdn/file/cms-media/public/2022-11/Expat-Insider_City-Ranking-Report-2022_0.pdf

[sambum]

1 minute ago, happydreamer said:

All I know is my quality of life is much better here than it was in LA and Chicago. 

 

My metrics for measure..

 

Physical and mental health improvement.

 

Healthcare options have improved.

 

Convenience of services / cost ratio drastically improved.

 

Availability of conveniences much improved.

 

Much improved financial situation.  LT savings, preservation, etc.  Money just stretches further here.

 

When I first came here and started looking for a partner I found the women much closer to what I was looking for in terms of appearance, demeanor, and willingness to try / take a chance on someone new.  

 

Overall attitudes of thai people regardless of their cultural prejudices, antiquated thinking and / or upbringing are much more palettable than the self entitled, self-important, woke culture back home.

 

There's quite a few things I find annoying but in the end...all these things I've listed make waking up everyday a hell of a lot better than grinding out week after week through cold winters

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quite agree - nowhere is perfect, but if you are prepared to put up with its shortcomings, Thailand is a good place to be.

 

However regarding "the much improved financial situation", I feel I must point out that when I first came here, I was getting 73 baht for my British pound - now it's almost half that, hovering in the low 40's and has been for a while. Plus (like every where else) the price of goods - especially food has gone up considerably. (The main thing I can recall was that a pack of pomelo slices used to cost 35 baht in Tesco Lotus - now it's more than double that - just one example that I can remember)

 

Thailand is certainly not as cheap a place to live as it used to be by a long shot, but still a far better option than a lot of places. For instance, the cost of living in the UK has rocketed out of control - especially utility prices, and the Government is in a worse mess than I can ever remember with a recent PM lasting a mere 50 days in office (a worldwide record) due to her incompetent policies.

 

So, like many other expats that I know, I will continue to moan about the shortcomings of Thailand - the Government policies, the blatant law breaking on the roads,  the double pricing in entry fees to public attractions, the "anti farang" attitudes of some Government ministers, the pedantic requirements from Immigration and a myriad of other concerns, but one thing's for sure - it beats the hell out of working for a living in a cold wet country like I came from! 

[happydreamer]

1 minute ago, sambum said:

Quite agree - nowhere is perfect, but if you are prepared to put up with its shortcomings, Thailand is a good place to be.

 

However regarding "the much improved financial situation", I feel I must point out that when I first came here, I was getting 73 baht for my British pound - now it's almost half that, hovering in the low 40's and has been for a while. Plus (like every where else) the price of goods - especially food has gone up considerably. (The main thing I can recall was that a pack of pomelo slices used to cost 35 baht in Tesco Lotus - now it's more than double that - just one example that I can remember)

 

Thailand is certainly not as cheap a place to live as it used to be by a long shot, but still a far better option than a lot of places. For instance, the cost of living in the UK has rocketed out of control - especially utility prices, and the Government is in a worse mess than I can ever remember with a recent PM lasting a mere 50 days in office (a worldwide record) due to her incompetent policies.

 

So, like many other expats that I know, I will continue to moan about the shortcomings of Thailand - the Government policies, the blatant law breaking on the roads,  the double pricing in entry fees to public attractions, the "anti farang" attitudes of some Government ministers, the pedantic requirements from Immigration and a myriad of other concerns, but one thing's for sure - it beats the hell out of working for a living in a cold wet country like I came from! 

70thb to a pound?  Wow man.  You're talking the glory days.  You've been here a bit.  The recent run up to mid 38 to a dollar was the best I'd had 

[spidermike007]

I love Bangkok, but I would never want to live there. However, I find the people to be quite warm and easy, for big city people. Bangkok is fairly reasonable to visit.

 

Funny they mentioned Valencia. I have a friend who has been living there. He said the people are not a big plus. Grouchy, and not friendly. 

[Lucky Bones]

2 hours ago, lujanit said:

What!  Thailand not number one?  This story must be fake news.

Bangkok rates #1 universe-wide.

The rest of the world is irrelevant to Thailand.????????

 

[ChrisY1]

3 hours ago, Archie Baker said:

Bur you can get Chang at 60b a bottle, spliffs delivered and never need to go outside your 35sqm apartment since you can get your food via grab.  High quality of life eh!

Oh and go to Tops and look at the cheese counter and drool. 

If you live here....why?

[biggles45]

'but are unhappy with the digitization and local bureaucracy' 

 

I went into K bank yesterday, a simple transaction, I wanted my recorded contact phone number changed due to a new sim. I had all my ID, sat down and spent 20 minutes while the service officer entered stuff on her computer. 

Finally she printed out 4 sheets of paper, filled in a form and I signed them. 

Let's not even mention Immigration Visa extensions????????

[hotchilli]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Bangkok ranks 6th out of 50 cities in the Expat City Ranking 2022, performing best for personal finance and worst for working abroad and quality of life.

Ranks is the only thing I agree on.

[Dustdevil]

5 hours ago, VinnieK said:

Reading thru this..BKK only saving grace is the cheap living.

All the other scores are low

BKK is not and will never be an intl city imo.

Have you checked English proficiency statistics lately?

Been falling every year.

Can't sugarcoat a t**d.

 

A toad?

[Dustdevil]

46 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

I love Bangkok, but I would never want to live there. However, I find the people to be quite warm and easy, for big city people. Bangkok is fairly reasonable to visit.

 

Funny they mentioned Valencia. I have a friend who has been living there. He said the people are not a big plus. Grouchy, and not friendly. 

I much prefer Chiang Mai, my favorite Asian city.

[hotchilli]

6 hours ago, Andrew65 said:

I'll always love BKK, mainly for the great memories I have from there.

A bit like your first love..?

[Andrew65]

10 minutes ago, biggles45 said:

'but are unhappy with the digitization and local bureaucracy' 

 

I went into K bank yesterday, a simple transaction, I wanted my recorded contact phone number changed due to a new sim. I had all my ID, sat down and spent 20 minutes while the service officer entered stuff on her computer. 

Finally she printed out 4 sheets of paper, filled in a form and I signed them. 

Let's not even mention Immigration Visa extensions????????

In the years that I did them, and looking at it realistically, visa extensions weren't that bad at C W. They entailed maybe 3 hours made up of 2 hours sat in a taxi getting there and back, 30 mins waiting whilst there, and maybe 20 mins of actually doing it. I lived in Pattaya for a short time and actually doing the deed at Jomtien Soi 5 took 10 -15 mins. Bearing in mind that I had absolutely nothing else to do, a bit of a pain in the <deleted>, but not really a big deal.

[proton]

where did it come on the stray dog and random noise index?  ????

[mran66]

quite funny these survey rankings...city like Mexico City on top 10, whereas Vancouver in bottom 10...

[Dustdevil]

I've lived both in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and the last time I visited Dubai was in 2015. Was working in Abu Dhabi 2002-2004. I don't think they belong anywhere near the top 10. Well at least at that time it was nothing but a hick town with no interesting or fun places--you know you're in purgatory if the best thing in town is a mall--and it was difficult to get a drink. You really had to get a liquor license, and it wasn't all that easy.

 

I'm sure it's better now. But to be in the top ten in the world? I'll tell you why foreigners rate it highly, because these are highly paid executives and professionals, their salaries are tax-free, and they get amazing free housing. Even I, as a lowly Petroleum Institute English lecturer, got an apartment that must have been 2,000 sq ft (181 sq m). But unlike in Dubai, where all apartment buildingshad to have underground parking, it's not (or wasn't) required in Abu Dhabi, and a LOT of apartment buildings are still there with outside parking lots. People don't know how to drive anywhere in the Middle East, and my car was scraped, keyed and smashed three times in two years just sitting in the parking lot. My wife's car, too, although that was in Dubai while she had it parked above-ground. I saw some Emirati lady bump into it. And there were no other cars around, either. They just can't drive.

 

And nobody likes the hot months. Dubai used to be a half-decent place, and is probably the best city in the Middle East, but mind your Ps and Qs, it's not as free as Thailand.

Edited November 30, 2022 by Dustdevil

[Dustdevil]

3 minutes ago, mran66 said:

quite funny these survey rankings...city like Mexico City on top 10, whereas Vancouver in bottom 10...

Yes, Vancouver has a reputation for unfriendliness; this is not the first time I've heard that. But comparing to Mexico City? Come on.