InterNations' annual Expat Insider surveys the thoughts and conclusions of expats all over the world. In the 2018 edition of the Expat Insider, InterNations surveyed a total of 18,135 expats representing 178 nationalities and living in 187 countries or territories.
Globally, Bahrain kept on to the top spot, with respondents claiming they don't even feel like an outsider in the Middle Eastern country.
In the overall ranking, titled Top Expat Destinations, Luxembourg came in at 15 in the ranking. While certainly a good score, there was some interesting information to be gleaned by subcategories.
In the subsection 'Quality of Life', Luxembourg was ranked 17th out of 68. To measure quality of life, InterNations examined a number of different aspects, including leisure options, personal happiness, travel and transport, health and well-being,safety and security, and digital life. Luxembourg comes in 13th in the health and well-being category, but trumps all others in safety and security.
The subsection 'Ease of Settling in' places Luxembourg considerably lower at 40th, despite Luxembourg being in several top three rankings for practical issues such as opening a bank account, going through the local registration process, and understanding the local healthcare system.
One category in which the Grand Duchy did not fare well is 'Finding Friends', coming in at 52. Perhaps for those expats struggling with this issue, our Luxembourg Insider may come in handy.
The Grand Duchy fared much better in the category 'Working Abroad'. Coming in at 9th overall, Luxembourg was ranked first in economy and job security.
In the 'Family Life' index, Luxembourg performed relatively well with an average ranking of 16. The Grand Duchy came in at 17 in 'Availability of Childcare and Education', 12 in 'Cost of Childcare and Education', 22 in 'Quality of Education', and 15 in 'Family Well-Being'.
Luxembourg performed very well in both 'Children's general well-being' (7), 'Children's safety' (6) and 'Family life in general' (10).
However, expats judged that the cost of living in Luxembourg is certainly too high, placing the country at 61 out of 68.
The results may not exactly be new information for those living in the Grand Duchy, but it certainly reveals the strengths of Luxembourg, particularly when one considers how small the country is and yet how it outperformed other countries in both job security and general safety.
