The survey’s results showed that Mexico, Spain, Panama, and Malaysia topped the list. The remaining 11 countries and territories that made it to the top 15 included Taiwan (China), Thailand, Costa Rica, Philippines, Bahrain, Portugal, UAE, Oman, Indonesia, Vietnam and Brazil, respectively.
Since the first Expat Insider survey in 2014, Vietnam has always ranked in the top 10 of the Personal Finance Index. It has even landed in 1st place in this index five times, including in 2023.
Mexico and the Philippines ranked second and third in this index, respectively.
Vietnam consistently ranks among the best-rated ones for its general cost of living — in 2023, almost four in five expats (77%) are happy with this factor, compared to only 44% globally. Another 71% are satisfied with their financial situation (vs. 58% globally). Expats could not agree more that their disposable income is enough to lead a comfortable life in Vietnam (1st).
“What I love the most is the low cost of living and the friendly people here,” said a US expat.
While talking about the decision to choose Vietnam’s Da Nang City as a place to live for more than 11 years, after travelling through many countries, Darin, a 60-year-old Canadian citizen, said that Vietnam has beautiful scenery, and the cost of living is cheap.
But most of all, he finds Vietnam very safe, with a low crime rate. He also hailed that Vietnamese people are very friendly and ready to help each other and also foreigners.
Vietnam is also considered by the expat community as friendly by securing 14th place in the Ease of Settling in, with the positive factors "Friendliness of the local people" (at 5th place, “Easily Connecting You” (11th) and “Culture and Welcoming” (16th).
The country was rated 5th place in the Local Friendliness Subcategory, 11th in the Finding Friends Subcategory, and 16th in the Culture & Welcome Subcategory.
In addition, Vietnam belongs to the group of Asian countries that have a rather high rate in the Working Abroad Index (29th).
Among the index’s four subcategories, Vietnam ranked 6th in Work and Leisure, 17th in Job and Security, 37th in Career Prospects, and 44th in Work Culture and Satisfaction.
However, Vietnam hasn’t performed well in the Quality of Life Index (44th) as its rankings in the Travel & Transit, Environment & Climate, Leisure Options, Healthcare, Safety & Security Subcategories were 44th, 50th, 31st, 44th and 34th, respectively.
The country also ends up among the bottom 10 in the Expat Essentials Index (44th), especially in the Digital Life (50th), Admin Topics (48th), and Language (48th) Subcategories.
On the positive side, Vietnam ranks in the top 10 of the Housing Subcategory as 67% of expats are happy with the affordability of housing in Vietnam (vs. 38% globally).
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How expats rate life in Vietnam (Photo: InterNations) |
The Expat Insider 2023 survey was conducted from February 1 to 28, 2023.
The online questionnaire was promoted through the InterNations community, the company’s newsletter, and its social media profiles, but responses were not limited to InterNations members.
The target audience included all kinds of ex-pats, from foreign assignees — i.e., employees sent on a corporate assignment abroad — and international hires to self-made ex-pats, relocating for a better quality of life and a variety of other reasons.
A total of 12,065 expats participated in the survey, representing 171 nationalities and living in 172 countries or territories worldwide.
Survey participants were asked to rate up to 56 different factors related to various aspects of expat life, on a scale of one to seven.
However, it is important to note that the ratings are a comparison of how satisfied survey respondents are with various aspects of life in their respective destinations. They are not an objective comparison of verified facts from external sources.
The resulting ranking is not meant to be an endorsement of any specific destination. It is rather a comparison of how expats rate their everyday life abroad, and the indices do not cover every potential aspect of living abroad.
