Kuala Lumpur is the top city for expats — here’s why

Kuala Lumpur is the top city for expats to live and work abroad in 2021, according to a survey by InterNations.

In January 2021, over 12,000 expat respondents from across the globe took part in the latest Expat Insider survey. They represent a total of 174 nationalities and live in 186 countries or territories around the world.

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For the first time since the survey was launched in 2014, more than 6,000 local residents — many former and future expats among them — also had the opportunity to respond to selected questions. Most of these addressed the way the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic may have disrupted relocation plans, or a recent stay abroad.

Respondents were asked to rate their satisfaction on the following:

• Quality of life (healthy environment and robust WiFi infrastructure)
• Ease of settling in (language barriers and friendliness of local residents)
• Personal finance (access to affordable health care)
• Working abroad  (job security and a stable local economy)

Here’s how Kuala Lumpur fared in the survey, making the city the No.1 choice for expats:

• 85% are happy with life in general
• 78% are happy with the cost of living
• 65% say making new friends is easy
• 71% are happy with their job
• 72% are happy with their work-life balance
• 78% are happy with the quality of medical care

Here’s the rest of the list of the top cities in the world for expats:

2. Málaga, Spain

3. Dubai, United Arab Emirates

4. Sydney, Australia

5. Singapore

6. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

7. Prague, Czech Republic

8. Mexico City, Mexico

9. Basel, Switzlerland

10. Madrid, Spain

Main image credit: Muhammad Akhir/Unsplash