Earlier today we brought you the news that International Living magazine has again published its annual examination of the best places to live in the world. The magazine’s Quality of Life Index has been in existence for the past 30 years, and it looks at what it’s really like for expatriates to live abroad in a total of 194 different nations.
The Index is well respected because it has been around for so long, and it applies stringent criteria to each nation to assess the quality of life achievable. What’s more, for expatriates and would-be expats, it’s a really useful resource when researching your next destination or your current home…and for Britons, the bad news is that the UK has fallen 5 places in just a year to come in as the 25th country in the world in terms of the quality of life on offer nationally.
This is probably likely to encourage even more people to examine their options for emigration – which is why we’re going to be examining the top 10 countries on the Index in a bid to help you determine whether you’d like to move to live in any of the best nations. In the first part of Shelter Offshore’s assessment of the Quality of Life Index’s top 10 places to live abroad in 2010, we’re counting down from 10 to 6 and taking in the nations of Italy, Canada, Belgium, the US and Luxembourg.
10 – Living La Dolce Vita in Italy
Italy holds steady in the top 10 in International Living’s Quality of Life Index for 2010, and it is a popular choice with citizens from all over the world as a place to holiday, travel around, live, work, study or retire in…
What’s So Good About Life in Italy - Italians know how to live life well. There is a fair degree of emphasis on eating well, socialising, family life and achieving a decent balance between free time and work time. The climate in Southern Italy is conducive to an outdoor lifestyle, which appeals to many…and in the more industrialised North of the country there are employment opportunities particularly for those who speak Italian.
If you’re looking to work in the tourism industry then there are plenty of established resorts. If you’re looking to achieve a relatively affordable living, that too is possible in Italy as long as you move away from the main fashionable cities.
What’s NOT So Good About Life in Italy - Italy is possibly the most famous nation in the world for its red tape and bureaucracy – no where else in the world seems to have quite so many seemingly contradictory rules and regulations that can tie you up and infuriate you. Those who wish to establish a business in Italy find the red tape particularly hard going, and as for completing and submitting a tax return – get an accountant!
If you really want to integrate to the point at which you can communicate effectively and even work in Italy, you will need to learn Italian to a high degree of competency. For some people, this is a real downside.
How Can You Move to Live, Work or Retire in Italy - If you’re from the UK or a holder of an EU passport, you can move to live, work or retire in Italy unfettered. This is because of the very generous rules on cross border migration that exist across the EU. If you herald from the US or elsewhere with more distant ties to Italy, you will need to speak to the Italian consulate or embassy in your home nation to determine your criteria.
9 – Can You Live the Dream in Canada
Canada has made it to position number 9 on the International Living Quality of Life Index and it’s not hard to see why. The nation offers a high standard of Westernised living to its citizens, it has an active immigration policy, it offers employment and has a stronger economic and political landscape than many other so called first world nations at the moment too.
What’s So Good About Life in Canada - Canada is a country that has pretty much everything going for it except a temperate climate. Unless you like high levels of precipitation, low temperatures and snow, you wouldn’t really consider moving to Canada for the weather – that said, many people are happy to move there in spite of it. Canada is traditionally a nation with high levels of immigration making it multi cultural and relatively easy to adapt to – particularly if you herald from the UK or the US for example.
Canada hasn’t weathered the current global economic storm too badly, it has retained strong employment levels relatively speaking. What’s more, there are many opportunities in a broad base of employment sector in the nation, and it has a lot of natural reserves and resources that it is beginning to seriously exploit, and this is creating employment.
The quality of life is high, healthcare standards are high, the cost of living is relatively affordable, and the emphasis on outdoor activities and living can be quite conducive to good, healthy living.
What’s NOT So Good About Life in Canada - The cold weather can take a lot of getting used to – large parts of the nation experience extremely long spells of heavy snow fall and coverage, and minus temperatures. In the summer there are limited opportunities for sunbathing and really enjoying fine weather – much like in the UK. Whilst for some this is not something that matters much, when it comes to your lifestyle, it can impinge on it a bit.
Canada is not America and it is not UK, sometimes it seems a little lost in terms of its identity and this can mean it’s perhaps a harder nation to adapt to than either the UK or the US.
How Can You Move to Live, Work or Retire in Canada - Canada has an active, skills based immigration programme for those of working age who want to go and live and make a living in the nation. The skills list updates and adapts all the time to take into account areas where there are required workers in the nation. The more ideal your skill set is to a given area where there are strong employment vacancies, the more likely you are to get a visa to go and live and work in Canada. Others can be sponsored by family who already live in Canada, and if you want to, you can even invest in the nation by moving your business to Canada and perhaps be granted a visa to relocate there.
For specifics about your rights for immigration, contact the Canadian embassy in your home nation.
8 – Begin a New Life in Belgium
Belgium may seem a strange choice for some people, as it is a lesser considered nation for expats to move to, however it has a great deal in its favour, especially for those seeking a decent place to make a home.
What’s So Good About Life in Belgium - Belgium is close to the UK and has strong links throughout Europe. It’s on the continent and is therefore an easy place to travel from all across Europe for those seeking a base to explore from. Economically and politically the nation is stable and strong, and there are decent pockets of employment particularly for skilled professionals in sectors such as services and finance. The nation is highly developed and has excellent infrastructure, the quality of everything from food to healthcare, housing to education is high and poverty levels are low. Belgium is also a country very open to and welcoming of foreigners.
What’s NOT So Good About Life in Belgium - Belgium is a tiny, densely populated country, so it’s a surprising choice for those seeking somewhere to escape to or retire to perhaps. It’s ideal if you already have employment, but relocating and seeking work can be difficult.
How Can You Move to Live, Work or Retire in Belgium - If you’re from the UK or a holder of a European passport you’re welcome, other nationalities will have to check their eligibility for immigration, and may require a strong offer of employment before they are considered. Even then, their acceptance may be conditional to their continued employment.
7 – Upping Sticks and Moving to the US
America is a nation built on immigration – and yet in recent decades it has become harder to gain acceptance into the United States. The quality of life for many people is excellent, but the country still has pockets of startlingly bad poverty…it’s a real mixed bag.
What’s So Good About Life in America - For those who have money, employment and who can afford a good quality of life, it is certainly available in America. The US is such a vast country that you can have access to everything from fine sandy beaches and near year round sunshine, to some of the best skiing in the world for example. Food is plentiful, healthcare is excellent for those who can afford it, and there are still jobs in many sectors…although the massive recession has taken its toll.
What’s NOT So Good About Life in America- if you’re poor in America you can face a very tough existence with restricted access to decent education and healthcare. What’s more, it’s a tough country to now get into, and if you’re of a race or religion that the country is suspicious of, you can face a very tough existence altogether.
How Can You Move to Live, Work or Retire in the US - Immigration into America is restricted heavily. There are those who can enter on a skills based visa, others who can move to the States if they have strong family ties. There are limited opportunities for those who want to study or invest in the country, and there has been a massive clamp down on who is and is not allowed in over the past decade. You will have to work hard to achieve your green card – so apply as early as possible if you do want to relocate to give yourself plenty of time.
6 – Loving Your New Life in Luxembourg
Little is known about Luxembourg as an expat destination really – after all it doesn’t have the sunny beaches of Spain, the fine food of France or the retirement communities of Cyprus, and yet it is popular with working age expats.
What’s So Good About Life in Luxembourg - Luxembourg is a fascinating, historic, beautiful and very stable country. Located in Europe it has all the benefits of its location without the huge financial and social problems and burdens that the likes of other countries in Europe face. Housing, education, healthcare and general living standards are high, the infrastructure is excellent, jobs are still available in sectors such as finance and management, and it is a very international destination.
What’s NOT So Good About Life in Luxembourg - You’ll need to have either French or German as a second language to get on well in Luxembourg, and the cost of living is certainly not cheap. If you don’t have employment it can be a boring country to live in and difficult to integrate into as well as forging friends with likeminded individuals may be hard if you cannot meet them in a work based setting.
How Can You Move to Live, Work or Retire in Luxembourg - Again, for those from the UK or with a European passport, immigration is straightforward and open – for most others it will depend on your financial and employment status, but check with the Luxembourg representative in your country through the consulate or embassy.
Tomorrow we’ll be taking as close a look and providing as thorough an overview of the top 5 countries in International Living’s Quality of Life Index for 2010, so that if you’re looking for somewhere supposedly better than Britain, you can consider the alternatives of France, Australia, Switzerland, Germany and New Zealand and emigrate.
Related Report - Quality of Life in Britain is Getting Worse…
Quality of Life Index Top 10 Places to Live Abroad in 2010 Part 2
