Where have all the expats gone?
Not to Manila, that’s for sure. HSBC’s Expat Explorer survey asked 7,000 expats to rank 37 countries based on factors like income, work/life balance and raising children. Based on these critieria, only three Asian countries made it in the top 10: China (#1), Singapore (#3) and Hong Kong (#10).
@CoconutsManila Unfortunately the Philippines did not qualify this year as we need at least 30 respondents from each country for inclusion
— Expat Explorer (@expatexplorer) November 21, 2013
The survey also reveals that you get more bang for your buck in Southeast Asia. Based on the HSBC Expat Expenses league table, Thailand ranks first, as accommodation costs there is said to be cheaper than in any other country in the region that was included in the survey. “Other Southeast Asian countries making the top five on the Expat Expenses league table are Indonesia (#2) and Vietnam (#5), while Taiwan and India rank 3rd and 4th respectively.”
