The 19 best countries in the world for expats

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It is not easy coming back to work after an August break.

With autumn beginning to draw in, and a lengthening to-do list, it’s natural to start thinking about working abroad.

The only problem is to decide on where.

InterNations, an expat networking website, surveyed 14,000 people who had left their country to work somewhere else to find out where people are happiest.

The survey accounted for different factors, such as ease of settling in, quality of life, and cost of living to decide the rankings of countries.

Here are the 19 top destinations in the list.

19. Bahrain. The country saw a noticeable drop in the Quality of Education subcategory, among others, which has fallen from 8th in 2015 to 22nd this year.

18. Thailand. A lot of Australians are attracted to Thailand, which ranks highly for friendliness and ease of settling in.

17. Germany. More than seven in ten respondents (71%) are generally satisfied with the level of job security, with 23% saying they are completely satisfied.

16. Romania. The country is one of the highest climbers in the 2016 rankings, zooming 11 places up the table from 27 to 16 in a year. It is in the top 10 for ease of settling in and scores highly for friendliness.

15. Panama. This small central American state is one of the best places in the world for job security, ranking 8th in the world, just ahead of Sweden.

14. Spain. The country has extremely high ratings for quality of life, ranking second in the world for the best leisure options, just behind Malta.

13. Singapore. The transport infrastructure in Singapore is considered very good by an impressive 63% of expats, compared to the average of 29% worldwide.

12. Canada. At an average of only 41 hours, Canada has the fourth shortest work week for expats in the world.

11. Vietnam. Coming in at fourth for cost of living, expats in Vietnam can make their salary go a long way.

10. Czech Republic. Climbing 12 places from number 22 to 10 in 2016, the Czech Republic scores highly for cost of living and friendliness.

9. Luxembourg. In terms of overall job satisfaction, 76% of expats in Luxembourg are generally satisfied, compared to a global average of 64%.

8. Austria. The country gets top marks for being a safe and peaceful place, with 93% giving it a positive rating for personal safety and 95% for peacefulness.

7. Australia. Ranking sixth in the world for the quality of its leisure options, Australia remains a top destination for expats in 2016.

6. Costa Rica. Nearly eight in ten expats (79%) feel “at home” in the local culture and four in ten (41%) are even completely satisfied, more than double the global average of 18%.

5. New Zealand. The country scores extremely well in the categories of personal happiness and safety and security.

4. Mexico. The country retained the top spot in the Ease of Settling In Index for the third year running, ranking first for ease of finding friends and second in making expats feel welcome.

3. Ecuador. The economy might be in a dreary state, but 27% of expats in Ecuador are very happy with their financial situation, almost double the global average of 15%.

2. Malta. More than four in ten expats (41%) say it is very easy to settle down in Malta, well over twice the global average of 16%.

1. Taiwan. Roughly one-third of expats in Taiwan (34%) are completely satisfied with their jobs, more than double the global average of 16%. They are also enthusiastic about their work-life balance (30%) and job security (34%).

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