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South China morning post
Hong Kong is the second worst city in Asia for expats to live due to rising costs and decreasing stability, according to a survey
Hong Kong has dropped once again in the ranking of the best places in the world to live for expatriates, ranking in the bottom 10 overall and coming in second to last among included Asian cities after being rated the worst in the world. both for political stability and cost of living. The annual report from the InterNations networking site ranked Hong Kong 57th out of 66 cities worldwide, with findings based on a survey of 15,000 expatriates. The city was defeated by regional rival Singapore, which ranked fifth place, also behind Kuala Lumpur. , Ho Chi Minh, Shanghai, Bangkok, Beijing and Tokyo. Seoul was the only Asian city on the list to score the lowest. Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on great stories originating from China. Globally, Valencia in Spain was ranked the top destination for Expats. Last year, Hong Kong ranked 52nd, behind Singapore, Shanghai and Taipei, but that report had included 82 cities in total. Six years ago, Hong Kong ranked 10th. Why are Hong Kong expats still depressed about living in the city? “While Hong Kong has an average performance on the Urban Quality of Life Index (45th) overall, safety appears to be a real concern: the city is rated the worst in the world for political stability, with 69 per cent. percent of expats concerned about this factor compared to 17 percent globally, “the report said. In contrast, 90 percent of expats living in Singapore rated the city’s political stability InterNations had already noted the Last year that views on safety and security were set to change among expatriates living in Hong Kong following anti-government protests in 2019. Since then, a controversial national security law imposed by Beijing in June has raised more questions from foreign residents as to the future of the city. John Hu, founder and principal consultant at John Hu Migration Consulting, said he had already received inquiries from citizens br Italian, Indian and Irish. ving in Hong Kong about leaving the city for English-speaking countries like Canada and Australia. He added that some expats from places other than mainland China had also been forced to leave due to their companies’ cost-cutting measures triggered by the Covid Pandemic -19. “Hong Kong has lost its competitiveness in the region compared to its neighboring cities that [have] higher GDP growth and innovative high-tech industry attracting more talent and foreign direct investment, ”Wu said in an email. He said the “brain drain” of foreign talent from Hong Kong would continue unless the government took proactive and focused initiatives to retain it. Meanwhile, other complaints about Hong Kong remained largely the same as in previous years, with astronomical living and housing costs the main sore spot among foreigners living in the city, according to the report, which InterNations bases its report on five factors. : the quality of urban life, settlement, urban working life, finance and housing, and the local cost of living. He conducted the polls for this year’s report in March, he noted, so it remained to be seen how the coronavirus pandemic could shift expatriate preferences. In addition to the perennial high-performing Singapore, other promising Southeast Asian cities also had a hit. good performance. , with Kuala Lumpur in eighth place and Ho Chi Minh in 19th place. Hong Kong falls two places to become the sixth most expensive city for expatriates Kuala Lumpur ranked among the easiest places to settle, with seven out of 10 people who moved there saying the housing was affordable, according to the report. More than 70 percent said the overall cost of living was affordable, compared to a global average of 46 percent. While respondents said that Bangkok, ranked 30th overall, had the worst urban environment of all ranked cities, its expats were still among the People living in Shanghai and Beijing were generally the happiest with their finance, while Tokyo was considered the safest city for expats. However, Seoul fared even worse than Hong Kong, as expats found it difficult to make friends and fit in with the local culture, although it performed well on the urban living index with its public transportation and healthcare systems. . More from South China Morning Post: * In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, Hong Kong remains the most expensive city in the world, Paris and Zurich join the first place according to the annual report of the global cost of living * Hong Kong falls two places to become the sixth most expensive city for expats This article Hong Kong is the second worst city in Asia for expats to live due to high costs and declining stability, the survey findings first appeared in South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post, download our mobile app. Copyright 2020.
