Expats rank S'pore as world's best place to live

July 25, 2008
Expats rank S'pore as world's best place to live
Poll of foreigners in 49 locations puts the Republic ahead of US, HK
By Jessica Cheam

SINGAPORE has emerged as the best place to live in the world in a
survey of more than 2,000 expatriates by HSBC Bank.
The Republic also ranked first for quality of accommodation and
second for luxury living.

Its closest rival, Hong Kong, was ranked fifth overall, though it
took top spot in terms of an expat's ability to earn and save.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the United States came in as joint
second-best overall destinations, with Belgium next in the rankings.

HSBC's Expat Explorer survey - a first for the bank - interviewed
2,155 expats across 49 countries and territories to rank places based
on living standards, the ability to earn and save, a country's
popularity, and the level of luxury experienced.

HSBC's survey, released yesterday, comes after human resources
consultancy Mercer ranked the Republic the fifth most expensive Asian
city for expats - up a notch from a previous survey.

ECA International, also a human resources consultancy, ranked
Singapore as the best place for Asian expatriates to live worldwide
earlier this year.

In a separate survey, it found that Singapore has become a more
expensive place for expats to live, but that it is still cheaper than
Hong Kong.

The Republic jumped 17 places to land at the 114th spot in a global
survey of the costliest cities for expatriates, on the back of higher
inflation and a stronger Singapore dollar in the past year.

But despite rising living costs, especially in housing, Singapore
remains competitive with its Asian neighbours such as Tokyo, Seoul
and Hong Kong, and other global financial centres such as London,
said Mercer.

HSBC's head of consumer banking in Singapore, Ms Wendy Lim, said
there are an estimated 300,000 expats residing here.

The safe environment and relatively low taxes make it 'an ideal
location for expats to grow and protect their savings and
investments', she said.

Other countries such as Britain and France scored poorly as expat
destinations in the survey, especially on accommodation and luxury.
The UAE was the most luxurious destination, followed by Singapore and
India.

Project manager Pham Nguyen Hung, 34, a French-Vietnamese expat
living in Singapore, said he was not surprised at the survey results.

Singapore, US cities such as San Francisco and New York, and Hong
Kong are among his top picks.

'It's hard to compare cities directly, because each of them offers
different lifestyles. But I agree Singapore has quite a high quality
of life, and its accommodation standards are among the best,' he
said.