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Lisbon is the third best city in the world for foreigners to live
News -> November 27, 2020
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Lisbon rises to 3rd place in a worldwide ranking
After the 6th place reached in 2019, this year Lisbon rises to the 3rd place in the ranking of the best cities in the world for foreigners to live and work, in the Expat City Ranking 2020.
Of the 66 cities in the Expat City Ranking 2020, Lisbon occupies the 3rd place. It should be noted that 82% of expatriates feel at home in the Portuguese capital (vs. 64% globally). Another 79% are happy with their social life (vs. 59% globally), placing the city in 3rd place in the world also in this factor.
A Sunny, safe and Social city
Lisbon is also considered a sunny, safe and social place for expatriates. Also in the quality of urban life, Lisbon scores well. The index shows how much expatriates like Lisbon, with the Portuguese capital reaching 5th place in the Subcategory of Leisure and Climate. In fact, 89% of foreigners are satisfied with local leisure options (vs. 71% globally). In addition, 96% of expatriates are satisfied with Lisbon's weather and climate (against 64% globally), and 56% even much (vs. 26% globally). Almost all expatriates in Lisbon (99%) think the same way about their personal security (vs. 82% globally). While Lisbon still occupies a good 6th place in the Local Cost of Living Index, with 64% of expatriates feeling satisfied with this aspect (vs. 46% globally).
However, the Portuguese capital does not perform as well in the Finance and Housing sector, ranking 27th in the Index. Almost three out of eight expatriates (37%) have difficulty finding housing in Lisbon (vs. 27% globally).
Professional and personal life balance
Finally, the city achieves mixed results on the Life at Work Index (23). Expatriates report being very happy with their jobs in general (79% happy vs. 65% globally) and their balance between personal and professional life (83% happy vs. 64% globally). But they are dissatisfied with local career opportunities (37% unhappy vs. 34% globally) and the state of the local economy (19% unhappy vs. 18% globally).
At the top of the Expat City Ranking 2020 are the Spanish cities of Valencia and Alicante, followed by Lisbon, followed by Panama, Singapore, Malaga, Buenos Aires, Kuala Lumpur, Madrid and Abu Dhabi, closes the top 10.
A hand full of reasons for this result
As we have reported in previous articles, there are plenty of reasons that support this rise of Lisbon in the ranking of the best cities in the world to live and work in as we explain in the article “Porto and Lisbon are the friendliest cities in Europe”. Lisbon is Portugal’s capital city and we have recently listed “8 Reasons Why You Should Move to Portugal”. There are plenty of cultural highlights and historic venues near Lisbon, like the wonders of Sintra and its mountains and the sunny and posh Cascais.
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