• 03
  Jun
  2009

• Expats choice: Cost of Living over Quality of Living

  
  Filed Under: News
  Author: Anupama
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Expats choice: Cost of Living over Quality of Living

Year on year, France appears right on top on the IL Quality of Life index. This year, as with the past three years, number-crunching, rating, and ranking landed France at the top of the Index. France scores high marks across the board…from its health care (84 points) to its infrastructure (90 points) to its safety rating (100 points). But the main appeal of living in France is arguably its lifestyle (its scores 85 points in the Culture and Leisure category). France’s sensual allure leaves nobody untouched. Spend even a few months here and you will never again regard life in quite the same way is what the French proudly insist.

But is this where all the expats are heading? Quite a few expats struggle a bit during the first few months, years, decades….the language, the culture, cost of living, government policies, make the process of settling in a country like France quite difficult. On the other hand, its poorer cousin in Europe, Bratislava, the Slovakian capital is a much preferred expat destination.

While Paris ranks 12th in the Mercer’s cost of living index, Bratislava ranks 45th.  So what expats seek are countries around the world where you could live cheaper, pay less tax, enjoy better weather and take advantage of opportunities in emerging markets.