Looking for a job abroad? Don’t move to Germany
One of the cool things about the world of finance is that it is very international. The ability to move to a different country and live and work there for a while is something that I consider a bonus and if you work in finance, this is easier to accomplish than in other careers. Of course, if your dream is to live in Bolivia, then a career in finance is not for you since the financial industry in Bolivia is rather underdeveloped, but if you want to live in the city with the best skyline in the world (Hong Kong) or enjoy the history and culture on offer in Paris or London, by all means.
But life as an expat can be difficult. To begin with, there might be a language barrier. In my case, my French just isn’t good enough to live and work in France, even though I adore Paris and would love to live there for a while. Then there are the people and French people are not everyone’s cup of tea (though in my case I have no issues with their supposed rudeness). In other countries, personal safety might be an issue (try working in South Africa, for example) and in again others the pollution and local climate may be a major downer (e.g. India or the Middle East).
So, putting all these factors together, where are expats the happiest?
InterNations runs an annual survey of expats and provides a ranking based on the responses of these expats along different dimensions. And when it comes to expat life, people really don’t like to live in Germany. Asked to rate how happy expats are in each of the 53 countries surveyed, Germany ranks close to the bottom of the happiness scale.
Looking at it more ‘objectively’ along several dimensions I show the ranking of major financial hubs in the chart below. The country that is the best place to live as an expat is Mexico (not a major financial hub, unfortunately), followed closely by Spain. Mexico scores top or second place in the ease of settling in ranking, the friendliness of locals, and the affordability of living there. Spain meanwhile is rated highest of all countries in terms of leisure options and is in the top 5 in terms of health and well-being.
Expat ranking of major financial hubs
Source: InterNations
Looking through the list, we find Luxembourg, Switzerland, and the Netherlands all above average. In Switzerland, my host country for 21 years, expats really appreciate the quality of life, in particular the environment and the safety and security of living in Switzerland. On the negative side, they find locals to be unfriendly and unwelcoming and it is hard to make friends with Swiss people. All of these findings are true in my experience.
Moving down the list we find China, Canada, and the US roughly in the middle of the pack and Italy, Germany, and South Korea at the bottom, only marginally above the worst place to live for expats, Kuwait.
If that sounds harsh, think about it this way. In terms of the friendliness of locals, ease of finding friends and culture, and welcome to foreigners, Germany ranks below even Switzerland and is close to the bottom of the overall ranking. Add to that that the language barrier is high, digital infrastructure is miserable, and dealing with local administration is frustrating, and you have the main reasons why expats don’t like to live in Germany.
I get it. I have lived outside of Germany for almost 30 years now, yet sometimes I still have to deal with German administration or ask German shops to send stuff for family members locally. And the longer I live outside of Germany, the more problems I have with that. The rudeness of German customer service is worse than in France. And don’t get me started about my experiences in German airports in dealing with airline staff, customs officials, and other passengers…
Better to live in the UK where I get along with the locals much better than with Germans. And where dealing with the civil service is on average easier and more convenient than in Germany (believe it or not). Similarly, career prospects are generally judged much better by expats in the UK than in Germany while quality of life is judged similarly.
Having said that, the UK has topped other nations in one respect. Compared to 2022 it has experienced the largest drop in ranking. And the key reason for that is a materially worse assessment of the healthcare situation in the UK, which is getting worse by the day.
What I liked about Germany was starting early; stopping for frühstück, finishing early (in comparison to UK but also Italy) and beer ofc. The great thing about German bureaucracy was you could be absolutely certain they would grind through according to the rules, however that might turn out!
I travel a lot for work in Europe (and have spent significant time in Dubai and Kuwait). For years, I was told that the French were rude and people who didn't speak French hated going there. Over the past 8 years, I've spent a significant amount of time in both Paris and rural (western) France, and have found just the opposite. My French is terrible, and still I've found people to be helpful, cheerful, and generally a pleasure to be around. And the French take their food seriously! Every meal is a mini work of art. After a week in France, I do love coming home to a nice A&W teen burger. I guess my culture bucket gets full.