It even places third worldwide in the Quality of Life Index, only beaten by Valencia (1st) and Copenhagen (2nd). Expats are very happy with the Travel & Transit (10th) Subcategory, but even more so with the Environment & Climate (4th). They appreciate the natural environment (99% happy vs. 83% globally), the air quality (93% vs. 65% globally), and the urban environment (81% vs. 67% globally). Additionally, they feel safe in Zurich (93% vs. 81% globally) and are happy with the availability (84% vs. 73% globally) and quality (86% vs. 72% globally) of medical care. More than four in five expats in Zurich (81%) say that they can access all the healthcare services they need (vs. 67% globally).
The city also performs quite well in the Working Abroad Index (20th), even ranking first worldwide for the state of the local economy: 94% of expats rate this factor positively, compared to 64% globally. They are also happy with the local job market (60% vs. 47% globally) and feel paid fairly for their work (69% happy vs. 62% globally). This might also explain the results in the Personal Finance Index (24th): while the general cost of living is considered too high (65% unhappy vs. 35% globally), 74% are still satisfied with their financial situation (vs. 60% globally). More than four in five expats in Zurich (84%) say that their disposable household income is about enough or more than enough to lead a comfortable life (vs. 72% globally). “You can afford to lead a comfortable life here where things just work”, says a US American expat.
When it comes to the Expat Essentials Index (24th), expats find it easy to pay without cash (97% happy vs. 84% globally) and to deal with the local bureaucracy/authorities (69% vs. 40% globally). However, housing is hard to find in Zurich (41% unhappy vs. 27% globally), and 63% describe it as unaffordable (vs. 43% globally).
Placing 43rd in the Ease of Settling In Index, Zurich is the worst-rated Swiss city. In fact, it is among the bottom 10 for all three subcategories: Local Friendliness (44th), Finding Friends (43rd), and Culture & Welcome (42nd). Expats describe the local population as unfriendly towards foreign residents (29% unhappy vs. 18% globally) and find it hard to get used to the local culture (28% vs. 19% globally). Since they also find it hard to make local friends (54% vs. 37% globally), it is no surprise that 30% are unhappy with their social life in Zurich (vs. 26% globally).
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It even places third worldwide in the Quality of Life Index, only beaten by Valencia (1st) and Copenhagen (2nd). Expats are very happy with the Travel & Transit (10th) Subcategory, but even more so with the Environment & Climate (4th). They appreciate the natural environment (99% happy vs. 83% globally), the air quality (93% vs. 65% globally), and the urban environment (81% vs. 67% globally). Additionally, they feel safe in Zurich (93% vs. 81% globally) and are happy with the availability (84% vs. 73% globally) and quality (86% vs. 72% globally) of medical care. More than four in five expats in Zurich (81%) say that they can access all the healthcare services they need (vs. 67% globally).
The city also performs quite well in the Working Abroad Index (20th), even ranking first worldwide for the state of the local economy: 94% of expats rate this factor positively, compared to 64% globally. They are also happy with the local job market (60% vs. 47% globally) and feel paid fairly for their work (69% happy vs. 62% globally). This might also explain the results in the Personal Finance Index (24th): while the general cost of living is considered too high (65% unhappy vs. 35% globally), 74% are still satisfied with their financial situation (vs. 60% globally). More than four in five expats in Zurich (84%) say that their disposable household income is about enough or more than enough to lead a comfortable life (vs. 72% globally). “You can afford to lead a comfortable life here where things just work”, says a US American expat.
When it comes to the Expat Essentials Index (24th), expats find it easy to pay without cash (97% happy vs. 84% globally) and to deal with the local bureaucracy/authorities (69% vs. 40% globally). However, housing is hard to find in Zurich (41% unhappy vs. 27% globally), and 63% describe it as unaffordable (vs. 43% globally).
Placing 43rd in the Ease of Settling In Index, Zurich is the worst-rated Swiss city. In fact, it is among the bottom 10 for all three subcategories: Local Friendliness (44th), Finding Friends (43rd), and Culture & Welcome (42nd). Expats describe the local population as unfriendly towards foreign residents (29% unhappy vs. 18% globally) and find it hard to get used to the local culture (28% vs. 19% globally). Since they also find it hard to make local friends (54% vs. 37% globally), it is no surprise that 30% are unhappy with their social life in Zurich (vs. 26% globally).
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