The U.S. may not be the best destination for expats to live and work abroad, but it does stand out in one big way: its career opportunities.
The U.S. ranks highly overall for its working abroad index, according to the latest “Expat Insider” report from Internations, the global community for people who live and work abroad.
The U.S. ranks No. 1 for both the local job market as well as personal career prospects, and No. 7 for work culture and satisfaction.
The country overall comes in 30th out of 53 destinations as a good place for expats, and 72% of expats in the U.S. say they’re happy with life, on par with the global average.
Its biggest downsides, though, are factors related to quality of life (like health care, travel and transit) as well as personal finances.
Expats are generally unhappy with the cost of living in the U.S., with roughly half saying daily expenses are too high. And the country is only the second-worst when it comes to the affordability and accessibility of quality health care. It also lands in the bottom 10 countries for the availability of public transit.
However, once newcomers arrive, they say it’s easy to get accustomed to the language, and they’re happy with the general unrestricted access to online services, getting connected to high-speed internet at home, and even the ease of paying without cash.
The “Expat Insiders” report, which surveyed more than 12,000 respondents, ranks destinations based on five indices: quality of life, ease of settling in, working abroad, personal finance, and an “expat essentials” index, which covers housing, administration, language and digital life.
The most common reasons expats come to the U.S. are to go to school or university (15%), or for work (13%). Expats in the U.S. are most likely to work in health care, information technology and education.
Another 12% say they moved to the U.S. “for love.”
Overall, Mexico ranks No. 1 as the top destination for expats, where 90% of people are happy with their lives abroad, followed by Spain, Panama, Malaysia and Taiwan.
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