Publications
Partners
- For more finance news, go to the News24 Business front page.
A new survey among almost 12 000 expats across the world rates Cape Town as the 32nd -best destination among 50 big cities – with Johannesburg dead last.
The InterNations Expat City Ranking list of 2022 also found that expats scored Cape Town the highest in the world when it came to their social life. Some 42% of expats in Cape Town said they were completely satisfied with their social life, compared to only 23% across the world.
Cape Town also makes it into the top 10 of the "Ease of Settling In" index, in the ninth position. "Expats describe the local residents as generally friendly (74% happy vs 66% globally) and find it easy to make friends with them (50% vs 42% globally)," InterNations found.
"I have made great friends and like being outdoors here," one British expat said as part of the survey. Cape Town also scored in the top 10 across the world for climate and weather (ninth) and the natural environment (sixth). The city also received good scores for affordable housing that is easy to find.
However, expats scored Cape Town low for public transport and safety. Some 38% are worried about their personal safety in general, which is more than four times the global average (9%). Also, close to half the expats (46%) are unhappy with the local job market (versus 27% globally).
Johannesburg scored the lowest of the 50 cities that met the sample size of at least 50 respondents.
Some 32% described Johannesburg as "extremely" unsafe, eight times the global average of 4%. Expats also rated the Johannesburg job market and their personal career opportunities negatively, and about a quarter (24%) say that moving there has not improved their career prospects (versus 18% globally).
Some 44% say that their disposable household income in Johannesburg is not enough to lead a comfortable life (versus 28% globally).
The InterNations survey rated Valencia ("liveable, friendly and affordable") in Spain as the best destination for expats, followed by Dubai ("great for work and leisure"), and Mexico City ("friendly and affordable, but unsafe").
Paris was rated 48th out of 50, mostly owing to low affordability, followed by Frankfurt (49th) in Germany, and Johannesburg.
