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UAE is most luxurious destination for expats

DUBAI - With its history of embracing cultures and people from across the world and building world-class facilities, the UAE has now become the most luxurious expatriate destination in the world, a new survey has revealed.

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Expat Explorer survey, conducted by global banking major HSBC, rated the countries on a number of categories including access to private healthcare, access to more than one property, ability to own a pool and to employ staff (such as cleaners) to select the UAE as the most luxurious expatriate destination.

The survey questioned 2,155 expatriates across four continents, examining the opportunities, challenges and difficulties that come with a life away from home.

This included how easy the expatriates found it to integrate, how they viewed the changes in their lifestyle, and their children's experiences in a new country.

The survey also revealed that the UAE, Singapore and the US are the best locations for an expatriate to be in, while the UK (14th) and France (13th) were some of the lowest-rated expatriate destinations.

This survey was based on four categories: living standards, an expatriate's ability to earn and save, a country's popularity (longevity), and the level of luxury experienced.

A spokesperson of HSBC told Khaleej Times on Friday that 56 people were interviewed from the UAE and 58 per cent of them said their quality of accommodation improved after moving to the UAE.

Paul Say, Head of Marketing and Communications at HSBC Bank International, said: 'The global expatriate community is vast, and living in foreign countries means expats don't often have the normal outlets to express their viewpoints. This survey has allowed us to delve into the lives of these expats on an unprecedented scale and reveal some fascinating trends into how life differs from country to country.

'The expatriate community is highly important to a number of different economies throughout the world and getting this kind of insight into their everyday lives is helping to shed more light on a highly diverse and far-reaching range of individuals.

'Overall, the survey will deliver some unique insights into a range of facets of the expatriate' life, with our next report looking at the subject of offspring and some of the issues moms and dads face as parents of expatriate children. Our third report, centred around integration, will then focus on some of the challenges faced by expatriates as they move from place to place,' he said.

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