Expats happiest in Australia, Canada and New Zealand, survey shows

New Zealand drops to third place, while Canada, another British commonwealth country, remains in the second spot.

France, the US, Portugal, Spain, South Africa and Singapore follow in order (see chart, below).

Some 78% of those surveyed in Australia for NatWest International Personal Banking’s  third annual Quality of Life Index cited the better environment and quality of life for their children as their reasons for being there, NatWest IPB said.

Expats in Australia are also more than twice as likely to own a property, the study revealed: 69% of those surveyed in Australia said they did, compared with a global average of only 31%.

More than four out of five expatriates living in Oz (83%) said the weather was one of the main reasons they were there, while nine out of 10 said the Australian lifestyle kept them Down Under.

‘Financial confidence’

In an analysis of the survey’s findings, NatWest IPB noted that the factor which “lifted Australia to the top of the rankings this year was ‘financial confidence’”– a reflection of the fact that the Australian economy has fared relatively better than those of many other popular expatriate destinations. The United Arab Emirates, for example, fell four places this year, to tenth, from sixth place last year.

British expats represent 15.3% of the overseas born expatriates in Australia, with the total number estimated at 1.4 million, according to Australian government statistics.  Some 30,590 Britons emigrated to Australia in 2008/2009, the figures show, representing 17.9% of total migration into the country. Australia’s total population is around 21.64 million, a little more than a third of Britain’s 62 million.

The survey was conducted for NatWest IPB by the Centre for Future Studies think tank  between October and December of last year. A separate survey looked at the attitudes among British expat retirees. The bank did not say how many people in total were interviewed.

Lifestyle indicators assessed 

The study rated expats’ lives based on their assessments of various ‘lifestyle indicators’ such as the availability and quality of consumer goods, entertainment, food, law enforcement, public transport, housing and other elements of their daily lives.

Other findings:

• More than two thirds of expats living in Australia said their health had improved while living there

• The cost of living in Australia is a third lower than it is in the UK

• Perth is one of the most popular areas of Australia for expatriates, with around 12.5% of its population of around 1.5 million comprised of British expatriates

• Brisbane, however, has recently overtaken Perth as the most popular migration destination in Australia and has the fastest-growing population of all Australian cities.

 source: Centre for Future Studies