What makes it so hard to live in a city that so many people want to visit? The cost of living, difficulty making friends, and challenges finding housing are some of the reasons cited by respondents to a survey conducted by InterNations, a global community and information site for people who live and work abroad.
According to the survey of 20,000 expats living in 82 cities around the world, the best cities, which include Taipei, Kuala Lumpur and Ho Chi Minh City, offer a high quality of life, good transportation, available healthcare, low cost of living and friendly locals.
But in places like Milan and Rome, poor political stability concerns expats, and in U.S. cities like New York and San Francisco, they cite affordability and housing as main issues.
To identify the best and worst cities for expats, InterNations asked expats to rate more than 25 different aspects of urban life abroad in the categories of Quality of Urban Living, Getting Settled, Urban Work Life, and Finance & Housing. The survey also includes a Local Cost of Living Index, which does not factor into the overall ranking to avoid over-representing financial aspects.