Frankfurt and Hamburg are among the worst cities for emigrants
Created: 12/14/2022, 09:00
By: Franziska Kaindl
As an emigrant, you want to feel comfortable in your new home and be well received.
A ranking reveals where this is not the case.
Many people imagine life in another country to be exciting: it offers the opportunity to experience foreign cultures, learn a new language or broaden one's culinary horizons.
But not every city makes it easy for emigrants, as a survey by the networking service Internations among almost 12,000 expats worldwide reveals.
Expats are people who live abroad for a longer period of time without naturalization – for a job, for example.
They provided information on 50 cities around the world and rated them based on five criteria: quality of life, settling in, job opportunities abroad, personal finances and basic requirements for life as an expat.
Top 10 worst cities for expats
Johannesburg, South Africa
Frankfurt, Germany
Paris, France
Istanbul, Turkey
Hong Kong
Hamburg, Germany
Milan, Italy
Vancouver, Canada
Tokyo, Japan
Rome, Italy
Deductible or paying more because of age: mistakes in trip cancellation insurance
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The worst cities for emigrants: Frankfurt in 2nd place
The result of the survey: Johannesburg in South Africa is the worst city for emigrants.
25 percent of expats consider the city far too expensive, 39 percent criticize the availability of public transport and a full 62 percent do not feel safe on top of that.
The working world also leaves a lot to be desired – the local labor market (38 percent) and personal career opportunities (29 percent) are rated as poor.
For many expats (44 percent), the disposable household income is not enough to lead a comfortable life in Johannesburg.
Nevertheless, housing (46 percent) is generally considered affordable.
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Frankfurt am Main is also not popular with emigrants: the basic requirements are viewed particularly negatively, i.e. digital life, language, administrative issues and housing.
A full 70 percent of expats are dissatisfied with the cost of accommodation, and half of those surveyed (51 percent) are also generally concerned about the general cost of living.
On top of that, 39 percent are unhappy with the administrative services available online, and 37 percent are annoyed by the few options for cashless payment.
In addition, emigrants find it difficult to connect with locals (55 percent) in Frankfurt.
The Main metropolis can only do well when it comes to the infrastructure for cars - but it ends up in last place when it comes to the affordability of public transport.
Emigrants living in Frankfurt consider the city too expensive.
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Rounding out the top 3 worst cities for expats is Paris.
71 percent think that the housing costs are too high and it is generally difficult to find accommodation.
The majority of expats (62 percent) also criticize the high cost of living and are dissatisfied with their financial situation (35 percent).
Another factor in the French capital's poor rating is the fact that many expats don't feel very welcome.
According to them, locals are unfriendly towards foreign residents (35 percent) and it is also difficult to make friends among them (58 percent).
On the other hand, many expats appreciate the quality of life in Paris, including the dining options (86 percent) and the culture and nightlife (78 percent).
Hamburg is also not well received by emigrants
In addition to Frankfurt, another German city made it into the negative ranking: Hamburg ranked 6th among the worst destinations for emigrants.
On the negative side, expats don't feel at home (39 percent) and only 19 percent think it's easy to make local friends.
The difficulties in finding accommodation (66 percent) are also noticeable.
The Hanseatic city scores points for the availability of public transport (95 percent) and the general working conditions.
