Singapore ranks as best place for Asians to live

Singapore maintains the highest quality of life in the world for Asian assignees, according to the latest location ranking survey on expatriate living conditions by ECA International, an organization for international professionals.

Undertaken annually, ECA International's Location Ranking Survey compares living standards in 254 locations globally according to categories such as climate, health services, housing and utilities, isolation, social network and leisure facilities, personal safety and political tensions.

"High quality infrastructure and health facilities, combined with low health risks, air pollution, crime rates and a cosmopolitan population make Singapore a very appealing location for Asians to live. Although we did see a small deterioration in some factors, such as air quality and accommodation, in 2007, it still retains the status of a location with the best quality of living for assignees in Asia," explained Lee Quane, general manager of ECA International in Hong Kong, which is ranked 15.

"While Hong Kong has seen an improvement in some categories, such as personal security, air pollution remains the biggest cause for its inferior position to that of Singapore in our ranking," he said.

The Japanese cities of Kobe and Yokohama are the only other Asian destinations in the top 10, ranked third and eighth respectively. Joining them in the top 10 destinations for Asian expatriates are Sydney, Melbourne, Copenhagen, Canberra, Vancouver, Wellington and Dublin.

"Locations have been ranked against an Asian base. Since quality of living is relative to where someone comes from and where they are going, our scores take into account the home and destination country. Rankings, therefore, vary according to the base used," added Quane.

Therefore, while Singapore is top for Asians, it comes in at only 53 for Western Europeans. "Although still a great place to come to, distance from home, differences in culture, language and climate all make it relatively harder for a European to live here than Copenhagen, for example, which tops the rankings for Europeans," explained Quane.

Looking at the 49 Asian locations included in the survey, the next best places to reside are Hong Kong and Tokyo, both in 15th position in the world ranking, followed by Taipei (57), Macau (59), Bangkok (60) and the Malaysian cities of Georgetown and Kuala Lumpur, both ranked 63.

Georgetown has seen the biggest improvement in scores of all the Asian cities, reflected in an 11-place rise in the ranking, due to improvements in recreation, housing and personal security situations. Other locations in Asia which witnessed a noteworthy rise in the ranking are Hong Kong (eight places), Phnom Penh and Seoul (both by seven places).

Shanghai (78) tops the list of Chinese locations in the survey, while Xi'an

(166) is China's least favorable location in the survey. Beijing, at 112th position, comes lower than second-tier cities such as Nanjing (89) and Tianjin (110), due principally to less favorable air quality and personal security.

Of the Indian locations included in the survey, Chennai (138) scores the most favorably ahead of Bangalore (153), Mumbai (156), New Delhi (169) and Kolkata (193).

"There are still only five Asian locations in the top 50 globally, nevertheless across Asia, we are slowly seeing improvements in a number of areas. These can broadly be attributed to an improved standard of living resulting from recent consistent economic growth in the major Asian economies," said Quane.

For Asians thinking of heading to the Americas, Vancouver remains the most favorable location in the region, indicated by its seventh place in the ranking. The Canadian city is followed by San Francisco (11), Washington, D.C. (23) and Toronto (35).