Dubai was ranked as the best city in the region and third in the world for expats to live and work abroad in 2021. A survey of 12,000 respondents from InterNations, a community with 4.3 million expat members, ranked 57 best cities for expats. Dubai’s ranking jumped from #20 in 2020 to #3 in 2021.

The results are based on how satisfied the expat respondents were across five categories:

• Quality of life
• Ease of settling in
• Personal finance
• Housing, and
• Factors related to working overseas.

Kuala Lumpur and Málaga (Spain) occupied the first two spots, leaving Dubai at the third position ahead of Sydney and Singapore in the Top 5. Ho Chi Minh, Prague, Mexico City, Basel and Madrid rounded up the Top 10 cities for expats to live and work abroad in 2021.

Respondents to the InterNations survey titled Expat Insider 2021 were located in 186 countries. They rated 25 different aspects of life overseas across five broad categories. Doha (#15), Abu Dhabi (#16), Muscat (#17) and Riyadh (#44) were the other GCC cities in the survey.

Just why expats love Dubai

Earlier this year, Dubai launched its ambitious Dubai 2040 plan, which aims to make Dubai the best city to live in for its residents. Three out of every four Dubai residents are foreigners, making it a hub for expats. The city scored exceedingly well in the ‘Getting Settled Index’, making it into the top 10 of every sub-category.

Expat respondents saw the emirate as one of the easiest cities in the world to live in without speaking the local language. Eight out of 10 Dubai expats surveyed (81 per cent) said locals in Dubai are friendly towards foreign residents. This compared well with a global average of 67 per cent. “They are warm, welcoming, and friendly,” the report quoted an unnamed Indian expat as saying.

“Dubai makes it easy for expats to settle in. It places sixth in the Getting Settled Index. The respondents appreciate the lack of a language barrier in this expat hotspot: 94 per cent find it easy to live in Dubai without speaking the local language (vs. 54 per cent globally),” the report said. “…and 70 per cent say that it is easy to get used to the local culture (vs. 65 per cent globally).”

Dubai also performed quite well in the Quality of Urban Living Index. An overwhelming majority of respondents (97 per cent) said they felt safe in the city (vs. 84 per cent globally). “As a woman from a country where there is a lot of crime, safety is a big deal to me,” the InterNations report quoted an unnamed female expat from South Africa as saying.

“Expats also benefit from an above-average quality of life. While Dubai misses out on the top 10 in the Quality of Urban Living Index (11th), it offers a safe and stable environment with good leisure options: 84 per cent rate the latter positively (vs. 72 per cent globally).” The UAE’s commercial capital was also lauded for its political stability.

…And where the shoe pinches

The emirate lost points for job security, work-life balance and affordability. Four in 10 respondents (41 per cent) said they found the city unaffordable (compared with 39 per cent globally). “The Finance & Housing Index (21st) is a bit of a mixed bag for Dubai. On the one hand, 86 per cent state that housing for expats is easy to find (vs. 60 per cent globally). But only 32 per cent describe it as affordable (vs. 42 per cent globally) and 28 per cent are dissatisfied with their financial situation (vs. 19 per cent globally),” said the report.

“With 48 per cent rating the cost of living negatively, Dubai comes 35th in this index,” it noted. “Dubai does worst in the Urban Work Life Index (38th). It places slightly above the global average for its local economy (23rd) and career opportunities (27th). Quite a few expats complain about long hours and little [job] security, though: 22 per cent rate their work-life balance negatively (vs. 17 per cent globally), and 32 per cent view their job security unfavourably (vs. 20 per cent globally).”