Moving abroad · Destination guide
Best Places to Relocate: How Expats Choose a City
There is no universal best place to relocate. The right city depends on your visa options, work, income versus local costs, healthcare access, language, safety, schools and tax position — in that order, and the order matters more than the destination list.
This guide gives you a criteria-first framework for choosing where to move, compares the destinations expats most commonly shortlist and why, and sets out the checks to run before committing to any of them. It deliberately avoids ranking cities: rankings answer someone else's question, and your shortlist should be built from your constraints, not a magazine's.
Eight criteria that outrank any city list.
Work through these in order. A city that fails an early criterion is off the list no matter how well it scores later — a dream city you cannot legally work in is not a candidate, it is a holiday.
| Criterion | The question | Verify with |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Visa & right to work | Can you legally live and work there — employed, self-employed or retired? | Official immigration authority for your citizenship |
| 2. Income vs cost | Does a realistic local salary or your existing income cover a realistic local budget? | Current listings and contracts, not averages — see the cost-of-living guide |
| 3. Healthcare | What are you eligible for, what must be private, and what does cover cost at your age? | Official health authority + written insurance quotations — see healthcare abroad |
| 4. Language | Can you work, handle admin and build a life in the languages you have or will learn? | Job ads and government services in practice, not tourist experience |
| 5. Safety & stability | Are you comfortable with the security, legal and political environment? | Your government's travel advisories and residents' first-hand accounts |
| 6. Schools & family | Are suitable schools available, affordable and open for enrolment? | Direct contact with schools — places and fees change yearly |
| 7. Tax | What do residence and treaty rules mean for your income and reporting? | A cross-border adviser — start with the double-taxation guide |
| 8. Lifestyle & distance | Climate, culture, community — and how hard is it to get home when it matters? | A trial stay in a normal week, not a holiday |
Where expats actually go — and what to check first.
These destinations appear on expat shortlists again and again, each for a distinct reason. The right-hand column is the check that most often changes someone's mind — run it before falling in love.
| Destination | Why expats choose it | Check first |
|---|---|---|
| Dubai / UAE | Tax-free salaries, expat-majority society, career hubs | Employment sponsorship terms, housing costs, and the legally required health insurance |
| Singapore | Safety, world-class infrastructure and healthcare, regional career hub | Pass eligibility and one of the world's highest costs of living |
| Spain & Portugal | Climate, lifestyle and healthcare draw retirees and remote workers | Visa income requirements, local salaries if employed, and housing pressure in hot spots |
| Germany & Netherlands | Strong economies, structured immigration routes for skilled work | Language expectations at work and in admin; housing scarcity in major cities |
| Canada & Australia | Points-based migration, family-friendly, strong public services | Points eligibility and processing times; healthcare waiting periods for new residents — see the Canada and Australia health guides |
| Mexico & Costa Rica | Cost of living, climate and proximity for North Americans | Residency income thresholds and how private healthcare is paid for |
| Thailand & Malaysia | Cost, lifestyle and established expat communities | Visa categories change frequently; confirm the current rules and private-care costs |
| United Kingdom & Ireland | English-speaking careers, universities and global connections | Visa salary thresholds, healthcare surcharges and housing costs |
From long list to decision in three passes.
Eliminate on paper
Apply criteria one to three — visa, income versus cost, healthcare — to every candidate. Most long lists shrink to two or three cities in an afternoon of official-source reading.
Budget the survivors
Build a real monthly budget per city from current listings and quotations: rent, transport, food, school fees, insurance. The expat finances guide gives the structure.
Trial before committing
Spend a working week — not a holiday — in the finalist. Commute at rush hour, shop for groceries, visit the neighbourhoods you could afford. A trial week regularly reverses a paper decision.
Relocating to the United States: one check above all.
For expats moving to the US, healthcare planning outranks every lifestyle question. There is no universal public system for working-age residents: access runs through employer plans, marketplace policies or private cover, and costs without insurance are the highest in the world. Confirm how you will be covered from day one — including any gap between arrival and employer benefits starting.
The USA health insurance guide for expats covers the system, the gaps and how international policies fit; the same country-guide series covers other major destinations.
The pre-commitment checklist.
Before accepting the offer or signing the lease, close these ten checks — each one is cheaper to run now than to discover later.
- Visa route confirmed against the official immigration source
- Right to work verified for your role and, if relevant, your partner's
- Real monthly budget built from current listings, not averages
- Healthcare eligibility and waiting periods confirmed
- International health cover quoted on written terms
- School places and fees confirmed directly with schools
- Tax residence implications reviewed with a cross-border adviser
- Housing market tested in the neighbourhoods you can afford
- Trial stay completed in a normal working week
- Exit plan understood — notice periods, lease breaks, repatriation costs
Then move to the pre-move planning guide and the documents checklist to execute the move itself.
Relocation destination questions, answered directly.
What is the best place to relocate to?
The city that passes your eliminators — visa, income versus cost, healthcare — and then scores best on your own differentiators: language, safety, schools, tax and lifestyle. For one family that is Dubai; for another it is Lisbon or Toronto. Build the shortlist from your constraints, not from rankings.
Which cities are best for expats?
The perennial shortlist names — Dubai, Singapore, Lisbon, Madrid, Amsterdam, Berlin, London, Toronto, Sydney, Mexico City, Bangkok — earn their place through some mix of career markets, immigration routes, healthcare and lifestyle. Each also has a well-known catch, usually cost, visas or language; the table above pairs every draw with its first check.
How do I choose between two cities?
Build the same real monthly budget for both, confirm healthcare access and insurance cost in both, then spend a normal working week in each. Where paper comparison ties, the trial week almost always breaks it.
Should I choose the cheapest place to live?
Not by itself. A low cost of living only helps if the visa works, your income is genuinely portable, and healthcare meets your family's needs. Cheap cities with weak healthcare or unstable visa routes cost more in the end — compare on the full framework.
When should healthcare drive the decision?
Whenever anyone in the household has an ongoing condition, is pregnant or planning a family, or is over about fifty — and always for a US move. In those cases, confirm treatment access and written insurance terms before shortlisting, not after.
Should I visit before relocating?
Yes — for a working week, not a holiday. Commute in rush hour, shop, test the neighbourhoods you could actually afford, and meet at least one resident expat. A trial week is the cheapest insurance a relocation decision can buy.
Sources, scope and review standard.
- Verify visas and residence rules only with the destination's official immigration authority, and safety guidance with your own government's travel advisories.
- Companion guides: international cost of living, healthcare abroad, pre-move planning and the country health-insurance guides.
Shortlist chosen? Price the healthcare before the flights.
Insurance cost and cover differ sharply between destinations — and they are quotable before you commit. Elev8 compares international health plans for your exact shortlist, on written policy terms, independent of any insurer.