Survey: Greece and Cyprus among top-10 Sunny Countries to Live in 2017

Looking for sunny places to live with lots to do? The weather seems to play a critical role in choice of destination: almost seven out of ten (67%) say the climate in their new home was a factor to consider before moving abroad.

People are just as likely to think about the weather as they do about the costs of living and general living standards when deciing on their new home (67% and 70%, respectively). Based on the insights of more than 14,000 expats from over 191 countries in the annual Expat Insider survey, InterNations, the world’s largest network for people who live and work abroad, compiled a so-far unpublished ranking of the most promising destinations for sun lovers.

A milder climate is one of the things Finnish expats moving abroad were looking forward to the most, as nearly seven out of ten (66%) considered it a potential benefit before to relocating — 20 percentage points more than the global average (46%). Other nationalities feeling this way are the Irish (64%), the British (63%), and Russians (62%), whose countries of origin can all be found among the worst countries to move to for the weather. Luckily, there are plenty of options for those who are fed up with the rain, such as Malta, Costa Rica, Spain, Portugal, and Ecuador. Not only did expats consider the weather a potential benefit of moving there, the ranking also suggests that a great climate may have a positive impact on the quality of life.

Greece and Cyprus are among the Top-10 Sunny Countries to live in 2017 and they are described as follows:

Greece

Greece shows that nice weather is not the only thing that counts when moving abroad: even though 81 percent of expats considered the climate a potential benefit, the country is not very popular among expats in general. The country in the Balkans does especially poor in terms of working abroad and personal finance: only a quarter of respondents are generally satisfied with their financial situation, in contrast to 64 percent globally. What is more, 45 percent worry about their job security, which is more than twice the global average (22%). Greece also is not a great choice for families: only 15 percent of expat parents in Greece find the education options numerous and easy to get, and not one respondent agrees completely with this statement.

Cyprus

The climate in Cyprus, which was considered a potential benefit by 86 percent of expats before moving, seems to have a strong influence on daily life: “The sky is always blue and nothing is ever urgent”, a Belgian expat says about living and working on the island. This attitude strongly reflects on the working hours, as Cyprus offers one of the shortest full-time workweeks in the world with only 41.5 hours per week. Besides that, expats do not find many positive things to say about working in Cyprus. Especially the job security (56th out of 67 countries) and the career prospects (65th) pull it down: nearly half of expats in Cyprus (46%) are unsatisfied with their career prospects and nearly two out of five (36%) are unsatisfied with their job security, compared to only 24 and 22 percent globally.

Countries to Avoid If You Are Looking for the Sun

Apart from Kazakhstan and Russia, the bottom ten destinations for sunseekers are all located in Europe: it comes to no surprise that the United Kingdom and Ireland are leading the list of countries to avoid on the search for the sun by a large margin (13 percentage points), with six out of ten expats now living there having considered the weather as a potential disadvantage before moving. When asked about negative aspects, a Brazilian expat living in the UK names the “horrible weather almost all year. It is always cloudy, rainy and windy”. However, there are also 8 percent of expats in the UK and 11 percent in Ireland who considered the weather a potential benefit, showing how much can depend on the perspective. “The cooler weather is great”, says an Australian expat who had lived in Abu Dhabi for eight years before moving to the UK.