Moving abroad with your family is a decision not to be taken lightly, especially if you have children. Expatriates who have taken the leap share their views and feelings in the latest HSBC Expat Explorer report published this Wednesday, September 21, 2016. While Sweden ranks as the most welcoming country for expat families, the Czech Republic, Singapore, New Zealand or Canada and Austria show an ideal environment for raising children abroad.
Quality of life and education
The quality of life and of education remain considerable factors for families planning to settle abroad. Indeed, 75% of respondents in Sweden expats claim their children have benefited from better childcare services than in their respective home countries. Moreover, 69% of expat parents believe that their children's health and well-being have improved significantly and that they enjoy a better quality of life since they moved to Sweden.
The Czech Republic also stands out not only for its excellent child care services but also for its quality of education. In fact, more than half of expat parents in the Czech Republic believe that education is less expensive there than in their home country, compared to 47% globally. The same applies to Russia, Belgium, Austria, Norway and Singapore.
62% of expat parents in France believe that their children enjoy a better quality of life thanks to several advantages, namely high quality education and commendable child care services which are less expensive than in their respective home countries. Indeed, it seems to be quite easier to raise children in France than in many other countries.
Better integration
Expatriate children's integration into their new environment depends on many other factors, including, openness to new experiences, discovering new cultures, learning new languages, as well as the ease of making friends. 44% of expat parents living in New Zealand report that their children had no trouble making friends in their new host country.
As a multicultural country, Canada is also a great place to raise children, providing several advantages. 72% of respondents admit that their children's lives has been enriched with new experiences and new cultures while 55% of them say that moving to Canada has made their children more well-rounded and confident. For 50% of respondents, learning new languages has also been beneficial to their children.
Kenya, South Africa, Hong Kong and Japan are also particularly appreciated by expat parents in cultural terms. France, Germany and Belgium, for their part, stand out in terms of language fluency.
Raising children in the Middle East
Moving to the Middle East does not necessarily mean isolation. Indeed, 42% of expat parents in Bahrain say their children made friends more easily there than in their home countries, compared to 31% globally. 78% of expats living there also noticed an improvement in their children's quality of life. In addition, more than half of respondents living in the United Arab Emirates feel that their children now enjoy better health and well-being compared to the global average of 49%. However, the cost of education in the Middle East seems to be higher than in their home country.
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