Moving to a foreign country may seem like a pipe dream, but it doesn’t have to break the bank.
When deciding whether to move abroad to live or work, one of the biggest factors to consider is personal finances.
For the fourth consecutive year, Vietnam is the most affordable country in the world for expats, ranking first among 53 destinations in terms of personal finances, according to International Nations Study 2024.
To be clear, out of 53 places, it came 40th for quality of life, 29th for basic expat needs such as digital life, housing and language, and ranked 14th for working abroad — with factors such as career prospects, salary and job security.
More than 12,000 migrants in 174 regions around the world participated in the wider Expat Insider 2024 research that provided insights including the best and worst places to live, quality of life, working abroad and personal finance.
For Personal Finance IndexInterNations asked respondents to rank their levels of personal satisfaction in three areas: general cost of living, satisfaction with financial situation and whether disposable household income was enough to live a comfortable life.
That data was used to compile the report, which remains largely unchanged from last year, with the exception of one newcomer to the list — Brazil (9th) — replacing Malaysia, which dropped from 5th in 2023 to 11th this year.
Here are the top 10 destinations that expats say are best for their personal finances:
- Vietnam
- Colombia
- Indonesia
- Panama
- Philippines
- India
- Mexico
- Thailand
- Brazil
- China
Asian countries dominated this year’s list, taking six of the top 10 spots. Southeast Asia, in particular, stood out with Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand making the top 10.
“Housing is a big plus in all four countries: Thailand ranks 1st, Vietnam 2nd, the Philippines 5th and Indonesia 8th,” Kathrin Chudoba, director of marketing at InterNations, told CNBC Make It. “Most expats agree that housing is easy to find and are happy with how affordable it is.”
Of the surveyed expats living in Vietnam, 86% rate their cost of living favorably — that’s more than double the global average of 40%, and 65% of respondents in the country say they are satisfied with their financial situation compared to with 54% worldwide. according to the report.
Additionally, 68% of respondents say their household disposable income is more than enough to live a comfortable life, compared to 41% globally, the survey found.
Life here is stress free for me, it’s a wonderful change from my work life which has been very tiring and hectic.
British expat living in Vietnam
Not only is the cost of living low, but expats tend to get paid more in Vietnam.
“Nearly twice the global average report a gross annual income of USD 150,000 or more (19% vs. 10% globally),” according to InterNations.
In addition, general job satisfaction is also very high among expatriates in the country. Vietnam jumped from 24u ranking last year at 3rd in 2024 for this factor, which is part of the “Work Culture and Satisfaction” subcategory, Tsudoba said.
In general, “work-life balance trumps career advancement” in Vietnam, according to the report. Specifically, less than half (46%) of the country’s expatriate population work full-time, compared to the global average of 57%. About one in five expats (21%) work part-time and around 18% of expats are retired.
“Life here is stress-free for me, it’s a wonderful change from my work life, which has been very tiring and hectic,” a British expat told the report.
Along with measuring expats’ satisfaction with their personal finances, the InterNations Expat Insider study also gathered data on what the overall best destinations for expats worldwide are.
This broader list explores how expats feel about other aspects of life abroad, based on 5 indicators: general happiness, quality of life, ease of settling in, working abroad and the “expat essentials” index, which is based on management, housing, digital life and language.
Of the 53 global destinations, four Asian countries made the overall top 10 list this year: Indonesia (3rd overall), Thailand (6th overall), Vietnam (8th overall) and the Philippines (9th overall).
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