In recent years, Lisbon was already a reason for preference in international tourism rankings, but now, it also obtains 1st place in Europe among the expatriate community (professionals living outside their country) and 6th place as the best destination in the world, according to a survey made by InterNations, an expatriate organization.
- New York at 74th.
- Paris at 78th
- Milan at 80º
- Rome in 81º
90% of expatriates say they feel that the Portuguese are generally friendly people.
What makes Lisbon the best European destination
Among the factors that most contribute to the quality of life in Lisbon, we have:
- "Ease of settling down", where Lisbon appears in 6th place in the ranking.
- "Quality of urban life", where it ranks 10th in the world.
- "Feel welcome when you get to the city," where you get third place worldwide.
- "Ease of adaptation to local culture", with 79% positive results, against an average of 62%.
- "Satisfaction with social life and leisure activities", with 88% positive results v.s. 65% worldwide.
- 92% consider the quality of the urban environment to be positive (versus 71% worldwide)
It is confirmed that the Portuguese are a friendly people
The notion that we are a friendly and hospitable people is a commonplace in the Portuguese imagination. 90% of expatriates say they feel that the Portuguese are generally friendly people (versus 68% globally).
What are Lisbon's weaknesses?
However, not everything was rosy, because there were aspects where the capital achieved modest results:
- "Relationship-working personal life", where we got the 50th place in the world.
- "Finance and housing", where Lisbon appears in 44th place.
- "Career opportunities," where he's at the bottom of the list with 73rd place.
- "Cost of living" isn't a very penalising element because we got the 14th place in the world.
A result that increases the national soft power in attracting "talent"...
All in all, Lisbon gets the first place in Europe as a city for expatriates to live, and the 6th worldwide. Knowing that we cannot compete in terms of wages with richer countries, it is important that there are other "soft power" factors that help attract and retain international talent in Portugal, strengthening our companies and the national economy.
Source: InterNations and newspapers Observador and Eco
