Over 75 per cent of expats say that they’re unhappy with the cost of living with about half of those surveyed saying that their disposable household income isn’t enough to “lead a comfortable life”, 21 per cent higher than the rest of the world.
While NZ ranked second worst overall, they were the worst when it came to personal finance with 30 per cent of people saying they aren’t happy with their financial situation.
Establishing which countries place where on the list is determined by five important categories that include quality of life, ease of settling in, working abroad, expat essentials and personal finance.
Close to 12,000 expats were surveyed from over 170 nationalities living in over 180 countries according to Expat Insider.
Though NZ is at the bottom of the list, Australia sits comfortably as the ninth best place in the world for expats.
Most people made the move down under for better quality of life with majority of expats in Australia working in healthcare, IT and finance.
But the survey says the absolute best country for expats anywhere in the world is Mexico.
It ranks within the top positions for friendly population, affordability, career opportunities as well as business culture and digital obstacles.
However, it did underperform in the Quality-of-Life Index with expats also finding it hard to safely get around on foot or bicycle.
The surveyed revealed that 82 per cent of expats had a university degree and on average were aged 45 while 35 per cent of people said that would stay in their country of residence “possibly forever”.
