SANTIAGO – Santiago is one of the worst capitals to live in. Or so says the Expat City Ranking 2020, performed by InterNations. Down in the cellar at 59th place out of 66 cities, Santiago is the only Latin American destination in the bottom 10.
Every year, the world’s largest online global community, InterNations, publishes the Expat City Ranking, based on the Expat Insider survey it hold among its members. Over 15,000 people living in 181 countries participated in the 2020 edition and were asked questions in five main categories: Quality of Urban Living, Getting Settled, Urban Work Life, Finance & Housing, and Local Cost of Living.
Five Latin American cities are ranked: Panama City, 4th; Buenos Aires, 7th; Mexico City, 38th; São Paulo, 39th; and, finally, Santiago, 59th. The Chilean capital scores especially bad on the Quality of Urban Living Index (54th).
For the subcategory of Safety & Politics, the city is ranked 59th, which is mainly due to the social unrest that started on Oct. 18, 2019. The cost of healthcare, and its lack of availability, are additional concerns. Other factors that drag Santiago down are work-life balance, the friendliness of Chileans, and the overall cost of living.
The highest rated cities are all found in southern Europe, with Valencia in the top spot, followed by Alicante, and Lisbon. The worst ranked cities are Salmiya (Kuwait), Seoul, and Rome.
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Editor-In-Chief Boris van der Spek is the founder of Chile Today.