Europe's host myth: Why Expats experience unfriendliness here

Europe's host myth: Why Expats experience unfriendliness here

A current survey by the Expat website "Internations" on the topic of quality of life abroad has revealed revealing results about hospitality in European countries. Since 2014, Internations have asked around 12,000 people living abroad for the annual “Expat Insider” report, which includes over 170 countries and evaluates various aspects of life. The latest data show that nine European nations in the top ten of the least hospitable countries are listed.

Norway, Finland, Sweden and Denmark do particularly poorly and occupy the last places in relation to hospitality. The survey results suggest that adverse climate conditions and long, dark winter days could affect people's behavior. Residents of metropolises such as Stockholm and Oslo are perceived as unfriendly by about half of the respondents. Germany, Austria and Switzerland also have a bad reputation when it comes to welcome culture. For example, 41 percent of the survey participants perceive Austrians as unfriendly towards foreigners, while Switzerland is described as distant, despite a certain tolerance towards tourists. Germany even cuts worse than Austria and Switzerland in the "repellent behavior" category; Over 51 percent of those surveyed find the German unfriendliness get used to. Munich, Hamburg and Berlin are considered to be unfriendly appearance. Kuwait is the only non-European country that cuts off as badly in this list, since 53 percent of the respondents find the Kuwaiters extremely unfriendly, such as Welt reported.

quality of life for expats in Kuwait and other countries

In addition, another survey shows that Kuwait has the worst quality of life for expats worldwide. These results come from the Expat Insider 2023 Report, which assesses 12,065 expats from 172 countries. Kuwait occupies last place and has significant dissatisfaction with leisure opportunities and expression. A significant part of the respondents complain about restrictions, while only 37 percent are satisfied with their social life. Norway is only better and also has a high dissatisfaction, especially in terms of living costs and social integration opportunities. 30 percent of those surveyed find the locals as unfriendly what Expat News

The data illustrates that the challenges with which expats are confronted in these countries affect both integration and the general quality of life in many cases. The annual report not only shows the difficulties that expats experience in these countries, but also the general perception of hospitality and social interactions.

-transmitted by West-Ost-Medien