Malaysia rated among top three places by expats

KUALA LUMPUR: A survey by HSBC Expat Explorer has rated Malaysia among the top three countries where expats feel at home in less than a year.

According to HSBC’s 2015 Expat Explorer survey, Malaysia came in third with 61 percent, with Bahrain in top spot with 66 percent and India in second place with 63 percent.

The survey on its website yesterday also said that while the majority of expats in Malaysia believed that making friends was an important milestone in making them feeling at home, others perceived their family’s happiness enjoying life in the new country.

Some expats said successfully learning to use the local language was an important milestone for Malaysia to feel like home, while others said understanding the local culture helped in feeling a stronger connection with the country.

Expats looking to settle in even quicker could consider moving to Mexico where 42 percent said the country felt like home instantly or in less than six months, just behind Bahrain (47 percent) and Malaysia (43 percent).

According to the findings, expats experienced different milestones on their path to feeling like locals.

They said making friends or developing social life and starting to understand the local culture and etiquette had played the greatest part in making a strong connection with their host country.

The Expat Explorer survey, now in the ninth year, is one of the largest independent global expat surveys. It is commissioned by HSBC Expat and conducted by a third party research company, YouGov.

Almost 22,000 expats based in over 100 countries were questioned between March and May 2015.

The respondents shared their views on different aspects of life abroad including career, financial wellbeing, quality of life and ease of settling for partners and children. - Bernama