Moving abroad sounds like the dream, right? A fresh start, warmer weather, lower costs, maybe a slower pace of life. Millions of people do it every year. The number of people living outside their country of birth has steadily increased, reaching roughly 300 to 304 million in mid-2024. That’s a staggering portion of humanity packing up and starting over somewhere new.
But here’s the thing: not every move turns out the way people imagined. Some expats absolutely thrive. Others quietly count down the days until they can go home. The difference often comes down to the specific country they chose. So which destinations consistently deliver happiness, and which ones regularly break hearts? The answers might genuinely surprise you. Let’s dive in.
Why Expat Happiness Is More Science Than Luck
Before getting into the countries themselves, it’s worth understanding how we actually know which places work and which don’t. This isn’t guesswork. InterNations, the world’s largest expat community with more than 5.7 million members, has published its annual Expat Insider survey since 2014. The 2025 edition drew more than 10,000 respondents representing 172 nationalities, providing insights into expat life across 46 countries.
A total of 46 destinations were ranked based on five topical categories: working abroad, personal finance, quality of life, expat essentials, and ease of settling in. Survey participants were asked to rate up to 53 individual factors on a scale of one to seven. That’s serious, comprehensive data. Not anecdote. Not travel blogging. Real numbers from real people living real lives abroad.
Several overarching patterns emerged from the 2024 data: affordability consistently outranked prestige as the key driver of satisfaction. Vietnam’s number one ranking in personal finance for the third consecutive year exemplifies this trend. In other words, expats don’t necessarily want luxury. They want to feel comfortable, welcome, and financially at ease.
Happy Country #1: Panama – The Reigning Champion
If there is one country that has dominated the expat happiness rankings with almost stubborn consistency, it is Panama. In 2026, Panama once again ranks first overall, with all five indices placing in the top three and an impressive 94% of expats happy with their life abroad. Ninety-four percent. Think about that number for a moment. That is almost everyone.
Thirty-five percent of respondents in Panama are already retired, and 18% say their primary motivation for moving there was specifically to retire. In the quality of life ranking, Panama also ranked number three, and 35% plan to stay forever. That level of commitment speaks volumes. People aren’t just tolerating Panama. They’re staying permanently.
For about $800 to $1,500 per month, you can live comfortably in small towns, villages and farming communities. Those looking to live in Panama City will require a higher monthly budget of up to $2,500. For many Western expats, that’s a fraction of what they’d spend back home. The financial relief alone changes lives.
Happy Country #2: Mexico – Warmth in Every Sense
Mexico has a certain magnetic quality that keeps pulling expats in year after year. Mexico is the number one expat destination for happiness according to some major surveys, with roughly nine in ten expats satisfied with their quality of life. The combination of affordability, culture, food, and community is honestly hard to beat.
Mexico offers affordable living for those earning in strong currencies like the US dollar, British pound, or euro, rich culture, world-renowned cuisine, and famously warm locals. To put numbers into perspective, rents in Mexico City are about 70% lower compared to San Francisco, while groceries are 47% lower. That gap is the kind of thing that genuinely transforms retirement budgets or remote-work salaries into something truly comfortable.
Mexico has been in the top three expat destinations since 2014. The welcoming atmosphere helps roughly eight in ten expats feel at home. That said, safety concerns remain real, and some expats have reported tension from locals frustrated by rising rents caused by the influx of foreign residents. Mexico rewards those who do their homework before choosing a neighborhood.
Happy Country #3: Colombia – The Fastest Riser on the List
Colombia’s glow-up in the expat world has been remarkable. Rising from fifth place in 2024 to second overall, Colombia has become one of the top destinations for expats. Personal Finance is its strongest area, driven by a low cost of living and high financial satisfaction, with most expats saying their income allows for a comfortable lifestyle.
The InterNations survey found that roughly four in five respondents are satisfied with their financial situation in Colombia. The country also ranked highly in the quality of life index, with the vast majority of respondents stating that their disposable household income is sufficient to lead a comfortable life there. Those are exceptional numbers for any country, let alone one that was barely on most people’s radar a decade ago.
Thirty-six percent of expats said they wanted to stay in Colombia forever, and another 47% said they have no clear plans of leaving the country. Honestly, that is a stunning level of satisfaction. Colombia also scores highly for its welcoming culture, social life, and accessible housing, making it easy for newcomers to settle in. That said, challenges remain, including limited digital government services, the need for Spanish, and ongoing concerns about safety and political stability.
Happy Country #4: Vietnam – The Affordability King
Vietnam has quietly become one of the most talked-about expat destinations in Asia, and the data backs up the hype completely. Vietnam has been named among the world’s best countries for expatriates, buoyed by high marks for affordability and personal finance, according to the annual Expat Insider survey by InterNations. Vietnam topped the survey’s Personal Finance Index for the fifth consecutive year, with nearly nine in ten respondents satisfied with the cost of living.
About 87% of expats said their disposable income was enough or more than enough to live comfortably. That figure is remarkable when you consider that many of these expats come from countries where financial stress is a daily reality. Vietnam essentially removes that pressure almost entirely.
In the General Happiness Index, Vietnam landed a top 10 ranking, placing eighth among all 46 countries. It also ranked 11th in the Working Abroad index, covering career prospects, salary, and work culture. The trade-off is that Vietnam scored quite low in digital administration and healthcare quality. So it’s not perfect, but for the right person, it’s close.
Happy Country #5: Portugal – Europe’s Sunshine Underdog
Portugal punches well above its weight in the expat happiness world. It offers everything people love about Southern Europe, often at a price that actually makes sense. In 2024, Portugal was recognized as the seventh safest country in the world according to the Global Peace Index. Safety, sunshine, and seafood. That’s a compelling package.
According to the 2025 Global Retirement Index, Portugal is the second-best place to stay during retirement. For retirees especially, that ranking matters enormously. Living in Portugal provides a significant advantage in affordability compared to many other European countries. Essential expenses such as food, groceries, utilities, healthcare, childcare, and education are generally more budget-friendly, allowing residents to maintain a high quality of life without the financial strain often found in other parts of Europe.
According to the 2024 Expat Insider survey by InterNations, Portugal placed 15th out of 53 countries. Expats highlight the friendliness of locals, the simplicity of integrating into the community, and the laid-back lifestyle. It’s not a perfect 10, but Portugal consistently delivers on what matters most to most people who move there.
Regret Country #1: Kuwait – Last Place, Again and Again
Kuwait might be the starkest example of a gap between financial expectation and lived reality. Ranking last overall, Kuwait remains a difficult destination for expats, scoring poorly for quality of life, ease of settling in, and overall happiness abroad. Most expats move there for work and are employed full time, but dissatisfaction with job security, work-life balance, and fair pay is widespread. Extreme heat, limited leisure and cultural options, poor air quality, and a challenging social environment further dampen the experience, leaving many expats planning an early exit.
The 2024 Expat Insider poll, which drew responses from more than 12,500 expats based in 174 countries or territories, ranked Kuwait as the worst place for overseas inhabitants. This was the seventh time this had happened in the eleven surveys conducted by InterNations. Seven times. That is a pattern, not a blip.
About half of expats in Kuwait feel like they cannot openly express themselves and their opinions, more than triple the global average of 15%. For many people, the financial package draws them in, but the reality of daily life wears them down fast. It’s hard to be happy when you can’t even speak freely.
Regret Country #2: South Korea – Technically Impressive, Socially Isolating
South Korea is a genuinely impressive country on paper. The technology, the food, the efficiency – all of it is world-class. Yet for expats, the lived experience often tells a different story. South Korea, Türkiye, and Kuwait make up the bottom three in the InterNations rankings. Expats are in particular agreement that working in South Korea is tough, ranking in the bottom 10 of the Working Abroad Index and in the bottom three for Work Culture and Satisfaction.
Living in South Korea can be a challenge for immigrants. Finding new friends and maintaining a social life can be challenging given the peculiarities of the local culture. The language barrier is genuinely severe. South Korea and Japan are near the bottom of expat rankings because it is very hard to break into the local community when you don’t speak the local language, and crowded cities mean tiny accommodation options.
It’s hard to say for sure whether the culture will ever become more open to foreign integration, but as of the latest data, South Korea consistently disappoints expats hoping for warm community ties. The country is exceptional to visit. Living there long-term is a different conversation entirely.
Regret Country #3: Germany – Cold Winters, Colder Welcomes
Germany attracts skilled workers from across the globe, and economically it offers real opportunity. But the expat happiness data paints a more sobering picture. More than half of the bottom 10 countries in the 2025 InterNations survey are European, with Germany ranking 42nd out of 46. That’s a surprisingly low position for one of the world’s most admired economies.
Expats leaving Canada, UK, and Australia mentioned struggling with making friendships most. Meanwhile, immigrants leaving Australia, Canada, and Germany mentioned cost of living struggles the most in the dataset. Germany’s reputation for being socially reserved hits expats hard. Making local friends can feel genuinely impossible for years.
In the Expat Essentials Index, expats in Germany have a particularly difficult time with digital life and administrative topics. The bureaucracy in Germany is legendary in the worst possible way. Simple tasks that take an hour elsewhere can stretch into weeks of paperwork in German offices. Germany also didn’t score well because of the generally cold winters and the fact that locals don’t seem immediately friendly to newcomers.
Regret Country #4: The United Kingdom – Expensive, Rainy, and Harder Than It Looks
The UK has enormous cultural appeal. The language, the history, the global reputation. For many, moving there feels like a safe bet. But the data says otherwise. The United Kingdom ranks 41st in the overall 2025 InterNations ranking. While it performs reasonably in the Expat Essentials Index, expats there struggle significantly with personal finance, housing costs, and medical costs.
With its rich history and broad culture, the United Kingdom is not exempt from expat regrets. Complaints include the damp, cold weather and a perceived lack of work-life balance, especially in management positions. Honestly, the weather alone breaks more than a few spirits. But the financial pressure on top of that can become genuinely crushing.
Homesickness, difficulty finding work, and struggling with the cost of living are the top three reasons people move back home. Expats also reported struggling to make friends and a strong pull to return to be with existing friends and family. The UK often feels familiar on the surface but reveals its true challenges once someone is actually living there, not just visiting. According to research from AXA Global Healthcare, as of June 2024, roughly nine in ten expats reported feeling isolated after leaving their home country, with almost half saying the main reason was missing their family and friends.
The Big Picture: What Really Determines Expat Happiness
Looking across all this data, a clear pattern emerges. The happiest expat destinations aren’t necessarily the richest or most prestigious. Social integration is critical: the ease of building local connections and feeling welcomed significantly impacts overall satisfaction. That sentence could be the single most important thing any prospective expat reads before making a decision.
The 2024 rankings reveal a shift in global expat preferences, with eight of the top ten countries coming from just two regions: Latin America and Southeast Asia. According to InterNations data, these regions excel in affordability, work-life balance, and social integration. While they may not offer the highest salaries or most advanced infrastructure, they provide overall lifestyle value that increasingly appeals to mobile professionals and retirees.
Expats who expected stability in some destinations found themselves caught between shifting political winds, uncertain tax regimes, and communities that didn’t always welcome them. The lesson is simple, even if it’s hard to accept before you move: doing deep research on integration, not just cost of living, could be the single most important factor determining whether your move becomes the adventure of a lifetime or the mistake you quietly regret. Which of these nine countries surprised you the most? Tell us in the comments below.