SINGAPORE, Apr. 9 (Reuters) — Asian expatriates ranked Singapore the best place to live out of 257 locations worldwide because of its clean air, infrastructure and low crime rate, a survey showed.
Australia was also popular among Asians sent to work overseas, with Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra taking the next three spots, according to ECA International, a human resource consultancy for multinationals. As more companies from China, India and Singapore expand overseas and send their employees abroad for work, employers want to know which cities are the most or least popular in order to devise suitable compensation packages. ECA’s survey, based on expatriate surveys and country data, ranked cities according to climate, social network, health facilities, transportation, education, crime and other criteria. "Singapore scores very well on all factors" among Asians, Lee Quane, ECA’s Hong Kong-based general manager, said. "It has brilliant infrastructure in terms of housing, and transportation and quality and availability of goods and services." The standard of living in Chinese cities has improved, Quane said, with Xian making greatest headway, although it remains the worst-ranked of all the Chinese cities covered by the ECA survey. "There’s been a general improvement in infrastructure, health facilities and elements such as the quality of goods and services and recreation" for China overall, Quane said. Scores for Cambodia’s Phnom Penh and Vientiane in Laos have also improved. But Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur both ranked lower for Asian expatriates this year due to deteriorating air quality. Hong Kong fell to 32nd place, from 20th last year. Language and proximity to home were among the top concerns among expatriates around the world, Quane said, which is why only three of the 10 most favored locations among Asians were in Europe or North America, and no Asian cities were in the top 10 lists for workers from North America or western Europe. Singapore was in 58th place for west European expatriates due to factors such as distance from home, differences in culture, language and climate. Basel in Switzerland was the top city in the world for western European expatriates, thanks to its strong infrastructure, good air quality and health care facilities, but it ranked 10th overall among Asian expatriates. For North Americans, Vancouver, Copenhagen and Zurich ranked as the top three cities in the world to live, ECA said. | 
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