Aachen beats Berlin
These are the most popular German cities among foreign professionals
Aachen is the most popular German city for expats
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An international survey has identified the world’s most popular cities for working and living abroad. Six German cities are also represented – but they all have one problem in common.
You can work very well in Germany, the rest of life brings its difficulties. According to a study, this is the opinion of many foreign skilled workers, or expats for short, who ended up in Germany because of the job.
For the international survey by the organization Internations, more than 12,000 expats rated life in the city in which they currently live in various categories. Six representatives from Germany made it into the ranking of 57 cities – albeit not in the top positions. The big metropolises in particular performed rather poorly: The most popular German city is therefore in 20th place in the overall ranking. It is followed by Frankfurt (26th), Munich (35), Berlin (39), Düsseldorf (40) and Hamburg (42).
Germany scores with good jobs
The German cities can particularly score points in the working life category. Foreign expats particularly appreciate the secure jobs, good career opportunities and the general economic situation in their adopted German home. The work-life balance is also felt to be exemplary – with the exception of Frankfurt. “I like how much Germans value the balance between life and work,” reports a Spaniard who works in Aachen. Little Aachen, with its technical universities and industry-related research centers, even came in second in the world in the work category – and only had to admit defeat to its German competitor Munich.
The fact that Aachen scores so much better than the Bavarian metropolis in the overall ranking is due to the clear differences in the cost of living and the housing situation. While Aachen is valued for its affordable housing, the location in Munich is a horror for many expats. “The rental prices are ridiculously high when you consider the quality of the apartments,” says a study participant from the Philippines. In fact, Munich does the trick of being the best city for working and the worst for living in a global comparison.
Nevertheless, the respondents rate the quality of life in Munich as significantly better than in other German cities. Munich is particularly praised for the quality of the environment, the medical care, the safety and the opportunities for recreational activities. “I like the excellent balance between city and nature, between work and fun in life,” said an American who ended up in the Isar city. Hamburg, on the other hand, is struggling with a natural disadvantage: every second expat in the Hanseatic city is dissatisfied with the bad weather in northern Germany.
Finding friends: a challenge
All German cities fare particularly poorly on another sub-topic: It is more difficult for expats to get used to their new home in Germany than elsewhere. Respondents report that they have problems getting used to the local culture and making new friends. “It takes a long time for Germans to become sociable and open, says a Belgian who works in Hamburg.” Everyone seems to be mainly concerned with themselves. That is a stark contrast to Canada, “reports a respondent from Düsseldorf, which comes off worst in terms of social life.
The residents of the capital are perceived as particularly unfriendly: Almost every third expat is bothered by the notorious Berlin snout – in a global comparison only the people in Paris, Vienna and Stockholm are even more unfriendly.
In a domestic German comparison, expats still settle in best in Frankfurt. Perhaps that is also why eight out of ten expats in Frankfurt say they are satisfied with life in their adopted country – in Düsseldorf only six out of ten say that.
According to the survey, the most popular city among expats worldwide is Kuala Lumpur, followed by Malaga, Dubai and Sydney in Spain. The Italian cities of Rome and Milan are at the bottom of the 57-city ranking. A total of 12,420 people from 186 countries living and working abroad were surveyed. Only cities for which interviews with at least 50 participants were available were included in the list.