Not sure what the hook is here, if there is one, but I did notice this line "For the most popular countries of residence, with the highest numbers of resident expats participating in our survey,". Not sure if that means the countries with the least respondents ranked the lowest or what. If so, I have to wonder if International Living had folks ballot stuffing.
In any case, it seems that the results depend not only on where the expat is going to, but where they're coming from. Also the motives for expatriating are different. It's not just about retirees.
'Expat Insider 2014 is the biggest expat survey worldwide, by number of participants. In June 2014, we asked nearly 14,000 expatriates from over 160 countries across the globe a variety of questions about their life abroad.
Our in-depth questionnaire touched upon various areas of expat living: general quality of life, working abroad, family life, leisure and making friends abroad, international romance and expat relationships, and personal finances. It was especially important to us to find out how satisfied our respondents are with all these different aspects of relocation and expatriate life.
Our country rankings are probably a good way of starting to delve into the survey results. But you can find far more information below – for example, detailed profiles of selected destinations, as well as a copy of the entire survey report to download. Come and have a look at the world through expat eyes!'
Full text is here. Seems like an interesting site. http://www.internations.org/expat-insider/2014/
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I would tend to agree with Kathleen Peddicord's comments in Forbes:
"“Looking at countries doesn’t make sense. It’s like saying you want to retire in the United States instead of saying Naples, Florida or Scottsdale, Arizona,” says Peddicord, who is based in Panama City, Panama. “In a place like Panama, living in Panama City is entirely different than living on a little beach town on the west coast. Everything about your life would be different.”
http://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2014/08/25/the-7-best-places...
Panama ranks pretty low - interesting.