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【中文标题】海外移居首选地——中国
【原文标题】Want to move abroad? This map shows the best and worst countries to be an expatriate.
【登载媒体】华盛顿邮报
【原文作者】Max Fisher
【原文链接】http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/11/05/want-to-move-abroad-this-map-shows-the-best-and-worst-countries-to-be-an-expatriate/?tid=pm_world_pop
游客俯瞰天安门广场（译者注：实为故宫）。
据英国银行HSBC最近的研究，以经济机会和生活质量衡量，中国和泰国排在34个适合移居的国家首位。紧跟其后的是一些具备全球化商业特色、富有的小国，按顺序来看它们是瑞士、开曼群岛、巴林和新加坡。
34个国家中最不适合移居的是埃及，今年夏天的军事政变之后，这里的排外情绪和平民民族主义情绪高涨。排名垫底的还有大部分西欧国家，报告称那里的生活成本过于昂贵，包括法国、西班牙、英国、意大利和排名倒数第二的爱尔兰。
报告还比较了24个国家移民养育孩子的一系列指标，如果把这个因素与经济和生活质量指标结合来看，中国排名第一，其次是德国和新加坡。报告认为德国最适合移民养育孩子，泰国有最好的工作和生活条件，瑞士有最好的经济条件。
这张地图标识出34个国家在移民的经济机会和生活质量方面的比较，并不包括育儿的因素。蓝色表示适合移民，红色表示不适合移民。
你可以看到，地图中的数据非常倾向于亚洲的发展中国家。报告说，这些国家的公司格外优待移民工人，一般会额外提供15％的薪资。再加上低物价，移民在这里可以享受到任何地方都不会有的消费能力。东南亚的移民都认为他们的社交生活都有向那里转移的倾向，或许是因为更高的可支配收入、天气以及近海的优势。
尽管如此，我还是无法理解中国大陆为什么排名这么高。这个国家恶化的空气质量和食品安全问题在那些移民聚居的大城市尤其突出，已经有很多移民无法忍受这种条件而准备离开了。或许中国的经济实在太好了，抵消了这些问题的影响。
德国和瑞士也非常适合移民生活，这两个国家的经济在欧洲糟糕的大环境下依然在增长。移民的薪资水平在德语国家中比较高，消费也比其它欧洲国家低，主要得益于出口驱动型经济。强大的社会福利保障体系和高标准的生活条件让移民感到舒适安心，即使他们无法像在发展中国家那样享受上层社会的生活质量。
中东地区的国家不适合移民居住，主要原因是当地的法律限制外国人拥有的财产，官方和民间的社会条件降低了生活质量。也有两个例外，巴林和卡塔尔，这两个富裕的波斯湾小国政府努力吸引富有的移民，鼓励他们在本国从事经营活动。不用说，HSBC的报告肯定没有考虑“外来工人”这个因素。海外国家——尤其是卡塔尔——众所周知地虐待来自东南亚的移民工人，他们的工作条件非常艰苦，而且没有任何保障。
更令人吃惊的是西欧国家，尽管这里足够富有、生活标准很高，但也被报告列为最不适合移民居住的国家。报告中提到，如果你是本地人，有机会享受国家丰厚的社会福利制度，那么高税赋和高生活成本或许还是可以忍受的。但如果你是一个没有机会享受福利的移民，就不大容易接受了。欧盟持续的金融危机说明这里的收入水平不具有竞争力，尤其是在高生活成本的环境下。或许西欧的公司和跨国企业在西欧的分公司在经济不稳定的情况下不愿意持续投资。但是西欧在育儿方面排名靠前，原因是这里高质量的教育和可接受的育儿成本。
根据这个报告来看，如果你打算改变一种生活方式，而且你没有孩子，那么你应该考虑中国、泰国或者亚洲的某个国家。如果你想在海外育儿，德国应当是首选地。
原文：
Tourists look over Tiananmen Square in Beijing. (MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)
China and Thailand are the two best countries to be an expatriate, according to a recent study by British bank HSBC that looked at economic opportunities and quality of life for expats in 34 countries. They're followed by small, rich countries known for their globalized business classes. In descending order, they are: Switzerland, the Cayman Islands, Bahrain and Singapore.
The worst of these 34 countries to be an expat is Egypt, which has seen xenophobia rise considerably since this summer's military coup and wave of populist nationalism. Also at the bottom of the list is much of Western Europe, which the report says is often too expensive for expats. In descending order: France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy and second-to-last is Ireland.
For 24 of those countries, the study also looked at metrics gauging the suitability of raising children as expats. If you incorporate the data on child rearing abroad along with the economic and quality-of-life measurements, China ranks first overall, following by Germany and Singapore. The study concludes that Germany is the best of these countries to raise expat children, that Thailand provides the best work-life experience for expats, and that Switzerland has the most favorable economy for expatriates.
This map shows how the 34 countries compare on economic opportunities and quality-of-life for expats. It does not include the metrics on child rearing. Bluer countries are better for expats and redder countries are worse:
The best and worst countries to be an expat. Data source; HSBC. Click to enlarge. (Max Fisher/Washington Post)
You can see right away that the data are very favorable for expat life in Asia's developing economies. Companies in these countries prize expat workers and tend to pay them 15 percent more, the report explains. This, combined with lower costs of living, can give expats much higher spending power than they'd enjoy elsewhere. Expats in East and Southeast Asia also tend to report that their social lives become much more active on moving there, due perhaps to the boost in disposable incomes as well as better weather and proximity to beaches.
Still, I was surprised to see mainland China rank so high. The country's worsening air quality (here is the most shocking photo of Chinese air pollution I've ever seen) and food safety issues (watch this video on Chinese "gutter oil" if you dare), particularly severe in the major cities likely to host expats, have sent a number of expats packing as China once again becomes a "hardship" posting. Perhaps the economics really are that favorable to outweigh these costs.
Germany and Switzerland also scored well for expats, as both economies improve despite the larger European woes. Salaries for expats are unusually high in the German-speaking countries and expenses are lower than in the rest of the Europe, owing to export-driven economic growth. Strong social programs and high standards of living also tend to make the experience pleasant, even if expats do not live as a class-above as they do in many developing economies.
Middle Eastern countries tend be worse places for expats, owing to legislation that makes it tougher for foreigners to own property and because of formal and informal social restrictions that can cut back on quality of life. The exceptions are Bahrain and Qatar, two very wealthy and very small Persian Gulf states whose governments work to attract the wealthy expats they see as crucial to building businesses there. It should go without saying that HSBC's study does not consider "guest workers" in its measurements. Gulf states, particularly Qatar, have notorious reputations for mistreating migrant laborers from South and Southeast Asia, who work in difficult conditions and with few protections.
A big surprise here may be the countries of Western Europe, which despite their wealth and high standards of living are considered among the worst countries to be an expat, according to the study. The report cites high taxes and costly services; expenses that might make sense if you're a citizen who plans to one day employ your country's substantial social services, but less so if you're an expat who pays into those services but doesn't fully benefit. The European Union's ongoing financial problems also mean that salaries are less competitive, particularly compared to the higher cost of living. Part of this may be that Western European companies, as well as foreign companies with offices in Western Europe, are not as willing to invest in growth with all the economic uncertainty. Otherwise, though, Western Europe ranks highly for child rearing, with high-quality education and child services relatively affordable.
Based just on this report, if you're thinking about flying off for the life of an expat and you don't want to have kids there, then you should consider China, Thailand or someplace else in Asia. And if you want to have kids abroad, then Germany should also be near the top of your list.
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狗仔卡
发表于 2014-1-3 11:10
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发表于 2014-1-3 11:23
