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Enjoying a drink on a terrace in The Hague
Enjoying a drink on a terrace in The Hague - Credit: kruwt / DepositPhotos - License: DepositPhotos
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Best Cities to Live for European Expats
ECA International
Saturday, 22 February 2020 - 09:00

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Four Dutch cities among 15 best places for European expats

The Hague, Eindhoven, Amsterdam, and Rotterdam all made it into the top 15 of the best cities to live for European expats ranking by mobility consultant ECA International. The Netherlands and Switzerland are the only two countries with four cities in the top 20.

ECA ranked 480 large cities on livability factors including availability of health services, housing and utilities, access to social network and leisure activities, political tensions, personal safety, and air quality. The Hague was the Netherlands' best scoring city, ranking in 3rd place along with Geneva. Eindhoven came in 5th place, Amsterdam in 7th, and Rotterdam in 12th.

Denmark's Copenhagen and Switzerland's Bern came in joint 1st place thanks to their clean air, good facilities and low crime rate.

“Northern European cities in places such as Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Switzerland, have consistently scored well for expat livability," ECA analyst Neil Ashman said. "Excellent transport links, a high standard of healthcare and long-term political stability, mean that overseas workers from elsewhere in Europe can adapt to these locations with ease.”

Top 20 most livable locations for European expatriates:

1. Copenhagen, Denmark

1. Bern, Switzerland

3. The Hague, Netherlands

3. ​Geneva, Switzerland

5. Eindhoven, Netherlands

5. Stavanger, Norway

7. Amsterdam, Netherlands

7. Basel, Switzerland

9. Dublin, Ireland

9. ​Luxembourg City, Luxembourg

9. ​Gothenburg, Sweden

12. ​Aarhus, Denmark

12. ​Rotterdam, Netherlands

14. ​Zurich, Switzerland

15. ​Bonn, Germany

15. ​Munich, Germany

17. ​Vienna, Austria

17. ​Hamburg, Germany

19. ​Stockholm, Sweden

19. ​Edinburgh, United Kingdom

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