I recently chatted with the CEO of Internations about the best and worst places to live as an expat. As Expaters we have different priorities than regular expats (Mojito), so I asked Malte for some personal recommendations on where I should live next. Here’s his list:
6. Finland. Brilliant education, superb economic growth and saunas built out of the snow. Sounds good to me. 
5. Sweden. A vantage point for the Northern Lights and a population good humoured enough to celebrate National Beard Day with a parade in the capital seems like a good mix. Just one catch – spontaneous dancing is illegal.
4. Czech Republic. Beautiful countryside and a culture which is akin to the British in many respects. I shared an office with a Czech for a few years and yes, they even get irony.
3. Denmark. A great quality of life, stunning countryside and best of all, a university which offers a course on Beyonce. ‘All you single ladies put your hands up…’
2. Norway. The Nordic state is rated one of the best in terms of gender and social equality which perhaps also explains why it ranks at the top of world happiness rankings. If it were not for the Nordic Noir films which I love but scare me silly, I think I might be here already. 
Apparently the nordic countries ace all other destinations in terms of children’s health care. I know I said that crime and health care are my priorities and I know that I burn even when I see a sunset from afar, but like most Brits, I’d love a little sunshine.
Malte tries to tempt me, ‘These destinations are also great for foodies. Oslo and Copenhagen in particular have new three star Michelin restaurants…’
And then he picks his number one country for me:
1. Costa Rica. Sunshine, happy people, I already speak the language (badly) and Malte assures me there are great places to go out and chill out. It’s such a fun place that over half of all respondents said they want to stay longer than they originally planned.
So there we have it. Costa Rica it is. Better start packing…
Your first 4 boast great organized government, superb education, excellent food, great medical system, equality for women and lots of culture, then there is Costa Rica. Costa Rica has "sunshine and happy people." If that's what you are looking for and not the other things, great. Make sure you determine what is truly important to YOU, then do your research
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Hello Rae, yes this makes perfect sense. Sometimes we look at rankings, at countries in the press and we forget what is truly important to us as individuals. Thank you for your comment.