Netherlands rated most unfriendly country for Expats

The Netherlands has been rated among the most unfriendliest countries in the world for expatriates by Forbes magazine while Canada is rated the most friendliest country for expats.

The US is rated fourth after Canada, Bermuda and South Africa by the US magazine which looked at the results of a recent HSBC Bank International’s Expat Explorer survey in four categories.

These are the countries where it’s easiest to befriend locals, learn the language, fit into the new culture and integrate into the community.

Canada was most welcoming for the second year in a row; more than half of survey-takers there said they’d make friends with locals.

In the case of US, the results of the survey suggest that ease of learning the local language and adapting to the local culture are areas in which the US fares well as an expat destination – despite low scores in organising finances and health care.

Canada, Bermuda and South Africa were helped to the top of the list because more than 80 percent of the expats surveyed there say they are native English speakers.

The top ten friendly nations were: Canada, Bermuda, South Africa, US, Australia, Spain, France, Britain, Malaysia and Germany.

Do you think the Netherlands is the most unfriendly country for expats?
We’d love to hear your stories as well as any advice you may have for your fellow expats in comments below!