The Isle of Man has been revealed as the best place to live in the British Isles. The findings were unearthed thanks to the HSBC Expat Survey which looked at 33 different countries. An independent global survey of expats, it looked at criteria such as economic stability, wellbeing and family benefits such as finance, education, healthcare and quality of life to provide insights on how countries compare across the globe. The Isle of Man was a new entry to the annual survey yet beat all other places in the British Isles.
The British Isles consist of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Hebrides and over six thousand smaller isles.
The island is located in the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Ireland and has 83,000 residents.
It is not part of the United Kingdom or European Union but has the status of ‘crown dependency’.
The Isle of Man did well on a global scale too, ranking 12 best in the world for expats.
It has the lowest crime rate in the British Isles, in line with the survey findings.
A huge 92 per cent of Isle of Man Expats said they felt safer and more secure than where they previously lived.
This is the highest sentiment measured and almost double the average (48 per cent) of other countries.
In terms of political stability, the Island ranked fourth in the world. The Isle of Man has the longest-running Parliament in the world, more than 1,000 years old.
Work-life balance, outdoor activities and a strong sense of community are some of the reasons that expats are staying in the Isle of Man longer than planned, with expats remaining on the Island an average of 8.2 years longer than planned. The global average was 4.3 years.
A whopping 74 per cent of respondents said that their quality of life had improved since moving to the Isle of Man, and nearly half said their mental wellbeing has improved.
Channel Islands Jersey and Guernsey were also new entries to this year’s survey and came at 19 and 25 respectively. Ireland was in 14th place.
It was not such great news for the UK, however as the United Kingdom was named 27.
Daphne Caine MHK, political member with responsibility for Locate Isle of Man, said: “It is clear that the quality of life we enjoy in the Isle of Man makes us an attractive destination for those looking to relocate to live and work, but it is also fantastic to see how competitive we are on a global scale in terms of political and economic stability, our wellbeing and family offering.
“Regarding the family offering, the Isle of Man was ranked the 10th best place to live in the world for little expats, the seventh when it comes to ease to make new friends.
“The survey found that those who have relocated highly appreciate the local landscape – only New Zealand and Australia ranked higher.”
On a global scale, the best country to live in the world was revealed as Switzerland.
In second place was Singapore followed by Canada, Spain, New Zealand, Australia, Turkey, Germany, United Arab Emirates and Vietnam in the top ten.
