Out of over 480 locations across the globe, Kuala Lumpur’s rank in ECA International’s list of the world’s most liveable cities for Asian expatriates has fallen from 118th last year to 126th in 2018, reported The Edge.
According to ECA International Regional Director for Asia Lee Quane, Malaysia’s capital has fallen from the 25th spot to outside the top 100 over the last five years.
“One of the main reasons for this is that whilst other locations have improved their air quality, the levels of pollution in Kuala Lumpur, coupled with relatively high rates of petty crime, have seen the city slip down the rankings.”
“However, the city scores well in categories such as utilities and the availability of housing, so there are still positives for any Asian expatriate moving to Kuala Lumpur,” he noted.
ECA International’s list, which is updated each year, assesses the living conditions of foreign workers assigned to different areas. Among the factors evaluated are climate, air quality, isolation, infrastructure, personal safety, political tensions, housing and utilities, availability of health services and access to a social network and leisure facilities.
Meanwhile, Singapore remained as the world’s number one most liveable city for Asian expats due to low crime rate, easy access to healthcare and good quality schools. Another factor is the lower levels of pollution versus many other areas in the region.
At the second spot is Brisbane, while Adelaide, Sydney and Osaka were tied at third place. Perth, Nagoya and Tokyo shared the sixth spot. The ninth spot was taken by Wellington, while Canberra, Copenhagen and Yokohama were tied at the tenth place.
“Australian cities always tend to perform strongly in terms of liveability for Asian expats due to their excellent facilities and infrastructure, as well as the generally low levels of crime and air pollution,” noted Quane.
Four Japanese cities also made it to the top ten and all surveyed locations on the country were listed in the top 40 due to excellent infrastructure and facilities.
On the other hand, most Chinese cities fell in ECA’s rankings. For instance, Beijing suffered the biggest decline, falling 10 spots to 134th.
The fall in ranking was mainly due to more stringent internet censorship and the prohibition on virtual private networks (VPNs) over the past 12 months, coupled with the deteriorating air pollution in several Chinese areas,” Quane added.
This article was edited by the editorial team of PropertyGuru. To contact them about this or other stories email editorialteam@propertyguru.com.my
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