Greece is rapidly evolving into a preferred destination for people wishing to live and work away from home, as the country is rising on the global list drafted by international bank HSBC. It has now climbed to 34th among 46 countries, from 37th last year, while seven out of 10 workers from abroad admit that they enjoy a better quality of life compared to their home country.

The HSBC Expat Explorer 2021 survey released on Tuesday showed that when it comes to quality of life, Greece is among the top 20 destinations for working abroad, ranking 19th. About three out of five respondents (59%) say they are not too concerned about their economic situation in Greece and about a third say their finances have improved since moving to the country.

Even more importantly, 62% of the expats polled who live and work in Greece have already acquired property in this country, which is far above the average rate of 48% of respondents across the 46 countries.

Another interesting finding from the more than 20,000 people surveyed around the world is that about three in five expats in Greece have seen an improvement in the balance between personal and professional life compared to when they lived at home. Cyprus and Spain fared even better, with 73%, only lagging New Zealand (77%) and Australia (74%) in that respect.

In general Mediterranean countries are among the top destinations for expats living and working abroad with the aim of improving their quality of life; Greece may lag Spain, Cyprus and Portugal in this category, but its 40% score is above the global average of 35%.

Despite the uncertainty the pandemic has generated, 67% of senior foreign staff working in Greece are optimistic about next year, above the international mean rate of 65%. Despite the change of location, 37% responded that they have almost immediately felt at home in Greece, which is significantly higher than the global average rate of 23%.

Greece also offers a sense of security to 57% (compared to 49% globally) and satisfaction with the environment to 57% of respondents (against 41% internationally).

This article was first published on ekathimerini.com.