Muscat among top three cities for expats in GCC

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Muscat: Muscat, Dubai and Abu Dhabi are among the top three cities in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for expatriate living, according to the “Mercer’s 2016 Quality of Living Survey.”
The survey takes into account factors, such as the city’s political and social environment, medical care and health considerations, public services, recreation facilities and natural environment, among others.
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The international human resources consultancy placed Muscat 107th in the global rankings, while Dubai was placed 75th and Abu Dhabi was ranked 81st on the list.
Muscat was followed by Doha at the 110th place, Kuwait City at the 124th spot, Bahrain at 133rd, Riyadh and Jeddah ranked at 164th and 165th, respectively among the GCC countries.
“It is great to know that Muscat has been named among the top three cities in the Middle East as we always believe Muscat is the most beautiful city with good medical care and recreational facilities for expatriates,” said S Bose, a resident of Bausher.
The report also provided valuable information and hardship premium recommendations for morethan 440 cities throughout the world, with the ranking covering 230 of these, covering 211 cities across five continents, based on criteria, such as safety, economic transparency and growth.
“Rankings in many regions were affected by recent world events, including economic and political upheavals, which resulted in currency fluctuations, cost inflation for goods and services, and volatility in accommodation prices,” said Rob Thissen, consultant on Global Mobility at Mercer ME.
Mercer produces individual cost of living and rental accommodation cost reports for each city surveyed.