Mind you, I wasn’t so enthused when I looked out the plane’s window as we came in to land. The pilot informed us (a little too cheerily, I thought) that it was -3°C, and the sky was an ominous grey.

Still, the city soon made up for it.

I had a few hours to kill before a business meeting, so I took the opportunity to amble around the Old Town, before finding my way through the winding streets to the Kunsthaus art museum.

The museum lacks the grandeur and wealth of treasures that the Louvre, National Gallery or the Prado can boast. But with a collection of works spanning six centuries – including some beautiful pieces by Canaletto, Monet and Van Gogh – it is well worth a trip.

And Zürich has a lot more to offer. The cafes, restaurants, shops, and its beautiful lake make Zürich an enviable place to live. Easy access to Switzerland’s world class ski resorts has a certain attraction too!

The Swiss advantage

And Switzerland’s appeal is not limited to its culture or sporting activities.

In its most recent annual survey, the World Economic Forum crowned Switzerland as the most competitive nation in the world for the second year running.

Switzerland was followed by Sweden, with Singapore third in the rankings. The United States slipped to fourth. The United Kingdom was 12^th.

Running like clockwork

Such rankings were underscored on my way home.

The Swiss, of course, are famed for their timekeeping and efficiency. When the trains say they will arrive at a certain time they do, and to the second. They are smooth, clean and comfortable. Getting around Zürich is a cinch.

By contrast, getting back to my home in the UK was anything but smooth and comfortable. London’s Underground system was ground-breaking (literally) when it opened 150 years ago. Now though it is showing its age. There are constant repairs, and too many people jostling to get on.

The subsequent overland leg of my train journey was even worse. Broken signals, delays, overcrowded carriages. Suffice to say, it eventually took me twice as long to get from London’s City airport to home as it had taken me to fly from Switzerland to the UK.

Having lived abroad for many years, I know that nowhere is perfect.

Britain has its faults, for sure – the climate, the overstretched transport infrastructure, the lack of space, its cost of living. Yet coming back to live in the UK has helped me see it with new, more sympathetic eyes, better able to appreciate the wonderful things it does have to offer, and not just the bad bits.

Still, I can see why there is so much interest – especially among those well-paid financial types – in relocating to Switzerland.

Much of the reason may be to do with the favourable tax regimes they can expect to find in the country’s various cantons.

But I’m sure Switzerland’s long-trumpeted quality of life advantages must be as much of a draw.

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The report polled members of the banking, insurance, asset management, hedge fund and private equity communities on six factors: predictability, overall tax burden, attitude of tax authorities, network of tax treaties, complexity and cost of compliance.

Every respondent gave the UK a poor rating on predictability. It is the area where the UK fared worst compared to other countries, but which the report says is the most important factor in judging competitiveness.

The authors said surprise changes such as the introduction of the bank payroll tax and bank levy, and the increase to 50% in the top rate of income tax were creating uncertainty and changing the financial services industry’s perception of the UK. In addition, the new rates and measures meant “the UK is now seen as a high tax jurisdiction not dissimilar to continental countries.”

However, despite fears that changes to the UK’s regime would lead to an exodus of financial institutions and people to more favourable tax jurisdictions, such as Switzerland, Singapore and Hong Kong, that has not materialised in practice, at least thus far. Instead, for the time being London remains a key financial hub, attracting international investment, as well as expatriate and domestic workers.

Holding on to its position in the world as an attractive place to live and do business is the UK’s challenge going forwards. Relying on its weather as a source of appeal certainly won’t do the job!

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According to HSBC Bank International’s new Expat Existence survey, the best place to be an expatriate is in fact Singapore, followed by the United Arab Emirates and the US.

The HSBC report sought to investigate the opportunities and challenges that expats face in their new locations. To this end it ranked the countries according to a variety of factors that assessed expats’ ability to earn and save, their quality of accommodation, the level of luxury enjoyed (such as access to private healthcare, pool ownership, and the ability to employ staff), and a country’s popularity in terms of how long expats live there.

I wouldn’t disagree with the findings. I haven’t been to Singapore since the early 90s, but at the time I found it a clean and pleasant (if somewhat sterile) city.

It’s got an equable – albeit humid – climate, high education standards, low unemployment and good job opportunities, superb restaurants, low tax and living costs, and it serves as a convenient hub for travel in the wider region.

I can’t directly comment on the UAE, having never been there. However, as the CIA World Factbook notes, it has a high per capita income, strong economic growth and zero taxes in its Free Trade Zones. The money-earning potential therefore must be a particular lure. On the flip side I would imagine its climate is a significant drawback though.

The US has evident advantages too. My wife and I lived in New York for a year and loved it: the bustle and excitement, the opportunity to pursue the ‘American Dream,’ the chance to travel around what is an enormous and extremely varied country. I can therefore well-understand the allure it holds (which will no doubt increase once President Bush finally leaves office!).

By contrast, some traditional expat locations fared less well in the HSBC survey.

Australia came in 10^th, having received high marks for levels of luxury, accommodation, and the ability to earn and save, but with a low score for longevity. Spain, meanwhile, was 12^th and France 13^th.

The UK, which trailed in 14^th, proved the most expensive expat location for accommodation. It also ranked as the least luxurious, with decreases reported in nine of the 11 luxury categories. This will come as no surprise to the millions of British citizens who indicate they are planning their own escape from the country.

However, before you get carried away with the overall rankings and start changing your plans, it’s worth paying attention to the longevity scores. And here Europe came out triumphant.

The report found 82 percent of the expat respondents in the Netherlands have been there three or more years. Germany had the next highest figure, with 77 percent, while Spain was close behind with 76 percent.

No doubt there are a whole slew of reasons to account for this. Factors such as a reasonable year-round climate, ease of accessibility for trips back home, decent infrastructure (including transport, telecommunications, healthcare and education), political stability and a rich cultural heritage.

So although a hefty pay package and an army of domestic staff may be appealing, the financials of your move should not be the be-all and end-all. Rather, relocating abroad should be about improving your overall quality of life. Ultimately that is what will make it an enjoyable, and successful, experience.

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1. Your Moving Abroad Location Checklist
2. Expats Top Concerns When Moving Abroad
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